Shaquille O'Neal finally made his much-anticipated debut for the Suns last night, while Jason Kidd finally donned a Mavs jersey after the trade that was talked about, pulled off, called off, and rejiggered to include Keith Van Horne. So how'd they do? Eh… comme ci, comme ça, as my Quebecois dancer Brigitte used to say. Used to.
Shaq looked surprisingly fit, and surprisingly fit into the Phoenix offense pretty well, scoring 15 points and adding nine rebounds in 29 minutes, but old teammate Kobe Bryant upstaged him by going for 41 on 16-of-25 shooting in a 130-124 win for LA. Pau Gasol added 29 for the Lake Show, while the Suns were led by Amare Stoudemire's 37/15 and Steve Nash's 26 and 8 assists.
Less heartening (if you're a Mavs fan) was Jason Kidd's first game for Dallas. Chris Paul showed Kidd who the best point guard in the Association is, scoring 31 to go with 11 assists and nine steals in a 104-93 Hornets win. Kidd's line: 8 points, 5 assists, and 6 turnovers in 37 minutes.
"I caused a couple of breakdowns," Kidd conceded. "We can build on this. … I have some bad habits. I just have to make some adjustments and look at the game."
Yeah, just a couple adjustments. Like sucking less. That's what I'd suggest.
Cuban should have demanded that Toni Braxton be included in the deal… that would have helped Kidd out. At least a little.
until Jim Jackson would steal her away again.
Among Jason Kidd's bad habits: beating up his wife.
it's okay Jason, here's a cookie!
Can Cuban hire Joumana as a sideline reporter, just because it would make for entertaining television?
Journalistic integrity is highly overrated
8 points, 5 assists, and 6 turnovers in 37 minutes.
How did Van Horn do for the Nets last night?
Jokes aside, the Lakers looked really, really tough last night.
Shaq is a sellout. How could the big man shave that glorious mustache?
How could the big man shave that glorious mustache?
When you're trying to dump weight, every little bit helps.
That wasn't a mustache, Enrico. That was Ahmad Rashad.
Best part of the game was watching a Lakers fan get stomped by three Suns fans in the concourse.
alternate headline:
Date Rape defeats Grape Ape
Québécoise Matt, watch your french gender inflections and you'll be able to pull non-stripper french girls to murder.