L.O.N.

Line Of The Night:

Kobe Bryant — 31 points, 7 boards, 6 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks

Sick, sick, sick. The most-likely MVP did it all, as the Lakers pulled out the brooms on the Nuggets. A lot of focus was placed on the mess that is the Denver Nuggets, but is it possible the Lakers are simply really, really good?

Either way, put a fork in the Nuggets. Did this series show their true spirit? Or was it an aberration? A.I. seemed sour and cranky for the whole series, while Melo was almost the complete opposite… seemingly too relaxed. The one positive for them may be J.R. Smith’s series. He seemed focused and stepped it up on the big stage. Can he transfer that to an 82-game season, though? We just hope he keeps launching from 28 feet!

Beast Of The Night:

Dwight Howard — 21 boards, 21 points, 3 blocks, 2 assists

It took them 5 games to the Lakers’ 4, but chronologically, this effort from Superman made the Magic the first team to advance to the second round, as they knocked off the Raptors. They can now sit back and watch the Pistons struggle to knock off the Sixers for at least 2 more games. As for the Raptors? Let the “Fire Sam Mitchell” chants rain down. This team “talented” their way into the Playoffs, never really figuring out their identity. With the roster pieces they have, and no clear problem to point the finger at, they should have been more competitive than they showed in this serie.

Johnson And Smith Of The Night:

Joe Johnson — 35 points, 6 assists, 1 board

Josh Smith — 28 points, 7 blocks, 6 boards, 2 steals, 2 assists

ALL of the 4th quarter points for the A-T-Liens? How do the supposedly defensive-minded Celtics give up 32 points in the 4th, and all of them by only 2 players? Seems like Doc gets some blame for this. He doubled Joe late, but it should have come earlier. And in a separate mistake, why was he not going offense/defense, consistently, at point guard? Sam mad a great offensive play when he was in there… then he got benched.

Josh Smith is about to superstar this league, by the way.

You Reach, I Teach Of The Night:

Whatever Joe Johnson did to Leon Powe last night… it is illegal in 17 states. Does he have a Rasheed Wallace mentality? Is he the type of guy that just does not want to be the superstar every night, and would rather fit in with the team?

The Mailroom Supervisor’s Honey Of The Night: 

Chris Webber — The MRSV says: “He looks nice.  Welcome to the team!”

Line Of The Night:

Pau Gasol 02/05 vs. Dirty Jerse — 24 points, 12 boards, 4 assists, 1 steal

Wow.  It’s like that?  Pau was like, “PAU!  I’m here!”  No easing into the line-up for this cat, just straight gangsta in his first appearance.  The Lakers have such a sick team now, and the Nets got familiar with it in a 105-90 loss.

Triple-Double Of The Night:

Hedo Turkoglu 02/04 vs. Dallas — 13 points, 13 assists, 12 boards

A nice all-around game from one of this year’s candidates for most-improved player, but he shot a rough 4-14 from the field. The Magic lost this one by 9 to the Mavs, so what they really needed was a better scoring night from Hedo.

Near Triple-Double Of The Night:

Josh Smith 02/04 vs. Philly — 19 points, 9 blocks, 9 assists, 6 boards, 4 steals

Ahh… one more steal Josh!  Give us the coveted 5×5!  The blocks were a huge momentum changer, as the Hawks trailed by 20 early in the game before Smith blocked 6 shots in the 2nd quarter, leading a comeback.  The Hawks went on to win the game.  Excuse us, the currently PLAYOFF-BOUND Hawks went on to win the game.

Jarrett Jack 02/04 vs. Denver — 17 points, 9 boards, 9 assists, 3 steals

Jack never appears to be the most athletic or most talented cat on the court, but you almost always feel his impact.  He battles, he leads his teammates — he’s the glue, heart-and-soul type.  And every now and then, he’ll even put up stats like these.  Portland lost this one in OT to Denver, but don’t blame Jack.

LeBron James 02/05 vs. Boston — 33 points, 12 assists, 9 boards, 5 steals, 2 blocks

With no KG, the significance of this game was slightly lessened, but you couldn’t tell that from the King’s effort.

Ay Yo That Kid Is Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice Of The Night:

Al Jefferson 02/04 vs. Houston — 33 points, 16 boards, 3 blocks, 3 steals, 2 assists

The T-Wolves continue to mostly lose, but Jefferson has definitely proven he was worthy of being the main piece traded for KG.  Now those other fellas need to get to provin’!

PG PWNage Of The Night:

Deron Williams — 29 points, 11 assists, 3 boards, 1 steal

Chris Paul — 6 points, 6 assists, 4 boards, 1 steal

Hmm… so which one is the All-Star, again?  On Monday, Williams won the one-on-one match-up, and Utah handily won the game 110-88!  Daaaaaaamn.  Utah is the hottest team in the game, ya’ll.

Trade Of The Night:

If the rumors are correct, the NBA is about to get turned on it’s head.  Shaqalicious to the Suns for Shawn Marion?  Wild.  The deal seems to make absolutely no sense for the Suns so the deal and it’s aftermath will be heavily scrutinized.  Our biggest question is Shaq’s health.  No doubt he’ll be motivated, but it won’t matter if his body ain’t working.

Advertising Glory Of The Night:

We can’t get enough of the two latest T-Moble Barkley/D-Wade ads.  Check the full review here.

T.J. Ford back in the hizzle.  Good to see you, playa… Corey Maggette 489 FGAs, Tim Thomas 468… Think San Antonio regrets that Luis Scola deal?  He is fitting in nicely in Houston… Damon Stoudamire steps right into the Spurs’ starting line-up, filling in for the injured Tony Parker…