Don't shoot the messenger, Laker nation.

While Kobe Bryant may indeed be a smart bet to back for what would be only his second MVP, BoDog has placed Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant, the reigning scoring champion, slightly ahead of him in the favorite's circle.

Not kidding when I say slight, either. Durant comes in at 5-to-2, just ahead of Bryant's 3-to-1.

Bryant did play through an astounding amount of contusions and other ailments last season, including that nasty finger injury. He's also coming off of very necessary offseason knee surgery. Durant looks like a deer in his prime and will turn just 22 years old on Sept. 29. He'll be the focal point offensively for Team USA at the upcoming World Championships and doesn't figure to do any regressing for oh, the rest of the decade. Certainly, if the Thunder continue their ascent and wind up winning the Northwest, he'll get plenty of support from a media that loves his humility and workmanlike approach.

LeBron James is next up at 9-to-2, which aren't necessarily bad odds for the reigning two-time MVP considering he's already won two straight. Although us writers vote for the award and some were understandably turned off at the self-indulgent circus LBJ turned his free agency into, there's a way to steal most hearts that would be undeniable: average a triple-double.

You'll hear more about that later this season as it's something I've long been intrigued by and sources say he's always entertained the possiblity of going after Oscar Robertson's brilliant feat, but based on that, James would be my lean at this point.

Dwight Howard comes in fourth at 13-to-2, ahead of Dwyane Wade (9-to-1), Carmelo Anthony (12-to-1), Dirk Nowitzki (14-to-1) and dream-scenario future teammate Chris Paul (18-to-1). Chris Bosh's numbers figure to take a hit -- remember, LeBron was earmarking nine shots for him at the Heat's introductory presser -- and BoDog has adjusted accordingly, placing his odds of winning MVP at 35-to-1. Ironically, that's the same number New York's Amar'e Stoudemire has been placed at, which given his supporting cast and the Knicks realistic chances of being relevant, would be like throwing your money away.

If you're looking for a true longshot to back, how about Steve Nash at 40-to-1? Considering Stoudemire's departure, if he keeps the Suns in contention to make return to the conference finals, Nash will certainly be worth of consideration for his third MVP. Pau Gasol at 50-to-1 is also appetizing if you want to invest in a scenario where Bryant misses an extensive amount of games and L.A.'s other All-Star is forced to carry the entire load of the threepeat bid.

Hey, it's 50-to-1. Don't shoot the messenger, Laker nation. 

As far as disgruntled Cavs fans go, they can still be a part of the action by taking a hard look at these props from SBR Forum. Among the indirect shots they take at Cleveland is the insinuation that they'll have no All-Stars and affording better odds for James' scoring average to out-perform the Cavaliers' win total. Ouch.

Lorenzen Wright always had time for you.

If you cover the league for a few years and see teams come and go, night after night, you can usually compile a healthy mental catalogue of who the good guys are, players with quick wit who are professional enough to face the music, win or lose.

Wright was one of those guys. His knees failed him to the point where he's been out of the league a few years, but anyone who saw him in his prime remembers a skilled, fluid big man who gave a damn. He played hard and represented Memphis proudly. His body was found in a wooded area on Wednesday afternoon after he'd been reported missing for over a week. He was 34 years old.

Hopefully, Wright in a better place. Sincere condolecences go out to his family.

For more on Wright, here's a few pieces you may enjoy.

Memphis Commercial Appeal basketball writer Ron Higgins remembers the stand-up guy the basketball community knew Wright to be, far better than anyone could.

MCA's star columnist Geoff Calkins with his thoughts on the sobering situation, thoughts from former Tigers, Penny Hardaway and Skeets Perry.

SI's Jon Wertheim remembers how Wright took care of his people.

ESPN's J.A. Adande got to know him during his Clippers days and recounts his relationship with a team official.

My man Artie Triche, director of Hawks PR, comments from down in Atlanta to the AJC, wondering aloud like most of us.

The Memphis Flyer's Chris Herrington has a retrospective.

Disturbing details from the Commercial Appeal; a career timeline. 

There will undoubtedly be more to this story, but nothing that comes to light will make it less tragic. A young man who brought a great joy to many saw his time on this Earth end far too soon. May he rest in peace.

When you consider how little cap space the Miami Heat will have after officially coming to terms with Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, LeBron James and Mike Miller, you would think there is little flexibility for Pat Riley to tinker and fill out a championship roster.

You would be wrong.

Sign-and-trades reached with the Raptors and Cavaliers afford the Heat a little more cap flexibility, allowing the team that raided two cities for their franchise players the opportunity to strengthen their supporting cast.

Although Shaquille O'Neal is likely to take one last decent payday from the Hawks or another contender, there are realistic attractive options that will be tasked with tackling the likes of Dwight Howard, both O'Neals, Al Horford and new Eastern Conference additions Carlos Boozer and Amar'e Stoudemire.

The Heat is holding a full-court press to keep Udonis Haslem as part of the Heat family, but it will be interesting to see if the same loyalty they used to bring James and Bosh and aboard works to keep Haslem from collecting a bigger payday, with teams like the Nets and Jazz still in the market for his services.

If Haslem comes back, he'll be tasked with playing a lot of center, as much as he can handle, and knows exactly what Erik Spoelstra will want to get accomplished. If Haslem passes on returning, and you still need rugged athleticism, Lakers free agents Josh Powell and D.J. Mbenga, fresh off a ring, could be coaxed across the country. Second-round pick Jarvis Varnado is a renowned shot-blocker who the Heat are hoping will catch on and at least serve as a strong practice player.

For beef, and you do need beef given the centers in the Southeast, consider Kurt Thomas a favorite to land back in South Florida. Theo Ratliff and Juwan Howard are vets who want a shot at a ring. Kwame Brown could opt for less money to help enhance his own reputation. Joel Anthony may be coaxed to return and continue working. Rookie second-rounder Dexter Pittman will be given a chance to carve out a role.

For pick-and-roll options, there's Zydrunas Ilgauskas, whose friendship with LeBron makes him an ideal candidate to chase a title alongside him.

On the wing, Miller will be out there often as the perimeter threat who will make you pay. Mario Chalmers is in place as a quality on-ball defender at the point. Word from ESPN Los Angeles is that Pat Riley will chat up Derek Fisher, but look for that to wind up being a leverage ploy. Kobe Bryant would be furious if Fish got away and typically gets what he wants.

Ft. Lauderdale native Keyon Dooling is a veteran who can work wonders for a contender with his presence on and off the court. Raja Bell is a Miami native who has been through the wars and might have enough legs for another run as a perimeter defender/shooter. Keith Bogans has performed well in that role for numerous contenders. Damien Wilkins is available. DaSean Butler will get a long look.

Matt Barnes would be a tremendous option and has heard from the Heat already, as he told the Orlando Sentinel. He should be able to command far more salary elsewhere, but again, you never know. Among the shooters available are Sasha Pavlovic and Eddie House, both of whom already have ties to James or Miami.

Don't worry about the Heat filling out this roster. Three All-Stars in their prime and the South Florida scene, complete with no state income tax, will draw them in like flies. Attractive flies.

What do the Orlando Magic and Bob Delaney have in common? 

Neither made it back to the NBA Finals. 

For the Magic, the absence from the league's biggest stage will be at least one year. For Delaney, one of the NBA's top referees, his absence will be at least two years. 

Until last year, Delaney's presence at the Finals was similar to that of superfan Jimmy Goldstein. His presence wasn't guaranteed, but you were pretty sure he would be there. 

elaney missed most of the 2008-09 season with an injury that prevented him from working the playoffs. He returned this season and was among the 13 referees who worked multiple conference finals games, making him a solid bet to be chosen for the Finals. 

However, the NBA has tabbed the crew for Thursday's Game 4, completing the group of 12 referees selected for the Finals. And Delaney did not make it. 

Thursday's game will be worked by Scott Foster and Greg Willard, two of the three referees (along with Ken Mauer) to work a league-high three games in the conference finals. Game 4's third referee is Ed Rush, who returns to the Finals after a one-year absence, kinda like the Boston Celtics. 

Rush was the referee who overreacted and tossed Boston center Kendrick Perkins in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals. That technical foul was later rescinded, allowing Perkins to avoid a one-game suspension. 

Congratulations to Willard and Game 3 referee Bill Kennedy, both of whom reached the Finals for the first time in their careers. And condolences to Marc Davis, who continues to work deep into each postseason only to come up just short of the pinnacle of the profession. 

Here's the bottom line: The NBA selects playoff referees based on merit. You can quibble, argue or loudly disagree with its criteria (and it would be nice if there were more transparency in that regard) but you cannot say it is playing favorites. 

There were 13 referees who worked two or more games in the conference finals. Ten of them were chosen to work the Finals, and another - Joe DeRosa - would have had two assignments had he not been suspended one game for a minor altercation with a fan in Orlando. 

Here's the final postseason breakdown. Happy complaining! 

NBA FINALS (12 REFEREES): 

Mike Callahan, Dan Crawford, Joey Crawford, Joe DeRosa, Scott Foster, Bill Kennedy, Ken Mauer, Monty McCutchen, Ed Rush, Bennett Salvatore, Derrick Stafford, Greg Willard. 

CONFERENCE FINALS (20 REFEREES) 

Three: Scott Foster, Ken Mauer, Greg Willard: Two: Mike Callahan, Dan Crawford, Joe Crawford, Marc Davis, Bob Delaney, Bill Kennedy, Monty McCutchen, Bennett Salvatore, Ed Rush, Tom Washington. One: James Capers, Joe DeRosa, Ed Malloy, Jason Phillips, Derrick Stafford, Michael Smith, Bill Spooner. 

CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS (26 REFEREES)

Four: Monty McCutchen. Three: Mike Callahan, Dan Crawford, Joe Crawford, Bob Delaney, Ed F. Rush, Bennett Salvatore. 

Two: Dick Bavetta, James Capers, Marc Davis, Joe DeRosa, Scott Foster, Bill Kennedy, Ed Malloy, Ken Mauer, Jason Phillips, Michael Smith, Bill Spooner, Tom Washington, Greg Willard. One: Tony Brothers, Sean Corbin, Ron Garretson, David Jones, Derrick Stafford, Zach Zarba. 

FIRST ROUND (33 REFEREES)

Six: Dan Crawford, Joey Crawford, Joe DeRosa, Ken Mauer, Greg Willard. Five: Marc Davis, Bob Delaney, Scott Foster, Ron Garretson, Bill Kennedy, Monty McCutchen, Ed Rush, Bennett Salvatore, Bill Spooner, Derrick Stafford. Four: Dick Bavetta, James Capers, Sean Corbin, Ed Malloy, Tom Washington, Zach Zarba. 

Three: Tony Brothers, Mike Callahan, Pat Fraher, Jason Phillips, Leon Wood. Two: Derrick Collins, John Goble, Eric Lewis, Rodney Mott, Michael Smith, Sean Wright. One: David Jones. 

NO POSTSEASON ASSIGNMENTS: Bennie Adams, Mark Ayotte, Curtis Blair, Matt Boland, Tony Brown, Eric Dalen, Kevin Fehr, Kane Fitzgerald, Joe Forte, Brian Forte, David Guthrie, Courtney Kirkland, Mark Lindsay, Rodney Mott, Tommy Nunez Jr., Derek Richardson, Leroy Richardson, Phil Robinson, Eli Roe, Michael Smith, Scott Wall, Haywoode Workman, Gary Zielinski. 

INJURED: Joe Forte, Steve Javie, Violet Palmer, Olandis Poole, Mark Wunderlich.  

Chris Bernucca has covered the NBA since 1996 and is an editor and writer for Pro Basketball News. You can disagree with him at cbernucca@comcast.net. Or click on the headline above to leave a comment.

The NBA, as it has done in the aftermath of the Tim Donaghy mess just under three years ago, posts the referees for the day's games. So all you have to do is go here to see who will be working Game 1 of the Finals. 

We're going to go the league a bit better and try to tell you who is working the rest of the Finals. 

By logging the referee assignments throughout the postseason, we already had a pretty good idea of which referees would be among the dozen selected for the league's showcase. 

With its Game 1 assignments, the NBA has thrown us a couple of curveballs. Seven of the 20 referees who worked conference finals games received just one assignment, and Derrick Stafford was one of them. So was Joe DeRosa, who was penalized one game for tossing a ball at an irate fan in Orlando and could have faced further repercussions. (Joey Crawford, Game 1's third referee, worked two conference finals games.) 

Scott Foster, Ken Mauer and Greg Willard were the only referees to work three conference finals games, making them virtual locks for the Finals. We would be stunned if any of them are passed over. 

That brings the total pool to six. The remaining six almost certainly will come from the nine other referees who worked two conference finals games - Mike Callahan, Dan Crawford, Marc Davis, Bob Delaney, Bill Kennedy, Monty McCutchen, Bennett Salvatore, Ed Rush and Tom Washington. 

Among those nine, only Davis, Delaney and Rush did not work last year's Finals, and Delaney was injured. Rush was the ref with the rabbit ears in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals who unjustly tossed Celtics center Kendrick Perkins. 

The fact that Stafford was selected despite working just one conference finals game means there is hope for James Capers, Joe DeRosa, Ed Malloy, Jason Phillips, Michael Smith and Bill Spooner. But I wouldn't be holding my breath if I was them. 

Using the league's merit system and a hunch or two, we will say that the NBA will not dip back into the one-game group and the two-game refs who will draw the short straws are Rush, Davis and Kennedy, Celtics coach Doc Rivers' "favorite" referee. 

In our last post, we noted that based on assignments from last year to this year, the league's eyes viewed the most improved referee as Zach Zarba and the referee in steepest decline as Gary Zielinski. Now that we have moved through another round of the postseason, those refs should probably be amended to Malloy and Dick Bavetta. Malloy worked just two conference semifinals games last year, while Bavetta worked into the conference finals a year ago but did not make the cut this time. 

To help advance your conspiracy theories, here is the complete work assignment breakdown entering the NBA Finals: 

CONFERENCE FINALS (20 REFEREES) 

Three: Scott Foster, Ken Mauer, Greg Willard: Two: Mike Callahan, Dan Crawford, Joe Crawford, Marc Davis, Bob Delaney, Bill Kennedy, Monty McCutchen, Bennett Salvatore, Ed Rush, Tom Washington. One: James Capers, Joe DeRosa, Ed Malloy, Jason Phillips, Derrick Stafford, Michael Smith, Bill Spooner. 

CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS (26 REFEREES)

Four: Monty McCutchen. Three: Mike Callahan, Dan Crawford, Joe Crawford, Bob Delaney, Ed F. Rush, Bennett Salvatore. 

Two: Dick Bavetta, James Capers, Marc Davis, Joe DeRosa, Scott Foster, Bill Kennedy, Ed Malloy, Ken Mauer, Jason Phillips, Michael Smith, Bill Spooner, Tom Washington, Greg Willard. One: Tony Brothers, Sean Corbin, Ron Garretson, David Jones, Derrick Stafford, Zach Zarba. 

FIRST ROUND (33 REFEREES)

Six: Dan Crawford, Joey Crawford, Joe DeRosa, Ken Mauer, Greg Willard. Five: Marc Davis, Bob Delaney, Scott Foster, Ron Garretson, Bill Kennedy, Monty McCutchen, Ed Rush, Bennett Salvatore, Bill Spooner, Derrick Stafford. Four: Dick Bavetta, James Capers, Sean Corbin, Ed Malloy, Tom Washington, Zach Zarba. 

Three: Tony Brothers, Mike Callahan, Pat Fraher, Jason Phillips, Leon Wood. Two: Derrick Collins, John Goble, Eric Lewis, Rodney Mott, Michael Smith, Sean Wright. One: David Jones. 

NO POSTSEASON ASSIGNMENTS: Bennie Adams, Mark Ayotte, Curtis Blair, Matt Boland, Tony Brown, Eric Dalen, Kevin Fehr, Kane Fitzgerald, Joe Forte, Brian Forte, David Guthrie, Courtney Kirkland, Mark Lindsay, Rodney Mott, Tommy Nunez Jr., Derek Richardson, Leroy Richardson, Phil Robinson, Eli Roe, Michael Smith, Scott Wall, Haywoode Workman, Gary Zielinski. 

INJURED: Joe Forte, Steve Javie, Violet Palmer, Olandis Poole, Mark Wunderlich.  

Chris Bernucca has covered the NBA since 1996 and is an editor and writer for Pro Basketball News. You can disagree with him at cbernucca@comcast.net. Or click on the headline above to leave a comment.

So much for 40 games in 40 nights, hunh? 

With the conference semifinals requiring just two games more than the minimum - the fewest since 1999, when there also were three sweeps - it is a bit more difficult to determine which referees have the inside track to the NBA Finals. But the picture is starting to come into focus. 

Monty McCutchen received a league-high four assignments in the conference semifinals and six others received three - Mike Callahan, Dan Crawford, Joe Crawford, Bob Delaney, Ed Rush and Bennett Salvatore. 

Among these seven referees, only Callahan had less than five assignments in the first round. And among the seven, only Delaney and Rush did not work last year's Finals - and Delaney was injured. 

You can probably pencil in these seven for the Finals. 

In our first referee post, we labeled Joe DeRosa, Ken Mauer and Greg Willard as locks for the Finals as each worked six first-round games. Each had exactly two assignments in the conference semifinals, which could have something to do with the lack of games. DeRosa and Mauer both worked the 2009 Finals. 

Ten other referees had two assignments in the conference semifinals and still have an outside shot of working the league's showcase. Among them are Scott Foster and Tom Washington, who worked last year's Finals. 

Derrick Stafford, who also worked last year's Finals, received just one conference semifinals assignment and could be out of the picture this year. 

Remember, the NBA assigns referees on merit. Also keep in mind that Steve Javie and Mark Wunderlich, who worked last year's Finals, are sidelined by injuries. A total of 26 referees worked the second round, one less than last year. 

Using the first two rounds of the playoffs as a guideline, the referee who has made the most improvement in the eyes of evaluators is Zach Zarba, who worked just two first-round games last year but worked four first-round game and a conference semifinal game this year. 

The most precipitous drop probably belongs to Gary Zielinski, who made the postseason cut a year ago but was not among playoff referees this year. 

Here's the breakdown. Happy complaining! 

CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS (26 REFEREES)

Four: Monty McCutchen. Three: Mike Callahan, Dan Crawford, Joe Crawford, Bob Delaney, Ed F. Rush, Bennett Salvatore. 

Two: Dick Bavetta, James Capers, Marc Davis, Joe DeRosa, Scott Foster, Bill Kennedy, Ed Malloy, Ken Mauer, Jason Phillips, Michael Smith, Bill Spooner, Tom Washington, Greg Willard. One: Tony Brothers, Sean Corbin, Ron Garretson, David Jones, Derrick Stafford, Zach Zarba. 

FIRST ROUND (33 REFEREES)

Six: Dan Crawford, Joey Crawford, Joe DeRosa, Ken Mauer, Greg Willard. Five: Marc Davis, Bob Delaney, Scott Foster, Ron Garretson, Bill Kennedy, Monty McCutchen, Ed Rush, Bennett Salvatore, Bill Spooner, Derrick Stafford. Four: Dick Bavetta, James Capers, Sean Corbin, Ed Malloy, Tom Washington, Zach Zarba. 

Three: Tony Brothers, Mike Callahan, Pat Fraher, Jason Phillips, Leon Wood. Two: Derrick Collins, John Goble, Eric Lewis, Rodney Mott, Michael Smith, Sean Wright. One: David Jones. 

NO POSTSEASON ASSIGNMENTS: Bennie Adams, Mark Ayotte, Curtis Blair, Matt Boland, Tony Brown, Eric Dalen, Kevin Fehr, Kane Fitzgerald, Joe Forte, Brian Forte, David Guthrie, Courtney Kirkland, Mark Lindsay, Rodney Mott, Tommy Nunez Jr., Derek Richardson, Leroy Richardson, Phil Robinson, Eli Roe, Michael Smith, Scott Wall, Haywoode Workman, Gary Zielinski. 

INJURED: Joe Forte, Steve Javie, Violet Palmer, Olandis Poole, Mark Wunderlich.  

Chris Bernucca has covered the NBA since 1996 and is an editor and writer for Pro Basketball News. You can disagree with him at cbernucca@comcast.net. Or click on the headline above to leave a comment. 

There are two slots open for the NBA Finals. 

We're not talking about the conference champions. We're talking about the officiating slots that last year went to Steve Javie and Mark Wunderlich. 

Javie and Wunderlich are not working the playoffs due to injuries, which means the NBA is missing two of its best referees for its most important games. 

In both the regular season and postseason, referee assignments are handed out on merit; the better you are - in the eyes of Gen. Ron Johnson and his staff - the more you work. A year ago, Javie worked 14 playoff games and Wunderlich 12, among the most of all referees. 

What does this mean? Well, nothing so far. We're 47 games into the playoffs and unless I missed something dramatic, we haven't had any Tim Donaghy moments. 

There's two ways to look at the postseason absences of Javie and Wunderlich  - and Violet Palmer and Joe Forte, who also are injured and worked a combined eight playoff games a year ago. 

The cynic would say that without two of the game's best 12 referees - and the trickle-down effect that their absence creates - an officiating disaster is bound to happen at some point in the postseason. The sarcastic cynic would say that Wunderlich ended up working last year's Finals even though he missed Antoine Wright's intentional foul on Carmelo Anthony in Game 3 of the W estern Conference semifinals and was summarily thrown under the bus by the NBA. 

So who gets the slots that went to Javie and Wunderlich? Now that the first round is over, you can make some educated guesses. We tracked this last year, and six referees worked at least six games in the first round; all but Marc Davis received Finals gigs, including Javie and Wunderlich. 

Nine referees worked five first-round games and four of them - Dan Crawford, Scott Foster, Derrick Stafford and Tom Washington - wound up in the Finals. 

Here's the first-round breakdown of games worked. You may draw your own conclusions, but anyone not among the 33 officials who have worked a postseason game is a lousy referee. That's not my opinion. That's the NBA's. 

SIX (Finals locks): Dan Crawford, Joey Crawford, Joe DeRosa, Ken Mauer, Greg Willard. 

FIVE (Finals candidates): Marc Davis, Bob Delaney, Scott Foster, Ron Garretson, Bill Kennedy, Monty McCutchen, Ed Rush, Bennett Salvatore, Bill Spooner, Derrick Stafford. 

FOUR (Conference finals candidates): Dick Bavetta, James Capers, Sean Corbin, Ed Malloy, Tom Washington, Zach Zarba. 

THREE (Conference semifinals candidates): Tony Brothers, Mike Callahan, Pat Fraher, Jason Phillips, Leon Wood. 

TWO (Probably done): Derrick Collins, John Goble, Eric Lewis, Rodney Mott, Michael Smith, Sean Wright. 

ONE (Done): David Jones. 

NO POSTSEASON ASSIGNMENTS: Bennie Adams, Mark Ayotte, Curtis Blair, Matt Boland, Tony Brown, Eric Dalen, Kevin Fehr, Kane Fitzgerald, Joe Forte, Brian Forte, David Guthrie, Courtney Kirkland, Mark Lindsay, Rodney Mott, Tommy Nunez Jr., Derek Richardson, Leroy Richardson, Phil Robinson, Eli Roe, Michael Smith, Scott Wall, Haywoode Workman, Gary Zielinski. 

INJURED: Joe Forte, Steve Javie, Violet Palmer, Olandis Poole, Mark Wunderlich.  

Chris Bernucca has covered the NBA since 1996 and is an editor and writer for Pro Basketball News. You can disagree with him at cbernucca@comcast.net. Or click on the headline above to leave a comment. 

Got roped into a Finals prediction, which I despise since you're projecting months in advance without knowing how the various injury concerns are going to play out. Still, I get it. The playoffs are starting, so you have to pick a champion. Consider it the NCAA Tournament's influence on prognostication. Brackets, and the need to fill them out all the way through, still resonates. So here goes. Between Bernucca and I, you get two, Cliffs Notes-style...

On Sunday night, New Jersey's Brook Lopez was having his way with Marc Gasol, who picked up two quick fouls. With 3:31 left in the first quarter, Memphis coach Lionel Hollins called on rookie Hasheem Thabeet. 

Exactly a minute later, Thabeet was gone. He airmailed an outlet pass into the expensive seats, then fouled Lopez twice in 13 seconds before being replaced by Hamed Haddadi. 

Thabeet had not played since, and that will mark his last NBA court time for a while. On Thursday, the Grizzlies assigned the 7-3 center to the Dakota Wizards of the D-League, setting a dubious record in the process. 

