NBA Friday Night

LeBron and Bosh to Knicks!!!!!
I turn on my TV and Jalen Rose is on ESPN declaring that "credible sources" tell him LeBron and Bosh are going to the Knicks in 2010. He repeats it for emphasis but I refuse to waste my time thinking about something two years in the future. (Ok, fine, I did spend some time thinking about how to make Amare/LeBron/Bosh work under the salary cap.)

Canadians Do Not Like Vince Carter
Rose's annoying habit of saying awkward things ("He shot that one from Alpharetta", after a Joe Johnson three) in place of "analysis" forces me to switch channels to the Nets game moments before Vince Carter hits a fade-away 3-pointer at the buzzer to tie the game and cap an 18 point comeback against the Raptors in Toronto. Bosh and Anthony Parker both hit 3s in the last 5 seconds of OT to tie the game but Vince ends it with a reverse alley-oop. One of the best endings to a game I have ever seen.

Chris Paul vs. Boredem
Oklahoma City vs. New Orleans... this game should have sucked. Let's break down the pros and cons.

Cons

• The Thunder - possibly the worst team in basketball.


• Nancy Lieberman - even more useless than the average sideline reporter


• Extraneous Hornets Subplots - it's bad enough every nationally televised Hornets game has a mandatory Katrina reference but I'm pretty sure someone on the telecast credited the team with revitalizing Oklahoma City 10 years after the McVeigh bombings.


• Seattle - an interview and multiple in-game shots of Clay Bennett remind us all that the Storm are the only game in town for Seattle.


• The Ford Center Floor - a 48 minute reminder that inanimate team names are the new "in" thing.

Pros

• Chris Paul through-the-legs, front-to-back, right-hand-to-right-hand fake back pass, pass to Peja for a wide open jump shot.


• Chris Paul, helping from the weak-side saves a blocked shot from going out of bounds. I watched the play 3 times just to marvel at how fast Paul anticipated the play and broke to the ball.


• Chris Paul with the same right-to-right through-the-legs move as before only this time he takes it straight to hoop with the right hand in one motion. David West actually put his hands up expecting the drop-off pass.


• Chris Paul crossing over on the break left-to-right and then firing a one-handed behind-the-back pass right off the dribble to someone who swung it to someone else who hit a wide open 3. (If they kept stats of players that had the most 2nd - passes that lead to assists - and 3rd assists, Paul would be near the top of this list.