L.O.N.

Line Of The Night AKA 40/40 Club Of The Night:

Stephen Jackson — 41 points, 3 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals

Golden State just doesn’t play well until they get behind or are considered the underdogs. At home vs. the Wiz, they had to get themselves down by 23 in the first half before they could really turn it on. It’s probably not so for Nellie, but it’s hella entertaining for us. Please let this team be in playoffs! Captain Jack’s will alone, should get them there. He put up this monster night playing on a noticeably sore sprained ankle.

Larry Hughes — 40 points, 6 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals

Ah this brings back memories of the glory days, of his time in Golden State and Washington, when he carried the Revolutionary flag with pride. We’d love if he could bring this back for good, and so would LeBron.

Worst Of The Night:

During last night’s Bucks/Clip Joint game, the Milwaukee announcers had a 10 minute off-and-on discussion about whether or not Andrew Bogut is left-handed (he’s not)! Yes, the BUCKS announcers — the ones that have now watched Bogut play HUNDREDS of games! The color guy was being polite, but seemed to think the play-by-play guy had gone crazy while arguing this point. That asshole finally admitted to brain freeze, but not before the audience had all stuck sharp objects in their own brains.

Contraction Club Of The Night:

Dallas Mavs, 76 vs. Philly

That’s just disgusting. A loss at Philly by a supposed contender? That’s two disgusting losses to Eastern Conference lowlifes in 2 nights. Oh, sorry, that’s two Eastern Conference playoff contenders!

PAU! Of The Night:

Pau Gasol — 26 points, 6 boards, 6 assists, 2 blocks

Wow. Pau helped lead the Lakers to this win in Charlotte, taking them to 6-2 on their current East Coast swing. It’s one thing to beat up on those guys though. It remains to be seen what happens when he and the Lake Show face the likes of Tim Duncan, Yao Ming and the other West Coast pivots.

Jerry Buss chops super-satellite to L.A. Poker Classic main event 4-ways while drinking cheap casino wine and enjoying the company of a, um, YOUNGER lady… Black unis only, please, on the road, Blazers… ‘Sheed Wallace to replace KG on the All-Star game, but he’s not happy about it…

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…