Mom and Dad are gone for the afternoon, and like the terrible, impatient children we are, we've looked at the presents under the tree and found the mother of all gifts: the NBA is back, on Christmas Day. Hooray!!! Spiked egg nog for everyone!!!

Well, maybe you're like me, and having a hard time getting psychologically reset for the upcoming season.* You're feeling betrayed, battered, and--to be perfectly honest--a little bored. How do you Get Your Groove Back, and make this the BEST SEASON EVER?

I have a few ideas.

*asterisk

Little boy receiving Manu, RJ, Bonner, Timmy, and Blair dolls

1. Remind yourself who's on the roster. "Wait, I don't even know who's on the team anymore! Who's that guy we traded Georgeous for? Konami? Kwaanza? Is that the guy with the hands?" Look, I get it. It's been a long six months (even longer if you stopped watching when the Spurs went down), and the faces aren't so memorable anymore. That's okay. I watched baseball in the interim, and had my heart ripped out of my chest, stomped on, and re-inserted while wrapped in barbed wire. I thought I needed a break from sports for a while, but there was a Manu-shaped hole that could never be filled by Skyward Sword (though it really came close.) Tony? The Nail? Bon-Bon? &erson? Remember those guys? They're pretty cool. You want to hang with them.

2. Come back to PtR. Obviously, you're already here, but bear with me because this is important. Get back in the threads. Check out other peoples' opinions, and make them your own (because what are we if not the coolest hive mind this side of the internet?) Do we need another big man? Is RJ worth keeping around? I DON'T KNOW, IS HE? Get those basketball-shaped mind grapes working again. The operative phrase here is "fake it 'til you make it." The more you pretend to talk basketball, the more you might actually find yourself talking basketball.

3. Do it for Timmy. There's been no announcement that this upcoming season will be his last (I'm thinking 50-50), but in case it is, you owe the man your full attention. Check out some classic highlights, and the best of The Onion, and let's all hold hands and watch, and remember, and appreciate. Besides--as we all know--defending a championship is hard, so at least we shouldn't have to watch the Mavs strut around for long.

What about you guys? How are you going about the recovery process?