We’re in Vegas at the moment, the site of last year’s NBA All-Star game. If you want to get a head-shake or a mean-face, bring that up to a local today. If you don’t know of what we speak, welcome back to Earth. We missed you.

We expect things to go damn well in New Orleans this weekend. And talk about a stark contrast between burgs. If any city ever needed something like the NBA’s week-long celebration, it’s the languishing land of beignets. Vegas is the last place you will find the NBA’s current constellation of stars in the future. New Orleans is the first place the NBA should consider for a permanent home for the game.

You can guffaw if you want, but if you think about it for three seconds, it makes perfect sense - even if the Hornets move. The Big Easy needs the business, the NBA needs a nice PR play, and the city has a favorable demographic and facility for the game. Perfect fit.

What’s the point of playing the damn thing in Portland or Minneapolis or Denver when most of the city doesn’t care? That wouldn’t be the case in New Orleans.

We’ve heard a lot of lip service from the NBA and NFL about helping to rebuild what was once a great American city. The NFL has fallen down on the job (if we see that Saints Visa ad one more time, we’re going to spit up), but the NBA has a great opportunity to make a statement and follow through on David Stern’s never-ending rhetorical support of the town.

It’s either that or “Hello, Oklahoma City 2011!” How exhilarating.