Thabeet was the second pick in last year's draft, making him the highest draft pick ever to be demoted to the NBA's developmental circuit. The previous highest pick to be sent to the D-League was Portland's Martell Webster, who went sixth in the 2005 draft. 

But Webster was a wide-eyed 19-year-old rookie who entered the NBA straight out of high school and was on a team stacked with small forwards. Darius Miles. Travis Outlaw. Ruben Patterson. Viktor Khryapa. Sergei Monia. 

Yes, Webster spent time in the D-League. But he also played 61 games as a rookie for the Blazers and averaged a very respectable 6.6 points. 

Many draftniks considered Thabeet a project, based on his lean build and lack of basketball skills. However, he was the Big East Conference Player of the Year (with DeJuan Blair), which means he was the best player in the best conference in college basketball. When did that become irrelevant? 

Thabeet had backup center minutes handed to him. All he had to do was play hard, defend the rim, rebound and space his fouls for 8-15 minutes a game. And he just gave it away. 

While Thabeet is in the D-League, squeezing into bus bathrooms and curling up in one-star hotel beds, he should congratulate himself on setting a record that may never be broken. 

Think about it: Can you really envision the top pick in any NBA draft ever being demoted to the D-League? 

Chris Bernucca has covered the NBA since 1996 and is a regular contributor to Pro Basketball News. You can disagree with him at cbernucca@comcast.net or click on the headline to post a comment. 

GAME TWO: MAKING IT PERSONAL 

I was concerned how we would approach our first practice after the long layoff, but the boys appeared energized. Maybe it was a case of ants in the pants, but they worked hard and seemed to pick up the basics of a special defensive scheme I put in for our next opponent. 

Our game was the next morning against overbearing boor's team. Here's how much I dislike this guy - and you will, too, if you stay with this series of posts: I would be willing to go 2-7 and miss the playoffs if both our wins came against his team. To me, he's the Celtics, the Yankees, the Cowboys and Duke rolled into one. 

I first noticed him at a Little League game, yelling at his son for getting thrown out trying for a double on a ball hit off the wall instead of being content with the fact that his son - very big for his age at the time - was the only kid in the league who could hit a ball off the wall. 

The next year, he was an assistant coach on Andrew's little league team. One day, Andrew was not feeling well but agreed to try to play, which was compounded by being named the starting pitcher. Clearly not 100 percent, Andrew still gave his team an unreal effort with two scoreless innings. He was down in the lineup for this game, and when his turn to bat came up, an anxious teammate jumped in front of him to hit. 

The lineup recycled to the top, with Andrew passed over. I pointed out the mistake to the manager - who was only holding the scorebook with the lineup right in front of him - and said there was nothing he could do. So I said, "Really? Would the baseball world fall off its axis if he batted right now? This isn't Game Seven of the World Series." 

At that point, Andrew was ready to tap out. He was feeling worse and didn't want to be in the middle of a parent-coach confrontation. I asked him if he wanted to keep playing and he said, "No." So I gathered up his stuff while continuing my point with the manager, wondering how he could be so caught up with rules and regulations when he should be looking to reward a kid who had given him two scoreless innings on pure guts. 

That's when overbearing boor chimed in, saying something like "Let him go, we don't need him around here." At this point, I had finished making my point to the manager and was going to leave it alone. But I was not going to listen to this asshole pile on, because it wasn't his team. 

This was probably not the best choice of words in front of 9-year-olds, but I said to him, "Shut the fuck up and mind your business. You're not the manager. This doesn't concern you." Andrew and I left, with me adding a "Fuck this bullshit!" as we walked away. 

I could see that Andrew was proud of his father for sticking up for him, but I later called the manager and apologized for my actions in front of the kids. He was sorry for losing track of the lineup. At the next game, I even apologized to overbearing boor's kid in front of his dad for my language. There was nothing reciprocated - no acknowledgement that maybe he should have allowed the manager to handle it, no handshake, nothing. 

Right then, I knew the type. This is the guy who can't ever be told his way doesn't work, probably passed on through a long genetic line of overbearing boors before him. This is the guy who believes unwavering rigidity makes him a better person, when all it really does is make him uncommunicative and close-minded. And when you add the way he yelled at his son, you could see the passing of the overbearing boor torch to yet another generation. 

About a year later, Andrew had really found his footing in little league and was becoming one of the most dangerous hitters in the league. It was the postseason, and he was locked in, hitting seeds almost every at-bat in which the opposing team didn't pitch around him. 

His team was putting a pretty good whipping on an opponent, who trotted out overbearing boor's kid to try and put a cork in it. A big and husky kid, he threw hard and struck fear in opposing batters because he often lost the plate for long stretches. 

So with the score already 13-3 and the sun setting, he struck out a couple of batters between walking the bases loaded. In stepped Andrew, who wanted a hit so bad he could taste it. I stood behind the backstop and encouraged him, saying, "His ball is straight, kiddo. Just see it and hit it. Nobody can get you out." My wife was there, too, also shouting encouragement. 

It was a textbook at-bat of a hitter figuring out a pitcher. A lefthanded batter, Andrew looked at a ball and strike, then nubbed one foul on a late swing. He brought the bat around a bit quicker on the next pitch and fouled a liner off the third base dugout fence. He took a ball outside, then hit two more hard foul balls - one off the dugout again and one down the left field line. 

With each pitch, the encouragement only got louder. All of it was directed positively toward Andrew; nothing was said to demoralize the pitcher. But you could see his shoulders sag and his face sour with every foul ball. I thought he might buzz one over Andrew's head, given who had been teaching him the game. 

On the next pitch, Andrew finally got the timing down. He was right on a pitch just off the outside of the plate and sent a screamer down the left field line that the third baseman never saw for a two-run double. He had shown all of his teammates that this big, bad kid on the mound wasn't so big and bad after all. 

With the sun setting and the game out of hand, the umps decided to call the game. My wife and I gave Andrew a huge hug and told him how proud we were of him. As we walked out of the ballpark, my wife said with some urgency to move out of the way because a car was coming behind us. She maintains to this day that the car was dangerously close to intentionally hitting me; I had my back turned, so I don't know. But I do know who was in the car - overbearing boor, who appeared to be yelling at his son, who was crying his eyes out. 

Like I said, I know the type. 

Fast forward to this basketball season. For one of our practices, we had to share a gym with overbearing boor's team. We agreed to scrimmage against each other, with both coaches supposedly looking for their team to run its offense and use the opportunity as a teaching tool. 

Less than a minute into the scrimmage, overbearing boor's kid takes a foul from one of our players. Instead of taking the ball out of bounds, his father incredibly tells him to go to the line to shoot free throws. 

Really? With about four minutes left in our alloted gym time and two more teams waiting to take the floor, you're having your kid get in some extra free-throw shooting? You're taking free throws because you were fouled in a pickup game, with no referees or scoreboard? Really? 

I've got a better idea. Why don't you go to CVS, buy a black Sharpie, and write JERK on your forehead. That will make it much easier for the rest of us. 

I just shook my head in wonderment. About two minutes later, one of his kids clearly shuffled his feet as he picked up his dribble. Normally I would let this go in a scrimmage, but not this time. "That's a walk," I said. "Our ball." 

After his free-throw escapade, overbearing boor should have quit while he was ahead. Of course, he complained instead. "Come on, Chris." I didn't even look at him when I said, "He walked. A walk's a walk. It's our ball. Take it out, guys." 

I can't stand this motherfucker. Every time there's a chance for him to show anyone who's watching that he's not a total buffoon, he just remains in character. Which is kind of like writing jerk on your forehead, I guess. 

So that's who we're playing in our second game. And we're playing them without one of our best shooters, who is sending the weekend in Dallas for the Cowboys' opening playoff game. 

Whatever we brought to practice, we left it there. The effort was there at the start but not sustained. They used an overload against our zone and flashed a player into the lane from the weak side, and our defense was a step slow to it, even though I had spent 20 minutes in practice showing them that was exactly what they would do. And missing a shooter hurt our offense, which had looked so sharp in the second half of the first game. 

The final was 26-17, and it could have been worse. We trailed the whole way and never really got within striking distance, even though overbearing boor has put a harness around his most explosive offensive player, a little lefty who can get to the rim on anyone. 

That's typical of his personality, imposing a system upon players instead of making the system fit the talent. But on the other bench, I had a much bigger problem with my offense. 

We have just two set plays and had six practices to work on them. I call them a total of 6-8 times a game and let the boys freelance the rest of the way. And the plays have repeatedly broken down due to bad timing, poor picks and sloppy passes. A year ago, a group of 10- and 11-year-olds had no problem committing them to memory and making them look like a well-choreogrpahed dance routine. Why can't 12- and 13-year-olds do it? 

We're 0-2, and the stone is starting to roll downhill. I am spending way too much time racking my brain to figure out a way to stop it, and my head is starting to hurt. 

But the pain in my head was nothing compared to the one in my wife's head at our next game. 

NEXT: Losing your head

PREVIOUS POSTS: Prologue | Offseason | Evaluation & Draft | Preseason | Game One  

Chris Bernucca has covered the NBA since 1996 and is a regular contributor to Pro Basketball News. You can disagree with him at cbernucca@comcast.net or click on the headline to post a comment. 

GAME ONE: STOP HITTING THE SNOOZE BAR 

Here's what I know about the team so far. 

I know we're small and will struggle to rebound effectively. I know we have one less player than just about every other team, which could be a positive because it will allow me to give extra minutes to my better players. I know I have at least one player who has no clue. 

I know we can shoot; we have four players, including my son, who easily make 3-pointers. I know we can run from time to time, because being small also translates to being quick. 

What I don't know is the desire to compete inside the players who were not on last year's team. The evaluations tell you a lot about a player's skill but nothing about his psyche. And four practices against teammates - with a couple of short scrimmages against other teams thrown in - didn't reveal much one way or the other. 

This was my greatest concern. One of the things I've learned over the last three years is that all the cliches that coaches spit back at you are not an attempt to avoid answering your question; by and large, they are the truth. 

When NBA coaches say they are not looking that far down the road, they usually mean it. When they say they don't worry about other teams because they have no control over opponents, they mean it. And when they say that consistent effort, especially on the defensive end, can help overcome any shortcomings in skill or talent, they definitely mean it. 

So the night before the game, I wrote out my pregame bullet points to give the players just before they took the court. A couple of these gems were "For the next hour, your only friends wear black" and "Each unit's first five minutes will set the tone for this game. Play harder than them and get them on their heels." 

There was other stuff like "set solid picks," "value the ball" and "if you're open, shoot." But it all had to start with effort and a desire to compete. 

Maybe it was the 8 a.m. start time. Maybe it was the high school girl who was working her first game as a referee and blew the whistle like she had emphysema, with no conviction or consistency whatsoever. Maybe it was just plain jitters. But none of the talk about playing hard stuck. 

Hands were down on defense. Dribblers got ridden off their lines. Rebounds were stripped out of our hands. No hard cuts were made off inbounds plays. Guys consistently got beat upcourt in transition, and no one outside of my son gave a smart on-the-floor foul to kill a possible scoring chance. 

I was stunned by the abject passivity. I had given them Sun Tzu and I got back Gandhi. We were down 13-4 at halftime and getting beat badly in every aspect of the game, especially effort. 

As soon as the halftime buzzer sounded, I had the team sit down on the bench and told them that the reason we were losing was because the other team was playing much harder than us, plain and simple. I explained to them that aggression is rewarded in basketball, and instead of complaining about  referees or bad breaks or shots that went in and out, they should be focused on playing harder. 

As I said before, our team has two very simple rules: listen and hustle. Here I was, telling them that they were not hustling. And as I am talking, I am looking at the semicircle around me and there are three players who are not listening. They are staring into space, or looking at the other team's layup line, or dreaming about that cute girl in geography class. 

I sent them back to the court to get loose for the second half, thinking that this might be a long season. And then a funny thing happened: They showed me that they had been listening, at least a little bit. 

My son Andrew, on his way to a career-high 12 points, knocked down a couple of 3-pointers and used them to set up his dribble-drive game, getting to the line and setting up teammates for 3-pointers. (I told you we could shoot.) We started defending better and grabbing more of the 50-50 balls. There was way more encouragement and camaraderie among the players. 

We got within a point and you could see the panic on the faces of the other team. We slipped a bit but still were within three points with 1:40 to go when I called timeout and drew up a play for our best shooter in the left corner. We nearly botched the first inbounds play but on the reset found him. He was slow to get into his shot and had a defender running at him, so he held up instead of shooting while taking the contact and getting three free throws. He ended up trapped in the corner, and his bailout pass was deflected, costing us possession. 

They got a putback at the other end - another effort lapse - and got the ball inbounds after we made a foul shot and almost forced a five-second violation. Andrew threw in a three in the waning seconds to make the final 27-24, putting us in the dreaded category of a one-possession loss that drives coaches crazy, including me. 

After the game, a couple of players began to grab their stuff and leave. I was flabbergasted. "Where are you going?" I asked Karl, who had been among those not hustling or listening. "I'll tell you when you can leave." I could see he was ashamed and I made a mental note to soften my tone when I spoke to him in the future. 

I told the team that their second-half effort was phenomenal; we had scored a point a minute, which no team in this league can do. If the game clock had five more minutes, there's no doubt in my mind we would have won. But I also told them that effort was needed for 40 minutes, not 20. I reminded them about setting the tone early - which they did not do - and how that probably cost us the game. 

It would have been nice to get a win. Another coach's cliche you often hear is about how important confidence can be, and winning certainly builds that. We also had a bye the next week, followed by the Christmas break, so I didn't want us to be mentally sitting on a loss for nearly four weeks. And I wasn't sure how many of the kids would actually pick up a ball and play with temperatures in the 20s and 30s. 

It looked like we had some building blocks in good shooting and teamwork. And two of our better players combined for just two points, which is on me to make better. But the foundation - playing hard - was extremely faulty, as we came to find out. 

NEXT: Making it personal 

PRESEASON: TALKIN' 'BOUT PRACTICE

Our first practice had 100 percent attendance, which is always important. 

I assured the boys that regardless of how the season went, they were going to learn a lot about basketball. Most important, they were going to learn what it takes to compete in organized sports. 

This can be hard to teach to 12- and 13-year-olds who haven't experienced the competitive nature of taking the SAT or landing a job. Parents raise their children in all different ways, and those who are raised passive and docile usually don't have the competitive spirit required for my team. 

Last season, our biggest player began the season playing way too nice - and, in turn, way too small for his size. It was tough teaching him to be aggressive, because I wasn't going to feed him gunpowder and I didn't want to permanently affect his personality. At the same time, I did need him to grab rebounds with the notion that "This ball is mine!" 

This is undoubtedly the hardest thing to teach players; from what I hear in coaching circles, it is even more difficult to teach to girls, who have a tendency to "play nice" when the truth is the game requires a healthy level of controlled anger. 

Before we got into potential personality transplants, I showed the team various spots on the court - short corner, wing, elbow, block, etc. - and explained to them the numbered positions, such as 1 for point guard, etc. Only my son and the holdovers from last season knew this stuff, so I gave out a floor plan for them to study between practices. 

We did some drills, put in two basic inbounds plays we call "Stack" and "Box" and began walking through a set play that worked consistently for us al last season against the 2-3 zones everyone plays. 

We call it "Dallas" - all our set plays are named after NBA cities - and it is pretty simple, really. In a 2-3 offensive alignment, the point guard passes left to the shooting guard to trigger cuts and sell misdirection. The shooting guard dribbles right as the center screens up, the point guard screens down and the small forward runs the baseline left to right. The shooting guard passes to the small forward, who is wide open for a short corner jumper behind the point guard's screen. We almost always get an open shot, which is why I look for shooters in the evaluations. 

I show the centers how to set angled picks and tell the boys not to rush their shot because they will have plenty of time to catch and shoot. Until we have all the movement down, I also tell the defensive players to allow themselves to be picked, because if we set our picks properly, the opponent won't know that they have to fight around them. 

Some of the new guys had a little trouble with the timing, but I wasn't that concerned because we had three more practices before our first game. But my concern level was up at the next practice when one of our bigger players did not show up - and never showed up again. Kinda like this NBA scenario from last year. 

His single mom emailed me later in the week and said he was juggling too many things - schoolwork, religion, home duties, wrestling and basketball. He was given a choice between the sports and chose wrestling. I would have dropped religion, personally. 

At the next practice, I informed the team of the boy's decision, making a point not to use the word "quit" and instead describing it as a choice to continue wrestling. But now I had a team that was considerably smaller and began doing some wrestling of my own. 

I didn't know whether to call Parks and Rec and tell them I had a player leave the team, or leave it to the mom to do that (and get back her $65 registration fee). I chose the latter for two reasons: (a) I assumed that in these economic times, most folk don't let $65 twist in the wind, and (b) I figured any kid joining the league late wouldn't exactly be a superstar and I didn't want us saddled with a "No Fucking Way" player. 

I've lost count over the years, but this was roughly the trillionth time I have outsmarted myself. 

On the afternoon of our last practice - the night before our first game - my son comes home from school with this little gem of scuttlebutt. There was a late sign-up. And he was given to Doug's team. And although he is much more of a wrestler than a basketball player, he is six feet tall and as wide as a Nissan Sentra. If he was green, he would be the Incredible Hulk. 

Marvelous. 

From a practical standpoint, this kid should have gone to either us or the overbearing boor, because both of our teams had nine players. Instead, he ends up on perhaps the most talented team in the league. Kinda like this NBA scenario from two years ago. 

I called the mom whose son tapped out and she tells me that she hadn't gotten around to informing Parks and Rec that her son had quit. (Yes, I'm using that word now.) I called the Parks and Rec director to explain the situation and ask if there is anything that can be done, but I get his voicemail. And I begin giving myself mental haymakers every six seconds or so for not believing that honesty was the best policy. 

Prior to our game the next morning, the Parks and Red director goes to the trouble of coming to our game to speak with me personally. The positive vibe from that ends seconds later when he declaratively states the league is done moving players around. 

Wait, it gets worse. After every team plays its opening game that weekend, I get a phone call two days later from the dad of one of my boys - a friend with whom I have coached baseball and has gone out of his way to talk me up to doubting townies. Turns out he works alongside a guy whose stepson - a smart, solid player with good size - is on Doug's team and disappointed with his reduced playing time due to the addition of the 11th player. 

The stepdad asked his son if he wanted to change teams, and the kid said, "Yeah. I want to play on Chris Bernucca's team." 

Again, that sort of stuff is always nice to hear. Apparently, a handful of kids in town are under the belief that I am a good coach. 

With a shorthanded, undersized team, I now have to prove them right. 

NEXT: Let the games begin 

PREVIOUS POSTS: Prologue | Offseason | Evaluation & Draft 

Chris Bernucca has covered the NBA since 1996 and is a regular contributor to Pro Basketball News. You can disagree with him at cbernucca@comcast.net.

THE DRAFT: PICKING WINNERS? 

My eternal cynicism allowed the flicker of belief that Parks and Rec - having been shown by a relative outsider that youth basketball coaching theory and practice are not mutually exclusive - would find some childish excuse to exclude me. 

I couldn't have been more wrong. Not only did they want me back, but they were short a coach in two leagues, including ours. If someone didn't step up, our league would be comprised of five 12-player teams instead of six 10-player teams. 

Given the rules of equal playing time for all players, having a dozen kids on your roster means you need to be an actuary to evenly mete out minutes. You spend more time watching the clock than the game. 

With 10 players, you simply split your team into two units and rotate them at five-minute intervals. When kids are playing in the same group all the time, chemistry develops much quicker, and with just one hour per week of practice time, that is crucial. 

Thankfully, someone came forward, which is a big deal in a time of 60-hour work weeks and two-income households. It brought a sigh of relief from all of the returning coaches and plunged us forward into evaluations and the draft. 

At my first evaluation in 2007, I spent way too much time talking and not enough time watching. I ended up with a small, unskilled team and went 0-11. Now, I treat the two-hour evaluation like an NBA playoff game - the room would have to be on fire for me to divert my attention. 

Some of the league's referees run the evaluation, which lasts two hours and puts the kids through basic drills - speed, footwork, dribbling, passing, shooting and rebounding before wrapping up with scrimmages. If you pay attention, you can slot the kids into three groups: 

• Definites: These are the most-skilled kids in the gym and will be obvious assets to your team. A handful of them play for the middle school. (You can play for the school and Parks and Rec, but not for the travel team and Parks and Rec.) There are virtually no secrets among them; if a coach did not know of the kid's ability, it becomes evident in the evaluation. 

• Possibles: These are the kids who have some skills and some shortcomings - can't go left, inconsistent shot mechanics, small for their age, slow for their size. This is the largest group and ultimately makes or breaks your team, because you end up with 4-6 on your roster and have to find ways to capitalize on their skills and hide their shortcomings. So you have to do two things: (a) Watch the evaluation like a hawk and (b) listen to your son, who plays with them every day in school and can provide a baseline scouting report. For no extra charge, my son also offered dimestore psychological evaluations on stuff like toughness, competitive spirit and coachability. 

• No fucking ways: These are the kids who have little to no skills and are playing because they either like basketball or have been forced into it by parents who want them to spend less time killing zombies on XBox360. They take layups off the wrong foot, can't dribble without looking at the ball, don't know how to pivot and lose track of their man on defense. On top of that, some of them are poster children for ADHD, which not only makes them incapable of listening in practice and possibly getting better but also can prevent the coach from instructing others who want to learn. No matter how well you draft, you end up with at least one of these kids on your team. A year ago, I had two, but both of them were very fast and wanted to learn. They ended up playing significant roles in our pressure defense. 

The draft order was established at a preseason coaches' meeting. Doug, a long-time coach who had been very friendly and helpful to me over the last year, had the first pick and was all set to take a middle school team member who was pretty much the consensus first overall pick, or FOP. 

Except the evaluation period was almost over, and FOP had yet to show up. League rules dictate that any player who misses the evaluation becomes a "hat pick" at the end of the draft. Doug is starting to get nervous.

"Do you think I should call him?" he asked. 

"That depends how bad you want him," I said. "If I were you, I'd call him." 

Doug didn't call FOP, who never showed. Now every coach had a 1-in-6 shot at a very skilled kid that five of us previously had no chance of getting. It was Parks and Rec's own version of "Glengarry Glen Ross." 

First, there was the small matter of the first eight rounds of the draft, which worked like this: 

• Picks were made in a snake pattern. Doug had the first pick, but his next pick was 12th. I picked fifth, which meant I also picked eighth. 

• You had to forfeit your first or second pick based on your kid's grade. If you had an eighth-grader, you forfeited your first-round pick. If you had a seventh-grader, you forfeited your second-round pick. So my fifth overall pick became the third pick because I had two coaches with eighth-graders in front of me. But my eighth overall pick disappeared because Andrew is in the seventh grade. 

• Once a round could not be completed with players at the evaluation, those names and those not at the evaluation had their names written on pieces of paper and placed in a hat. Each coach had two "hat picks," or conceivably two shots at landing FOP. 

As the draft progressed, it was pretty obvious some coaches hadn't paid nearly enough attention at the evaluation. One coach picked a kid who plays like a bull in a china shop and turned to me and said, "Gotta have someone who can handle the ball, right?" If this kid was on my team, I would NEVER let him handle the ball. EVER. In fact, when we play his team, I'm going to have my guys pressure his dribble just to show this coach - who is regarded as an overbearing boor by most of the other coaches - how wrong he was. 

Other coaches freely admitted that they were making multiple picks based on their son's friends. I told Andrew before the draft that if he wanted to play with his friends, they could come over and play in the driveway. To be fully committed to the principles of Parks and Rec, he had to let me pick players whose skills would complement each other and make the whole greater than the sum of the parts. 

I told Andrew to give me a short list of his friends that could actually play a little bit, and I would do what I could to grab them with the pick that matched their skill level. This isn't the NBA draft, where teams already have the bulk of their rosters in place and can burn late-round picks on guys they coached in college. After my son, I was building from scratch. 

I used my first pick on Karl, a skilled big player who has a terrific first step and can slap the backboard on his driving layups. Coaching him will be a challenge for me because my offense is geared toward perimeter players, and this kid could dominate inside if given the chance. 

From the third through the eighth round, I grabbed three skilled kids from last year's team, one of my son's friends who can shoot and led a bad team in scoring a year ago, and two kids with good size and OK skill. We're a bit small, but we can shoot and get to the basket, and we should be able to defend. 

Now the fun begins with the last two rounds, which are "hat picks." I am excited about the idea of adding FOP to what I consider to be an already good team. But if there was any justice, Doug would pull FOP's name out of the hat on the first pick. 

Not a chance. In fact, FOP landed until the penultimate pick of the draft, creating a tension that was so palpable it would have made Adam Silver jealous. I had two shots at him and came up empty both times. 

