By Dustin Brewer

It’s been an interesting start to the NBA season to say the least but a few key storylines over the weekend have taken over all the headlines. Some for all the right reasons, some unfortunately not.

1. Derrick Rose Out Again- Fans of the Chicago Bulls and all throughout the NBA are still mourning the news that the Bulls’ star PG Derrick Rose will once again need a season-ending surgery, this time to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee (he had surgery on his left knee after tearing his ACL and missing all of the 2012-2013 season). This is devastating to a Bulls team not built to survive without him but more importantly, it’s a shame that one of the most exciting players in the game will be sidelined again. We here at HefferBrew wish D Rose a speedy recovery and hope we can see him back on the court doing what he loves for a city and team that loves him.

2. Mamba Money- Without even playing a game yet this season as he comes back from a torn Achilles’ tendon, Kobe Bryant and the Lakers announced Monday that they reached an agreement and signed Kobe to a 2-year/$48 million contract extension. It’s great for the organization as this likely will mean Kobe will be a Laker for life, something they were passionate about ensuring, but it also is a perplexing one from a front-office standpoint as $24 million a year for #24 eats up a vast majority of the salary cap heading in to the 2014 Free Agency Bonanza. The Lakers will have room to add at least one max-deal level player but who is willing to make the trip to share the court with Kobe will remain to be seen.

3. Death, Taxes and the Spurs- Every year the Spurs are considered too old, too slow and the notion is that all the young, athletic teams are going to blow by the them to the top of the conference and start them on the long fall down to obscurity. Well, no one ever seems to bother to tell them that. This season so far, San Antonio is riding an 11 game win-streak and are tied with the Pacers for the best record at 13-1. If the road through the playoffs has to pass through San Antonio, then the Spurs will once again be possibly the toughest out in the entire post-season.

4. Other Surprising Starts- We’ve seen a lot of teams start the season hot, some surprising records so far; 13-2 Portland  Trailblazers, the 6-9 Philadelphia 76ers (let’s face it, we thought they’d scrape 6 wins together all season but Michael Carter-Williams is the clear Rookie of the Year thus far and the 76ers, while not doing fantastic, are a pleasant surprise. One place not enjoying basketball success is the entire state of New York. The Nets and Knicks are both sitting at 3-10 and for two teams who had Finals aspirations before the season, both are about ready to hit the panic buttons.

5. More Injury News- Wizards SG Bradley Beal will be out at least the next two weeks with what’s being called a right-leg stress injury. Warriors Swiss-Army Player Andre Iguodala will be out indefinitely with a strained left hamstring, the good news is he won’t require surgery and should be back sooner rather than later. Grizzlies C Marc Gasol will be out for the foreseeable future with an MCL-sprain and after an MRI it was shown there’s a partial tear in some of the tissue in the ligament. Gasol won’t require surgery but he’ll be on crutches the next month and will then begin his rehab to get back to the court.

Stick with HefferBrew all season long for all the latest on all things NBA.