24 HOURS ON HARDWOOD: 2.14.08

by HP, Hardwood Paroxysm

Perhaps Next Time You Will Respect His Proud, Argentinian Heritage, Mr. James: Every now and again, when he's not randomly falling on his ass like he's got vertigo, Manu Ginobili has one of those nights where he's simply beyond words. Last night was such a night. The Argentinian Athenian poured in 46 points and 8 rebounds to lead the Spurs to a 112-105 victory over the LeBronites. Later, Ginobili was quoted as saying "Suck it, Trebek. Suck it hard, and suck it long. And by 'Trebek' I mean, whatever dumbass didn't vote me to the All-Star Game." The King had 39 in the loss.

Five Card Monte, Captain Jacks Are Wild: If you ever wanted to watch the most fun possible in an NBA game, you should have caught Suns-Warriors on the WWL last night. A wild, 120-118 shootout ended when Amare Stoudemire missed a tying free throw inside 30 seconds and Leandro Barbosa missed a game winning 3 with no time left on the clock. Monte Ellis, the most underrated of all Warriors, led the game with 37 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists. That's good, if you were wondering. Grant Hill had 26 and 15 in a "Matrix"-esque performance. Shaq will not play until after the All-Star break. Oh, who are they playing after the break? Let's see.. hmm... the L...A... La-Lakers. The LA Lakers. Oh. well, as long as there won't be much media hype for that.

Novak? No Problem!: The Rockets were up by 18. It was an easy game. They were probably thinking about NOLA, or wherever they're going on vacation. Probably thinking about beads and boobies and whatnot. Unfortunately, Crazy Pills Artest decided to storm his team back to tie the game. That's when Steve Novak happened. Novak hit a game winning 3 with two seconds left to lead the Rockets to an 89-87 win over the Kings in H-Town. Artest had 30 points, 15 in the fourth, but it wasn't enough. Oh, and Tracy McGrady passed up two shots at the game-winner. You know. Just sayin'.

This Is Certainly Awkward: Okay, you're probably waking up to read this, so just a little FYI. Jason Kidd is not a Mav, and Diop, Stackhouse, and especially Devean George still are. Turns out that due to an Early-Bird clause in George's contract, he's granted a no-trade clause (don't ask). And he decided to use it. After asking to be traded. Do you hear me, Vince Carter? A dude that's buried on the bench and wanted to be traded, he doesn't want to play with you. You douchebag. Meanwhile, Dirk Nowitski decided not to give a rat's ass about the trade stuff and just beat the crap out of a smaller Portland squad, 96-76. Dirk had 37 and 12 to lead the Mavs. Oh, and the Nets lost to the Raptors, 109-91, because there is justice in this land.

Elsewhere: No one wants the eight spot in the East. At all. Atlanta lost to the Bobcats without Gerald Wallace, the Nets lost to the Raptors, and the Pacers lost to Detroit. Hey, if you guys aren't doing anything, you want to get some of the guys together, and maybe your sister, and we can go play in the Eastern Conference playoffs? Just sayin'. Just an idea. Oh, and the UNSTOPPABLE UNBEATABLE FORCE known as the Los Angeles Lakers beat Minnesota. Kobe Bryant shot a lot. He made most of them. The other team was bad. The end.