On the bright side, I also managed to not pick two "No Fucking Ways" who would have been total disruptions in practice and turnover machines in games. 

FOP landed with overbearing boor, which first seemed like the Spurs getting Tim Duncan but actually was more like the Grizzlies getting Steve Francis. We had a couple of practices where we had to share the gym with overbearing boor's team, and FOP wasn't at either one. 

It turns out that FOP can't stand overbearing boor's son and doesn't want to be on the same team as him. That, coupled with his commitments to the middle school team and a soccer travel team, saw him quit the league and leave overbearing boor's roster short one very good tall player. 

But just as I finished chuckling about how that played out, I had a roster issue of my own. 

NEXT: Short in more ways than one 

PREVIOUS POSTS: Prologue | Offseason 

OFFSEASON: SORRY, NO VACANCIES

The one overriding feeling that came out of our success of last season was that I wanted to coach more basketball. 

I was pretty fortunate as this desire came to me at a time in my life where I wasn't locked into a conventional job and had enough free time to actually consider it as an option. So I spent the summer pursuing possible basketball coaching jobs. 

Parks and Rec is a wonderful outlet but doesn't provide enough because (a) with regard to coaching my son, it ends once he finishes eighth grade, and (b) it's the lowest level available, and I know I can offer more either as an assistant or the main guy for a middle school or high school. 

So I began scouring websites for potential positions and putting out feelers to athletic administrators at the schools in my town. Working against me was my lack of true experience and official state certification. Working for me was my desire, knowledge of the game and availability. 

I got a couple of interviews at the town high school and a local private middle school. The AD at the high school was somewhat up front with me in saying that he planned to fill his head coaching vacancy with an assistant on the staff and would put me in touch with that person once he was in place. The guy at the middle school was also working a full-time job on the graveyard shift at a juvenile center and seemed like he needed at least one more body to offset some of his duties. 

Neither one panned out. The AD at the high school put me in contact with the assistant he hired, but only after I reminded him of his promise. The guy at the middle school did not respond to numerous emails after our meeting. 

What's with that? I mean, what has happened to backbone in the workplace? This wasn't face to face. It wasn't even over the phone. It was email, the absolute easiest way to tell someone something they don't want to hear, and this guy still couldn't do it. Is it really that hard to click "Reply," type "Sorry" or "I've gone in another direction" or even "Go fuck yourself" and then click "Send"? Grow up and show some spine. 

As the summer shifted to autumn, my son began looking for his own upgrade. He wanted to play for the local travel team, his middle school team, or both. 

Making the travel team was going to be difficult, partially because of the small-town politics involved. As I mentioned before, I moved here five years ago and don't have the lifelong friendships that some of the powers-that-be share with each other. Both my son and I knew he was better than a handful of kids on the travel team, some of whom were there only because their fathers had finagled coaching jobs or made some sort of backroom deal with the coaching staff. 

I told the guy who ran the travel program that I was interested in coaching - not securing a spot for my son, not living vicariously through a 12-year-old, not taking his job in a power struggle. I even gave him this promise: If those picking the team said my son wasn't good enough, I would immediately step aside. 

His response was that unlike past years, the travel program administrators would pick the team and then select a coaching staff based on which kids made it. Previously, they had picked a coaching staff before tryouts, which basically assured roster spots for undeserving players and generated an atmosphere of animosity. Someone close to the program told me there had been more than a few "Fuck You" fights at meetings. 

Parents acting like little kids. Now there's someone you want molding your impressionable youngster. 

Andrew went to a "drop-in" that was just a euphemism for a two-hour drill session, then attended two two-hour tryout practices a week later. There were 21 kids gunning for 12 spots, but it was really more like 14-15 kids vying for six or seven spots. Here's why: 

• Two kids were clearly better than anyone in the gym and would have been a blind man's first two picks. 

• Two or three other kids were solid players who had been with the team since the fifth grade and had developed some on-court chemistry. 

• Two kids clearly had roster spots being held for them. One of them was sick during the tryouts and only played 10 minutes of a possible four hours  of evaluation. He made the team, even though one of the administrators said during the first session that anyone who didn't attend would not make the team - no exceptions. The guy who said that should stop coaching and move into local politics, because he clearly has the rhetoric down pat. 

Andrew didn't make it. He was told in his "exit interview" that he sees the game really well but doesn't always react to it quickly enough. 

That was a line of bullshit that could have fertilized a small farm. If you wanted to say that my son favors his left hand too much when dribbling, or that other players his size were quicker ballhandlers, or that he could rebound better for his size, I would have readily accepted that. 

I also would have accepted that any rust on Andrew's game prevented him from making the team. He is a conventional 21st-century kid, with all of the trappings of suburban living - the mall, video games, hundreds of TV channels, texting, computer chatting, you name it. Practicing to exhaustion in the driveway is not high on his list of priorities, and he did not do that in the weeks leading up to the tryouts. 

But don't tell him - and by extension, me - that he is smart enough to see the game but doesn't act on it. I wasn't at the tryouts but I was at the first "drop-in." And if the scrimmages revealed anything about my son, it was that he was among the top two or three decision-makers in the gym. 

In fact, the two kids who had split point guard duties the previous season were capable of making two decisions: Take an ill-advised outside shot or take the ball into a group of defenders and make an ill-advised pass. They had no sense of how to use change of speed, dribble penetration, head fakes or ball fakes to open the defense for themselves or teammates. 

That may sound like bitterness, but it really illustrates the reason I want to coach. I've taught Andrew all of these things to the point where as of this writing he is the leading scorer in the current Parks and Rec season. And if I taught him, I know I could teach these two kids, who are totally caught up in the show and lose their cool at the first sign of adversity. They aren't anywhere near understanding the sense of accomplishment that comes with creating a basket for someone other than yourself. 

At least the travel program seems to be making some progress, because both of these boys - questionable mainstays in the past - did not make the cut. But because Andrew didn't make it, our last option was the middle school team. 

I knew I already was pretty much out of the mix because the middle school AD said she had no openings. Really? Not even for a volunteer with plenty of free time and basketball knowledge picked up through the osmosis of 15 years of watching and covering the NBA? Must be a lot of those folk living in this enormous town of 17,000 people that I just simply haven't met yet. 

Andrew easily made the first cut, which sounded like it was designed simply to separate the wheat from the chaff. In a scrimmage at that practice, he made a play that had one coach asking another, "Who is that kid?" The next day, they got their answer. 

Dribbling is like fire. Used properly, it is a highly effective tool that can make things easier. Used carelessly, it can shift from dazzling to dangerous in a heartbeat. Andrew was totally frustrating a kid whose game was built on Grayson Boucher videos. As Andrew told it, the kid couldn't deal with his defense and took a swing at him. Andrew wrapped him up in a bear hug to prevent him from taking another swing, and the coaches saw it as a fight. They ordered both boys to sit down and cool off for five minutes. 

I didn't tell Andrew this right away, but I knew the coaches - who also are teachers at the school - would see this as a negative, and it would likely cost him any chance of making the team. Andrew learned the next day that he had been cut, and I drew no satisfaction in being right. 

At all levels of basketball, teammates fight at practice. Why would seventh grade be any different? As they should, the coaches created an environment of competition. But when that competition reached an extreme that they were unprepared to deal with, they reverted to the rules of the classroom. Ridiculous. 

Andrew and I were both very disappointed that our only remaining option was Parks and Rec. We both wanted more, and neither one of us seemed to care very much that we would have a chance to defend our championship. 

But I needed to get off the pity potty and back in the right frame of mind to guide a new group of boys. So I held onto a moment that took place moments after Andrew was cut from the travel team. 

He was with another boy who did not make it, and I tried to console both of them by telling them we would put together a kick-ass Parks and Rec team. The other boy - whose father had been coaching for several years in Parks and Rec - blurted out, "I'm gonna tell my dad not to coach this year so I can be on your team." 

And that's why I want to coach. 

NEXT: How the top pick in the draft almost became Mr. Irrelevant

PREVIOUS POSTS: Prologue

This web site's purpose is to help you enjoying following pro basketball - mostly the NBA. But I'm going to start including a weekly entry on the youth basketball team that I coach because I think you will find the inner workings of the team, league and surrounding town entertaining. 

When I was just getting started with PBN about a year ago, I wrote a piece that wondered whether my son was a dirty player. It got a considerable amount of attention from other blogs and readers, I think because it dealt with an issue that many other parents involved in youth coaching may have encountered. 

Going forward, that will be the intention of these posts. If you coach or want to coach youth sports, or have a son or daughter that plays youth sports, you may read these entries and say, "That happened to me," or "I wouldn't have handled it that way." 

The posts will be as unfiltered as possible. I wlll give you more than a peek in to our practices, games and dealings with parents, other teams and officials from the league and town. At the same time, I don't want anyone to feel singled out or have their laundry aired - regardless of how clean or dirty it may be - so anonymity will take precedent whenever possible.

This season already is under way but on a winter break until early January because our practices and games are at public schools, which are closing for the Christmas holiday next week. I will use that break to catch you up and continue with weekly entries until the end of the season. 

Here's the first one. As always, click on the headline to get to the comments section and tell us what you think. 

PROLOGUE: FROM WORST TO FIRST

This is my third year coaching my son in Parks and Rec. Two years ago, the league was short a coach and a town official who knew my background asked if I was interested. I jumped at the chance, even though I had no idea what I was doing. 

I didn't pay enough attention at the player evaluation and drafted too many small kids with skill rather than unskilled big kids, which at least would have ensured that we would have the ball. I had a work schedule that forced me to miss more than half the practices, and my assistant was interested only in turning his son into a star. 

The result was an 0-11 disaster where the kids learned very little and had to endure weekly confidence-crushing beatdowns for their entire winter. We lost a couple of heartbreakers - a 3-pointer that beat the buzzer in one game, a foul shot after the buzzer in another - but the bottom line was we sucked like a Shop-Vac. 

Midway through the season, I turned to my assistant after a particularly brutal offensive set and said, "We're not gonna win a single game, are we?" There are those who believe you can learn a lot from losing. If that was true, I was cultivating future Rhodes Scholars. 

Going winless bothered me because I thought I was a better coach and leader than that. But at the time I was consumed with shuttling back and forth between my house in Connecticut and my sister's place in Staten Island for a temporary job with NBA.com and was trying to set up my next career move, so it was easy to dismiss the weekly sting. 

It wasn't as easy for my son, who was dealing with teasing from classmates on a daily basis and really didn't have much ammo for return fire. He kept it to himself until late in the season, when it finally poured out of him with an emotional stomach-pumping that would have made an ER attendant jealous. 

I had forgotten Rule No. 1 of having children: You are no longer the most important person in the world. I asked him for the chance to make it up to him next season. 

Boy, did I ever. 

I paid attention at the evaluations and drafted a long, quick team that could defend and shoot. More important, I had 10 kids who were willing to listen and hustle, the only two team rules. My job situation changed for the worse, which allowed me to devote more time to the team, and I used it well, developing rigid and concise practice plans that made the best use of our paltry weekly allotment of one hour in primarily undersized gyms. And I replaced my assistant coach with my wife, who served as good cop to my bad cop. 

We won our first four games, lost two in a row, then won our last four to secure the top seed for the playoffs. We swept our three postseason games, avenging our two regular-season losses in the semifinal and championship. We went from worst to first, stunning more than a few well-entrenched folk who thought they had a grasp on the town's athletics. 

Wait, it gets better. No kid averaged more than six points per game. Almost every game had a different star player; we actually played better when my son scored less and passed more. The league had a rule that stated playing time had to be dispersed equally regardless of ability, and while other coaches ignored it trying to win or turn their sons into stars, we didn't stray from it until the last five seconds of the championship game, when we had to rebound a missed free throw to ensure victory. 

When the game was over, the kids briefly burst into unbridled glee before we lined up for the customary postgame handshake. As I got to the end of the line, I noticed one of the Parks and Rec directors standing near the scorer's table. It only seemed right that she should congratulate us on a job well done, don't you think? 

Not a chance. Instead, she consoled the losing coach, a town lifer who had ignored the rules whenever he deemed winning was more important but could do no wrong in the eyes of Parks and Rec officials, people he had known his whole life. 

At first I was upset. I mean, aren't we supposed to be teaching these kids sportsmanship? You're the point person for the league and you can't bring yourself to congratulate the winners? How childish is that? Grow up, for Christ's sake. 

But then I thought about it this way: If our championship win had made her so miserable that she couldn't put aside those feelings and display the same principles she demanded of the league's coaches, then I was glad that our win was stinging her like a swarm of angry hornets. 

Yes, I was guilty of being a sore winner, which in my opinion is far worse than being a sore loser. When you lose, you actually have something to be sore about. But I was doing it silently, just sharing the satisfaction with my wife and son and having a good chuckle about it - until the next week, when the resentment sank to a new low. 

An email arrived from Parks and Rec, accusing me of using unapproved gym time in preparation for the championship game. We had been invited to share a practice with the team we had beaten in the semifinals, who wanted to give his kids one more chance to play some ball in the form of a scrimmage against us. It was a great idea that gave the boys on both teams an extra hour to play, learn and improve. 

Meanwhile, the losing coach in the championship game had canceled his final practice, which was a case of either remarkable stupidity or hubris. As it often does in a town that has less people than New York has taxicabs, word got around fast that the kids and their parents weren't exactly thrilled with his decision. Word also got around that we had practiced twice. 

I can't say for certain that the complaints from parents prompted action by the coach, which prompted the accusatory email from Parks and Rec. All I can say is that given the personalities and behavior I had seen, the timing was ... interesting. 

My wife and I came back blazing with both barrels. I informed parents and other coaches of the harassment and many offered to come to my defense. I wrote an email in response, refuting every one of her accusations and detailing how I had carried out the league's guidelines without variance better than any other coach. My wife marched into the Parks and Rec office and went to this woman's boss, adding that with my background and exposure to basketball at its highest level that I was someone they should be trying to keep, rather than drive away with petty, overofficious behavior. 

It all eventually died down in time for our season-ending pizza party, where the owner picked up half the tab (his son was on the team), the parents presented us with a gift certificate to a very nice restaurant (which helped, considering how dangerously underemployed my wife and I were at the time) and the kids gave me a celebratory beverage bath. We handed out two-hour DVDs that my wife had painstakingly edited on her computer and added personal thank-you notes to each player. 

I'll always have that memory, along with the unforgettable hugs of joyous redemption from my wife and son after the final buzzer of the championship game. It's an awesome feeling to know you have positively impacted someone else's life in a tangible way. 

But it is a new season, with new kids, new challenges and new stories. Our next entry will summarize a trying offseason for both my son and I and the draft, where the league's best player somehow became the penultimate pick.

Did you see Andre Iguodala's shot at the end of the first half Monday night? 

Even though it didn't count, it was pretty remarkable. What was even more remarkable was how many people who cover the NBA - many of them for news outlets whose accuracy we doubt at our own peril - really have no idea how to measure the length of a shot. 

On Monday night's SportsCenter, Steve Levy called it a 93-foot shot. I guess there was a company memo circulated because Stan Verrett on the Los Angeles overnight version of SportsCenter also called it a 93-foot shot. 

And the Associated Press called it a 90-footer, which is closer to accurate but still wrong. 

These estimates come from the dimensions of an NBA court, which is 94 feet long. But as they often do, they rarely account for what is plainly evident to the eye. 

Yes, the court is 94 feet - baseline to baseline. However, the backboard overhangs the baseline by four feet, as you can see in this diagram. So from backboard to backboard is 86 feet, almost 10 percent less than the court's overall length.

Iguodala looks to be about three feet off the baseline. Subtract the four feet at the other end and you have approximately an 87-foot shot - not 90 feet as reported by the AP and far less than the 93 feet that SportsCenter declared. 

The truth is it is virtually impossible to make a 90-foot shot because of the constraints of the court. A player would have to launch from behind the opposite rim and be much closer to the corner, where the angle to the rim would increase the length of the shot. 

To be fair, I thought most of this carelessness would come more from the blogosphere rather than the mainstream news media and announcers whose fiber is ground in the game. On the NBA league and team blogs I reviewed, most stuck with the label of a "full-court shot," which is more correct than offering an exact measurement that is wrong. 

And I really don't think I'm nitpicking here. Would a writer dismiss the 10-yard end zone when measuring a field goal or the area behind a hockey net when measuring a shot? Just because a sporting achievement is sensational doesn't mean it can be blatantly sensationalized to the point of inaccuracy. 

Had Iguodala's shot counted, the official play-by-play would have provided a measurement for the shot that is an estimate and which probably should be used in copy. But there is nothing wrong with using your own knowledge to provide more context. 

As long as you really know the actual measurements of the court. 

Chris Bernucca has covered the NBA since 1996 and is a regular contributor to Pro Basketball News. You can disagree with him at cbernucca@comcast.net.

A couple of years ago at All-Star Weekend, I approached an NBA writer from New York whom I have known for some time. 

"Hey," I said. "My son loves Nate Robinson. What kind of guy is he?" 

"He's an asshole," the writer responded. 

Robinson wouldn't be the first player to be described that way by a writer. We all have had to deal with roomfuls of disparate personalities. Some you like, maybe because they make your job easier. Some you don't, maybe because they just rub you the wrong way. 

But when Robinson does stuff like this, the characterization becomes much less dismissive and carries far more weight. 

This is just another example in a long line of questionable behavior by Robinson, both on and off the court. 

There was the brawl with the Denver Nuggets. There was the shower fight with teammate Malik Rose. There was the timeout argument with teammate Zach Randolph. There was the auto accident this summer from which he tweeted. And now this. 

When your team has already sent the message to its fans that they will have to wait yet another season for a chance at competing, the last thing you want to do is reinforce that by showing that you don't care. 

And shooting at the other team's basket clearly shows you don't care. 

This video is two days old and there are a lot of blogs finding humor in it. There's nothing funny about taking the money of fans as your salary and acting like a clown. This is the NBA, not the Harlem Globetrotters. 

Maybe Robinson still considers himself a sideshow. Perhaps, deep down, he still questions whether he belongs in the NBA. It is something he has heard countless times at every level, and even though he has proven every one of his critics wrong, their doubts may still resonate in his mind. Winning the Slam Dunk Contest probably reinforced it. 

Robinson has been in the NBA for five years and should be around for a few more. It's time for him to stop acting like a child testing the bounds of improper behavior. With the Knicks looking to turn over their roster next summer, Robinson has to make a choice about how others look at him. 

He can grow up and be regarded as a dynamic NBA player. Or he can continue to act like a clown and be regarded as a vaudeville act at the county fair. 

Chris Bernucca has covered the NBA since 1996 and is a regular contributor to Pro Basketball News. You can disagree with him at cbernucca@comcast.net or click on the headline to post a comment. 

CHARLOTTE -- You don’t have to look too closely to see why the Charlotte Bobcats traded for Stephen Jackson, a malcontent with a huge contract. 

It’s all about scoring. The Bobcats are averaging a league worst 82.4 points per game. But this trade won’t be as huge a boon to the boxscore as the Bobcats expect. 

The trade - which cost Charlotte guard Raja Bell and forward Vladimir Radmanovic and also netted spare part Acie Law - puts Jackson at shooting guard and gives the Bobcats a guy who can help make plays for others, something that Bell could not do. 

For those who haven’t watched the Bobcats play this season, their best play has been throw it up and hope Gerald Wallace gets the rebound for a putback. They have been held below 80 points five times in nine games. 

Jackson’s point forward abilities will help put an end to that, taking some of the playmaking responsibilities from Raymond Felton, who has career worsts of 3.0 turnovers per game and 36 percent shooting. 

Charlotte’s 80-74 loss to Portland seemed to be the tipping point for this trade. Afterward, coach Larry Brown lamented, "We defended as well as we can and I thought we played hard. We just can’t make shots." 

While this trade will help in that regard, it’s not like Jackson will pump in 20 points per game for Charlotte's struggling offense. His scoring average is inflated by the frenetic pace of the Golden State Warriors, who play faster than Phoenix or New York. 

The Warriors attempt nine more shots per game than the Bobcats. Using ESPN’s pace factor, Golden State plays at the NBA’s fastest pace while Charlotte is the league’s slowest team. 

The math is simple: Less shots and a slower pace will equal less scoring by Jackson in Charlotte. He should be able to inject some life into the Bobcats' offense, transforming it from cover-your-eyes bad to just bad. But that is about all. 

Where the water really gets muddy is when you look at this deal from a financial perspective. In the offseason, Charlotte traded Emeka Okafor to New Orleans for Tyson Chandler, in part because Okafor’s contract runs through the 2014 and Chandler’s ends in 2011. 

Bell had an expiring contract and Radmanovic’s deal runs through 2011. But Jackson just signed a three-year extension that doesn't begin until next season. He will be making $10 million when he is 35. 

Guards and wings start to lose their mojo in their mid-30s - Bell is a good example - and Jackson has averaged more than 39 minutes per game over the last two seasons. And that doesn't even take into account his volatile temperament. 

It looks like the Charlotte Bobcats seem to be hoping that this temporary relief will help heal the longtime pain. 

James Hamlin is a frequent contributor to Pro Basketball News. He can be reached at jameshamlin810@gmail.com.

ORLANDO - Inserting J.J. Hickson into the starting lineup was Mike Brown's way of dabbling in the smelling salts game.

There's no way to sugarcoat that Hickson's first few games were drenched in the stench of a sophomore slump. Boston held him scoreless in the opener, drawing two fouls. The next night, in Toronto, he hit a free throw and racked up three fouls in five minutes. In the game prior to his ascension to the starting five (Nov. 5), he jacked up four shots in three minutes, missing all of them.

Fortunately for the 21-year-old Hickson, Brown felt the need to shake things up and Anderson Varejao seems better suited coming off the bench behind Shaquille O'Neal instead of playing too many minutes alongside him. 

"He brings us energy. He's different than Andy such that if you try and step up against him he's going to the rim and it's a lob dunk," said Brown, who recognized the need to have a more effective offensive threat on the floor to start games. "Andy, on the other end of the floor, has great feet and he's taking charges and he's frustrating you defensively, and J.J. is coming over to block or change shots, so it's an interesting dynamic that we have with the two players."

In his two starts, both convincing wins fueled by early surges, Hickson has set season-highs both times. He was most effective in the 102-93 win against Orlando, finishing with nine points and six rebounds in 22:47. the most playing time he's received in a meaningful game since March 4, when Brown began to phase him out of the rotation.

"J.J. is a talented young man and for me to be able to try and get him minutes is a good thing, and it's a good thing that it's happening at the beginning of the game because in the past I've tried to bring him in with the second unit and as a young guy you always feel that you can just yank him out of the game at any time. I still can do that and still will do that but at least at the beginning of the game when it's 0-0, 2-4 and 6-8, I don't feel as pressed to take him out," said Brown. "I want to give him an opportunity to go out there and display his talents on both ends of the floor."

As you would expect, Hickson digs getting right in there after warmups as opposed to coming off the bench cold, which is a role better suited for tireless Varejao. The increased responsibilities have him focusing better and he's eager to capitalize on the opportunities afforded to him by running the floor with a pair of future Hall of Famers.

"Shaq is going to get double-teamed most of the time, and me not playing as much, teams aren't going to be looking at me as a scoring threat, so that's where all my buckets come from, just hustling and grabbing offensive rebounds. That's my role on this team right now, to bring intensity and get places where they need me to be," Hickson said. "There's motivation to stay out there with that first group, and in this game, motivation means a lot."

Tony Mejia is publisher and senior writer of Pro Basketball News. He can be reached at mejia@probasketballnews.com. Or click on the headline to comment. 

Everybody did a batch of power rankings this week. We mean everybody. Including us. 

The rankings are obsolete, of course. They foster debate among media and fans as to who may be the best team at the moment, but the NBA has a nice little 1,230-game season and two months worth of playoffs to sort that out. They even give a trophy to the winner, I'm told. 

And while most of the debate is focused at the top - Hasn't Denver been a bit more impressive than Boston? Can Phoenix and Miami stay in the top 10? - there is a much better race at the bottom, where a pair of teams have both made moves to grab the early lead in the John Wall Sweeepstakes. 

We're talking about the New Jersey Nets and the Sacramento Kings. 

No one should be surprised that the Exit 16W Nets and the Cowtown Cagers are at or near the bottom of everyone's lists. We knew these teams were going to be really bad. What caught our attention is how fast events have transpired to solidify their status at the bottom of Buffalo Bill's well. 

The Nets are 0-5, and you can make the argument that they have gotten worse with every game. Since losing their opener on Damien Wilkins' putback on the buzzer, they have lost by 10 at home to Orlando, by 19 at Washington, managed to be outscored 79-68 by punchless Charlotte and took a 26-point home beating from Denver. 

