L.O.N.

Line Of The Night:

LeBron James — 29 points, 12 boards, 10 assists

We are a triple-double shop.  We built this on a love for triple-doubles.  The King racks up the 2nd Ice Cube in All-Star history, then he gets the L.O.N.nie.  It is that simple.  The highlight(s) of the game, for us, was when Bron would press his “I’m better than you button”, word to Greg Boone, do his best Unstoppable train impersonation, go past everybody and just dunk.  Love it.

MVP Of The Night:

Kobe Bryant — 37 points, 14 boards, 3 assists, 3 steals

His 4th MVP ties him for the most in All-Star game history, with Bob Pettit and it sho nuff looked like he was going to take down Wilt’s record of 42 points, in the 4th quarter.  It was Los Angeles, and it was his time.  The Kobster decided to put on a full scale production of the Kobe Show in the first three quarters… but was he clutch?  The West needed Kevin Durant to lock this thing up.  Let the firestorm rain down.  [Looks up and waves hands in bring it on motion]

Dunk Of The Night:

The enduring image that is sticking with us from the dunk contest is Baron Davis popping out of the sunroof of that car to throw the oop Blake Griffin!  Awesome.  It makes us smile every time we think of it.

Somebody on Twitter mentioned that this year all 4 contestants should have been given 4 dunks, and we agree.  All of the guys brought creativity and execution this year, which is rare.  Javale McGee, though… did you run out of ideas?  On his last attempt it seemed like he had already emptied his bag of tricks.  And obviously, it goes without saying that there was a bit too much, um, shameless promotion by a certain car brand this year, but we really can’t knock the hustle.

Distribution Center Of The Night:

John Wall — 22 assists, 12 points, 2 steals, 2 boards, 1 Rookie Challenge MVP

Wall set out to break the assist record for the rookie game and did it, leading the rookies to their second consecutive victory.  One of those passes was the highlight of the evening — a crazy bounce oop to Blake Griffin.  Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice.  Word to Fabolous.

Built For This Of The Night:

DeJuan Blair — 28 points, 15 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks

What is up with Blair and All-Star games?  After last year’s standout performance in the Rookie game, he put in another monster effort this year, as a sophomore, including an unbelievable self-oop off the board.  He might be even better than the world thinks.  Every time he breaks out of the Spurs system, he balls out.  Definitely shows he is the perfect fit for the Spurs organization, because he is capable of crazy individual production, but sacrifices to fit in there.

Celebrity Of The Night:

BIEBER!  Justin Bieber, the celebrity game MVP, made a belieber out of a lot of NBA fans over the weekend and simultaneously brought in a lot of haters for his attempted takeover of All-Star Weekend.  His crossover of Common in the celeb game is the stuff of legend at this point, and even though the fans would have voted him MVP even if he had sat the bench the entire game, he legitimately showed intensity and overall skill in Friday night’s celebrity game.  People on the hater side got their rocks off too, when Scottie Pippen (almost cruelly) blocked one of his shots.  As a result, Bieber was the talk of the weekend during the various telecasts.  All we can say is, BIEBER ALERT!

Legend Of The Night:

And speaking of Scottie Pippen, he looked VERY good in the celebrity game, causing Magic Johnson, coach of the opposing team, to exclaim repeatedly how he was having flashbacks to the 1991 Bulls vs. Lakers NBA Finals.  He was not exaggerating either.  You are telling us Pip couldn’t give this years Bulls 10 good minutes per game in the Playoffs?  That 3 was looking super nice.

R.I.P. H.O.R.S.E. competition, we miss you, even if no one else does…  Forget the Kobe Show, apparently when Maria Menounos is on the red (in this case magenta) carpet, it’s the Maria Show!  Pass the ball Maria!…  Nice victory for James Jones in the 3-point contest.  Homey is a 3-point shooting robot out there and we loved his thoughtful answers in the post-competition interview.  Like we have said before, your boy might have the best job in the world…  Meeeeeeeeeeelllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll-oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo… We don’t care what people say, we love Derrick Rose’ yellow shoes.  They looked great as a contrast to the blue uniforms.  And yes, L.O.N. is run by a Michigan grad!…  Shaq was outstanding in his brief appearance with the TNT crew.  The way he presented his idea about a potential tie between Ray Allen and Paul Pierce in the 3-point contest was classic…  KANYE=Awesome.  And really, all the Sunday pre-game/halftime performances…  Loved Dwyane Wade rooting like crazy for Dorell Wright in the 3-point contest.  DW4L… We are not on the Los Fearless bandwagon.  At first, we thought it was centered around only Kobe, and that was fine.  But it’s so transparently Los Angeles inspired, and yet features guys like Rondo and Pierce.  Doesn’t feel right…  Let the trade season begin…

A Moment Of Silence Of The Night:

Many in the industry had a heavy heart over this weekend.  First, the TNT guys gave a shout out to Stuart Scott, who was undergoing cancer treatment.  Then the news spread that Blake Griffin’s very good friend, whom Blake was set to visit in OKC next week and who had been fighting cancer for a minute, passed in the days leading up to the weekend.  Finally, word broke late Sunday that Mark Jackson’s younger brother and streetball star Troy “Escalade” Jackson had passed in his sleep while in Los Angeles for All-Star Weekend.  To all affected, hold your head.  Our thoughts are with you.

