• The Knicks lost by 40 points to Philly 76ers.  They gave up 100 points to Philly through three quarters.  The same Philly team that is near the bottom of the NBA in scoring.   The 76ers average 94.2 ppg, and scored 124!

I hate Vince Carter as much as everyone else, but man... I can't take much more of this team.  So again, what's the solution?  One, just lose for the next two years, keep our draft picks, and rebuild with those picks and the young players we already have (Balkman, Lee, Chandler, Morris), while waiting for the contracts to expire in 2011.  Or two, keep rolling the dice on risky players, hoping to score like the Detroit Pistons did.  I honestly don't know the answer.

• The Hornets beat the Mavs 104-93.  Chris Paul had 32 points, 11 assists, and 9 steals.  He was one steal short of the first triple double of that type (pts-assists-steals) since Mookie Blaylock.  I miss Mookie Blaylock. 

I miss Mookies in general.  What happened to that name?

Anyway, the Mavs versus the other 8 teams that matter (Suns, Spurs, Lakers, Nuggets, Hornets, Warriors, Rockets, Jazz) this season:  11-5.

Check that... the Rockets and Warriors don't matter, right?  The Mavs against the other six teams that count, this season:  6-5.

And they are now 0-1 with Jason Kidd.  Kidd looked reluctant to shoot in his first game as a Mav.  He only took 6 shots, mostly on drives.  He passed more than a few times when he was wide open.  Simply put:  he was tentative.  He'll be better when he gets more comfortable.  So will the Mavs.  I still think they needed to make this move now.

• Phoenix, playing with Shaq for the first time, lost to Kobe and the Lakers. 
  

Phoenix, against those 8 teams in the West, so far this season: 5-10.
With Shaq, against those 8 teams: 0-1

Shaq was also not in sync with the team, but that's a long term problem.  I still think Shaq won't pay dividends for the Suns until next season, when the top-notch Suns medical and training staff have him in shape to play for the Suns. 

For now, though, this proves why the Suns and Mavs had to make moves to begin with - the Lakers, Hornets and Jazz (in that order) are the powers in the West now, not the Suns, Mavs, or even Spurs.  And unlike the Spurs, who are battle tested and can really on a proven MVP and proven championship contributors... the Suns and Mavs have had recent shaky experiences in the playoffs (getting knocked off by the Warriors, losing to the Heat after being up 2-0, losing their cool against the Spurs).

• Vince Carter had 33 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists to lead the Kidd and Harris-less Nets to a 110-102 victory over the Bulls.  If I was Bill Simmons, I would write about the Ewing/Tiki Theory. 
  

Reality check:  Vince Carter played well because he was trying to prove a point.  He'll keep doing that for the next few weeks.  Maybe even all the way to the playoffs.  A motivated Vince Carter is a rarity, but... it's also one of the most powerful entities in basketball.  Beware the power of Air Pussy.

That being said, you can also count on it being temporary, and no one has a clue how long it will last.  Is he trying to prove a point for the rest of the season?  Or is it until Devin Harris gets here, and he just defers to Harris?  Was it just one of those games?  Who ever knows?


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