Off the court, the Nets are losing, too. Already down spare parts Keyon Dooling, Jarvis Hayes and Tony Battie, they lost astoundingly overrated forward Yi Jianlian to a sprained MCL and All-Star point guard Devin Harris to a groin strain. 

Wait, there's more. Second-year guard Chris Douglas-Roberts, who has led the team in scoring in its last three games - posting an aggregate minus-50 along the way - has the dreaded flu-like symptoms and will not be available in Philadelphia tonight. 

That means when Rafer Alston needs a breather, coach Lawrence Frank will give the offense's joystick to rookie Terrence Williams, who has 10 turnovers and six assists this season. 

You can see why our old friend and eternal optimist Dave D'Alessandro is projecting a possible 0-13 start before a West Coast trip later this month that includes a stop at - you guessed it - Sacramento. 

The Kings are losing on and off the court, too. They started the season with their customary road swing, failing to crack 94 points in three losses by an average of 12.3 points. 

With Cisco Garcia already sidelined, the Kings waived fellow swingman Desmond Mason. Not a big deal, right? The Kings have a lot of issues, but at least they are set on the wing with Kevin Martin. 

Martin singlehandedly assured the Kings would not finish 0-82 by going for 48 as Sacramento sneaked past Memphis in overtime in Monday's home opener. But that was followed by a home loss to Atlanta and Thursday's news that Martin is, well, singlehanded. 

Martin is averaging 30 points per game. Until 2010, the Kings will have point guard Beno Udrih - who is piling up assists at the astonishing rate of 3.0 per contest - throwing the ball to the trio of Spencer Hawes, Jason Thompson and rookie Tyreke Evans, who are averaging a combined 34 points per game. 

That's a pretty bleak outlook, and no one can blame Andres Nocioni for acting accordingly. 

Folks, you can have your teams at the top of the power rankings chasing 72 wins. The better race is at the bottom, where the Nets and Kings already are in hot pursuit of 74 losses. 

Chris Bernucca has covered the NBA since 1996 and is a regular contributor to Pro Basketball News. You can disagree with him at cbernucca@comcast.net.

Those of us who thought the economy would significantly impact NBA rosters were dead wrong. 

Declining attendance, corporate belt-tightening that potentially affected advertising and luxury suite leases, a surprising drop in the salary cap and a sky-is-falling projection of another drop next summer raised the very real possibility of teams saving money simply by carrying fewer players. 

But this season's Opening Day rosters included 434 players, just one less than a year ago and 96.5 percent of capacity. 

Eighteen teams are carrying the maximum 15 players, including those well-entrenched in Luxury Tax Land (Boston, Cleveland) and those who throw around nickels like manhole covers (Oklahoma City, Memphis). 

Teams had to submit a roster of 12 active players and 1-3 inactive players, which got us thinking: Which team's inactive players would win a 3-on-3 tournament? 

You can quibble, but we pared the field of 18 down to eight playoff teams. Seeded one through eight, they are:  

HOUSTON: Brian Cook, Tracy McGrady, Yao Ming 

CLEVELAND: Delonte West, Coby Karl, Leon Powe

DALLAS: Josh Howard, Tim Thomas, Shawne Williams 

BOSTON: Tony Allen, Glen Davis, Brian Scalabrine 

GOLDEN STATE: Speedy Claxton, Devean George, Brandan Wright 

MEMPHIS: Darrell Arthur, Allen Iverson, Marko Jaric 

LA CLIPPERS: Mardy Collins, Ricky Davis, Blake Griffin

INDIANA: Travis Diener, Mike Dunleavy, Tyler Hansbrough 

FIRST ROUND

Top-seeded Houston defeated Indiana, 21-13, as McGrady posted up Diener while Hansbrough and Dunleavy got into another silly North Carolina-Duke argument. 

The seventh-seeded Clippers upset Cleveland, 21-19, which had a seemingly safe lead until West disappeared without reason. 

Third-seeded Dallas got past Memphis, 21-14, as Jaric's plan of using wife Adriana Lima to distract the Mavericks, which works on most men, had no effect on NBA players who are used to being around hot women. 

Fourth-seeded Boston got a boost from late roster addition Glen Davis, who replaced Bill Walker and sparked the Celtics to a 21-17 win over Golden State. Asked how he felt afterward, Davis flashed the media a "thumbs-up" sign. 

SEMIFINALS 

Cook and Scalabrine canceled each other out by standing behind the arc and firing ill-advised 3-pointers. McGrady and Allen played to a standstill as neither still had the explosion to take the other off the dribble or finish with authority. That left Yao to reduce Davis to tears with unstoppable jump hooks in a 21-11 win. 

Without a legitimate ballhandler, Dallas was in big trouble against the Clippers but stole a 21-19 win when Davis chose to pad his stats and scored several late baskets for the Mavericks. 

FINALS 

In a Lone Star State showdown, Houston raced to an early lead as Yao sinks a technical free throw for Howard failing to stand for the national anthem and McGrady follows with 13 points in 35 seconds. 

But Williams shut down McGrady by pulling a gun that he said belonged to a friend, and Dallas got back in it on a flurry of 3-pointers by Thomas, who blew a kiss at Yao. 

Dallas trailed, 20-19, when Howard swept a rebound and inexplicably called a timeout his team didn't have. Yao made another technical free throw to give Houston the championship. 

Chris Bernucca has covered the NBA since 1996 and is a regular contributor to Pro Basketball News. You can disagree with him at cbernucca@comcast.net.

The defending champion Los Angeles Lakers have made one change to their roster, adding the talented but mercurial Ron Artest to replace Trevor Ariza at small forward. 

To a man, the Lakers bristle at the idea that Artest will disrupt their chemistry and get in the way of their goal of repeating as NBA champions. 

"Ron's presence has also been felt already, just with his physicality, his intensity and just his natural love for basketball he has," said veteran guard and consummate professional Derek Fisher. "He really enjoys playing still. All those things have been really infectious." 

Sixth man Lamar Odom sneered at the notion that the signing of Artest was an "experiment." 

"It's not an experiment," he said. "He's one of the best defensive players in league history, one of the players who can contribute to a team without shooting the basketball."

But not everyone in LA is so sure. First there was a blogger who wrote Artest an open letter and got back a lewd response. And now there's Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy. 

Prior to Saturday's exhibition doubleheader at Staples Center, Dunleavy was asked by a PBN stringer what he thought of Artest joining the Lakers. 

"I think the addition of Artest is a volatile move," Dunleavy said. "It has a big upside and it has a downside to it.

"If Kobe Bryant were to get injured, Artest is a great move for them. If Odom had left, then it was a great move for them. When they did it, it was a great move for them, because of what it protected."

But Dunleavy also said that with Ariza, "you knew what you were getting, you knew how it's going to work." 

When asked what Artest's downside could mean for the Lakers, Dunleavy did not mince words. 

"He goes (bleepin') nuts," the Clippers coach said. "He can go into the stands, he chokes Phil. I don't know." 

Asked the same question, Jazz coach Jerry Sloan was a bit more diplomatic. 

"He's playing with a great team, guys will help him," Sloan said. "I think that will be an asset to him as well as him being an asset to them. On paper it looks good. I don't know the guy. I never coached him. He's a wonderful player. I know that."

Chris Bernucca has covered the NBA since 1996 and is a staff writer for Pro Basketball News. You can disagree with him at cbernucca@comcast.net.

Tuesday, Oct. 27
Boston at Cleveland, 7:30 p.m.
Washington at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.
Houston at Portland, 10 p.m.
L.A. Clippers at L.A. Lakers, 10:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Oct. 28
Indiana at Atlanta, 7 p.m.
Philadelphia at Orlando, 7 p.m.
Cleveland at Toronto, 7 p.m.
Charlotte at Boston, 7:30 p.m.
New York at Miami, 7:30 p.m.
Detroit at Memphis, 8 p.m.
New Jersey at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Sacramento at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m.
New Orleans at San Antonio, 8 p.m.
Utah at Denver, 10:30 p.m.
Houston at Golden State, 10:30 p.m.
Phoenix at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m.

Thursday, Oct. 29
San Antonio at Chicago, 8 p.m.
Denver at Portland, 10:30 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 30
New York at Charlotte, 7 p.m.
Milwaukee at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Washington at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m.
Chicago at Boston, 8 p.m.
Oklahoma City at Detroit, 8 p.m.
Miami at Indiana, 8 p.m.
Toronto at Memphis, 8 p.m.
Cleveland at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Orlando at New Jersey, 8 p.m.
Sacramento at New Orleans, 8 p.m.
L.A. Clippers at Utah, 9 p.m.
Golden State at Phoenix, 10 p.m.
Dallas at L.A. Lakers, 10:30 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 31
New Jersey at Washington, 7 p.m.
Charlotte at Cleveland, 7:30 p.m.
Philadelphia at New York, 7:30 p.m.
Portland at Houston, 8:30 p.m.
Detroit at Milwaukee, 8:30 p.m.
Sacramento at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m.
Dallas at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m.

Sunday, Nov. 1
Orlando at Toronto, 1 p.m.
New Orleans at Boston, 6 p.m.
Chicago at Miami, 6 p.m.
Portland at Oklahoma City, 7 p.m.
Memphis at Denver, 8 p.m.
Minnesota at Phoenix, 8 p.m.
Atlanta at L.A. Lakers, 9:30 p.m.

Monday, Nov. 2
New Jersey at Charlotte, 7 p.m.
New Orleans at New York, 7:30 p.m.
Houston at Utah, 9 p.m.
Memphis at Sacramento, 10 p.m.
Minnesota at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m.

Tuesday, Nov. 3
Washington at Cleveland, 7 p.m.
Denver at Indiana, 7 p.m.
Boston at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Orlando at Detroit, 7:30 p.m.
Phoenix at Miami, 7:30 p.m.
Milwaukee at Chicago, 8 p.m.
L.A. Lakers at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m.
Utah at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.
Atlanta at Portland, 10 p.m.

Wednesday, Nov. 4
Phoenix at Orlando, 7 p.m.
Detroit at Toronto, 7 p.m.
Miami at Washington, 7 p.m.
Denver at New Jersey, 7:30 p.m.
Indiana at New York, 7:30 p.m.
Boston at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
L.A. Lakers at Houston, 8:30 p.m.
Dallas at New Orleans, 9:30 p.m.
Atlanta at Sacramento, 10 p.m.
Memphis at Golden State, 10:30 p.m.

Thursday, Nov. 5
Chicago at Cleveland, 8 p.m.
San Antonio at Utah, 10:30 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 6
Atlanta at Charlotte, 7 p.m.
Washington at Indiana, 7 p.m.
Detroit at Orlando, 7 p.m.
New Jersey at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Phoenix at Boston, 7:30 p.m.
Denver at Miami, 7:30 p.m.
Milwaukee at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Toronto at New Orleans, 8 p.m.
Cleveland at New York, 8 p.m.
Oklahoma City at Houston, 8:30 p.m.
L.A. Clippers at Golden State, 10:30 p.m.
Memphis at L.A. Lakers, 10:30 p.m.
San Antonio at Portland, 10:30 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 7
Denver at Atlanta, 7 p.m.
Boston at New Jersey, 7:30 p.m.
Charlotte at Chicago, 8 p.m.
Toronto at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.
New York at Milwaukee, 8:30 p.m.
Sacramento at Utah, 9 p.m.
Memphis at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m.

Sunday, Nov. 8
Philadelphia at Detroit, 1 p.m.
Phoenix at Washington, 1 p.m.
Orlando at Oklahoma City, 7 p.m.
Minnesota at Portland, 9 p.m.
Golden State at Sacramento, 9 p.m.
New Orleans at L.A. Lakers, 9:30 p.m.

Monday, Nov. 9
Phoenix at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Utah at New York, 7:30 p.m.
Toronto at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m.
Minnesota at Golden State, 10:30 p.m.
New Orleans at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m.

Tuesday, Nov. 10
Orlando at Charlotte, 7 p.m.
Washington at Miami, 7:30 p.m.
Denver at Chicago, 8 p.m.
Portland at Memphis, 8 p.m.
Houston at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.
Oklahoma City at Sacramento, 10 p.m.

Wednesday, Nov. 11
Golden State at Indiana, 7 p.m.
Chicago at Toronto, 7 p.m.
Utah at Boston, 7:30 p.m.
Charlotte at Detroit, 7:30 p.m.
Philadelphia at New Jersey, 7:30 p.m.
Atlanta at New York, 7:30 p.m.
Denver at Milwaukee, 8 p.m.
Portland at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Cleveland at Orlando, 8 p.m.
Memphis at Houston, 8:30 p.m.
Dallas at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m.
Oklahoma City at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m.
New Orleans at Phoenix, 10:30 p.m.

Thursday, Nov. 12
Cleveland at Miami, 8 p.m.
Phoenix at L.A. Lakers, 10:30 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 13
New Jersey at Orlando, 7 p.m.
Utah at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Golden State at New York, 7:30 p.m.
Atlanta at Boston, 8 p.m.
Dallas at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Portland at New Orleans, 8 p.m.
Houston at Sacramento, 10 p.m.
L.A. Lakers at Denver, 10:30 p.m.
Toronto at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 14
New Orleans at Atlanta, 7 p.m.
Portland at Charlotte, 7 p.m.
Boston at Indiana, 7 p.m.
Detroit at Washington, 7 p.m.
Utah at Cleveland, 7:30 p.m.
New Jersey at Miami, 7:30 p.m.
Philadelphia at Chicago, 8 p.m.
Minnesota at Memphis, 8 p.m.
Golden State at Milwaukee, 8:30 p.m.
Oklahoma City at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m.

Sunday, Nov. 15
Dallas at Detroit, 6 p.m.
L.A. Clippers at Oklahoma City, 7 p.m.
Toronto at Phoenix, 8 p.m.
Houston at L.A. Lakers, 9:30 p.m.

Monday, Nov. 16
Portland at Atlanta, 7 p.m.
Charlotte at Orlando, 7 p.m.
Dallas at Milwaukee, 8 p.m.

Tuesday, Nov. 17
Golden State at Cleveland, 7 p.m.
Oklahoma City at Miami, 7:30 p.m.
Indiana at New Jersey, 7:30 p.m.
L.A. Clippers at New Orleans, 8 p.m.
Phoenix at Houston, 8:30 p.m.
Toronto at Denver, 9 p.m.
Chicago at Sacramento, 10 p.m.
Detroit at L.A. Lakers, 10:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Nov. 18
Miami at Atlanta, 7 p.m.
New York at Indiana, 7 p.m.
Oklahoma City at Orlando, 7 p.m.
Charlotte at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Cleveland at Washington, 7 p.m.
Golden State at Boston, 7:30 p.m.
L.A. Clippers at Memphis, 8 p.m.
New Jersey at Milwaukee, 8 p.m.
Houston at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Toronto at Utah, 9 p.m.
San Antonio at Dallas, 9:30 p.m.
Detroit at Portland, 10 p.m.

Thursday, Nov. 19
Phoenix at New Orleans, 8 p.m.
Utah at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m.
Chicago at L.A. Lakers, 10:30 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 20
Cleveland at Indiana, 7 p.m.
Memphis at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Miami at Toronto, 7 p.m.
Houston at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m.
Orlando at Boston, 8 p.m.
Washington at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m.
Sacramento at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.
Charlotte at Milwaukee, 8:30 p.m.
Portland at Golden State, 10:30 p.m.
Denver at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 21
New York at New Jersey, 1 p.m.
Philadelphia at Cleveland, 7:30 p.m.
Milwaukee at Memphis, 8 p.m.
Atlanta at New Orleans, 8 p.m.
Sacramento at Houston, 8:30 p.m.
Washington at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m.
Chicago at Denver, 9 p.m.
Detroit at Utah, 9 p.m.
Minnesota at Portland, 10 p.m.

Sunday, Nov. 22
Orlando at Toronto 12:30 p.m.
Boston at New York, 1 p.m.
Indiana at Charlotte, 5 p.m.
New Orleans at Miami, 6 p.m.
Detroit at Phoenix, 8 p.m.
Oklahoma City at L.A. Lakers, 9:30 p.m.

Monday, Nov. 23
Sacramento at Memphis, 8 p.m.
Milwaukee at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m.
Chicago at Portland, 10 p.m.
Minnesota at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m.

Tuesday, Nov. 24
Indiana at Toronto, 7 p.m.
Philadelphia at Washington, 7 p.m.
Golden State at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.
New Jersey at Denver, 9 p.m.
Oklahoma City at Utah, 9 p.m.
New York at L.A. Lakers, 10:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Nov. 25
Toronto at Charlotte, 7 p.m.
L.A. Clippers at Indiana, 7 p.m.
Philadelphia at Boston, 7:30 p.m.
Miami at Orlando, 7:30 p.m.
Cleveland at Detroit, 8 p.m.
Denver at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Milwaukee at New Orleans, 8 p.m.
Dallas at Houston, 8:30 p.m.
Golden State at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m.
Memphis at Phoenix, 9 p.m.
New Jersey at Portland, 10 p.m.
New York at Sacramento, 10 p.m.

Thursday, Nov. 26
Orlando at Atlanta, 8 p.m.
Chicago at Utah, 10:30 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 27
Cleveland at Charlotte, 7 p.m.
Washington at Miami, 7 p.m.
Atlanta at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Toronto at Boston, 7:30 p.m.
L.A. Clippers at Detroit, 8 p.m.
Dallas at Indiana, 8 p.m.
Milwaukee at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m.
San Antonio at Houston, 8:30 p.m.
New York at Denver, 9 p.m.
Phoenix at Minnesota, 9:30 p.m.
Memphis at Portland, 10 p.m.
New Jersey at Sacramento, 10 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 28
Charlotte at Washington, 7 p.m.
Dallas at Cleveland, 7:30 p.m.
Orlando at Milwaukee, 9 p.m.
Portland at Utah, 9 p.m.
L.A. Lakers at Golden State, 10:30 p.m.

Sunday, Nov. 29
Atlanta at Detroit, 1 p.m.
Memphis at L.A. Clippers, 3:30 p.m.
Phoenix at Toronto, 3:30 p.m.
Boston at Miami, 6 p.m.
Orlando at New York, 6 p.m.
Houston at Oklahoma City, 7 p.m.
Philadelphia at San Antonio, 7 p.m.
Minnesota at Denver, 8 p.m.
New Orleans at Sacramento, 9 p.m.
New Jersey at L.A. Lakers, 9:30 p.m.

Monday, Nov. 30
Chicago at Milwaukee, 8 p.m.
Philadelphia at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.
Memphis at Utah, 9 p.m.
Indiana at Golden State, 10:30 p.m.

Tuesday, Dec. 1
Boston at Charlotte, 7 p.m.
Washington at Toronto, 7 p.m.
Phoenix at New York, 7:30 p.m.
Golden State at Denver, 9 p.m.
Miami at Portland, 10 p.m.
New Orleans at L.A. Lakers, 10:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Dec. 2
Toronto at Atlanta, 7 p.m.
Phoenix at Cleveland, 7 p.m.
New York at Orlando, 7 p.m.
Milwaukee at Washington, 7 p.m.
Dallas at New Jersey, 7:30 p.m.
Detroit at Chicago, 8 p.m.
Memphis at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Philadelphia at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m.
Indiana at Sacramento, 10 p.m.
Houston at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m.

Thursday, Dec. 3
Boston at San Antonio, 8 p.m.
Miami at Denver, 10:30 p.m.
Houston at Golden State, 10:30 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 4
Toronto at Washington, 7 p.m.
New York at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m.
Chicago at Cleveland, 8 p.m.
Milwaukee at Detroit, 8 p.m.
Dallas at Memphis, 8 p.m.
Charlotte at New Jersey, 8 p.m.
Minnesota at New Orleans, 8 p.m.
Boston at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m.
Indiana at Utah, 9 p.m.
Miami at L.A. Lakers, 10:30 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 5
Philadelphia at Charlotte, 7 p.m.
Toronto at Chicago, 8 p.m.
Utah at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Denver at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m.
Atlanta at Dallas, 9 p.m.
Sacramento at Phoenix, 9 p.m.
Houston at Portland, 10 p.m.
Orlando at Golden State, 10:30 p.m.
Indiana at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m.

Sunday, Dec. 6
New Jersey at New York, Noon
Cleveland at Milwaukee, 3 p.m.
Washington at Detroit, 6 p.m.
Miami at Sacramento, 9 p.m.
Phoenix at L.A. Lakers, 9:30 p.m.

Monday, Dec. 7
Denver at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Portland at New York, 7:30 p.m.
Golden State at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m.
San Antonio at Utah, 9 p.m.

Tuesday, Dec. 8
Denver at Charlotte, 7 p.m.
Minnesota at Toronto, 7 p.m.
Milwaukee at Boston, 7:30 p.m.
New Jersey at Chicago, 8 p.m.
Cleveland at Memphis, 8 p.m.
Sacramento at New Orleans, 8 p.m.
Phoenix at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.
Orlando at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Dec. 9
Chicago at Atlanta, 7 p.m.
Portland at Indiana, 7 p.m.
Detroit at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Golden State at New Jersey, 7:30 p.m.
Toronto at Milwaukee, 8 p.m.
New Orleans at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Cleveland at Houston, 8:30 p.m.
Sacramento at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m.
Utah at L.A. Lakers, 10:30 p.m.

Thursday, Dec. 10
Denver at Detroit, 7:30 p.m.
Boston at Washington, 8 p.m.
Orlando at Utah, 10:30 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 11
New Jersey at Indiana, 7 p.m.
Houston at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Atlanta at Toronto, 7 p.m.
Dallas at Miami, 7:30 p.m.
Golden State at Chicago, 8 p.m.
Portland at Cleveland, 8 p.m.
Oklahoma City at Memphis, 8 p.m.
New York at New Orleans, 8 p.m.
Charlotte at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m.
Minnesota at L.A. Lakers, 10:30 p.m.
Orlando at Phoenix, 10:30 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 12
Indiana at Washington, 7 p.m.
Golden State at Detroit, 7:30 p.m.
Boston at Chicago, 8 p.m.
Charlotte at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.
Portland at Milwaukee, 8:30 p.m.
Phoenix at Denver, 9 p.m.
L.A. Lakers at Utah, 9 p.m.
Minnesota at Sacramento, 10 p.m.

Sunday, Dec. 13
Houston at Toronto, 1 p.m.
New Jersey at Atlanta 5 p.m.
Memphis at Miami, 6 p.m.
Cleveland at Oklahoma City, 7 p.m.
San Antonio at L.A. Clippers, 9:30 p.m.

Monday, Dec. 14
Indiana at Orlando, 7 p.m.
Golden State at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Boston at Memphis, 8 p.m.
New Orleans at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.
Oklahoma City at Denver, 9 p.m.
Minnesota at Utah, 9 p.m.
Washington at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m.

Tuesday, Dec. 15
New York at Charlotte, 7 p.m.
New Jersey at Cleveland, 7 p.m.
Toronto at Miami, 7:30 p.m.
L.A. Lakers at Chicago, 8 p.m.
Detroit at Houston, 8:30 p.m.
San Antonio at Phoenix, 9 p.m.
Sacramento at Portland, 10 p.m.

Wednesday, Dec. 16
Memphis at Atlanta, 7 p.m.
Charlotte at Indiana, 7 p.m.
Toronto at Orlando, 7 p.m.
Cleveland at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Utah at New Jersey, 7:30 p.m.
L.A. Lakers at Milwaukee, 8 p.m.
L.A. Clippers at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Detroit at New Orleans, 8 p.m.
Dallas at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m.
Houston at Denver, 9 p.m.
Washington at Sacramento, 10 p.m.
San Antonio at Golden State, 10:30 p.m.

Thursday, Dec. 17
New York at Chicago, 8 p.m.
Orlando at Miami, 8 p.m.
Phoenix at Portland, 10:30 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 18
New Jersey at Toronto, 7 p.m.
Utah at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m.
Philadelphia at Boston, 7:30 p.m.
Milwaukee at Cleveland, 7:30 p.m.
Indiana at Memphis, 8 p.m.
Sacramento at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Denver at New Orleans, 8 p.m.
L.A. Clippers at New York, 8 p.m.
Detroit at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m.
Houston at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.
Washington at Golden State, 10:30 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 19
Utah at Charlotte, 7 p.m.
Portland at Orlando, 7 p.m.
L.A. Clippers at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Atlanta at Chicago, 8 p.m.
L.A. Lakers at New Jersey, 8 p.m.
Oklahoma City at Houston, 8:30 p.m.
Sacramento at Milwaukee, 8:30 p.m.
Indiana at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m.
Washington at Phoenix, 9 p.m.

