I was feeling narcissistic the other day, so I decided to look back at my eSports articles. Boy that knocked me off my high horse real quick.

I couldn’t help feel disappointed while reading my preseason NBA columns. I was dismayed by the terrible mistakes I made back in September.

Never mind that I failed to remember that the top three playoffs spots in each conference go to the division winners. I predicted that Indiana and Detroit would be seeded one and two in the Eastern Conference playoff bracket. That, of course, is impossible because they both play in the Central Division.

Oh well, it was a miniscule miscue. Besides, it’s not only any teams besides Detroit and Indiana are going to win the East. Miami may have Pat Riley on the bench, but they still have Antoine Walker on the floor.

But back to my blundering.

I am concerned about my predictions. A quarter of the regular-season has been completed, and my preseason picks are looking dicey already. Paraphrasing some of my then-prophetic genius:

The Los Angeles Clippers will finish last in the West.
Uhh, mulligan please.

Jerry Sloan will finally be selected Coach of the Year.
Not going to happen unless he receives sympathy votes for his sub-.500 team.

The Sacramento Kings will advance to the Western Conference Finals.
Shaq was right. They are a great WNBA team.

But to be fair, a few of my picks are looking pretty good:

Chris Paul will be the Rookie of the Year.
Channing Frye and Andrew Bogut have played very well in their first seasons, but the former Wake Forest guard has asserted himself as the leader of his team, leading New Orleans/Oklahoma City in points, assists and steals.

The Atlanta Hawks will finish with the worst record in the NBA.
Currently the Toronto Raptors have a half-game lead on Atlanta, but I trust the Hawks to go on one of their patented 12-game losing streaks.

San Antonio will finish with the best record in the league and repeat as NBA champions.
The Spurs are one-game back of the Detroit Pistons, and all indicators point to them returning for a NBA Finals rematch.

There’s plenty of time for things to play out. Surprises and shockers will happen. Like Ron Artest demanding to be traded. Who knew he could be such a malcontent?

Anyway, here’s the current perspective on two teams -- one that is really bad and one that is really good.

The biggest disappointment of the year, the Rockets were preseason picks by many folks (including yours truly) to be legitimate threats to the Spurs. The way they’re playing right now, Houston will be fortunate to make the playoffs as an eighth-seed. Speaking for all those prognosticators: our bad.

So what’s messed up? First of all, Tracy McGrady’s back. If he spends much more time on the bench wearing heat packs, it’s going to be Jeff Van Gundy who feels the heat. Even though McGrady takes too many ill-advised shots, he’s a top-10 talent and has proven his ability to single-handedly impose his will on opponents. See this past Thursday's game against Seattle for an example. What makes Tracy’s health even more important for the Rockets is the lack of progress from Yao Ming.

Yao continues to maintain his niche outside the paint. Until he asserts himself beneath the basket, he’ll remain a good second-option at best. He puts up great numbers, but he’s incapable of shouldering the scoring load when McGrady struggles from the field or is out with an injury. Compounding Houston's interior woes is the fact that Juwan Howard is on the decline and Stromile Swift hasn’t matured into a major post-presence. Houston will continue to lose against the bigger, tougher teams in the West.

The off-season trade for Rafer "Skip to My Lou" Alston has not gone according to plan. Houston gave up Mike James, who has been one of the few bright spots for Toronto, averaging 15 points and 4 assists per contest. Meanwhile, Skip has been plagued with injuries, playing in less than half of the Rockets games. When he has been on the court he’s struggled, scoring seven a game while shooting under 35%.

Luther Head, the Rockets first-round draft pick from Illinois, has been a pleasant surprise and is their best three-point threat. But the backcourt depth (Head, Alston, David Wesley, Ryan Bowen and Derek Anderson) is terrible. Unless they make a trade, Houston will be unable to make up enough ground to squeeze into the playoffs.

There have been many reasons for Motown to smile this season. Flip Saunders has introduced an up-tempo offense that is highly efficient and aesthetically pleasing. As a result, Rip Hamilton and Chauncey Billups are playing like All-Stars. They average 40 points and 11 assists per game, while making 46% of their three-point attempts. The best backcourt in the league has already hit big-time shots this season. They’re playing with playoff intensity, and it’s paying off.

Even the Detroit bench, a perceived weakness prior to entering the season, has been adequate. Antonio McDyess and Maurice Evans have made solid contributions. Once Lindsay Hunter is healthy, he’ll provide more stability at backup point guard than Carlos Arroyo. Carlos Delfino and Darko Milicic have struggled so far, but they will improve once they play more meaningful minutes later in the season.

But everything is not well in Detroit. In fact, there’s a serious problem that seems to contradict the blue-collar work ethic that Detroit has come to epitomize. The vaunted Pistons defense, believe it or not, ranks 21st overall in team rebounding. In fact, some of their rebounding efforts have been downright pathetic.

Case in point, this past week. In their victory Monday against the Sacramento Kings, the Pistons were +5 in rebounds against the second-worst rebounding team in the NBA. Against the Utah Jazz, a top-five rebounding team, the Pistons were out-rebounded 27-55. Twenty-seven to fifty-five!

Championship teams do not get out-rebounded so badly. Besides Ben Wallace, the other four Pistons starters average 18 rebounds a game, which is simply unacceptable.

Despite what the Power Rankings at ESPN, SI and HoopsHype have been clamoring the past few weeks, the Detroit Pistons are not the best team in the NBA. That moniker belongs to the well-rounded San Antonio Spurs. But second-best isn’t too shabby.

Top Ten
1. San Antonio: Tony Parker deserves to be an All-Star.
2. Detroit: Maurice Evans provides a spark off the bench.
3. Dallas: Dirk is having his best season ever.
4. Los Angeles Clippers: Shaun Livingston should help give the veterans a breather.
5. Phoenix: Steve Belkin was right. Would you rather have Joe Johnson or Boris Diaw and $70 million?
6. Memphis: Looks like Jerry West has still got it.
7. Milwaukee: Michael Redd has been lights out, shooting 50% from downtown.
8. Indiana: Too much chaos engulfing the organization.
9. Minnesota: Marko Jaric has been solid as the starting PG.
10. Cleveland: Drew Gooden is one of the most underrated players.

Remember to set your alarm clocks early next Sunday. The Spurs and Pistons tip-off at 12:30 EST, followed by the LA Lakers playing down in South Beach. So even if you don’t get any presents, it will be a Merry Christmas indeed.