I once saw a movie where a young man heard that the hot girl wanted to go with him to the prom. He was so excited that before he found out for sure he went out and bought an expensive tuxedo, rented a limo, and bought a case of booze for the occasion. Then the night of the prom he found out that it was truly just a rumor and the girl ended up going with the guy that everyone knew she was going to go with: her current boyfriend.

That is what I feel like just happened at the trade deadline. All you have to do is substitute Amare Stoudemire, Chris Bosh, Shaq, and Richard Jefferson for the hot girl and there you go - a date-night movie cliché.

The only interesting thing that happened around the trade deadline was that the injury bug hit like the Black Plague. Kevin Garnet, Danny Granger, Amare Stoudemire, and Tracy McGrady will all miss extended periods of time. At least something happened that we could talk about. Man, I feel slighted. Maybe I should write a letter to the commissioner.

With that said I give you Around the NBA in 24 Seconds. This edition will be broken into two parts, injuries and trade deadline winners and losers.

Trades:

24. The New York Knicks did a great job at the deadline as they got rid of dead weight and added some solid performers in return. Jerome James and Malik Rose did absolutely nothing for the Knicks except sit on the bench and collect a paycheck. Larry Hughes should help provide New York with some depth and Chris Wilcox will improve the Knicks interior defense. These two can help the Knickerbockers make a run at the playoffs and even better; both are off the books before 2010.

23. The Orlando Magic lost Jameer Nelson for the year and they knew deep down inside that Anthony Johnson just wasn't going to get the job done. The Magic's brass decided to sit down and watch reruns of Street Ball on ESPN and thought, man, that Skip-2-my-Lou could really help our team. So they traded for Rafer Alston and his killa crossover. I just hope he bounces the ball off someone's head during a game, and that crazy guy comes out of the stands screaming, "OH BABY!"

22. Chicago is getting better by the minute as they have been hot both ATS and SU. To make things even better for the Windy City fans they traded for a legit big man in Brad Miller and a solid wing player in John Salmons. Both of these individuals should be able to step right in and contribute to a team that could be scary come playoff time. They just have to make it first.

Also, the trade deadline was a success for Chicago. But it really did happen at the wrong time. They were playing great (8-1-1 ATS) just before they made the deal.

21. This one may confuse some of you but, I think the Phoenix Suns did a good job at the deadline. They made one solid move and it should benefit their team. They said adios to Terry Porter and since that time they have scored 388 points in three games.

20. The youngsters in the Rose Garden are glad that none of them had to change zip codes and the Blazers should benefit from that. Portland has a good young team and their GM was smart in not moving any of them. When Raef Lafrentz's contract comes off the books they will have their nucleus still intact and a little extra cash to make a run at a good free agent, or ensure themselves that they can resign their current roster.

19. Toronto must be smiling as they got themselves a good all-around player in Shawn Marion. He should fit in well with Jose Calderon and Chris Bosh and give the Raptor fans something to smile about because their team has been garbage up to this point.

18. Even though I absolutely detest Jermaine O'Neal I think he should help the Miami Heat. O'Neal will give Miami an offensive presence inside and he should alleviate some of the pressure off Wade and Beasley.

17. Money; that is what the Kings were thinking about. Their team got considerably worse, but they shaved a ton off the top. It was as if their owners took the Kings into the barbershop and said to take some off the top and the sides, but leave the back. There is plenty of room to grow but the end product looks absolutely mullet-licious.

16. Oh man, did New Orleans shoot themselves in the "foot." Tyson Chandler was headed to Oklahoma City and the Hornets were going to add some much-needed frontcourt help in Chris Wilcox and Joe Smith. Then Chandler goes and fails his physical, yes, fails his physical. Wait a minute, how the hell does a professional athlete fail a physical? Chandler did, and the Thunder sent him on back and then shipped out Wilcox for Malik Rose. NICE!