Sunday, Dec. 20
New Orleans at Toronto, 1 p.m.
Denver at Memphis, 4 p.m.
Minnesota at Boston, 6 p.m.
L.A. Lakers at Detroit, 6 p.m.
Portland at Miami, 6 p.m.
Cleveland at Dallas, 7:30 p.m.
Charlotte at New York, 7:30 p.m.

Monday, Dec. 21
Milwaukee at Indiana, 7 p.m.
Utah at Orlando, 7 p.m.
Sacramento at Chicago, 8 p.m.
L.A. Clippers at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m.
Cleveland at Phoenix, 9 p.m.

Tuesday, Dec. 22
Detroit at Charlotte, 7 p.m.
Philadelphia at Washington, 7 p.m.
Indiana at Boston, 7:30 p.m.
Chicago at New York, 7:30 p.m.
Golden State at Memphis, 8 p.m.
Atlanta at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Portland at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.
L.A. Clippers at Houston, 8:30 p.m.
Oklahoma City at L.A. Lakers, 10:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Dec. 23
Houston at Orlando, 7 p.m.
Toronto at Detroit, 7:30 p.m.
Utah at Miami, 7:30 p.m.
Minnesota at New Jersey, 7:30 p.m.
Washington at Milwaukee, 8 p.m.
Golden State at New Orleans, 8 p.m.
Portland at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m.
Atlanta at Denver, 9 p.m.
Oklahoma City at Phoenix, 9 p.m.
Cleveland at Sacramento, 10 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 25
Miami at New York, Noon
Boston at Orlando, 2:30 p.m.
Cleveland at L.A. Lakers, 5 p.m.
L.A. Clippers at Phoenix, 8 p.m.
Denver at Portland, 10:30 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 26
Memphis at Dallas, 3 p.m.
Atlanta at Indiana, 7 p.m.
Houston at New Jersey, 7:30 p.m.
New Orleans at Chicago, 8 p.m.
Washington at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Charlotte at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m.
San Antonio at Milwaukee, 8:30 p.m.
Philadelphia at Utah, 9 p.m.
L.A. Lakers at Sacramento, 10 p.m.
Phoenix at Golden State, 10:30 p.m.

Sunday, Dec. 27
Detroit at Toronto, 1 p.m.
Houston at Cleveland, 6 p.m.
Indiana at Miami, 6 p.m.
San Antonio at New York, 6 p.m.
Dallas at Denver, 8 p.m.
Boston at L.A. Clippers, 9:30 p.m.

Monday, Dec. 28
Milwaukee at Charlotte, 7 p.m.
Oklahoma City at New Jersey, 7:30 p.m.
Washington at Memphis, 8 p.m.
L.A. Lakers at Phoenix, 9 p.m.
Philadelphia at Portland, 10 p.m.
Denver at Sacramento, 10 p.m.
Boston at Golden State, 10:30 p.m.

Tuesday, Dec. 29
Cleveland at Atlanta, 7 p.m.
Oklahoma City at Washington, 7 p.m.
New York at Detroit, 7:30 p.m.
Indiana at Chicago, 8 p.m.
New Orleans at Houston, 8:30 p.m.
Minnesota at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m.
Golden State at L.A. Lakers, 10:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Dec. 30
Atlanta at Cleveland, 7 p.m.
Memphis at Indiana, 7 p.m.
Milwaukee at Orlando, 7 p.m.
Charlotte at Toronto, 7 p.m.
New York at New Jersey, 7:30 p.m.
Utah at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Miami at New Orleans, 8 p.m.
Boston at Phoenix, 9 p.m.
L.A. Clippers at Portland, 10 p.m.
Philadelphia at Sacramento, 10 p.m.

Thursday, Dec. 31
Chicago at Detroit, 3 p.m.
Dallas at Houston, 7 p.m.
Miami at San Antonio, 7 p.m.
Utah at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m.
Philadelphia at L.A. Clippers, 9:30 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 1
New York at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m.
Orlando at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Sacramento at L.A. Lakers, 10:30 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 2
Cleveland at New Jersey, 1 p.m.
Charlotte at Miami, 3:30 p.m.
Minnesota at Indiana, 7 p.m.
San Antonio at Washington, 7 p.m.
Toronto at Boston, 7:30 p.m.
Orlando at Chicago, 8 p.m.
Houston at New Orleans, 8 p.m.
Oklahoma City at Milwaukee, 8:30 p.m.
Memphis at Phoenix, 9 p.m.
Denver at Utah, 9 p.m.
Golden State at Portland, 10 p.m.
Dallas at Sacramento, 10 p.m.

Sunday, Jan. 3
Charlotte at Cleveland, 6 p.m.
Indiana at New York, 6 p.m.
San Antonio at Toronto, 6 p.m.
Philadelphia at Denver, 8 p.m.
Dallas at L.A. Lakers, 9:30 p.m.

Monday, Jan. 4
Atlanta at Miami, 7:30 p.m.
Oklahoma City at Chicago, 8 p.m.
New Orleans at Utah, 9 p.m.
Portland at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m.

Tuesday, Jan. 5
Chicago at Charlotte, 7 p.m.
Orlando at Indiana, 7 p.m.
Washington at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Milwaukee at New Jersey, 7:30 p.m.
Detroit at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.
Golden State at Denver, 9 p.m.
Memphis at Portland, 10 p.m.
Phoenix at Sacramento, 10 p.m.
Houston at L.A. Lakers, 10:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Jan. 6
New Jersey at Atlanta, 7 p.m.
Washington at Cleveland, 7 p.m.
Toronto at Orlando, 7 p00 p.m.
Boston at Miami, 7:30 p.m.
Golden State at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
New Orleans at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m.
Detroit at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m.
Houston at Phoenix, 9 p.m.
Memphis at Utah, 9 p.m.
L.A. Lakers at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m.

Thursday, Jan. 7
Charlotte at New York, 7:30 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 8
Toronto at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Orlando at Washington, 7 p.m.
Boston at Atlanta, 8 p.m.
Utah at Memphis, 8 p.m.
Indiana at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
New Jersey at New Orleans, 8 p.m.
Chicago at Milwaukee, 8:30 p.m.
Dallas at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m.
Miami at Phoenix, 9 p.m.
L.A. Lakers at Portland, 10 p.m.
Cleveland at Denver, 10:30 p.m.
Sacramento at Golden State, 10:30 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 9
Memphis at Charlotte, 7 p.m.
Atlanta at Orlando, 7 p.m.
Philadelphia at Detroit, 7:30 p.m.
Minnesota at Chicago, 8 p.m.
Indiana at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m.
Utah at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.
New York at Houston, 8:30 p.m.
Denver at Sacramento, 10 p.m.

Sunday, Jan. 10
Boston at Toronto, 1 p.m.
New Orleans at Washington, 1 p.m.
Miami at L.A. Clippers, 3:30 p.m.
New Jersey at San Antonio, 7 p.m.
Cleveland at Portland, 9 p.m.
Milwaukee at L.A. Lakers, 9:30 p.m.

Monday, Jan. 11
Toronto at Indiana, 7 p.m.
New Orleans at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Atlanta at Boston, 7:30 p.m.
Detroit at Chicago, 8 p.m.
New York at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m.
Minnesota at Denver, 9 p.m.
Milwaukee at Phoenix, 9 p.m.
Miami at Utah, 9 p.m.
Cleveland at Golden State, 10:30 p.m.

Tuesday, Jan. 12
Houston at Charlotte, 7 p.m.
Detroit at Washington, 7 p.m.
L.A. Clippers at Memphis, 8 p.m.
L.A. Lakers at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m.
Orlando at Sacramento, 10 p.m.

Wednesday, Jan. 13
Washington at Atlanta, 7 p.m.
Phoenix at Indiana, 7 p.m.
New York at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Boston at New Jersey, 7:30 p.m.
L.A. Clippers at New Orleans, 8 p.m.
San Antonio at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m.
L.A. Lakers at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.
Minnesota at Houston, 8:30 p.m.
Orlando at Denver, 9 p.m.
Milwaukee at Portland, 10 p.m.
Miami at Golden State, 10:30 p.m.

Thursday, Jan. 14
Chicago at Boston, 8 p.m.
Cleveland at Utah, 10:30 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 15
San Antonio at Charlotte, 7 p.m.
Sacramento at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Phoenix at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m.
Washington at Chicago, 8 p.m.
New Orleans at Detroit, 8 p.m.
Minnesota at Memphis, 8 p.m.
Indiana at New Jersey, 8 p.m.
Toronto at New York, 8 p.m.
Oklahoma City at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.
Miami at Houston, 8:30 p.m.
Milwaukee at Golden State, 10:30 p.m.
L.A. Clippers at L.A. Lakers, 10:30 p.m.
Orlando at Portland, 10:30 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 16
Phoenix at Charlotte, 7 p.m.
New Orleans at Indiana, 7 p.m.
Sacramento at Washington, 7 p.m.
New York at Detroit, 7:30 p.m.
San Antonio at Memphis, 8 p.m.
Miami at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m.
Milwaukee at Utah, 9 p.m.
Cleveland at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m.

Sunday, Jan. 17
Dallas at Toronto 12:30 p.m.
Utah at Denver, 9 p.m.

Monday, Jan. 18
Detroit at New York, 1 p.m.
Portland at Washington, 1 p.m.
Oklahoma City at Atlanta, 2 p.m.
Sacramento at Charlotte, 2 p.m.
Milwaukee at Houston, 3 p.m.
New Jersey at L.A. Clippers, 3:30 p.m.
Philadelphia at Minnesota, 3:30 p.m.
San Antonio at New Orleans, 3:30 p.m.
Chicago at Golden State, 4 p.m.
Phoenix at Memphis, 5:30 p.m.
Dallas at Boston, 8 p.m.
Orlando at L.A. Lakers, 10:30 p.m.

Tuesday, Jan. 19
Toronto at Cleveland, 7 p.m.
Indiana at Miami, 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Jan. 20
Sacramento at Atlanta, 7 p.m.
Miami at Charlotte, 7 p.m.
Indiana at Orlando, 7 p.m.
Portland at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Dallas at Washington, 7 p.m.
Boston at Detroit, 7:30 p.m.
Toronto at Milwaukee, 8 p.m.
Oklahoma City at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Memphis at New Orleans, 8 p.m.
New Jersey at Phoenix, 9 p.m.
Utah at San Antonio, 9 p.m.
Denver at Golden State, 10:30 p.m.
Chicago at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m.

Thursday, Jan. 21
L.A. Lakers at Cleveland, 8 p.m.
L.A. Clippers at Denver, 10:30 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 22
Sacramento at Orlando, 7 p.m.
Dallas at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Milwaukee at Toronto, 7 p.m.
Miami at Washington, 7 p.m.
Charlotte at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m.
Portland at Boston, 7:30 p.m.
Indiana at Detroit, 8 p.m.
Oklahoma City at Memphis, 8 p.m.
New Orleans at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
L.A. Lakers at New York, 8 p.m.
Houston at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m.
New Jersey at Golden State, 10:30 p.m.
Chicago at Phoenix, 10:30 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 23
Orlando at Charlotte, 7 p.m.
Philadelphia at Indiana, 7 p.m.
Oklahoma City at Cleveland, 7:30 p.m.
Portland at Detroit, 7:30 p.m.
Sacramento at Miami, 7:30 p.m.
Chicago at Houston, 8:30 p.m.
Minnesota at Milwaukee, 8:30 p.m.
New Orleans at Denver, 9 p.m.
Golden State at Phoenix, 9 p.m.
New Jersey at Utah, 9 p.m.

Sunday, Jan. 24
Dallas at New York, 1 p.m.
L.A. Clippers at Washington, 1 p.m.
L.A. Lakers at Toronto, 6 p.m.

Monday, Jan. 25
Indiana at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
L.A. Clippers at Boston, 7:30 p.m.
Cleveland at Miami, 7:30 p.m.
Orlando at Memphis, 8 p.m.
Atlanta at Houston, 8:30 p.m.
Chicago at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m.
Charlotte at Denver, 9 p.m.
Phoenix at Utah, 9 p.m.
New Orleans at Portland, 10 p.m.

Tuesday, Jan. 26
L.A. Lakers at Washington, 7 p.m.
Minnesota at New York, 7:30 p.m.
Milwaukee at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.
Charlotte at Phoenix, 9 p.m.
Golden State at Sacramento, 10 p.m.

Wednesday, Jan. 27
Minnesota at Cleveland, 7 p.m.
L.A. Lakers at Indiana, 7 p.m.
Miami at Toronto, 7 p.m.
Memphis at Detroit, 7:30 p.m.
L.A. Clippers at New Jersey, 7:30 p.m.
Philadelphia at Milwaukee, 8 p.m.
Chicago at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m.
Denver at Houston, 8:30 p.m.
Atlanta at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m.
Utah at Portland, 10 p.m.
New Orleans at Golden State, 10:30 p.m.

Thursday, Jan. 28
Toronto at New York, 7:30 p.m.
Boston at Orlando, 8 p.m.
Dallas at Phoenix, 10:30 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 29
Cleveland at Indiana, 7 p.m.
L.A. Lakers at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Boston at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m.
Miami at Detroit, 8 p.m.
L.A. Clippers at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Washington at New Jersey, 8 p.m.
Chicago at New Orleans, 8 p.m.
Denver at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m.
Portland at Houston, 8:30 p.m.
Memphis at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m.
Sacramento at Utah, 9 p.m.
Charlotte at Golden State, 10:30 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 30
Atlanta at Orlando, 7 p.m.
New Orleans at Memphis, 8 p.m.
New York at Washington, 8 p.m.
Portland at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.
Miami at Milwaukee, 8:30 p.m.
Charlotte at Sacramento, 10 p.m.

Sunday, Jan. 31
Denver at San Antonio, 1 p.m.
L.A. Lakers at Boston, 3:30 p.m.
L.A. Clippers at Cleveland, 6 p.m.
Orlando at Detroit, 6 p.m.
Philadelphia at New Jersey, 6 p.m.
Indiana at Toronto, 6 p.m.
Phoenix at Houston, 7 p.m.
New York at Minnesota, 7 p.m.
Golden State at Oklahoma City, 7 p.m.

Monday, Feb. 1
Boston at Washington, 7 p.m.
Milwaukee at Miami, 7:30 p.m.
L.A. Lakers at Memphis, 8 p.m.
Phoenix at New Orleans, 8 p.m.
Sacramento at Denver, 9 p.m.
Dallas at Utah, 9 p.m.
Charlotte at Portland, 10 p.m.

Tuesday, Feb. 2
Memphis at Cleveland, 7 p.m.
Toronto at Indiana, 7 p.m.
Milwaukee at Orlando, 7 p.m.
Detroit at New Jersey, 7:30 p.m.
L.A. Clippers at Chicago, 8 p.m.
Atlanta at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m.
Golden State at Houston, 8:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Feb. 3
L.A. Clippers at Atlanta, 7 p.m.
Chicago at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
New Jersey at Toronto, 7 p.m.
Washington at New York, 7:30 p.m.
Miami at Boston, 8 p.m.
Oklahoma City at New Orleans, 8 p.m.
Golden State at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.
Phoenix at Denver, 9 p.m.
San Antonio at Sacramento, 10 p.m.
Charlotte at L.A. Lakers, 10:30 p.m.
Portland at Utah, 10:30 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 4
Miami at Cleveland, 8 p.m.
San Antonio at Portland, 10:30 p.m.

Friday, Feb. 5
Detroit at Indiana, 7 p.m.
Washington at Orlando, 7 p.m.
New Jersey at Boston, 7:30 p.m.
Milwaukee at New York, 7:30 p.m.
Chicago at Atlanta, 8 p.m.
Houston at Memphis, 8 p.m.
Philadelphia at New Orleans, 8 p.m.
Minnesota at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.
Phoenix at Sacramento, 10 p.m.
Denver at L.A. Lakers, 10:30 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 6
New Orleans at Charlotte, 7 p.m.
Atlanta at Washington, 7 p.m.
New York at Cleveland, 7:30 p.m.
New Jersey at Detroit, 7:30 p.m.
Miami at Chicago, 8 p.m.
Memphis at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Philadelphia at Houston, 8:30 p.m.
Indiana at Milwaukee, 8:30 p.m.
Denver at Utah, 9 p.m.
L.A. Lakers at Portland, 10 p.m.
Oklahoma City at Golden State, 10:30 p.m.
San Antonio at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m.

Sunday, Feb. 7
Sacramento at Toronto, Noon
Orlando at Boston, 2:30 p.m.

Monday, Feb. 8
New Orleans at Orlando, 8 p.m.
Dallas at Golden State, 10:30 p.m.
San Antonio at L.A. Lakers, 10:30 p.m.

Tuesday, Feb. 9
Washington at Charlotte, 7 p.m.
New Jersey at Cleveland, 7 p.m.
Chicago at Indiana, 7 p.m.
Minnesota at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Houston at Miami, 7:30 p.m.
Sacramento at New York, 7:30 p.m.
Atlanta at Memphis, 8 p.m.
Detroit at Milwaukee, 8 p.m.
Dallas at Denver, 9 p.m.
Oklahoma City at Portland, 10 p.m.
Utah at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Feb. 10
Miami at Atlanta, 7 p.m.
Philadelphia at Toronto, 7 p.m.
Sacramento at Detroit, 7:30 p.m.
Milwaukee at New Jersey, 7:30 p.m.
Orlando at Chicago, 8 p.m.
Charlotte at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Boston at New Orleans, 8 p.m.
Portland at Phoenix, 9 p.m.
L.A. Lakers at Utah, 9 p.m.
L.A. Clippers at Golden State, 10:30 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 11
Orlando at Cleveland, 8 p.m.
San Antonio at Denver, 10:30 p.m.

Sunday, Feb. 14
All-Star Game at Dallas

Tuesday, Feb. 16
New Jersey at Charlotte, 7 p.m.
Miami at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Minnesota at Detroit, 7:30 p.m.
New York at Chicago, 8 p.m.
Phoenix at Memphis, 8 p.m.
Dallas at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m.
Utah at Houston, 8:30 p.m.
L.A. Clippers at Portland, 10 p.m.
Boston at Sacramento, 10 p.m.
Golden State at L.A. Lakers, 10:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Feb. 17
San Antonio at Indiana, 7 p.m.
Detroit at Orlando, 7 p.m.
Memphis at Toronto, 7 p.m.
Minnesota at Washington, 7 p.m.
Miami at New Jersey, 7:30 p.m.
Chicago at New York, 7:30 p.m.
Houston at Milwaukee, 8 p.m.
Utah at New Orleans, 8 p.m.
Phoenix at Dallas, 9 p.m.
Sacramento at Golden State, 10:30 p.m.
Atlanta at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 18
Denver at Cleveland, 8 p.m.
Boston at L.A. Lakers, 10:30 p.m.

Friday, Feb. 19
Cleveland at Charlotte, 7 p.m.
San Antonio at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Denver at Washington, 7 p.m.
Milwaukee at Detroit, 8 p.m.
Miami at Memphis, 8 p.m.
Chicago at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Toronto at New Jersey, 8 p.m.
Indiana at New Orleans, 8 p.m.
Dallas at Orlando, 8 p.m.
Atlanta at Phoenix, 9 p.m.
Utah at Golden State, 10:30 p.m.
Boston at Portland, 10:30 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 20
Washington at Toronto, 7 p.m.
Oklahoma City at New York, 7:30 p.m.
Philadelphia at Chicago, 8 p.m.
Miami at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.
Indiana at Houston, 8:30 p.m.
Charlotte at Milwaukee, 8:30 p.m.
Sacramento at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m.

Sunday, Feb. 21
Cleveland at Orlando, 1 p.m.
Boston at Denver, 3:30 p.m.
San Antonio at Detroit, 6 p.m.
Memphis at New Jersey, 6 p.m.
Oklahoma City at Minnesota, 7 p.m.
Houston at New Orleans, 7 p.m.
Atlanta at Golden State, 8 p.m.
Sacramento at Phoenix, 8 p.m.
Utah at Portland, 10:30 p.m.

Monday, Feb. 22
Chicago at Washington, 7 p.m.
Milwaukee at New York, 7:30 p.m.
Indiana at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.
Atlanta at Utah, 9 p.m.
Charlotte at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m.

Tuesday, Feb. 23
New Orleans at Cleveland, 7 p.m.
New York at Boston, 7:30 p.m.
Minnesota at Miami, 7:30 p.m.
Portland at New Jersey, 7:30 p.m.
L.A. Lakers at Memphis, 8 p.m.
Phoenix at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m.
Detroit at Sacramento, 10 p.m.
Philadelphia at Golden State, 10:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Feb. 24
Minnesota at Atlanta, 7 p.m.
Portland at Toronto, 7 p.m.
Memphis at Washington, 7 p.m.
Indiana at Chicago, 8 p.m.
New Orleans at Milwaukee, 8 p.m.
Orlando at Houston, 8:30 p.m.
Oklahoma City at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m.
L.A. Lakers at Dallas, 9 p.m.
Philadelphia at Phoenix, 9 p.m.
Charlotte at Utah, 9 p.m.
Detroit at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 25
Milwaukee at Indiana, 7 p.m.
Cleveland at Boston, 8 p.m.
Denver at Golden State, 10:30 p.m.

Friday, Feb. 26
Cleveland at Toronto, 7 p.m.
New York at Washington, 7 p.m.
Dallas at Atlanta, 8 p.m.
Portland at Chicago, 8 p.m.
Charlotte at Memphis, 8 p.m.
Orlando at New Orleans, 8 p.m.
Minnesota at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m.
San Antonio at Houston, 8:30 p.m.
Detroit at Denver, 9 p.m.
Utah at Sacramento, 10 p.m.
Philadelphia at L.A. Lakers, 10:30 p.m.
L.A. Clippers at Phoenix, 10:30 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 27
New Jersey at Boston, 1 p.m.
Milwaukee at Miami, 3:30 p.m.
Chicago at Indiana, 7 p.m.
Memphis at New York, 7:30 p.m.
Portland at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Houston at Utah, 9 p.m.
Detroit at Golden State, 10:30 p.m.

Sunday, Feb. 28
Phoenix at San Antonio, 1 p.m.
Denver at L.A. Lakers, 3:30 p.m.
Milwaukee at Atlanta, 6 p.m.
Washington at New Jersey, 6 p.m.
Toronto at Oklahoma City, 7 p.m.
Miami at Orlando, 7 p.m.
L.A. Clippers at Sacramento, 9 p.m.
New Orleans at Dallas, 9:30 p.m.

Monday, March 1
Dallas at Charlotte, 7 p.m.
New York at Cleveland, 7 p.m.
Orlando at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Atlanta at Chicago, 8 p.m.
Portland at Memphis, 8 p.m.
San Antonio at New Orleans, 8 p.m.
Toronto at Houston, 8:30 p.m.
Denver at Phoenix, 9 p.m.
Utah at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m.

Tuesday, March 2
Boston at Detroit, 7:30 p.m.
Golden State at Miami, 7:30 p.m.
Sacramento at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m.
Indiana at L.A. Lakers, 10:30 p.m.

Wednesday, March 3
Philadelphia at Atlanta, 7 p.m.
Golden State at Orlando, 7 p.m.
Charlotte at Boston, 7:30 p.m.
Cleveland at New Jersey, 7:30 p.m.
Detroit at New York, 7:30 p.m.
Washington at Milwaukee, 8 p.m.
Memphis at New Orleans, 8 p.m.
Minnesota at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.
Sacramento at Houston, 8:30 p.m.
Oklahoma City at Denver, 9 p.m.
Indiana at Portland, 10 p.m.
Phoenix at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m.

Thursday, March 4
Memphis at Chicago, 8 p.m.
L.A. Lakers at Miami, 8 p.m.
Utah at Phoenix, 10:30 p.m.

Friday, March 5
L.A. Lakers at Charlotte, 7 p.m.
Detroit at Cleveland, 7 p.m.
Boston at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
New York at Toronto, 7 p.m.
Milwaukee at Washington, 7 p.m.
Golden State at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m.
Orlando at New Jersey, 8 p.m.
Sacramento at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.
Indiana at Denver, 9 p.m.
New Orleans at San Antonio, 9:30 p.m.
Oklahoma City at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m.

Saturday, March 6
Golden State at Charlotte, 7 p.m.
Atlanta at Miami, 7:30 p.m.
New Jersey at New York, 7:30 p.m.
Dallas at Chicago, 8 p.m.
San Antonio at Memphis, 8 p.m.
Houston at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Cleveland at Milwaukee, 8:30 p.m.
Indiana at Phoenix, 9 p.m.
L.A. Clippers at Utah, 9 p.m.

