Around the Association

It's time to take a quick trip Around the Association where we will take a look at some of the highlights from last night in the NBA.

-Obvious first stop is in Orlando where Dwight Howard went off. Being the Duke homer that I am, I decided to check the box score last night and see how J.J. Redick did (20 minutes, 10 points, 3-5 FG, and hit a 3 to send the game into OT, just an FYI) and somehow totally missed Dwight's line. 45-19-8. I'll repeat, 45 points, 19 boards, and 8 blocks, and I didn't even notice it in the box score. Maybe had he gone to Duke this would not have happened.

-Kevin Durant continues to scare the bejeezus out of me. Last night he had 47 points in the loss to New Orleans. This guy is going to be a force to be reckoned with in the Northwest Division for years to come I'm afraid. Not to go unmentioned was David West dropping 37 and 13 to help the Hornets escape with a victory.

-Thanks for coming Terry Porter. Your former employer, the Phoenix Suns, decided to drop 140 on the Clippers in their first game without you at the helm. The Suns shot 76% in the first half, and 63% for the game. Do you think they might have been sending a statement to Terry Porter, that throwing away the 7 Seconds or Less theory might have been a bad idea for a team who was built around it? Just a thought.

-Tracy McGrady is out for the year with Microfracture surgery. I can't decide if this is a good thing or a bad thing for the Rockets. When their big 3 (McGrady, Yao, and Artest) are healthy they seem to be worse off as a team. But when one of them is hurt they seem to play better because it opens up the floor a little bit more for guys like Battier, and Scola who are much more efficent from the floor. I can't help but wonder if this will effect the trade rumors that are circulating between the Rockets and the Nets.

-Good night for Deron Williams. Andrei Kirilenko returned from injury for the Jazz, and it looks like Carlos Boozer is not far behind.

-Thank God.

-Do you think Sean Williams will be attending his 20 year reunion at Boston College? Yeah, me neither.