On Saturday night, I was in a German shop which sold a variety of imports, from marzipan to steins to cuckoo clocks. As I was eyeballing the clocks on the wall, the shop keeper came up to me to chat. As my companion asked about maintenance of the clocks, he noted that like anything made in Germany, if you take good care of it, it will last a thousand years. Except the Third Reich, but I presume that was implied. That leaves us with Dirk Nowitzski. The 34 year old returned to the Court last night after recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery. If you took good care of Dirk, maybe he would last a thousand years. And the Mavs will probably take that approach, at least for a while. Dirk played 20 minutes, earning 8 points (including a three), 6 rebounds and a steal during that time. As he plays more time, Dirk’s knee is going to take a pounding. He won’t last a thousand years in the NBA, but as far as this season is concerned, once he plays a few games to shake the rust off, he will be good to go for the rest of the season.

Dahntay Jones – NBA player Dahntay Lavall Jones of Trenton, New Jersey, is married to Valeisha Butterfield, the daughter of a congressman and former fiance of rap artist “The Game.” If I didn’t read that from a respectable source, I would presume someone made that up based upon a CW Network failed sitcom. Anyway, DJ didn’t have many hits last night, going for 7 points, 3 boards, and an assist.

Daniel Green – After going 3 of 17 from behind the arc over the past 3 games, Danny finally found his mojo and hit 7 of 8, finishing with a team high 25 big ones, 4 rebounds, a steal and a block.

Manu Ginobili – A lackluster 6 points and 4 rebounds combined with an impressive 9 assists and 4 steals added up to an action packed 21 minutes for Manu. Jrue Story.

Gerald Wallace – He had a solid night with 14 points, 9 rebs, 6 assists, 2 steals and a three pointer. He’s sort of been sputtering in December, so it’s nice to see a performance where everything seemed to be clicking for him.

Joe Johnson – With 22 points (8-17 FG, 3-5 3P), 7 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal, he had a productive night and came one shy of tying his season high for boards.

Amar’e Stoudemire – Earlier this month, it seemed that Stat would not be back before the end of the year. That’s how I read the reports, and I am a medical doctor (strictly in sexual role play situations). Then everyone kept saying that Stat WOULD in fact be back in time for Christmas, so, well, that was good news. Now coach Woodson said Stoudemire would not debut until 2013. Super.

Jason Kidd – He missed his 3 three point attempts and finished with 0 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals. That’s like a heavy rebounding Steve Novak (4/1/0/0 on 0-2 from behind the arc).

J.R. Smith – He hit 2 of 6 from downtown, but more importantly 7 of 15 overall, tallying 19 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 steals. If you are waiting for him to slow down, you may need a magazine to pass the time.

Nikola Pekovic – A Double Double for Peks thanks to a season high 17 rebounds and 21 points (7-16 shooting). He also threw in 2 assists.

Alexey Shved – Thanks to 4 of 9 from behind the arc, Shved had a high scoring game to combine with 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and, yech, 5 turnovers. With Love out, the Timberwolves started with three guards, and that worked out well for Shved.

Ricky Rubio – Still working his way back? Not sure, but he only had 5 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists and 5 turnovers.

Randy Foye – Including 2 threes, Foye finished for 10 points, 3 boards, an assist and 2 steals.

Gordon Hayward – Hayward ya score a lot? “Sure, here’s 17 points!” Hayward ya grab some rebounds? “NO!” Hayward threw in 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 block.

Nikola Vucevic – The other Nikola had a mere 16 rebounds and 16 points. We know which Nikola is Yugoslavia Serbia & Montenegro Montenegro’s favorite son. Vucevic did fine, of course, also contributing 1 assist and a block.

Gustavo Ayon – With Glen Davis out for a month or more, there is an opening for some minutes. Ayon stepped in and sort of stepped up with 9 points, 12 boards, and 3 assists. He’s worth an add if he’s available.

Blake Griffin – You can’t really ask for a better night from Blake: 8-12, including a three, for 23 points. A perfect six for six from the free throw line. 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 4
steals, only 1 turnover, and a block.

Matt Barnes – Hit 3 threes which gave him a respectable 15 points. He also had 8 rebounds and 2 assists. This has nothing to do with Matt Barnes, but here’s something for you folks to chew on: “Most oldsters are fascinated by the future, while the young love to look back to earlier days, especially their own.” — Malcolm Forbes (1919 – 1990)

Chris Paul – He hasn’t really played like a top 3 player this season, but last night, he gifted owners 17 points (2-4 from downtown), 13 assists, 5 steals and a rebound.

Sebastian Telfair – He finished with 8 points and 4 turnovers. No rebounds, no assists, no steals, no blocks.

Goran Dragic – He’s been ice cold recently, leading certain politicians to use that to prove global warming is a hoax created by abortionists. Dragic finished with 7 points on 2 of 8 shooting, missing both attempts from beyond the arc, and only throwing in 1 rebound, 1 assist and 1 steal. If there are itchy Dragic owners out there, and it seems like there are, now would be a chance to try and lure him away.

DeMarcus Cousins – Missed his first game of an indefinite suspension by his team. Kill me. No one player looks to benefit from this, either. Whee.

Isaiah Thomas – Only saw 21 minutes but earned 11 points, 1 rebound, 5 assists and a steal during that time. Aaron Brooks saw 27 minutes and did about the same (8 points, 1 rebound, 6 assists, and a steal). Thomas is 4 years younger. Maybe give him more time?

Portland Trail Blazers – With Nicolas Batum (17/3/8/1/1), LaMarcus Aldridge (22/11/1/3/2), J.J. Hickson (14/11), and Damian Lillard (15/2/7/1/1), it’s hard to believe this team is only at .500.

Today is Christmas Eve, and there are no games tonight, so our staff may only check in sporadically over the next couple of days. If you have a burning question, leave a comment and then pray to the newly born baby Jesus, and then take bets on which of us answers you first.