Sunday, March 7
Philadelphia at Toronto, Noon
L.A. Lakers at Orlando, 2:30 p.m.
Houston at Detroit, 6 p.m.
Washington at Boston, 8 p.m.
Oklahoma City at Sacramento, 9 p.m.
Portland at Denver, 10:30 p.m.

Monday, March 8
San Antonio at Cleveland, 7 p.m.
Atlanta at New York, 7:30 p.m.
New Jersey at Memphis, 8 p.m.
Dallas at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Golden State at New Orleans, 8 p.m.

Tuesday, March 9
Miami at Charlotte, 7 p.m.
Philadelphia at Indiana, 7 p.m.
L.A. Clippers at Orlando, 7 p.m.
Houston at Washington, 7 p.m.
Utah at Chicago, 8 p.m.
Boston at Milwaukee, 8 p.m.
Sacramento at Portland, 10 p.m.
Toronto at L.A. Lakers, 10:30 p.m.

Wednesday, March 10
Charlotte at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Memphis at Boston, 7:30 p.m.
Utah at Detroit, 7:30 p.m.
L.A. Clippers at Miami, 7:30 p.m.
Denver at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
New Orleans at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m.
New Jersey at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.
New York at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m.
Toronto at Sacramento, 10 p.m.

Thursday, March 11
Chicago at Orlando, 8 p.m.
Portland at Golden State, 10:30 p.m.

Friday, March 12
L.A. Clippers at Charlotte, 7 p.m.
Cleveland at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Indiana at Boston, 7:30 p.m.
Chicago at Miami, 7:30 p.m.
Washington at Detroit, 8 p.m.
New York at Memphis, 8 p.m.
San Antonio at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Denver at New Orleans, 8 p.m.
New Jersey at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m.
Utah at Milwaukee, 8:30 p.m.
L.A. Lakers at Phoenix, 9 p.m.
Portland at Sacramento, 10 p.m.

Saturday, March 13
Detroit at Atlanta, 7 p.m.
Orlando at Washington, 7 p.m.
Denver at Memphis, 8 p.m.
New York at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.
New Jersey at Houston, 8:30 p.m.
L.A. Clippers at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m.
Toronto at Golden State, 10:30 p.m.

Sunday, March 14
Indiana at Milwaukee, 1 p.m.
Boston at Cleveland, 3:30 p.m.
Philadelphia at Miami, 6 p.m.
Charlotte at Orlando, 6 p.m.
Utah at Oklahoma City, 7 p.m.
New Orleans at Phoenix, 9 p.m.
Toronto at Portland, 9 p.m.
Minnesota at Sacramento, 9 p.m.

Monday, March 15
New York at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Detroit at Boston, 8 p.m.
Denver at Houston, 8:30 p.m.
Washington at Utah, 9 p.m.
L.A. Lakers at Golden State, 10:30 p.m.
New Orleans at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m.

Tuesday, March 16
Charlotte at Indiana, 7 p.m.
Cleveland at Detroit, 7:30 p.m.
San Antonio at Miami, 7:30 p.m.
Atlanta at New Jersey, 7:30 p.m.
Chicago at Memphis, 8 p.m.
Washington at Denver, 9 p.m.
Minnesota at Phoenix, 10 p.m.
L.A. Lakers at Sacramento, 10 p.m.

Wednesday, March 17
Oklahoma City at Charlotte, 7 p.m.
Indiana at Cleveland, 7 p.m.
New Jersey at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Atlanta at Toronto, 7 p.m.
New York at Boston, 7:30 p.m.
San Antonio at Orlando, 8 p.m.
Chicago at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.
Memphis at Houston, 8:30 p.m.
Minnesota at Utah, 9 p.m.
New Orleans at Golden State, 10:30 p.m.
Milwaukee at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m.

Thursday, March 18
Orlando at Miami, 7 p.m.
New Orleans at Denver, 9:30 p.m.

Friday, March 19
Detroit at Indiana, 7 p.m.
Oklahoma City at Toronto, 7 p.m.
Charlotte at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m.
Philadelphia at New York, 7:30 p.m.
Cleveland at Chicago, 8 p.m.
Boston at Houston, 8:30 p.m.
Golden State at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m.
Utah at Phoenix, 10 p.m.
Washington at Portland, 10 p.m.
Milwaukee at Sacramento, 10 p.m.
Minnesota at L.A. Lakers, 10:30 p.m.

Saturday, March 20
Chicago at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Charlotte at Miami, 7:30 p.m.
Toronto at New Jersey, 7:30 p.m.
Golden State at Memphis, 8 p.m.
Boston at Dallas, 9 p.m.
Milwaukee at Denver, 9 p.m.
New Orleans at Utah, 9 p.m.

Sunday, March 21
Houston at New York, 1 p.m.
Oklahoma City at Indiana, 2:30 p.m.
San Antonio at Atlanta, 3:30 p.m.
Sacramento at L.A. Clippers, 3:30 p.m.
Detroit at Cleveland, 8 p.m.
Washington at L.A. Lakers, 9:30 p.m.
Portland at Phoenix, 10:30 p.m.

Monday, March 22
Orlando at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Miami at New Jersey, 7:30 p.m.
Houston at Chicago, 8 p.m.
Atlanta at Milwaukee, 8 p.m.
Toronto at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Dallas at New Orleans, 8 p.m.
San Antonio at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m.
Boston at Utah, 9 p.m.
Memphis at Sacramento, 10 p.m.
Phoenix at Golden State, 10:30 p.m.

Tuesday, March 23
Charlotte at Washington, 7 p.m.
Indiana at Detroit, 7:30 p.m.
Denver at New York, 7:30 p.m.
L.A. Clippers at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.

Wednesday, March 24
Orlando at Atlanta, 7 p.m.
Denver at Boston, 7 p.m.
Minnesota at Charlotte, 7 p.m.
Washington at Indiana, 7 p.m.
Utah at Toronto, 7 p.m.
Sacramento at New Jersey, 7:30 p.m.
Philadelphia at Milwaukee, 8 p.m.
Cleveland at New Orleans, 8 p.m.
Houston at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m.
L.A. Lakers at San Antonio, 9:30 p.m.
Memphis at Golden State, 10:30 p.m.

Thursday, March 25
Miami at Chicago, 8 p.m.
L.A. Clippers at Houston, 8:30 p.m.
Dallas at Portland, 10:30 p.m.

Friday, March 26
Washington at Charlotte, 7 p.m.
Utah at Indiana, 7 p.m.
Minnesota at Orlando, 7 p.m.
Atlanta at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Denver at Toronto, 7 p.m.
Sacramento at Boston, 7:30 p.m.
Detroit at New Jersey, 8 p.m.
L.A. Lakers at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m.
Miami at Milwaukee, 8:30 p.m.
Cleveland at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m.
New York at Phoenix, 10 p.m.

Saturday, March 27
Utah at Washington, 7 p.m.
New Jersey at Chicago, 8 p.m.
Portland at New Orleans, 8 p.m.
L.A. Lakers at Houston, 8:30 p.m.
Dallas at Golden State, 10:30 p.m.

Sunday, March 28
Sacramento at Cleveland, 3 p.m.
Memphis at Milwaukee, 3 p.m.
Indiana at Atlanta, 3:30 p.m.
Chicago at Detroit, 6 p.m.
Toronto at Miami, 6 p.m.
Denver at Orlando, 6 p.m.
Phoenix at Minnesota, 7 p.m.
Portland at Oklahoma City, 7 p.m.
San Antonio at Boston, 8 p.m.
Golden State at L.A. Clippers, 9:30 p.m.

Monday, March 29
Toronto at Charlotte, 7 p.m.
San Antonio at New Jersey, 7:30 p.m.
L.A. Lakers at New Orleans, 8 p.m.
Denver at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.
New York at Utah, 9 p.m.

Tuesday, March 30
Sacramento at Indiana, 7 p.m.
Oklahoma City at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Phoenix at Chicago, 8 p.m.
L.A. Clippers at Milwaukee, 8 p.m.
Washington at Houston, 8:30 p.m.

Wednesday, March 31
L.A. Lakers at Atlanta, 7 p.m.
Philadelphia at Charlotte, 7 p.m.
Milwaukee at Cleveland, 7 p.m.
L.A. Clippers at Toronto, 7 p.m.
Oklahoma City at Boston, 7:30 p.m.
Miami at Detroit, 7:30 p.m.
Phoenix at New Jersey, 7:30 p.m.
Dallas at Memphis, 8 p.m.
Sacramento at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Washington at New Orleans, 8 p.m.
Houston at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m.
New York at Portland, 10 p.m.
Golden State at Utah, 10 p.m.

Thursday, April 1
Orlando at Dallas, 8 p.m.
Portland at Denver, 10:30 p.m.

Friday, April 2
Milwaukee at Charlotte, 7 p.m.
Miami at Indiana, 7 p.m.
Chicago at Washington, 7 p.m.
Houston at Boston, 7:30 p.m.
Atlanta at Cleveland, 8 p.m.
Phoenix at Detroit, 8 p.m.
New Orleans at Memphis, 8 p.m.
Orlando at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m.
New York at Golden State, 10:30 p.m.
Utah at L.A. Lakers, 10:30 p.m.

Saturday, April 3
Toronto at Philadelphia, 1 p.m.
Detroit at Atlanta, 7 p.m.
New Orleans at New Jersey, 7:30 p.m.
Charlotte at Chicago, 8 p.m.
Miami at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Oklahoma City at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.
Phoenix at Milwaukee, 8:30 p.m.
L.A. Clippers at Denver, 9 p.m.
Portland at Sacramento, 10 p.m.

Sunday, April 4
Cleveland at Boston, 1 p.m.
San Antonio at L.A. Lakers, 3:30 p.m.
Houston at Indiana, 6 p.m.
Memphis at Orlando, 6 p.m.
Golden State at Toronto, 6 p.m.
New Jersey at Washington, 6 p.m.
Minnesota at Oklahoma City, 7 p.m.
New York at L.A. Clippers, 9:30 p.m.

Tuesday, April 6
Atlanta at Charlotte, 7 p.m.
Toronto at Cleveland, 7 p.m.
Detroit at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Golden State at Washington, 7 p.m.
Boston at New York, 7:30 p.m.
Milwaukee at Chicago, 8 p.m.
Houston at Memphis, 8 p.m.
Oklahoma City at Utah, 9 p.m.
San Antonio at Sacramento, 10 p.m.

Wednesday, April 7
New York at Indiana, 7 p.m.
Boston at Toronto, 7 p.m.
Atlanta at Detroit, 7:30 p.m.
Philadelphia at Miami, 7:30 p.m.
New Jersey at Milwaukee, 8 p.m.
Golden State at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Charlotte at New Orleans, 8 p.m.
Denver at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m.
Washington at Orlando, 8 p.m.
Memphis at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.
Utah at Houston, 8:30 p.m.
Portland at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m.
San Antonio at Phoenix, 10:30 p.m.

Thursday, April 8
Cleveland at Chicago, 8 p.m.
L.A. Clippers at Sacramento, 10 p.m.
L.A. Lakers at Denver, 10:30 p.m.

Friday, April 9
New York at Orlando, 7 p.m.
Milwaukee at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Toronto at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m.
Washington at Boston, 7:30 p.m.
Indiana at Cleveland, 7:30 p.m.
Detroit at Miami, 7:30 p.m.
L.A. Lakers at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Chicago at New Jersey, 8 p.m.
Utah at New Orleans, 8 p.m.
Phoenix at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m.
Charlotte at Houston, 8:30 p.m.
Memphis at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m.
Dallas at Portland, 10 p.m.

Saturday, April 10
Detroit at Charlotte, 7 p.m.
New Jersey at Indiana, 7 p.m.
Atlanta at Washington, 7 p.m.
Philadelphia at Memphis, 8 p.m.
Boston at Milwaukee, 8:30 p.m.
San Antonio at Denver, 9 p.m.
Dallas at Sacramento, 10 p.m.
Golden State at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m.

Sunday, April 11
Orlando at Cleveland, 1 p.m.
Portland at L.A. Lakers, 3:30 p.m.
Chicago at Toronto, 6 p.m.
Minnesota at New Orleans, 7 p.m.
Miami at New York, 7:30 p.m.
Oklahoma City at Golden State, 9 p.m.
Houston at Phoenix, 9 p.m.

Monday, April 12
Orlando at Indiana, 7 p.m.
Miami at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Toronto at Detroit, 7:30 p.m.
Charlotte at New Jersey, 7:30 p.m.
Washington at New York, 7:30 p.m.
Atlanta at Milwaukee, 8 p.m.
Minnesota at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m.
Memphis at Denver, 9 p.m.
Oklahoma City at Portland, 10 p.m.
Houston at Sacramento, 10 p.m.
Dallas at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m.

Tuesday, April 13
Boston at Chicago, 8 p.m.
Utah at Golden State, 10:30 p.m.
Sacramento at L.A. Lakers, 10:30 p.m.
Denver at Phoenix, 10:30 p.m.

Wednesday, April 14
Cleveland at Atlanta, 8 p.m.
Milwaukee at Boston, 8 p.m.
Chicago at Charlotte, 8 p.m.
San Antonio at Dallas, 8 p.m.
New Orleans at Houston, 8 p.m.
New Jersey at Miami, 8 p.m.
Detroit at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Memphis at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m.
Philadelphia at Orlando, 8 p.m.
New York at Toronto, 8 p.m.
Indiana at Washington, 8 p.m.
L.A. Lakers at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m.
Golden State at Portland, 10:30 p.m.
Phoenix at Utah, 10:30 p.m.

NEW YORK - The NBA is bringing Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal together again for Christmas -- this time joined by LeBron James.

Bryant and the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers will host the Cleveland Cavaliers on Dec. 25, one of the highlights of the 2009-10 NBA schedule released Tuesday.

It will be the fourth time in the five years since their partnership ended that Bryant and O'Neal will meet on Christmas. Traded to Cleveland in June, O'Neal will return to Los Angeles this year with James, who succeeded Bryant as MVP last season.

O'Neal and James will play their first game together in the NBA season opener, hosting the Boston Celtics on Oct. 27. The four-game slate that night concludes when the Lakers open their title defense against No. 1 draft pick Blake Griffin and the Clippers.

Defending Eastern Conference champion Orlando opens Oct. 28 against Philadelphia, then goes on the road two nights later to visit New Jersey, giving Vince Carter a quick return to his former home.

The Magic will visit the Lakers for an NBA finals rematch Jan. 18 as part of the schedule on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and Los Angeles will play at Orlando on March 7 for the first time since winning the title in June.

Orlando also plays on Christmas, hosting Boston in a matchup of the last two East champions. Miami at New York, the Clippers at Phoenix and Denver at Portland round out that day's action.

Check PBN regularly for the complete 2009-10 schedule.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.

Jason Williams is a 33-year old point guard who spent last season on the NBA's retired list. So why is everyone is making such a big fuss over him?

Williams seems like a nice enough guy, and he does own a championship ring, having been a starter for the Miami Heat when they won a title in 2006. It would be foolish to say Williams had nothing to do with that, but it sure didn't hurt that he was feeding the ball to guys like Dwyane Wade and a younger, better Shaquille O'Neal.

For his career, Williams has averaged 11.4 points, 6.3 assists and 2.1 turnovers per game. Not bad, not great, but most of all, not really worth discussing much at this point in his career. Especially not after he took a year off.

Yet suddenly, Williams is all the rage.

His name has been linked to everyone from Memphis to New York, with the Knicks reportedly having gained exclusive rights to negotiate with Williams for the next five days. Meanwhile, the NBA's other 29 general managers are spending the next five days playing golf and not even caring about the Knicks, Williams or the 746-word report on Williams on ESPN.com.

I'm not here to blast Williams, ESPN or even the Knicks. When your current starter at point guard is Chris Duhon, you could take five days to negotiate with a third-string AAU player and no one could blame you.

But as one GM disgustedly said to me (most likely in reference to me), "NBA writers need something to justify their existence in late July and August, I guess."

Covering the Jason Williams story like it matters falls into that category.

And after this blog, I suppose I'm guilty as charged.

Editor's note: This story was submitted to Pro Basketball News by Dave Loveton.

LOS ANGELES - Lamond Murray scored 22 points and Fred Vinson added 20 points on Tuesday night, leading the Los Angeles Lightning to their first International Basketball League championship at Cal Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, Calif.

Trayvon Lathan collected 18 points and eight rebounds and Toby Bailey had 14 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists on a night when all five Lightning starters reached double figures in scoring. The Lightning finished 18-5 and won the three-game series, 2-1.

"This was the final game; we wanted to win so bad," said Vinson, who made 5 of 13 3-pointers. "We made some adjustments defensively and everybody came with a
focus. We played a smart game."

Murray scored eight points in the first eight minutes as L.A. built a 22-7 lead. The Lightning led 54-40 at the half and 82-64 after three quarters.

David Lucas paced the Waves (16-9) with 30 points and nine rebounds. Robert Day, who scored a game high 33 points in Oregon's 108-107 Game 2 win, managed just four points and went 0 of 11 on 3-pointers.

Center Adam Parada added 15 points and 9 boards for the Lightning, who outshot the visitors 50 to 40 percent and
outrebounded them 59-45. Point guard Darrick Martin contributed 10 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists.

The Waves cut a 23-point deficit to 13 in the final quarter when J.S. Nash (15 points) scored five straight.

The Lightning regained control, however, with an 11-2 run, capped by a triple by Vinson that made it 100-78 with 6:15 to play.

Editor's note: The following is a press release from IBL commissioner Mikal Dulio, with minor edits.

International Basketball League 2009 championship to be determined tonight: Oregon Waves and L.A. Lightning both feature loaded rosters

Game 3 of the best-of-three series will be at Gilbert Sports Arena at Cal Lutheran. Games can be heard on the internet-search for Los Angeles radio (KVTA 1520 AM, KKZZ 1440 AM)

ABOUT THE L.A. LIGHTNING

The Los Angeles Lightning (17-5) are a second-year team competing in the fifth-year IBL. The Lightning made their name in the 2008 IBL season by assembling a roster full of former NBA players and former UCLA Bruin stars. The Lightning roster featured the following players for the 2009 season:

Byron Russell (6-7): Spent most of his professional NBA career with the Utah Jazz, making it to the NBA Finals three times (once with the Los Angeles Lakers).

Lamond Murray (6-7): A former NBA player who played for the L.A. Clippers among other teams.

Fred Vinson (6-4): A former NBA player who played for the Seattle Supersonics among other teams.

Darrick Martin (6-1): A former NBA player who played with the Toronto Raptors among other teams; was instrumental in getting Los Angeles to the finals with a win over Bellingham (2008 IBL champions).

Toby Bailey (6-6): A former NBA player (Phoenix Suns) and former UCLA Bruin. In 2007 & 2008, Bailey was an IBL All Star. Recorded the first triple-double in team history with 24 points, 10 rebounds and 15 assists on June 14 in a 160-123 rout of the Grand Rapids (Mich.) Flight.

Billy Knight (6-5): Won the 3-point shootout at the 2008 IBL All-Star Festival held in Gary, Ind., last June.

Adam Parada (7-0): A veteran professional who has been with five NBA organizations in various capacities, and won championships both internationally and on the NCAA Division I conference level.

Juaquin Hawkins (6-7): Has played with the Houston Rockets.

Trayvon Lathan (6-7): A phenomenal young player with incredible speed, burst and touch around the hoop. Trayvon was instrumental in the two wins that got the Los Angeles Lightning to the finals.

Tony Strickland (6-5): California State senator and Whittier College alumn. A longtime basketball player who took no time to agree to the offer from Lightning owner Mark Harwell, who tongue-in cheek-insists, this is not a publicity grab, "if the guy were 5-feet-7 and had a pot belly, that would be a publicity stunt. But he (Strickland) is a tremendous athlete. ... I do not think people realize what a great athlete he is; he can still dunk the ball." For video about Tony Strickland, visit lalightning.net

About Lightning owner Mark Harwell

See video about Mark Harwell at lalightning.net

About Lightning coach Ron Quarterman

The second-year coach on the Lightning's loss in Game 2: "It was a hard-fought game. (In the final 15 seconds) we ran the high pick-and-roll for Darrick. The defender stepped out, showed real hard and made a good play that forced us to take a tough shot. Now, we have to get ready for Tuesday night."

ABOUT THE OREGON WAVES

The Oregon Waves (16-8) are a first-year team (based in Beaverton). Featured players for the Waves include the following:

David Lucas (6-8): A two-time All-PAC 10 performer for the Oregon State Beavers (2004-05) before moving on to a professional career. Lucas led the IBL in scoring in 2007 and again in 2008 (37.0 ppg in 2008), and is the son of former NBA great Maurice Lucas.

Robert Day (6-5): Has played professionally overseas for six years; had 32 points in Sunday's Game 2 win.

Lamar Hurd (6-4): Well-known for his play at Oregon State, where he was a four-year starter.

David Jackson (6-5): Finished his collegiate career at the University of Oregon. A veteran of NBA camps (Portland, Cleveland), and NBA summer league teams (Portland, San Antonio, Orlando, Seattle), Jackson also has extensive experience overseas in Italy, China, Spain and Turkey.

Isaiah Fox (6-9): Played at Arizona; Had 16 points and 7 rebounds in Sunday night's Game 2 victory.

Jeremiah Dominguez (5-9): Big Sky Conference player of the year 2007-08.

About Waves coach Terrance Dickens

Dickens started the Vancouver Volcanoes in what was the IBL's first season. He and co-owner Mikal Duilio sold the team after the two seasons; the Volcanoes are now heading into their fifth year of existence under owner Bryan Hunter. Dickens also coached the Portland Chinooks to the 2007 IBL Championship game, losing 113-109 to the Elkhart (Ind.) Express in front of 3,300 fans. Two years later, the owner and head coach gets his second chance at an IBL championship.

For more information, photos and videos about the IBL or about IBL teams, visit iblhoopsonline.com.

New Jersey center Brook Lopez, Memphis guard Mike Conley and a host of other current NBA players and assistant coaches will be leading the various group at the adidas Nations camp Aug. 4-9 in Dallas.

The breakdown is as follows (coach listed first, followed by player and team):

USA 2010 - Ed Schilling/Jerryd Bayless (Portland)

USA 2011 - Frank Johnson/Eric Gordon (L.A. Clippers)

Africa - Eddie Johnson/Serge Ibaka (Oklahoma City)

Latin America - Larry Krystkowiak/Robin Lopez (Phoenix)

Asia - Eric Musselman/Brook Lopez (New Jersey)

Canada - Reggie Theus/Daequan Cook (Miami)

Europe - Detlef Schrempf/Mike Conley (Memphis)

Unless you've been on an extended summer camping trip without any technological connection to the rest of the world, you've probably heard about LeBron James getting dunked on by a college player at his basketball camp. 

The player was Xavier's Jordan Crawford, who knocked the crown off "The King" during a pickup game at a camp in James' hometown of Akron. Normally, a video like this would have a shelf life of two or three days and then move into the archives, trotted out every once in a while when applicable while remaining immortalized on YouTube. 

But although the dunk took place July 6, no one had seen it on video because Nike, which runs the camp, confiscated the tapes of two freelance camera operators, citing rules prohibiting the taping of pickup games at the camp. 

Despite Nike's efforts at manipulating and preserving the image of its current meal ticket, there was bound to be someone in the stands who videotaped the dunk with a small recorder, camera or cell phone. And TMZ has found them. 

Here's a link to the video of the dunk. 

UPDATE: A much clearer version from behind the offensive rim. (Thanks, Deadspin.) I think TMZ just got dunked on. 

If you watch the entire TMZ video it is pretty clear that the player identified as James exhibits the familiar on-court mannerisms of the superstar. You cannot clearly identify James in the clearer version, although he appears to take the inbounds pass and dribble upcourt after the dunk.   

Other hoops sites belittled the dunk via the TMZ video, but it is more impressive in the clearer version. The bottom line is "The King" got dunked on; that just doesn't happen, no matter who tries to stretch the truth. He clearly is late trying to challenge Crawford's drive and pays the price for lazy defense.

A minor issue: The uniforms look like basic black-vs.-white pinnies you would see at any practice. So why is James wearing black while his teammates are wearing white? We hope it's not to collect cheap steals in a pickup game at his own camp. 

The bigger issue: On a dunk embarrassment scale of 1-10, this is only about a 4 until you factor in who is being posterized. Obviously, Nike considered that and - clearly on "The King's" wishes - tried to take action. 

What's next? Confiscating tapes of missed clutch free throws and last-second jumpers? Splicing tapes to include congratulatory handshakes? 