Line Of The Night:

Stephon Marbury — 8 points, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 board

As if the Paul Peezy/K.G.-led Ceatles were not already fully backed by L.O.N., now they have an apparently motivated Starbury?  It is on now.  This is the final push they needed for us to fully back their Playoff campaign again this year.  Sorry, LeBron.  We will admit, however, the whole “3″ logo on his head is extremely awkward, at this point.

Starbury looked rusty for sure, but showed signs of his old self.  And while it is an easy joke to make, he legitimately looked like he was having problems with his shoes and/or footing.  Maybe he needs to at least step it up to the 34.99 Al Harrington Protege joints?

Worst Of The Night:

Chicago Bulls — 23 point loss (113-90) to the Wiz with President Obama court side

You are better than that, Chicago.  Word to Mark Jackson.  After meeting the President, who claims ya’ll as his favorite squad, and having him attend your game against the worst team in your conference?  Awful.  How awesome is the Obama part of this whole scenario, though?  Just imagine a L.O.N. logo with the Obama “O”, right now.  We like the direction of this administration already.

Beast Of The Night:

Al Horford — 22 boards, 21 points, 1 assist, 1 block

It has been a relatively quiet — or at least under the radar — season for Horford thus far.  After getting a lot of pub last year for being the dark horse R.O.Y. candidate, his understated game has slid into the shadows this year.  But not last night.  Although Miami’s position is far from the secure, this is a possible preview of the 4-5 first round playoff match up in the East.  It would be interesting to see if the Hawks’ team dynamic could out match the one Wade show in M-I-Yayo.

Distribution Center Of The Night:

Chris Paul — 20 assists, 9 points, 7 boards

A ridiculous night for Paul, but the real story was the Hornets completely blowing a 17-point lead with 4 minutes remaining, only to have Tyson Chandler make an amazing putback tip in the final seconds to secure the win.  There is some sort of mind-bending symmetry there, given the rescinded trade situation.  Don’t expect us to put it into words though.

Contraction Club Of The Night:

Los Angeles Lakers — 79 points vs. the Denver Nuggets

Sorry, give us the words “bad”, “Kobe Bryant”, and “Denver, and we only can think of one thing.  Go ahead, Google those 3 phrases, we’re not the only ones.  Then we start thinking Michael Vick and Charles Grant and hypocrisy and all types of thoughts that will ruin our Friday night if we expound.  So just go ahead and contract the Lakers and everything will be solved.  Thanks.

Near Beast Of The Night:

Lamar Odom — 19 boards, 12 points, 1 assist

Not as impressive as usual, considering the Lakers shot 29%!!!!!  Wow.

Shaqtastically Shaquisite Of The Night:

Shaqtus — 45 points, 11 boards, 3 steals, 2 assists, 1 block

Fun.  Smiles.  Joy.  Keep getting your Shaq on, Shaq.  Keep it Shaqqy.  The world is a better place with a Shaq like this.

With a talented team, it seems too easy to run up regular season wins using the patented D’Antoni style.  Doesn’t it make more sense to rack up those wins, get homecourt advantage, and roll the dice in the Playoffs, despite the forced change in style?  In retrospect, it seems crazier and crazier that the Suns broke up the nucleus.  If it was financial based, that is a whole other topic, but if it was a purely basketball decision, it was purely idiotic.

???? Of The Night:

Raymond Felton — 26 points, 9 assists, 4 steals, 3 boards, 1 block

Tough.  Gritty.  A winner.  You might raise your eyebrows at the last descriptor, given his career record, but that’s how we would describe Felton.  Is he the best shooter in the world?  Not at all.  The best playmaker?  No way.  Is his game smooth or pleasing to the eye?  Definitely not.  But do you want him on your team, “in the trenches” as they say?  Every.  Single.  Day.

The Bobcats took down a tough road win in the town where Oscar Grant’s ghost lingers, longing for justice, but not without making it interesting.  With the score tied, shot clock turned off and G-State in the bonus, Stephen Jackson took the inbounds pass and was immediately fouled intentionally by Boris Diaw?!?!?!  Somehow, Larry Brown kept his composure as Captain Jack hit both free throws.  But Diaw made it look like all part of the master plan.  Felton drove, kicked to Raja Bell, who swung it to Diaw for 3… splash.  Charlotte threw the ensuing inbounds pass directly out-of-bounds and it was almost a wrap, but not before infamous ref Bennett Salvatore made it a little more interesting by first declaring the pass had been deflected, before completely reversing field, with no consultation, and saying it was not deflected.  Guess he wanted to make that reservation after all.  And this was after one of his ref buds made a similar reversal a few plays back!  Another wild one in the Bay.

What’s that buzz you hear?  It is Detroit talk radio going nuts: “Rip starts and we win! Blah blah Iverson blah blah blah”… Coincidence that Rajon Rondo produced 17 assists during Marbury’s first game with the team?… Larry Hughes drops 25 in his best game thus far as a Knick.  FREE LARRY HUGHES!!!!… Russell Westbrook or Avon Barksdale?… Pops Mensah-Bonsu.  Consider that a warning…  Kid Cudi or Heartbreak Drake?  Pick your side now.  The Revolution is not kind to bystanders…