The NBA lockout has given us a bit of a bittersweet regular season.

For someone like me, who is an avid NBA fan, it’s great to have games being played nearly every night. But with the condensed schedule comes an abundance of ridicule from many, and it is not completely undeserved.

For starters, the quantity of games has certainly been there, but the quality not so much; teams are struggling without enough adequate preseason practice.

Another complaint has been the surplus amount of injuries sustained due to a lack of rest time between the squeezed games.

These issues do have a place, but the truth remains that the cream has still risen to the top.

The Bulls have a firm lead in the Eastern Conference Central Division, Miami is leading and will win the Southeast, and the Sixers are a slightly surprising 18-8 best in the Atlantic.

In the Western Conference, Oklahoma City leads the Northwest, the recently upgraded Clippers are neck and neck with the Lakers in the Pacific, and the “Texas trio” of San Antonio, Dallas, and Houston are duking it out in the Southwest.

So even with the poor play at times and a plethora of injuries, it’s not as if the lockout has completely distorted the future of the league; the best teams are still the best teams.

And what did people expect? These players have had no time to build a comfortable rapport with their teammates.

Among all of the complaints, people forget that these conditions are present to each team: lack of rest, tough traveling, and more injuries.

Although we may have to suffer every now and again from thoughtless passes or missed defensive assignments, remember that the NBA at its worst is still miles better then the next best league.

Let’s stop attacking the NBA for where it currently stands, and embrace this season for what it is.

Between ESPN, TNT, and NBATV there’s a game on nearly every night, which is awesome.

Plus, the professionals who partake in the NBA are equally as awesome, meaning they will find their comfort zone soon — if they haven’t already.    

For every complaint about the injuries or bad play, I promise there will be a highlight of Derrick Rose slipping through multiple defenders before somehow flipping the ball into the bucket.

And that’s enough for me to keep watching this lockout-shortened season.