Miami is unlikely to match Cleveland's offer to restricted free-agent Jamario Moon, multiple sources have told PBN.

The Heat are attempting to clear cap space to try to sign unrestricted free agent Lamar Odom of the L.A. Lakers this summer, and star guard Dwyane Wade and others in 2010.

Moon, 29, is a 6-foot-8 forward. He averaged and 7.2 points and 4.6 rebounds in 80 games with Toronto and Miami last season, and led the NBA in steals-to-turnovers ratio (2.0).

He will become the third key veteran addition to the Cavaliers' roster this season (and the lone under the age of 30) -- as the team with the league's best regular-season record has added Shaquille O'Neal via trade and signed Moon's former Raptors teammate, guard Anthony Parker.

Terms of the offer from the Cavs to Moon were not made available. The Heat have seven days to match from the time he was signed.

The coaching business got a little uglier Tuesday. 

We're not talking about a simmering feud between rival coaches boiling over or a coach calling out his superstar for a lack of leadership. Heck, we're not even talking about the NBA. 

The WNBA's Sacramento Monarchs fired Jenny Boucek, dramatically altering the quality patrolling professional sidelines. 

I spent an inordinate amount of time watching the WNBA last summer, and it became very easy to notice Boucek, as the guy at the scorer's table is doing in this photo. 

But beyond the blonde hair and the toned former-player body and the bright outfits, it was also easy to notice that Boucek can coach a little bit. 

She guided the Monarchs to a playoff berth in the deep Western Conference, then pushed the San Antonio Silver Stars to a decisive third game in the first round with a big road win. Her team didn't have a true star but won with unselfish play and strong motivation. 

Boucek will probably be back next year as a WNBA assistant or perhaps try the college ranks. But how great would it be if she got a job on an NBA coaching staff? 

Be honest: When the camera shows your team's bench, would you rather see this? Or this? 

Goodbye, Jenny. Good luck. 

Chris Bernucca has covered the NBA since 1996 and is a regular contributor to Pro Basketball News. You can disagree with him at cbernucca@comcast.net.

Veteran guard Jason Kidd tells our friends at Sports Radio Interviews that he came close to signing with the Knicks before re-upping with the Mavericks. Check out the interview:

Jason Kidd on Possible Knicks Signing

It seems like the entire NBA likes the idea of Boston's almost official signing of free agent forward Rasheed Wallace. Or if you're an opponent who has to play the Celtics, loathes the idea.

"They're a pretty good team as it stands," Orlando GM Otis Smith told the Boston Herald. "You still have to go through them. They're the last team in the East to win a championship, so you still have to go through them to win it."

Actually, the Magic's loss of Hedo Turkoglu (signed by Toronto) and even Courtney Lee (traded to New Jersey) could help Boston, too. But that's a topic for another day.

"Now you can play (Wallace), (Kevin) Garnett and (Paul) Pierce together," Nets president Rod Thorn told the Herald. "He's different, because he can play all three frontcourt positions. They haven't had a player like Rasheed. P.J. (Brown) was a nice player, but adding a player like Rasheed is a big step."

Added Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy, "Now with Garnett, (Wallace) and (Kendrick) Perkins, that's a great frontline rotation. Rasheed is another guy now with frontline experience. He can stretch the floor and score in close. None of their bigs were really 3-point shooters, so now they've got something new."

But what everyone seems to be forgetting is this isn't the Wallace of six years ago -- or even three years ago, for that matter. He looked lifeless and even a little lost (and a lot banged up) for most of last season. That was especially the case in the playoffs, when he was a non-factor in Detroit's 4-games-to-0 loss to Cleveland.

If Wallace, at the age of 34, rebounds from a subpar season, then sure, the C's got themselves a steal. If not, then Rasheed may not fill the team's most glaring need -- a big man who can contribute meaningful minutes behind, and occasionally next to, Garnett and Perkins.

For now, you can't help but love the Wallace signing. Especially if you forget about most of last season and focus on his overall body of work. But as Larry Bird implied in the Herald, what you see on paper isn't always what you get.

Sam Amico is the editor of Pro Basketball News. He can be reached at amico@probasketballnews.com.

While agent Mark Bartelstein hasn't yet found a resting spot for client David Lee, he does have a couple of other lower-level free agents on the market. 

Bartelstein told PBN that Lakers restricted free agent guard Shannon Brown will be landing somewhere "in the next 24 hours or so." 

While Bartelstein said Brown's desire is to remain with the Lakers, he added that he had discussed Brown with "six or seven teams," including the defending champs. As of this writing, none of the LA media outlets are reporting Brown is close to a deal with the Lakers -- or anyone else. 

Another of Bartelstein's free agent clients is Dahntay Jones, who has to play a bit of a waiting game in order to return to the Nuggets. 

The Nuggets are close to the luxury tax threshold, which owner Stan Kroenke has paid in past years, when the team was unable to get out of the first round. Last season, however, Nuggets GM Mark Warkentien made a series of cost-cutting moves and the brilliant Allen Iverson-Chauncey Billups trade that resulted in the Nuggets getting under the threshold -- and reaching the conference finals for the first time in 24 years. 

The Nuggets would like to retain free agent forward Chris Andersen, who was second in the NBA in blocked shots despite limited minutes but does not have "Bird rights," meaning the team cannot exceed the salary cap to sign him unless it uses all or part of the mid-level exception. 

Given how close the Nuggets are to the anticipated luxury tax threshold of $70-72 million -- their current payroll totals $68 million and does not include the salary for No. 18 pick Ty Lawson -- it remains to be seen if there is any money in Denver left for Jones, who reportedly is looking for a multi-year deal and has Indiana interested. 

"He'd like to stay in Denver," Bartelstein said. 

Bartelstein also disagreed with the notion that the poor economy and teams waiting for 2010 have made this a difficult summer for finding deals for his players. Magic GM Otis Smith said recently, "There's more players than money." 

"I'm not sure that its different (than other offseasons)," the agent said. "There's certain teams that are not spending this summer. All that (talk) is a waste of time. The market is what it is." 

Chris Bernucca has covered the NBA since 1996 and is a regular contributor to Pro Basketball News. You can disagree with him at cbernucca@comcast.net.

Some news and notes bouncing around the league and my head ... 

• When a new general manager comes in, sometimes he keeps the coach that is in place. But sooner or later, his desire to put his own imprint on the team leads him to hire his own guy. A similar dynamic is happening in Detroit right now - not with Joe Dumars, but with former Pistons star and current Mayor Dave Bing, who fired his police chief on the Fourth of July. A longtime cop with a blog took the mayor to task, bluntly saying, "Bing lied to us." 
• When I saw the news that Hedo Turkoglu did a 180 on his deal with Portland, the first thing I thought of was Ric Bucher's innocuous Twitter post from Thursday. Not so innocuous now, is it? By the way, Turkoglu's wife has a long way to go before she gets on our list of nutty wives. 
• Which NBA player would win a hot dog eating contest? Keep in mind that three-time defending champion Joey Chestnut weighs about 215 pounds, or about as much as a good-sized shooting guard. 
• After the NBA Finals, Magic COO Alex Martins said "the luxury tax won't be a hindrance" in re-signing free agents. But they never even made an offer to Turkoglu and Marcin Gortat is as good as gone, too. We have heard that GM Otis Smith is eyeballing Brandon Bass and Rasheed Wallace, but here's the bottom line for the Magic: They have $68 million committed to nine players, the luxury tax figures to be somewhere between $70-72 million, and they have to sign at least four more players. That doesn't sound like Bass or Wallace. 
• When the Cavaliers were unable to woo Ron Artest or Trevor Ariza with the mid-level exception, the happiest guy in Cleveland was Anderson Varejao. We are told the Brazilian forward is not getting more than the mid-level from the Cavs and would have been twisting in the wind had GM Danny Ferry landed either player. It is possible Varejao could get the mid-level or even a little more elsewhere (Oklahoma City?), but he is still just a role player. 
• There are still plenty of free agents on the market, but it might surprise you which team has the highest payroll right now. 

Chris Bernucca has covered the NBA since 1996 and is a regular contributor to Pro Basketball News. You can disagree with him at cbernucca@comcast.net.

The latest from the Ricky Rubio Undue Media Attention Tour has the Spanish teenager telling a newspaper from his home country that he plans on staying with DKV Joventut for the next two years

That would exhaust Rubio's prohibitive buyout, give him two more years of needed experience at a highly competitive level, take him into his 20s and make him a much more desirable asset for the Timberwolves to keep or trade. 

The basketball blogosphere has gone ga-ga over Rubio since his appearance as a precocious point guard for Spain in the 2008 Olympics, including the gold medal game against Team USA. 

He was quickly - and irresponsibly - labeled the "Spanish Pete Maravich," which not only set the bar impossibly high for a 17-year-old kid but also demeans Maravich, who is merely the greatest college player ever and one of the NBA's 50 Greatest Players. 

To paraphrase Harvey Keitel in "Reservoir Dogs," if Rubio even dreams of becoming Pistol Pete, he should wake up and apologize. 

But don't take our word for it. Here's an extended look at Maravich, the American Ricky Rubio: 

CHICAGO BULLS
No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Birthdate College/Country NBA Exp
3 Josh Shipp G 6-5 215 02/14/86 UCLA 1
5 Anthony Roberson G 6-2 180 02/14/83 Florida 4
6 Chris Davis G 6-1 185 01/26/86 Southern R
11 Taurean Green G 6-0 185 11/28/85 Florida 3
14 Lorenzo Mata-Real C/F 6-8 230 02/27/86 UCLA R
16 James Johnson F 6-8 245 02/20/87 Wake Forest R
21 DeMarcus Nelson G 6-4 200 11/02/85 Duke 1
22 Taj Gibson F 6-9 225 06/24/85 USC R
25 Julius Hodge F/G 6-7 210 11/18/83 NC State 4
32 Brandon Costner F 6-9 230 07/21/87 NC State R
35 Tyrell Biggs F 6-8 235 08/07/86 Pittsburgh R
40 James Augustine F/C 6-10 240 02/27/84 Illinois 2
42 Nick Lewis F/C 6-11 240 04/20/83 San Diego R
44 AD Vassallo F/G 6-6 215 04/21/86 Virginia Tech R
50 Luke Zeller C 6-11 240 04/07/87 Notre Dame R
54 Linton Johnson III F 6-8 205 06/13/80 Tulane 6

2009 CHICAGO BULLS NBA SUMMER LEAGUE SCHEDULE
DATE TIME OPPONENT LOCATION
July 14 5:00 p.m. Golden State Cox Pavilion
July 15 3:00 p.m. Milwaukee Cox Pavilion
July 17 5:30 p.m. Oklahoma City Thomas & Mack Center
July 18 3:00 p.m. New York Cox Pavilion
July 19 3:00 p.m. Minnesota Cox Pavilion

DETROIT PISTONS
No. Player Pos. Ht. Wt. Birthdate From NBA Exp.
14 Michael Bramos G 6-5 221 Miami (Ohio) 5/27/87 R
12 Will Bynum G 6-0 185 Georgia Tech 1/4/83 2
5 Austin Daye F 6-11 190 Gonzaga 6/5/88 R
6 Ibrahim Jaaber G 6-2 175 Pennsylvania 2/3/84 R
33 Jonas Jerebko F 6-10 231 Sweden 3/2/87 R
34 Dwayne Jones C 6-11 250 St. Joseph's (PA) 6/9/83 4
7 Andre Owens G 6-4 200 Indiana 10/31/80 2
44 Trent Plaisted F 6-11 245 BYU 10/20/86 R
42 Walter Sharpe F 6-9 245 Alabama-Birmingham 7/16/86 1
35 DaJuan Summers F 6-8 240 Georgetown 1/24/88 R
20 Clay Tucker G 6-5 210 Wisconsin-Milwaukee 6/14/80 R
13 Deron Washington G/F 6-7 210 Virginia Tech 12/12/85 R

DETROIT PISTONS SUMMER LEAGUE SCHEDULE (All Times CDT)
DATE OPPONENT LOCATION TIPOFF
July 10 3:00 PM Sacramento Kings Cox Pavilion
July 11 1:00 PM Toronto Raptors Cox Pavilion
July 13 7:00 PM Golden State Warriors Cox Pavilion
July 15 1:00 PM New York Knicks Cox Pavilion
July 17 1:00 PM Cleveland Cavaliers Cox Pavilion

GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS
No. Player Pos. Ht. Wt. Birthdate From NBA Exp.
40 Connor Atchley F/C 6-10 226 5/31/85 Texas R
30 Stephen Curry G 6-3 185 3/14/88 Davidson R
33 Jamareo Davidson F/C 6-10 230 11/15/84 Alabama 2
26 Lawrence Hill F 6-8 220 9/16/87 Stanford R
9 Joe Ingles F 6-8 194 10/2/87 Australia R
25 Jared Jordan G 6-2 185 10/14/84 Marist R
2 Acie Law G 6-3 195 1/25/85 Texas A&M 2
3 Cartier Martin G/F 6-7 220 11/20/84 Kansas State 1
22 Anthony Morrow G 6-5 210 9/27/85 Georgia Tech 1
20 Quan Prowell F 6-8 215 11/1/84 Auburn R
4 Anthony Randolph F 6-10 7/15/89 210 LSU 1
44 Lawrence Roberts F/C 6-9 240 10/20/82 Mississippi State 2
35 Jamal Sampson C 6-11 235 5/15/83 Cal 5

GOLDEN STATE SUMMER LEAGUE SCHEDULE (All Times PDT)
DATE OPPONENT LOCATION TIPOFF
July 10 Houston Rockets COX Pavilion 1:00 p.m.
July 11 Sacramento Kings COX Pavilion 5:00 p.m.
July 13 Detroit Pistons COX Pavilion 7:00 p.m.
July 14 Chicago Bulls COX Pavilion 5:00 p.m.
July 16 New Orleans Hornets COX Pavilion 5:00 p.m.

HOUSTON ROCKETS
No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Birthdate College/Country NBA Exp.
4 Hassan Adams F 6-4 220 6/20/84 Arizona 2
2 Rod Benson F 6-10 225 10/10/84 California R
10 Chase Budinger F 6-7 218 5/22/88 Arizona R
12 Will Conroy G 6-2 195 12/8/82 Washington 1
5 Marcus Cousin C 6-11 250 12/18/86 Houston R
15 Joey Dorsey F/C 6-8 268 12/16/83 Memphis 1
33 Charles Gaines F 6-9 225 10/15/81 Southern Mississippi R
9 Mike Green G 6-1 184 6/23/85 Butler R
20 Maarty Leunen F 6-9 220 9/3/85 Oregon R
7 Brad Newley G 6-7 201 2/18/85 Australia R
5 Jermaine Taylor G 6-4 210 12/8/86 Central Florida R
Garrett Temple G 6-6 190 5/8/86 LSU R
34 Darryl Watkins C 6-11 258 11/8/84 Syracuse 1
8 James White G/F 6-7 200 10/21/82 Cincinnati 2

Head Coach Elston Turner (Mississippi)
Assistant Coaches Jack Sikma (Illinois Wesleyan)
T.R. Dunn (Alabama)
R.J. Adelman (Willamette)

ROCKETS SUMMER LEAGUE SCHEDULE (All Times CDT)
July 10 Houston vs. Golden State (COX Pavilion at 3:00 p.m. CDT)
July 11 Houston vs. Dallas (COX Pavilion at 9:00 p.m. CDT)
July 12 Minnesota vs. Houston (COX Pavilion at 5:00 p.m. CDT)
July 15 Portland vs. Houston (COX Pavilion at 9:00 p.m. CDT)
July 16 Houston vs. L.A. Lakers (COX Pavilion at 5:00 p.m. CDT)

LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS
No. Player Pos. Ht. Wt. Birthdate From NBA Exp.
33 Sean Banks F 6-8 210 01/20/85 Memphis R
21 Dionte Christmas G 6-5 205 09/15/86 Temple R
10 Eric Gordon G 6-3 215 12/25/88 Indiana 1
32 Blake Griffin F 6-10 251 03/16/89 Oklahoma R
9 DeAndre Jordan C 6-11 265 07/21/88 Texas A&M 1
22 Marcellus Kemp G 6-5 210 05/18/84 Nevada R
7 Kyle McAlarney G 6-0 195 07/07/87 Notre Dame R
24 Nik Caner-Medley F 6-8 240 10/20/83 Maryland R
54 Kevinn Pinckney C 6-10 245 12/12/79 Nevada 1
4 Mike Taylor G 6-2 166 01/21/86 Iowa State 1

Summer League Head Coach: Kim Hughes, Wisconsin
Assistant Coach: Fred Vinson, Georgia Tech
Head Athletic Trainer: Jasen Powell, Cal Poly Pomona

SUMMER LEAGUE SCHEDULE (All Times PDT)
July 13 vs. Lakers 5:30 PM Thomas and Mack Center
July 14:vs. New Orleans 7:30 PM Thomas and Mack Center
July 16:vs. Memphis 7:30 PM Thomas and Mack Center
July 18 vs. Washington 5:30 PM Thomas and Mack Center
July 19 vs. Phoenix7:30 PM Thomas and Mack Center

LOS ANGELES LAKERS
No. Player Pos. Ht. Wt. Birthdate From NBA Exp.
15 Alan Anderson G/F 6-6 223 10/16/82 Michigan St. 2
50 Aron Baynes C 6-11 270 12/9/86 Washington St. R
11 Dominique Coleman G 6-3 190 7/15/84 Colorado R
41 Chinemelu Elonu F 6-10 240 3/11/87 Texas A&M R
23 Tony Gaffney F 6-8 220 11/14/84 Massachusetts R
14 Terrel Harris G 6-5 190 8/10/87 Oklahoma St. R
1 Justin Hawkins F 6-7 220 5/18/85 New Mexico St. R
30 Ben McCauley F 6-8 235 9/6/86 North Carolina St. R
35 David Monds F 6-8 240 10/10/83 Oklahoma St. R
6 Adam Morrison F 6-8 205 7/19/84 Gonzaga 3
10 Taylor Rochestie G 6-1185 7/1/85 Washington St. R
55 Luke Schenscher C 7-1 260 12/31/82 Georgia Tech 2
20 Mustafa Shakur G 6-3 190 9/6/86 Arizona 1

LOS ANGELES LAKERS SUMMER LEAGUE SCHEDULE (All Times PDT)
Friday July 10 5:00pm Lakers vs. Raptors Cox Pavillion
Saturday July 11 3:00pm Lakers vs. Cavs Cox Pavillion
Monday July 13 5:30pm Lakers vs. Clippers Thomas & Mack Center
Tuesday July 14 5:30pm Lakers vs. Thunder Thomas & Mack Center
Thursday July 16 3:00pm Lakers vs. Rockets Cox Pavillion

MILWAUKEE BUCKS
Player Pos. Ht. Wt. Birthdate From NBA Exp.
Joe Alexander F 6' 8" 230 West Virginia 12/26/1986 1
Dominic James G 6' 0" 175 Marquette 10/5/1986 R
Brandon Jennings G 6' 1" 170 Lottomatica Virtus Roma (Italy) 9/23/1989 R
Will McDonald C 6' 11" 255 South Florida 10/5/1979 R
Luc Richard Mbah a Moute F 6' 8" 230 UCLA 9/9/1986 1
Jodie Meeks G 6' 4" 208 Kentucky 8/21/1987 R
Juan Palacios F 6' 8" 245 Louisville 5/11/1985 R
Chris Richard F 6' 9" 255 Florida 12/25/1984 1
Salim Stoudamire G 6' 1" 175 Arizona10/11/1982 3
Szymon Szewczyk F 6' 10" 242 Poland 12/21/1982 R
Mohammed Tangara F/C 6' 8" 248 Chaminade 8/11/1984 R
Lorrenzo Wade F 6' 6" 225 San Diego State 11/23/1985 R

MILWAUKEE BUCKS SUMMER LEAGUE SCHEDULE (All Times CDT)
DATE OPPONENT LOCATION TIPOFF
Fri., July 10 Dallas 9 p.m. Cox Pavilion
Sun., July 12 Cleveland 9 p.m. Cox Pavilion
Mon., July 13 Sacramento 9:30 p.m. Thomas & Mack Center
Wed., July 15 Chicago 5 p.m. Cox Pavilion
Thu., July 16 Toronto 3 p.m. Cox Paviolin

MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES
No. Player Pos. Ht. Wt. Birthdate From NBA Exp.
22 Corey Brewer F 6-9 188 3/5/86 Florida 2
1 Bobby Brown G 6-2 175 9/24/84 Cal State Fullerton 1
23 Pat Carroll G/F 6-5 190 9/10/82 St. Joseph's R
19 Wayne Ellington G 6-4 200 11/29/87 North Carolina R
11 Jonny Flynn G 6-0 185 2/6/89 Syracuse R
17 Devin Green G 6-7 212 10/25/82 Hampton 1
12 Paul Harris G/F 6-4 230 10/15/86 Syracuse R
15 Gerald Henderson G 6-4 215 12/7/87 Duke R
51 Steven Hill C 7-0 248 11/14/85 Arkansas 1
31 Rob Kurz F 6-9 232 3/5/85 Notre Dame 1
4 Oleksiy Pecherov F 7-0 234 12/8/85 Ukraine 2
20 Garrett Siler C 6-11 305 10/25/86 Augusta State R
7 Ben Woodside G 5-11 185 7/1/85 North Dakota State R

TIMBERWOLVES SUMMER LEAGUE SCHEDULE (All Times CDT)
DATE OPPONENT LOCATION TIPOFF
July 12 Houston COX Pavilion 5:00 p.m.
July 13 NBA D-League Select COX Pavilion 3:00 p.m.
July 17 Washington COX Pavilion 7:00 p.m.
July 18 New Orleans Thomas & Mack 5:30 p.m.
July 19 Chicago COX Pavilion 5:00 p.m.

