Smile, Vince…

In the middle of Tracy McGrady’s evisceration of the Heat on national TV, they showed a highlight package of T-Mac giving it to literally every defender Miami tried to stick on him: D-Wade, Kapono (an especially bad one), Payton, Posey - it was surgery by the real “Docta Smooth.” (If you’ve seen that NBA Live TV show you’ll get the reference.) T-Mac dropped 32 on the night … It was Pat Riley’s first game back after his medical leave of absence, and Riles watched as D-Wade dislocated his left shoulder and had to be taken off the court in a wheelchair. Flash was literally crying on the bench before being taken to the hospital. And you know how tough he is, so that had to have been some serious pain. So if Wade is gonna be out for a while (including tonight’s big matchup with his new arch-nemesis Dirk), what does that mean for Riley’s health? We’re just saying, a lengthy D-Wade absence could lead to the return of Ronnie Rothstein … Not sure if it’s the trade rumors involving himself or J-Kidd, or if it’s the Nets’ losing record, but Vince Carter is angry. That was the call by one of the announcers after VC hammered one on Tyson Chandler and Devin Brown yesterday: “Vince Carter is ANGRY!” Later on, Vince hit a ridiculous floater on Chandler where he hung in the air for about six seconds. He finished with 46 in a loss … Manu Ginobili was a beast, hanging 40 points on the Hawks and at one point dropping 24 in a row. Manu even solved the Josh Smith problem: going in for a bucket on the break with J-Smoove lurking around for his signature swat from behind, Manu spun and drew a foul on Smith, hitting a reverse layup in the process. Manu, Tim Duncan (30 pts) and Brent Barry (18 pts) combined for 88 points, while the Hawks scored 96 as a team … Joakim Noah Sr. - aka Anderson Varaejo - put down a tip dunk on Chris Bosh’s head with 16 ticks left that proved to be the game-winner for Cleveland against one of the League’s hottest teams. AV had a solid all-around game, putting up 16 points and 15 boards and not dropping a bunch of passes for once. LeBron scored 29, and on one play sent Andrea Bargnani’s runner back past to halfcourt … The Lakers lost their sixth in a row, getting torched by Jarrett Jack (30 pts) and the Blazers at home. Kobe scored 25 in his first game post-All-Star. So it’s official; Portland plays better D than the East All-Stars … How about the Celtics not getting absolutely pieced in Phoenix last night? Boston was within single-digits well into the fourth quarter and only lost by 10. We were expecting something much uglier … The Bucks just can’t catch a break. After coming back from an 18-point hole in the first half, a 5-point hole with under 30 seconds to go in the fourth, and then another 4-point deficit late in the first OT, Milwaukee ended up losing in double-OT to the Pacers. Michael Redd dropped 38 in his second game back from injury, but Jermaine O’Neal had 26 and 15 boards, and Indy got big games from Jamaal Tinsley (11 pts, 11 asts) and Marquis Daniels (22 pts), who both found out earlier in the day that they’ll be charged for their alleged roles in that Indianapolis bar fight from a few weeks ago. How many off-court distractions can one team deal with? … J-Rich made his return for the Warriors, scoring 19 in an OT win over the Grizzlies. Mike Miller was lights-out for Memphis, dropping 9 threes and scored 45 points, both franchise records. The previous record-holders? Pau Gasol scored 44 against Seattle in a game last season, and Sam Mack hit 8 threes in a game a while back. Remember Sam Mack? Neither do we … Ricky Davis was rocking an amazing blowout ‘fro against Charlotte. In honor of the ABA look, Ricky Buckets played ABA-style defense, getting handed 26 second-half points by another throwback, Adam Morrison. … That hot start earlier this year had us thinking Orlando was about to make The Leap, but just in case you wanted further evidence that this squad isn’t ready yet, they got waxed by 22 on the road in Detroit. Dwight Howard left carnage in the first quarter, though, scoring 13 points, spiking a Tayshaun Prince shot into the crowd, and sending C-Webb to the bench with a scratched cornea when he accidentally poked Webber in the eye … What’s up with the Pistons fans booing Darko? That’s cold … Walt Frazier during the Knicks/Sixers brodcast: “Oooh! Jerome James with a provocative dunk!” … Another injury for the Nuggets, as J.R. Smith is gonna miss 3-4 weeks with a knee injury … Clyde Drexler will be on the next season of “Dancing With the Stars.” If nothing else, that piece of news gives us an excuse to show you this. OK, so maybe parts of it haven’t aged well, but respect your elders, kids. That includes Teddy Riley and Guy … In college ball, Texas A&M is legit, 20-piecing a strong Oklahoma State squad on the road. Acie Law scored 19 for the Aggies. No reason to believe A&M couldn’t make a national title run, but do they have the athletes to run with Florida? We’d love to see … For the second time in the last couple weeks, Boston College found themselves being humiliated on national TV while the announcers openly questioned their effort. Virginia Tech was giving BC the business yesterday, outscoring them 32-6 at one point in the second half. After having the same thing happen during a national TV game against Duke last week, the recruits will just be pouring into Boston now …

Luda

One of the hottest spots in Vegas over All-Star Weekend was the Rumjungle club at the Mandalay Bay hotel. Thursday night saw Charles Barkley and Reggie Miller come through. Friday night it was D-Wade, Gilbert Arenas, Jerome Bettis and Allan Houston. Saturday night, Ludacris performed a set in front of Shaq, LaDanian Tomlinson, Ron Artest, Mike Jones, Larenz Tate, Mike Jones, The Game, Willie Parker and Mike Jones. And on Sunday, Jim Jones took the stage … We also told you last week about Alonzo Mourning’s charity pool tournament in Vegas. In other ‘Zo goodwill news, he’s promoting new specialty Florida license plates promoting organ and tissue donation awareness. Get more info right here … We’re out like Flash …