Court Awareness: Breaking Down Stat, Tony Parker and the Rest of Wednesday Night

There were plenty of firsts in the NBA on Wednesday night, but unfortunately the list didn’t include the two firsts that fans were looking forward to most.

Of course I’m referring to Allen Iverson’s debut with the Pistons and Chauncey Billups’ first game back with his hometown Nuggets. Both teams were in action last night, but because Billups hadn’t completed his physical, neither was allowed to suit up.

Despite the absence of Iverson and Billups, there were still a slew of exciting moments and unbelievable performances.

So That’s Why They Call You Stat

Amare Stoudemire had 49 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, five steals, and two blocks in leading the Suns to a road victory over the Indiana Pacers. The Suns are now 3-0 on the road (4-1 overall). They wrap up their four-game road trip with a back-to-back in Chicago and Milwaukee this Friday and Saturday.

Shaquille O’Neal was plagued by early foul trouble. He finished with three points and six rebounds in only 12 minutes. It’s worth keeping an eye on how Shaq performs in the second night of back-to-backs, since his two worst performances so far this season were in the back end of the Suns' only two back-to-backs.

The good news for the Suns and their fans is that there are no back-to-backs in the playoffs.

Tony! Toni! Toné!

Tony Parker scored a career-high 55 points, and had 10 assists and seven rebounds in helping the Spurs beat the Timberwolves 129-125 in double overtime and avoid an 0-4 start.

The Timberwolves have now lost three in a row after winning their first game of the season. Al Jefferson led the Wolves with 30 points and 14 rebounds.

The Spurs should see their record move back above .500 real soon. After starting the season with games against the Suns, Blazers, and Mavericks, the Spurs next three games are against the Heat, Knicks, and Bucks.

Mr. Mayor

LeBron James might have turned in the night’s third-best performance with his 41 points, nine rebounds and six assists in the Cavs 107-93 win over the Bulls, but he had the best quote of the night when asked if he would one day consider running for mayor of his hometown of Akron, Ohio.

“Mayor of Akron? I’m already mayor of Akron. I’ve been that for about 10 years now.”

There has been a lot of speculation that Joe Dumars traded Chauncey Billups to free up cap space to make a run at LeBron in 2010. Although the Pistons have a nice collection of young talent and the league’s best general manager, I still don’t think the Pistons have a chance.

If it were only about winning, then I’d put them at the top of the list. But I don’t see LeBron leaving one Midwest city for another Midwest city when the one he’d be leaving he calls home.

That doesn’t mean I don’t think the Pistons will be able to land someone either in 2009 or 2010 with the cap space they will have when Iverson’s contract expires. I just don’t think it’s going to be LeBron.

One of the big-name free agents available next summer that is being mentioned is Carlos Boozer, but I don’t see that happening either. Boozer’s son, Camani, suffers from Sickle Cell Anemia, a blood cell disease that can be extremely painful in cold weather. If Boozer chooses to leave the cold weather of Utah, it would probably be for a warm-weather city like Miami, where Boozer makes his home in the offseason.

Speaking of the Pistons

The Pistons played their first game of the post-Billups era last night in Toronto, and handed the Raptors their first loss of the season. Tayshaun Prince led the Pistons with 27 points on 10 of 13 shooting.

Detroit is now 4-0, and should have Allen Iverson in the lineup on Friday night when they play the Nets in New Jersey.

What about the other guys?

The Nuggets weren’t as lucky in Golden State as their trade partners were in Toronto.
Stephen Jackson led the team with 29 points, and four of his teammates scored in double figures. as the Warriors beat the Nuggets 111-101 in Oakland.

The Carmelo Anthony situation in Denver is something worth keeping tabs on. Anthony expressed frustration when the team traded Marcus Camby to the Clippers for nothing. He admitted that he was caught off-guard, because nobody from the front office told him about it ahead of time or explained to him why the team made the trade. Now it seems that the Nuggets didn’t include Melo’s input in making the decision to trade Iverson either.

Even though Billups is a professional and a terrific teammate, Carmelo has to be thisclose to wanting out of Denver. Unlike his fellow draftmates LeBron, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh, Carmelo can’t become a free agent until 2011. If the team misses the playoffs and Carmelo isn’t willing to be patient, he just might be the next player on the Nuggets to get traded.

The most popular Halloween costume in Miami: Empty seats

If a team wins a game and there’s nobody there to see it, does it count in the standings? The Miami Heat beat the Philadelphia 76ers 106-83 in front of 4,500 empty seats. I’ve seen more festive atmospheres at funerals.

What is it with Miami?

There seems to be a direct correlation in Miami between increase in success and decrease in attendance. The Marlins won two World Series and the stadium was so empty you could hear conversations in the stands on TV.

Meanwhile, the Dolphins are 24-48 over their last 72 games, and they still get 65,000 people to show up to a game against the Bills in October.

What Rivalry?

The Lakers improved to 4-0 with their 106-88 victory over the Clippers last night. It was the Lakers' second win over the Clippers this season. The Clippers led 81-79 before the Lakers went on a 22-0 run in the fourth quarter to pull away.

The lone bright spot for the Clippers was sophomore Al Thornton. The 25-year old from Georgia scored 22 points. He’s now averaging close to 17 points and seven rebounds this season.

Not Much Thunder in OKC

The Oklahoma City Thunder are now 1-3 after losing to the World Champion Celtics on Wednesday night, 96-83. The Thunder have yet to score 100 points in any of their first four games this season.

One Last Thing

Kobe Bryant seems to think Derek Fisher has a career in politics in his future. Fisher is the President of the NBA Players Association. When Bryant was asked if he ever got into political debates with Fisher, he told a local beat writer, “That’s the next Barack. Why would I debate him?”

This article also appears on FoxSports.com