No Regard Daily Recap: Can There Really Be Only One?



Yeah, I know that's not Chris Paul on the far right, but 3/4s ain't bad.

One Game We Watched Last Night: New Orleans Hornets vs. Oklahoma City Thunder

Hornets: 89, Thunder: 95

And One Game We Couldn't Help But Watch For A Bit Because The Point Guards Are So Good: Milwaukee Bucks vs. Utah Jazz

Bucks: 88, Jazz: 109


Point guards are really all that matter anymore. We've known this for some time now, but every night in the 2010-2011 NBA season is a blinding reminder. When I look at the schedule each afternoon, it reads not as a collection of teams, but a table of point guards. That's why I was surprised yesterday when Adam picked the Utah-Milwaukee contest as the game we probably wouldn't watch. But that's Brandon Jennings against Deron Williams! I thought to myself. Then I read what Adam actually wrote, only to hear that the Bucks would be decimated by injury, surely leading to them start at least one dude who has no business in a starting line-up (that turned out to be Larry Sanders), and giving relatively big minutes to someone I've never heard of (a person named Jon Brockman played 19 minutes). Still, I couldn't help peeking in a few times to see the two guards hopscotch with one another—and to make sure Deron Williams' hair still looked like it came from The Fifth Element future.

The game I did watch from start to finish, though, was a point guard game of chicken. The quickest way to say it is that Russell Westbrook outplayed Chris Paul (not to mention his own teammate Kevin Durant) in the fourth quarter, positioning his team for the win.

The longer way to explain what happened is that the NBA has turned into Highlander for the league's best point guards. Each night the top guys try to decapitate whichever guard stands in their way, with the eventual goal of being the final immortal standing. Guys who would have done damage in years past—Jameer Nelson, Raymond Felton, and even Tyreke Evans after what Derrick Rose did to him the other night—look like they've never held a blade before. The 2010-2011 season is the time of The Gathering, folks.

You can tell Chris Paul is not pleased with any of this. He thought he's lobbed off enough heads a few years ago to be considered number one, but an ungodly influx of young new point guards has forced him to polish his blade and start slicing. (Interestingly enough, his sword kind of looks like a huge knee brace now.) Last night his craftiness was one quarter away from besting Westbrook's athleticism, but Westbrook took over in the fourth. No one man should have all that power those Cheetos.

If You See Something, Say Something

[Photo credit: Joe Murphy/NBAE/Getty Images]

IYSSSS is our semi-regular Internet intelligence report, a liberal arts approach to following the NBA on the Web. E-mail us at jewsforjesusshuttlesworth@gmail.com if you've got any suggestions.

NBA.com: This year's rookie photo shoot. Always the best.

NBA TwitVid: I certainly don't believe this dunk contest at the rookie photo shoot was impromptu, as the title claims, but do take note of the "Terrico White!" part. In the video's slow parts, look for Demarcus Cousins; the kid just likes to dance.

TrueHoop: An interview with the man who's constructed the each NBA schedule for the last 25 years (and who will probably keep doing it forever, because no one else really knows how to do it).

Ball Don't Lie: Kelly Dwyer ranks the league's top 30 point guards, in three separate posts. Best part is that he made sure Ty Lawson was in every picture posted. Related: Ty Lawson should be ranked higher than 25. If he had his own team he'd be better than Jarrett Jack, Aaron Brooks, Lou Williams. And Goran Dragic deserves a spot in the top 30, even if only for last year's playoff heroics.

NBA Happy Hour: No Draft Necessary

TGIF basketball fans! It's the end of the week, so that means NBA Happy Hour! Grab a beer, follow the rules and start the weekend with a Don Nelson-level buzz.

Everyone is talking about a point guard today, so we figured what the hell.  No, not Chris Paul.  Not right now anyway, Friday is time to get happy-drunk, and if the last month has proven anything, there are no two words that can kill a buzz faster than Maverick and Carter.

Instead we looked back on the week to the story that made us happiest: the Golden State Warriors signed undrafted rookie point guard Jeremy Lin.

Most of you know Lin’s story by now, a Bay Area native and lifelong Warriors fan, he played ball at Harvard and managed to impress the right people in his summer league matchup against John Wall.  Much hoopla is being made about his race and education, both obvious rarities in the League, but few have had asked after his eating habits, favorite actress, or the items on his bucket list.  Well, some did, and it was charming and a bit confusing.  Cheers, Jeremy.

Drink Anytime: