CP3 rescues Dirk from a burning building early in the third quarter

Last night the Hornets and Spurs both closed out their first-round playoff series with Game 5 wins against the Mavericks and Suns, respectively.

Now, I've long hated the Spurs while adoring D'Antoni's Suns teams, but these were no longer the Suns from :07 Seconds or Less.  Every year since the breakout season after Steve Nash arrived and dished to shooters like Quentin Richardson and Joe Johnson, the Suns have taken exciting components and replaced them with older, slower components — and swapping Shawn Marion for Shaquille O'Neal sealed the coffin of the exciting, up-tempo Suns. 

But the king is dead and all that: the Hornets are now what the Suns used to be.  Not exactly, of course, but close enough for a casual fan like me: a fast-moving unselfish team featuring an exciting point guard, high-flying/athletic big men, and a couple shooters to make teams pay for double teams and slow rotations.  Chris Paul notched a triple-double in closing the door on the Mavs last night; he's basically Steve Nash, if Steve Nash rebounded, played defense, closed out games, and was stronger and faster and better in every way.  I can't wait for CP3 to make Tony Parker look like the twee Frenchpuss he is when their second-round series starts Saturday.

In conclusion, Tony Parker's wife is a self-absorbed bitch.  Go Hornets.