Tyson Chandler really would have helped the Thunder. He would have made a nice addition to a team that could be pretty good in a few years.

15. The Houston Rockets are winners in my opinion but many will disagree with me. They sent their starting point guard to the Magic but that opened the door for Aaron Brooks. They also added Kyle Lowry to back up Brooks. I like that backcourt combo a lot. The other thing they should have done is trade Tracy McGrady for some hot cheerleader. Mmmmm….cheerleaders.

14. The Cleveland Cavaliers were rumored to be getting all sorts of big names for Wally Szczerbiak's expiring contract yet they did absolutely nothing. Oh well. Delonte West is back and as I type this they are up 30 on the Pistons in the fourth quarter.

Injuries:

13. Weekly Syracuse basketball update: Our boys fell once again to Villanova on Sunday and they now have exactly zero wins against the top tier of the Big East. One article I read last week wondered if SU was the worst bet in the country. Awesome. We still should already be in the NCAA Tournament, but need to avoid the late-season slide.

12. Kevin Garnett is out for 2-3 weeks for the Boston Celtics. In most cases this would cause fans to scream, yell and run for the Hills, but the Cs have survived without their emotional leader. In the last two years the Celtics are 10-2 without Garnett and they are 5-0 versus the total without him this year.

11. Tracy McGrady is out for the season for the Houston Rockets and even though that makes me a happy guy it should hurt the team somewhat. Or will it? The Rockets are 11-7 both ATS and against the total without the services of McGrady.

10. Danny Granger is out until early March for the Pacers and this team will miss his scoring punch. This has been evident thus far as Indiana is 1-3 versus the total without Granger but they are 4-0 ATS without him. It seems as though ole' Danny is a defensive liability.

9. Phoenix is going to be without Amare Stoudemire for the rest of the regular season due to a detached retina. Ugh. Since this was announced the Suns have scored 140, 140, and 108. What many people don't realize is the injury to Stoudemire opened up a starting spot for Leandro Barbosa, one of my favorite players, and his outstanding offensive game. Look for the Suns to continue to put up a ton of points.

8. Manu Ginobili hurt himself again for the Spurs and this will not benefit San Antonio in any way. On the year the Spurs are 7-7 ATS without Manu. They one thing we do want to keep an eye on is the fact that they are 4-10 versus the total without Ginobili.

7. On the flip side of the injury note, Carlos Boozer is due back quite soon for the Jazz. Utah has done well lately as they have defeated the Celtics and Hornets in back-to-back home games. Once Boozer gets back this team is going to be one to watch come playoff time.

6. When it rains it pours for the Indiana Pacers. News out of Indianapolis is that Mike Dunleavy could be out for the season. The Pacers were an 'over' machine earlier in the season and the loss of Dunleavy could hurt the offensive juggernaut known as the Pacers.

5. The Golden State Warriors are starting to play some great basketball and Monta Ellis has been a key component of their solid play. The Warriors have gone 7-3 ATS with Ellis and 18-24-1 ATS without him. Ellis will be out for the next 1-2 weeks with soreness in the ankle that kept him out earlier in the season.

4. I know that this part of the issue is about players that are out for an extended period of time and the effect it will have on their teams but this shocked me. The list of Clippers that are hurt is unreal…Al Thornton, Mike Taylor, Baron Davis, Marcus Camby, Brian Skinner, Zach Randolph, and Chris Kaman, are all out with different ailments or suspensions. This team is a mess.

3. The Lakers have continued their solid play despite the loss of Andrew Bynum just before the all-star break. Thus far they are 6-4 ATS and 6-3-1 versus the total without Bynum.

2. Jason Terry was hoping that he was going to be back sooner than later from his hand injury but that isn't looking like it is the case. Terry had successful surgery but should be out for at least another month. The Mavs are 3-2 ATS without Terry.

1. Check back next week for more Around the NBA in 24 Seconds.

More info on Robert's NBA picks? Check out his Insider Page here here.