Line Of The Night — 02/06/2008
Line Of The Night:
Chris Paul — 42 points, 9 assists, 8 steals, 5 boards
Terrible against Utah the other night, CP3 game back with a vengeance in a double-OT win over the Suns, in Phoenix, with Shaq watching from a luxury box in the sky. Little dude is so nasty.
Triple-Double Of The Night:
Dirk Nowitzki — 29 points, 12 assists, 10 boards, 1 block
Big Dirk Like Whut notched his first triple-double last night, perhaps as an ode to Jason Kidd, in attempt to serenade owner Mark Cuban into trading for Jason Kidd?
Earl Watson — 23 points, 10 boards, 10 assists, 2 steals, 1 block
Just after L.O.N.’s C.E.O. had verbally lambasted Watson, during a conversation with The Resident Scientist, he goes and does this! Motivation, son.
Beast Of The Night:
Al Horford — 20 boards, 15 points, 1 assist, 1 steal
And he held the Lakers’ Pau Gasol to 12 points on 5-14 shooting. Nice work for the young’n, as the Hawks inch closer to .500. And word to Tyronn Lue who killed his former squad, with 16 off the bench.
Amare Stoudemire — 26 points, 20 boards, 4 blocks, 3 assists
Maybe one of the last times STAT has to have nights like these, with Big Shaq on the way.
Contraction Club Of The Night:
Washington Wizards, 77 points vs. San Antonio
The Spurs a tough team on the road, without Tony Parker, but will they get any respect? Probably not. Everyone wants to hate this year… but that’s probably fine for them as they always relish the darkhorse role.
Trade Of The Night:
Phoenix Suns get:
Shaquille O’Neal
Miami Heat get:
Shawn Marion
Marcus Banks
Even about a day-and-a-half after first hearing the rumblings about this, it still seems crazy and out of nowhere. From the Heat side, we totally get it. Shaq wasn’t giving them much, and their season is doomed. Now they get a top NBA player for basically a trial run. If the Marion situation doesn’t work out, he can opt out of his contract at the end of the year and the Heat will have the flexibility to rebuild around Wade. If the Marion/Wade combo is Heat-tastic, the sign him and away they go.
The Suns are the ones taking the, um, heat for this deal. From the outside, Shaq seems broken and done, but he has had patches of motivational issues in the past, so we don’t know how much that has played a part. The one thing we know is he will now be rejuvenated. He is on a hungry contender that wants a title. But will he be healthy? Only time will tell. And when he is healthy, how will fit into the Suns’ system? Obviously, he cannot get up-and-down the floor at their pace, but rebounding is the key to any fast break, and he still brings that. We are excited to see him out their in the purple and orange.
You also cannot discount the “addition by subtraction” elements of this deal. Marion has not been happy in Phoenix for awhile now. While this never showed on the court, it probably hurt the oh-so elusive chemistry of the Suns. Shaq’s arrival will bring, at least temporarily, an Era of Good Feelings. Also, a couple years back, when Amare Stoudemire went down, Boris Diaw got his shine on. On a full roster, he has not had the same impact. Maybe this deal frees up more minutes for him, and he goes back to pre-long-contract Diaw.
NBA-Tinged Lyrics Of The Night:
“I can hear gossipin’/They question my potential like Pearl Washington/Yet I’m here blossomin’”, “Sleep Well”
“And when beef’s on, the heat’s drawn they passin’/ like Mark Jackson”, “Sleep Well”
“Only time I chase the past is when Jordans come out”, “Who Am I? Exclusive”
“I drew more techs than Artest and ‘Sheed”, “The Rap Game”
These are all off Cormega’s latest, the Who Am I? Soundtrack and DVD. You KNOW he’s talking something about the NBA, when he steps on the mic. And it’s probably gonna be shoe game or NYC relevant.
Knot Rocked Of The Night:
Rajon Rondo — 24 points, 8 assists, 5 boards, 4 steals
Rondo balled out against the Clip Joint last nightly, as Sam Cassell attempted to guard him. That didn’t work. Then on another drive to lane during which Sam-I-Am got burnt up, he let him HAVE it. Fist to the head! Flagrant 2, see ya, Sam.
Steve Francis to miss the rest of the year, after having minimal impact in Houston. He’ll have surgery for a torn quadriceps tendon… The 3-Point contest will have some star power this year, as Kobe Cryant and Steve Nash join defending champion Jason Kapono, Peja Stojakovic, Rip Hamilton and Boobie Gibson…