Morning Hardwood: Onward and Upward

The excellent stay excellent, the very good perk up...

You saw it coming. Spurs over Rockets, 97-74. That's eight straight. Mavs take the Magic, 103-98. A modest fifteen in a row, longest ever by this newly-distinguished franchise. Do you really need the FanHouse to tell you that Dallas's Big Three cruised through the evening, or that T-Dunk had had 26. Sigh. This sport is so dull sometimes.

And a child shall motivate him. I had a feeling that those clanked free throws on Thursday would be some kind of turning point for LeBron. Here we are today, the Cavs having spanked the lovable Raptors 120-97-with James having gone 15 for 17 from the line. It's that simple: if he makes his HFT's, they are an elite team in the East.

Steve Francis, we have a sighting. The Knicks beat the Hawks 104-100 in OT...behind 38 from Stephon and 26 from Steve Francis, who last week was still contemplating retirement. I'll be the first to say it: Marbury has clearly turned a corner, and Francis has also gone through some changes. They might yet prove Isiah smart. The Hawks, who remain the best box score team in the Assocation, were led by JJ's familiar 32/8/7.

Big Al's turn. Amidst all this Oden/Durant murmuring, has anyone noticed what Al Jefferson's become? Many had given up on him heading into this season, and now he's posting 32/18. Granted, it was in overtime, and it came in a 96-88 win over a Nets time without a frontcourt. Still, this is yet another sign that Boston could, given a coach, be their own kind of disorganized Baby Bulls.