24 HOURS OF HARDWOOD 2.13.08

by HP, Hardwood Paroxysm

A look at the last 24 Hours in the NBA...

If Only The Heat Could Play Horseshoes (Or Hand Grenades): Pushed them to overtime. Got 23 and 18 from Marion. Pulled within 1. ... Couldn't seal the deal. Dwayne Wade missed a shot at the buzzer to allow the Nuggets to escape with a 114-113 win over the Heat. Wade had 29 and 10 in the loss, while JR Smith, thuggish-ruggish that he is, made eight 3-pointers to score 29 points in the win. The Heat seem to be playing better, with more fire, having more fun... and still losing. That makes 23 losses out of their last 24.

The Desolate Road Called Hope: The Nets managed to win a game. Yes, I know, it was only against the Timberwolves, but still. It's a win! With the 92-88 win over the Wolves, New Jersey managed to push itself all the way up the 7th spot in the East. Because that's how bad the East is. Vince Carter had 17 points (!), 6 rebounds (!), and 10 assists (!) in the win, and is, of course, still a douchebag.

If The Pistons Beat The Hawks In February, Does It Make A Sound?: The Hawks should stop trying to win a championship and just hire themselves out as practice fodder. They're not terrible enough to get blown out, but juuuust weak enough to let Chauncey Billups score 12 points in the fourth and let Detroit escape with a 94-90 win. They could wear masks, call themselves ninjas, the whole thing. It would be a lot more rewarding than what they're doing now. The loss pushed the Hawks to the precipice, now in the 8 spot in the Eastern Conference playoff picture, affectionately called "Mrs. Irrlevant."

Hakim The Dream Slightly Appealing Scenario: Memphis won a game. A basketball game. No, not the good one. The Grizzlies. Yeah. That one. How? Hakim Warrick. You remember him? 24 and 13. The Kings shot 37%. Yeah. The Grizz? 50%. No shit. Martin? 33 points, per usual. Oh, Kwame? One little rebound shy of a Trillion. Work harder at sucking, Kwame, work harder at sucking.

Elsewhere: You'd never believe it, but the Celtics beat the Pacers. And the Hornets beat the Bulls. The Hornets-Bulls game was pretty close until David West caught a no-look behind the back pass from Paul on a fast break. Things got away from the Bulls at that point. Gutted, I believe is the term.