24 HOURS ON HARDWOOD 2.28.08

by HP, Hardwood Paroxysm

Other Than That, Mrs. Lincoln, How Was The Suns Game?: That clicking noise you hear is Steve Kerr feverishly trying to hit the reset button. Sadly for him, what's done is done. And what's done is the death of the Phoenix Suns. Barring a dramatic reversal, the Suns four year run at a championship is over, and Steve Kerr gets to fit the bill. The latest signal of their doom? A 120-103 demolition at the hands of the Hornets. Chris Paul had 25 points and 15 assists. Which ain't bad, if you like that sort of thing. Amare Stoudemire has been questioned a lot in his career, but at this point, he's the only one left on the Suns leaving everything out there. He had 32 and 14. That should be enough to win. But not when the Suns have no perimeter defense whatsoever.

Okay, So Maybe The Trade Wasn't THAT Good: LeBron got his 10,000th career point (earlier than anyone in NBA history), but his new merry men couldn't overtake the cerebus. The Celtics got 18, 11, and 5 from Kevin Garnett who looks like KG again, and cruised to a 92-87 victory. His Highness actually left in the first half with an ankle injury before returning to lead his team to... absolutely nothing. Ben Wallace had 6 points and 6 rebounds. That's a smart investment, right there.

Basketball Porn: Utah won 103-95. Deron Williams had 14 and 14, and Okur had 24. None of this tells you how great of a game this was. After being down by 15 late in the third, the Jazz stormed back to pull within range, and then Mehmet Okur took over against his old team. Memo hit 3 three-pointers in the final three minutes, scoring 11 in the fourth quarter. It was a back and forth barn burner in the end, punctuated by Paul Millsap's beasty 19 points and Rip Hamilton's clutch shooting. We wish the NBA would go to a no-conference playoff system so we could see a 7 game series between the Jazz and Pistons.

Elsewhere: Bibby celebrated his first home game with the Hawks by beating his old team by 6. Jason Richardson scratched his cornea (OW) and joined Gerald Wallace on the shelf, which was the only way the Knicks were able to get a win. The Bull pulled off a win against the Pacers thanks to the hot shooting of Larry Hughes. Yes, you read that correctly.