24 HOURS OF HARDWOOD: 2.7.08

by HP, Hardwood Paroxysm

The Death Of Fun Has Been Greatly Exaggerated: The Suns came out without Shawn Marion on their roster for the first time last night. They still scored 130 points (granted, in double OT). They still ran. And they still lost. The Hornets, led by Chris Paul's redonkulous 42 points and 8 steals, fought off the Suns time and time again, before Peja landed an improbable turnaround, fadeaway bucket with time expiring to lead the Hornets to a 132-130 win. They have swept the Suns. Clearly, the Shaq trade has made Phoenix completely unable to score points, run the break, or succeed in an basketball related matters.

Okay, They May Lose A Game Or Two. Maybe: In a shocking turn of events, Pau Gasol's trade to the Lakers has not resulted in the Lakers winning every contest to infinite. Experts are shocked by this, as the combination of Gasol's touch and passing ability and Kobe Bryant's uncanny ability to score all the freaking time was expected to create a maelstrom of greatness never before seen on this Earth. However, last night, Josh Smith did what he does, fill a stat sheet so full the numbers are leaking out the edges like a dead hooker in a mattress, and Joe Johnson created a crucial turnover on Kobe Bryant with 8 seconds left to lead the Hawks to a 98-95 win over the Lakers. But seriously. They won't lose again. 4 Real.

You Can't Stop The Jazz Hands, Man: So, get this. The most important trade of the NBA Season? May turn out to be Kyle Freaking Korver going to the Jazz. Korver's been insane for Utah so far, and last night was no exception. Scoring 27 points, including the game winning 4 free throws, Korver lead the Jazz to a 118-115 win in overtime over the Nuggets. The Jazz have won 16 of 18 since Korver was traded from Philly. Utah now sits above all in the Northwest Division and have claimed the vaunted "hottest team in the league" status, which will inevitably lead to their destruction in the second round of the playoffs. But still, Kyle Korver!

Elsewhere Around The Lizzy: Dirk popped his triple-double cherry against Milwaukee in a big win. San Antonio annihilated the Wiz without Caron Butler. New York lost. Again. This time they got beat by Kareem Rush, who wasn't in the league last year, and who I used to buy Chick-Fil-A after in college. Seattle beat Sacramento, because the whole world's gone mad.