24 HOURS ON HARDWOOD 2.22.08

by HP, Hardwood Paroxysm

Trade Deadline Day! Wallace to LeBron! Jackson to Rockets! And oh, yeah, there were some games tonight, too. Here's what happened in the last 24 Hours in the NBA.

Drew Gooden, Larry Hughes, And Some Cap Space Walk Into A Bar: All day we watched the trade wires. Nothing. Quiet. Dead silent. Rumblings, nothing above periscope depth. Then, after the deadline passes, we find out that the Bulls, three months too late, have committed to Thomas and Noah, and the Cavs have retooled. Ben Wallace and his mammoth contract are now not rebounding for LeBron, and Larry Hughes is shooting 38% behind Ben Gordon shooting 42%. Meanwhile, the Sonics, and we can't confirm this, but they may be starting Kevin Durant and three Musketeers. In all honesty, though, all the trades mostly made sense. If Ben Wallace plays like he, you know, gives a damn.

If You Haven't Seen Him, He's Manu To You: Make him go right. That's all you have to do, kids. I know it. Popovich knows it. Barkley and Kenny Smith have said it in detail. Make Manu Ginobili drive right, and he has severe problems. The Minnesota Timberwolves did not make him go right. Ever. Manu had 44 tonight, including the game winner with 10 seconds left, which everyone predicted with 15 seconds left. This was sandwiched by two Timberwolves possessions where players who are not named Al Jefferson tried to score. Guess how that turned out. The Spurs have won 5 straight. Derrick Rose, hope you like cold weather.

Look Everyone! Tracy McGrady Is Alive!: The Rockets got their tenth win of the night behind T-Mac's 23 points and Carl Landry's 19 points and 5 boards. What beast was this win against? The Heat. Who, if you haven't noticed, despite Dwyane Wade's ability to score 33 like tonight and Marion's enthusiasm, are terrible. The lesson, as always, is never pay Ricky Davis to do anything. Ever.

Elsewhere: Portland beat the Sonics. Go ahead and just ignore this game and come back next season. Thanks.