NEW ORLEANS HORNETS
No Player Pos Ht Wt Birthdate College NBA Exp
55 Earl Barron C 7-0 268 8/14/81 Memphis 3
11 Earl Calloway G 6-3 175 9/30/83 Indiana None
20 Jaycee Carroll G 6-2 175 4/16/83 Utah St None
2 Darren Collison G 6-0 160 8/23/87 UCLA R
34 Brian Cusworth C 7-0 255 3/9/84 Harvard None
10 Terry Martin G 6-6 210 7/31/87 LSU R
50 Luke Nevill C 7-2 265 2/19/86 Utah R
25 Larry Owens F 6-7 210 1/8/83 Oral Rbrts None
8 Marc Salyers F 6-9 220 2/28/79 Samford None
44 Courtney Sims C 6-11 245 10/21/83 Michigan 2
5 Marcus Thornton G 6-4 194 6/5/87 LSU R
35 Anthony Tolliver F 6-8 240 6/1/85 Creighton 1
15 Quinton Watkins G 6-3 175 3/11/88 *None None
32 Julian Wright F 6-8 225 5/20/87 Kansas 2
Head Coach: Rob Werdann, St. John's
*Dominquez High School

NEW YORK KNICKS
No Player Pos Ht Wt Birthdate College NBA Exp
3  Wink Adams  G  6-0 200  3 /9/1985 Nevada-Las Vegas R
13 Alex Acker G 6-5 185 1/21/1983 Pepperdine 2
11 Blake Ahearn G 6-2 190 5/27/1984 Missouri State 2
30 Morris Almond G 6-6 225 2/2/1985 Rice 2
44 Warren Carter F 6-9 220 4/ 23/1985 Illinois R
5 Joe Crawford G 6-5 210 6/17/1986 Kentucky 1
23 Toney Douglas G 6-1 200 3/16/1986 Florida State R
6 Patrick Ewing, Jr. F 6-8 240 05/20/1984 Georgetown R
43 Jordan Hill F 6-10 235 7/ 27/1987 Arizona R
17 Ron Howard G 6-5 200 11/14/1982 Valparaiso R
47 Yaroslav Korolev F 6-10 245 05/7/1987 Moscow 2
40 David Noel F 6-6 230 2/27/1984 1
18 Mouhamed Sene C 6-11 230 5/12/1986 Senegal 3
50 Rashaad Singleton C 7-0 270 5/22/1987 Florida Southern R
55 Nikoloz Tskitishvili F 7-0 225 4/13/1983 Intl 4
 
NEW YORK KNICKS SUMMER LEAGUE SCHEDULE (All Times PDT)
DATE OPPONENT LOCATION TIPOFF
Tuesday, July 14vs. Memphis3:00 p.m. Cox Pavilion
Wednesday, July 15vs. Detroit1:00 p.m. Cox Pavilion
Friday, July 17vs. Sacramento3:00 p.m. Cox Pavilion
Saturday, July 18vs. Chicago3:00 p.m. Cox Pavilion
Sunday, July 19vs. Washington1:00 p.m. Cox Pavilion

OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER
Name Pos.College/Country NBA Exp.
Russell Westbrook PG UCLA 1 (Orlando only)
Shaun Livingston G/F Peoria Cetra H.S. 4
D.J. White PF Indiana 1
Kyle Weaver PG Washignton State 1
Serge Ibaka F Intl 1
James Harden G Arizona State R
DeVon Hardin PF/CR California 1
Robert Vaden G UAB R
B.J. Mullens C Ohio State R
DeAngelo Alexander, G, 6-4, 215, Charlotte (Orlando only)
Keith McLeod, G, 6-2, Bowling Green State (Vegas only)
Moses Ehambe, F, 6-6, 200, Oral Roberts
Doug Thomas, F, 6-8, 245, Iowa (Vegas only)
Marcus Dove, F, 6-9, 212, Oklahoma State (Vegas only)
Richard Roby, G, 6-6, 205, Colorado (Vegas only)
Kyle Hines, F, 6-6, 230, UNC Greensboro (Orlando only)

OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER SUMMER LEAGUE SCHEDULE (All Times CDT)
DATE OPPONENT LOCATION TIPOFF
Sunday, July 12 Memphis Grizzlies 7:00 p.m. COX Pavilion
Tuesday, July 14 L.A. Lakers 7:30 p.m. Thomas & Mack Center
Thursday, July 15 San Antonio Spurs 7:30 p.m. Thomas & Mack Center
Friday, July 17 Chicago Bulls 7:30 p.m. Thomas & Mack Center
Saturday, July 18 Dallas Mavericks 3:00 p.m. COX Pavilion

PHOENIX SUNS
No Player Pos Ht Wt Birthdate College NBA Exp
35 Kaspars Berzins C 7-0 225 08/25/85 Latvia R
10 Josh Carter F 6-7 195 11/20/86 Texas A&M R
55 Earl Clark F 6-10 225 1/17/88 Louisville R
5 Geary Claxton G 6-5 220 7/2/86 Penn State R
3 Lee Cummard G 6-7 190 3/31/85 Brigham Young R
1 Zabian Dowdell G 6-8 190 9/10/84 Virginia Tech R
22 Micah Downs G 6-8 190 9/8/86 Gonzaga R
2 Goran Dragic G 6-3 190 5/6/86 Union Olipija (Slovenia) 1
32 Taylor Griffin F 6-7 238 4/18/86 Oklahoma R
8 Jiri Hubalek F/C 6-11 225 11/25/82 Iowa State R
15 Robin Lopez C 7-0 255 4/1/88 Stanford 1
11 Carlos Powell F 6-7 225 8/29/83 South Carolina R
10 Chris Rogers G 6-4 205 1/10/84 Arizona R
29 Alando Tucker G 6-6 205 2/11/84 Wisconsin 2

PHOENIX SUNS SUMMER LEAGUE SCHEDULE (All Times PDT)
DATE OPPONENT LOCATION TIPOFF
Monday, July 13 Dallas Mavericks COX Pavilion 3 p.m.
Wednesday, July 15 Toronto Raptors COX Pavilion 5 p.m.
Friday, July 17 NBA D-League Select COX Pavilion 7 p.m.
Saturday, July 18 Memphis Grizzlies COX Pavilion 5 p.m.
Sunday, July 19 L.A. Clippers Thomas & Mack Center 7:30 p.m.

PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS
No Player Pos Ht Wt Birthdate College NBA Exp
Deji Akindele C 6-11 240 4-2-83 Chicago State R
Jerryd Bayless G 6-3  200 8-20-88 Arizona 1
Dante Cunningham F 6-8 227  4-22-87  Villanova R
Matt Freije  F  6-10   240 10-2-81 Vanderbilt 2
Thomas Gardner  G 6-5 225 2-8-85 Missouri 2
Pooh Jeter  G 5-11 175 12-2-83 Portland R
Bobby Jones F 6-7 215 1-9-84  Washington 2
Patrick Mills  G  6-0 175 8-11-88  St. Mary's (CA) R 
Dwayne Mitchell F 6-5 210 8-24-82 Louisiana-Lafayette R
David Moss  G/F 6-5 210  9-9-83 Indiana State R
David Padgett  C  6-11   230 2-13-85 Louisville R
Jeff Pendergraph  F/C 6-10   240  4-29-87 Arizona State R

PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS SUMMER LEAGUE SCHEDULE (All Times PDT)
DATE OPPONENT LOCATION TIPOFF
Monday July 13th, Toronto Raptors, 5pm Cox Pavilion
Wednesday July 15th, Houston Rockets, 7pm Cox Pavilion
Friday July 17th, Denver Nuggets, 7:30pm Thomas & Mack Cntr
Saturday July 18th, San Antonio Spurs, 7:30pm Thomas & Mack Cntr
Sunday July 19th, D-League Select, 7pm Cox Pavilion

SACRAMENTO KINGS
No Player Pos Ht Wt Birthdate College NBA Exp
42 Robert Battle F 6-8 230 05/05/1981 Drexel R
40 Jon Brockman F 6-7 255 03/20/1987 Washington R
43 John Bryant C 6-11 275 06/13/1987 Santa Clara R
20 Pat Calathes G-F 6-10 210 12/12/1985 St. Joseph's R
18 Omri Casspi F 6-9 225 06/22/1988 Israel R
13 Tyreke Evans G 6-6 220 09/19/1989Memphis R
20 Donté Greene F 6-11 226 02/21/1988 Syracuse 1
31 Spencer Hawes C-F 7-0 245 04/28/1988 Washington 2
16 Marcus Landry F 6-7 230 11/01/1985 Wisconsin R
25 Wes Matthews G-F 6-5 220 12/14/1986 Marquette R
22 Jerel McNeal G 6-3 200 06/01/1987 Marquette R
15 Brian Roberts G 6-2 175 12/03/1985 Dayton R
8 Victor Stowes G6-2 215 09/29/1984 Reinhardt College R
34 Jason Thompson F 6-11 250 07/21/1986 Rider 1
7 Ryan Toolson G 6-4 190 03/21/1985 Utah Valley R

SACRAMENTO KINGS SUMMER LEAGUE SCHEDULE (All Times PDT)
DATE OPPONENT LOCATION TIPOFF
Friday July 10 vs. Pistons 3 p.m. Cox Pavilion
SaturdayJuly 11 vs. Warriors5 p.m.Cox Pavilion
Monday July 13 vs. Bucks7:30 p.m.Thomas & Mack Cntr
WednesdayJuly 15 vs. D-League Select5:30 p.m.Thomas & Mack Cntr
Friday July 17vs. Knicks3 p.m.Cox Pavilion

SAN ANTONIO SPURS
No Player Pos Ht Wt Birthdate College NBA Exp
1 Malik Hairston G 6-6 215 2/23/87 Oregon 1
3 George Hill G 6-2 190 5/4/86 IUPUI 1
10 James Gist F 6-9 235 10/26/86 Maryland R
13 Nando De Colo G 6-5 200 6/23/87 France R
14 Donnell Taylor G 6-5 193 7/26/82 Alabama-Birmingham 2
16 Carldell "Squeaky" Johnson G 5-10 180 1/28/83 Alabama-Birmingham R
18 Eric Dawson F/C 6-9 235 7/7/84 Midwestern State R
17 Antonio Anderson G 6-6 215 6/5/85 Memphis R
19 Marcus Vinicius F 6-9 235 5/31/84 Brazil 2
23 Romel Beck G/F 6-7 185 5/29/82 UNLV R
28 Ian Mahinmi C 6-11 250 11/5/86 France 1
33 Jack McClinton G 6-1 185 1/19/85 Miami R
35 Alonzo Gee G 6-6 219 5/29/87 Alabama R
45 DeJuan Blair F 6-7 265 4/22/89 Pittsburgh R

WASHINGTON WIZARDS
No Player Pos Ht Wt Birthdate College NBA Exp
35 Alade Aminu F 6-10 225 09/14/87 Georgia Tech R
42 Ryan Ayers G/F 6-7 210 07/16/86 Notre Dame R
22 Jimmy Baron G 6-3 195 05/23/86 Rhode Island R
8 Javaris Crittenton G 6-5 200 12/31/87 Georgia Tech 2
54 Jon Edwards C 7-0 275 07/31/81 Kent State 2
55 Josh Heytvelt F/C 6-11 260 06/02/86 Gonzaga R
34 JaVale McGee C 7-0 237 01/19/88 Nevada-Reno 1
43 James Lang C 6-10 285 10/17/83 Central Park (HS) 1
5 Dominic McGuire G/F 6-9 220 10/20/85 Fresno State 2
21 Tywain McKie G 6-2 182 03/07/86 Coppin State R
31 Tyrese Rice G 6-0 183 05/15/87 Boston College R
16 Jason Rich G 6-3 211 05/08/86 Florida State R
24 Alex Ruoff G 6-6 220 08/29/86 West Virginia R
20 Diamon Simpson F 6-7 230 09/08/87 Saint Mary's R
30 Kyle Spain F 6-5 220 01/05/87 San Diego State R
40 Brandon Wallace F 6-9 203 03/14/85 South Carolina R
1 Nick Young G/F 6-6 200 06/01/85 Southern California 2

WASHINGTON WIZARDS SUMMER LEAGUE SCHEDULE (All Times PDT)
DATE OPPONENT LOCATION TIPOFF
Tuesday, July 14 vs. Cleveland 6:30 pm ET at Thomas & Mack
Wednesday, July 15 vs. Denver 10:30 pm ET at Thomas & Mack
Friday, July 17 vs. Minnesota 8:00 pm ET at COX Pavilion
Saturday, July 18 vs. LA Clippers 8:30 pm ET at Thomas & Mack
Sunday, July 19 vs. New York 4:00 pm ET at COX Pavilion

Note: Rosters will be added as they are submitted to NBA/PBN.

Free agency started July 1. 

Below is a comprehensive list provided by the NBA of players who became free agents this summer.

All players are unrestricted free agents unless there is an (R) following their name. Those are restricted free agents, whose teams have seven days to match any offer the player receives from another team. 

Negotiations began as early as 12:01 a.m. on July 1 but no signings can become official until July 8. 

ATLANTA HAWKS (9) - Mike Bibby, Thomas Gardner, Othello Hunter, Mario West (R), Josh Childress (R), Solomon Jones (R), Zaza Pachulia, Flip Murray, Marvin Williams (R). 

BOSTON CELTICS (4) - Glen Davis (R), Stephon Marbury, Mikki Moore, Leon Powe. 

CHARLOTTE BOBCATS (5) - Raymond Felton (R), Cartier Martin (R), Sean May, Sean Singletary (R), Juwan Howard. 

CHICAGO BULLS (3) - Aaron Gray (R), Ben Gordon, Lindsey Hunter. 

CLEVELAND CAVALIERS (4) - Joe Smith, Wally Szczerbiak, Anderson Varejao, Lorenzen Wright

DALLAS MAVERICKS (5) - Brandon Bass, Gerald Green, Ryan Hollins (R), Jason Kidd, James Singleton. 

DENVER NUGGETS (6) - Chris Andersen, Anthony Carter, Jason Hart, Dahntay Jones, Linas Kleiza (R), Johan Petro. 

DETROIT PISTONS (4) - Walter Herrmann (R), Allen Iverson, Antonio McDyess, Rasheed Wallace. 

GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS (2) - Rob Kurz (R), C.J. Watson (R).

HOUSTON ROCKETS (3) - Ron Artest, Dikembe Mutombo, Von Wafer. 

INDIANA PACERS (6) - Maceo Baston, Marquis Daniels, Stephen Graham, Jarrett Jack (R), Josh McRoberts (R), Rasho Nesterovic. 

LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS (4) - Alex Acker, Fred Jones, Steve Novak (R), Brian Skinner. 

LOS ANGELES LAKERS (3) - Shannon Brown (R), Trevor Ariza, Lamar Odom. 

MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES (5) - Juan Carlos Navarro (R), Hakim Warrick (R), Chris Mihm, Quinton Ross, Mike Wilks. 

MIAMI HEAT (4) - Joel Anthony (R), Luther Head, Jamaal Magloire, Jamario Moon (R).

MILWAUKEE BUCKS (5) - Keith Bogans, Ersan Ilyasova (R), Damon Jones, Ramon Sessions (R), Charlie Villanueva. 

MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES (4) - Rodney Carney, Jason Collins, Kevin Ollie, Shelden Williams. 

NEW JERSEY NETS (1) - Maurice Ager.

NEW ORLEANS HORNETS (3) - Ryan Bowen, Melvin Ely, Sean Marks. 

NEW YORK KNICKS (3) - David Lee (R), Nate Robinson (R), Chris Wilcox. 

OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER (3) - Desmond Mason, Malik Rose, Robert Swift. 

ORLANDO MAGIC (5) - Adonal Foyle, Marcin Gortat (R), Tyronn Lue, Jeremy Richardson (R), Hedo Turkoglu 

PHILADELPHIA 76ERS (5) - Royal Ivey,  Donyell Marshall, Andre Miller, Theo Ratliff, Kareem Rush. 

PHOENIX SUNS (3) -Matt Barnes, Grant Hill, Stromile Swift. 

PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS (4) - Channing Frye, Raef LaFrentz, Shavlik Randolph, Michael Ruffin.

SACRAMENTO KINGS (5) - Calvin Booth, Ike Diogu, Bobby Jackson, Rashad McCants, Cedric Simmons. 

SAN ANTONIO SPURS (3) - Drew Gooden, Ime Udoka, Jacque Vaughn.

TORONTO RAPTORS (6) - Carlos Delfino (R), Joey Graham, Shawn Marion, Pops Mensah-Bonsu (R), Anthony Parker, Jake Voskuhl. 

UTAH JAZZ (5) - Morris Almond, Jarron Collins, Brevin Knight, Paul Millsap (R), Ronnie Price. 

WASHINGTON WIZARDS (1) - Juan Dixon. 

Our friends at SportsRadioInterviews.com regularly provide us with links to some of their NBA-related talks. Here are links to three very good ones:

* Milwaukee forward Charlie Villanueva talks about the Richard Jefferson trade -- and finds out during the interview that the Bucks traded for Amir Johnson. After hearing that, Villanueva thinks he's probably gone from the Bucks.

Listen here

* Dallas owner Mark Cuban discussses his blog post about the media, and clarifies some comments about media fabrications. Cuban also says Twitter is a tremendous way to monitor players.

Listen here

* Philadelphia GM Ed Stefanski says the Sixers are drafting a guard at No. 17. He also says we should wait three years before evaluating a draft.

Listen here

Some of the most and least interesting statements in our universe can be found on Twitter. Things are no different in the NBA.

Boston forward Paul Pierce once tweeted that he was buying a new couch. If that doesn't tell you something about the state of the Celtics, nothing will. (That's a joke, C's fans, so hold the angry emails.)

Then there was Kevin Love, the Minnesota power forward who broke the news that his coach was about to be canned -- before the Timberwolves even had the chance to announce it.

Welcome to the idea of running your own team in the 21st century, Mr. David Kahn. And I bet Kevin McHale never imagined it would go down like this back in the 1980s, when he played for the Celtics and all news was released via chisel and granite. Not really, but it sometimes seems like it today.

There's more.

Milwaukee forward Charlie Villanueva, who once made waves with a tweet at halftime, recently speculated on his future via Twitter by asking followers, "If I stay a Buck, I will wear 31, if i don't I should wear...............?"

Then there was this bit of personal information from L.A. Clippers point guard Baron Davis: "My cousin (who is a struggling artist) just called for $. his paintings r not selling! :-( tryn to make extra money 2 send kids 2 college!"

Keep in mind, this is the type of info for which reporters would typically kill, and info most NBA players are willing to provide. But so often the fans and media are at the mercy of an athlete‘s "handlers" -- people who make way too much money to make sure the athlete pretty much says nothing of consequence.

Twitter is changing all that.

I mean, no sportswriter anywhere will be able to tell you who performed at the L.A. Lakers' post-championship party. But Lakers guard Derek Fisher sure can.

"Our laker party last night was great! Kanye and lil wayne performances! Crazy!" Fisher revealed in a tweet.

Or how about Dallas owner Mark Cuban, who often refers to his own blog via Twitter. He most recently linked to his post about how you can't believe anything you read on "non-traditional" blogs and websites. Guess that means Twitter has already become a sports tradition.

After all, who could possibly live without knowing that Toronto forward Chris Bosh is "Sitting on my porch.... Chillin"?

That, folks, is the NBA's inside stuff.

Sam Amico is the editor of Pro Basketball News. He can be reached at amico@probasketballnews.com.

A. Sherrod Blakely of Michigan Live says Detroit may make a play for L.A. Lakers forward and unrestricted free agent Trevor Ariza -- despite the fact Ariza has indicated he prefers to remain with the Lakers.

But as Blakely noted, it may not be that easy. "The Lakers already have more than $70 million tied up in salaries for next season -- well above the luxury tax threshold -- and that number will take a significant jump if they are serious in their efforts to re-sign Ariza and fellow Lakers free agent Lamar Odom," Blakely wrote.

Blakely also astutely pointed out that Ariza's fine showing in the playoffs may have just been a case of a guy getting hot at the right time.

"The big concern with Ariza, as is often the case with players who have breakout performances in the playoffs, is if his strong postseason play was an aberration," Blakely wrote.

Either way, the Pistons will have plenty of cap space with unrestricted free agent Allen Iverson (and likely Rasheed Wallace) coming off the books. Plus, there is always the possibility of a trade, according to Blakely.

"The Pistons' level of interest will intensify if they make a trade involving Tayshaun Prince that nets them an impact power forward or center," he wrote. "While nothing is imminent, Prince remains one of the most likely Pistons to be traded this summer because of to his contract (two years, $21.5 million remaining), postseason experience and versatility."

Kevin McHale told the St. Paul Pioneer Press that, yes, he wanted to return as coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves. But new general manager David Kahn and the team did not want him back -- as Kahn reportedly told him in his hotel room Tuesday night.

McHale then contacted the players, and the news was actually first reported by power forward Kevin Love, who broke the story on his Twitter account.

"I was willing to come back, but they never offered me a contract," McHale said. "They told me last week they were going in a different direction. I said I think you're making a mistake, but that's up to you guys. I told them I know it's been a tough couple of years, but that the team is starting to build, and that they had some good progress last year when Al (Jefferson) was healthy."

He added, "The players kept on saying, 'Hey, Kevin, we need you back, c'mon, come back and coach, work with us, we got this thing going.' I talked to them last night; they were all very upset. But I said it's not my decision."

McHale had been with the Timberwolves for 15 seasons, 13 of which were spent running the team in the front office, the other two on the bench. He had an unusual, albeit friendly, relationship with owner Glen Taylor. McHale said they discussed the fact he would not return to the team.

"I just said, 'Glen, I talked to David, and he said he was going in another direction,'" McHale said. "Glen was very quiet; he didn't say a whole bunch."

McHale, 51, said he hopes to remain in basketball in some capacity.

Meanwhile, Kahn said in a letter to season-ticket holders that the Timberwolves will begin their search for a new coach immediately after the June 25 draft and hope to have someone in place by mid-summer.

"I did not know Kevin McHale until I took this job and can tell you that he is an even better person than most understand," Kahn wrote in the letter.

"He is warm, bright, upbeat and relentlessly optimistic. He cares about making players the best they can be. Because of those qualities, I thought long and hard with him about whether we could create an environment where he and the team could succeed next season with him as head coach."

Five interesting items from around the league:

Jeff Miller, Orange County Register: "Bizarre also Sunday was the official on-court victory presentation, when Jerry Buss' son, Joey, accepted the Larry O'Brien Trophy from Commissioner David Stern. Frankly, the whole affair wouldn't have been more awkward had Stern handed over Larry O'Brien himself. Joey is not the most visibly active of the Buss children when it comes to running the Lakers. In fact, he wouldn't even make the top three. This might have been what prompted his sister, Jeanie, a Lakers' executive vice president, to Tweet during the ceremony that Joey was, in fact, a Buss.

Michael Lee, Washington Post: "(Jonny) Flynn was feeding (Stephen) Curry and Curry missed his first five shots before making the last one. That's when I realized he was human, or just a smidge exhausted. But every shot he put up looked good at the release."

Jamie Samuelson, Detroit Free Press: "Label me a Piston optimist. There remains a core of guys who have won or can win. I’m perfectly comfortable with a starting backcourt of Richard Hamilton and Rodney Stuckey, plus Tayshaun Prince at the three. All three of those can play and contend in the league. The large question (pun intended) is who the big men are. The glaring deficiency of the last four or five years is the complete lack of big man development."

Ronald Tillery, Memphis Commercial Appeal: "(Robert) Dozier more than held his own against his counterparts in FedExForum: Connecticut's Jeff Adrien, Temple's Dionte Christmas and North Carolina State's Courtney Fells. ... Dozier, following Christmas' sharp shooting on every drill, raised eyebrows with his efficiency while spotting up and making shots on the move. And while most big men tend to embarrass themselves when asked to connect from the NBA's 3-point range, Dozier appeared comfortable hoisting and converting a number of shots from beyond the arc."

Tom Enlund, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "To Skiles, watching the playoffs from the sideline offered a reminder of just how hard it is to win in the postseason, which is something he wants his players to keep in mind as the team's building process moves forward. 'You get away from it and start watching the playoff games and if you've been in the playoffs before and now you're not, you're watching them and you see what it takes to play at that level,' Skiles said. 'You see what it takes to win a series. It's just a constant reminder of how hard it is. It's hard.'"

Atlanta is coming off a 47-35 season in which it advanced to the second round of the playoffs. So why are the Hawks possibly contemplating a trade of forward Josh Smith?

The answer is simple: The Hawks have a few other key players whose contracts are about to expire (starters Mike Bibby and Marvin Williams, and reserves Flip Murray and Zaza Pachulia), and they feel that Smith will bring something of real value in return (they're right about that).

ESPN reported "the Hawks have been working hard the past few weeks to see whether they can find a taker for Smith," but that trading Smith won't be easy because he has a "$6 million trade kicker attached to his contract." In other words, if you trade for Smith, you're giving him a cool $6 mil right off the bat.

That tends to make just about everyone shy away -- even a few lottery teams who are said to be willing to surrender a top five pick for Smith.

Either way, stay tuned.

While the Hawks are very young, they're doubtful their current cast can ever lead them to a title. They know they need to bring in at least one more guy who can really bring it every night. And if they're serious about it, well, then it's only natural for them to at least gauge interest in a player like Smith.

Sam Amico is editor of Pro Basketball News. He can be reached at amico@probasketballnews.com.

You may have seen the item earlier this week about longtime Celtics player, coach and broadcaster Tom Heinsohn receiving the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award. 

At Saturday's media availability, Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said he thought Heinsohn was a fine choice as the first recipient of the award. 

"As much as he is committed to the Boston Celtics, he's also given great credit to a lot of other people over time," Van Gundy said. "I just think he's a guy who loves the game, loves the NBA, and someone that's very deserving of the honor." 

Heinsohn has been affiliated with the Celtics in some capacity since 1956. He won eight championships as a player and two more as a coach before moving permanently into broadcasting since 1981, where he has developed his own inimitable style. 

Van Gundy admitted that he does not know Heinsohn, but he is familiar with his work behind the mic. 

"There aren't many guys with greater enthusiasm for basketball or greater ambassadors of the game, and certainly no one who is more devout and more loyal to one team than Tom is.  

"In Tom's mind, let's face it, the Celtics have yet to foul in the entire history of their organization, and they have yet to miss a shot on which they were not fouled." 

Chris Bernucca has covered the NBA since 1996 and is a regular contributor to Pro Basketball News. You can disagree with him at cbernucca@comcast.net.

The referees for Game 4 will be Bennett Salvatore, Mike Callahan and Scott Foster, completing the pool of 12 selected to work the NBA Finals. 

The trio joins Game 1 officials Ken Mauer, Dan Crawford and Joe DeRosa; Game 2's Steve Javie, Tom Washington and Monty McCutchen; and Game 3's Joey Crawford, Derrick Stafford and Mark Wunderlich at the unquestioned height of their profession. 

With series guaranteed to go at least five games, three referees will work two Finals games. Up to six more could receive a second assignment. 

From a personal standpoint, this is a huge deal for these guys. Several years ago, Mauer worked his first Finals game and came to the hospitality suite at the media hotel afterward. With Ronnie Nunn standing close by and monitoring our questions, Mauer admitted it was the highlight of his career and a tremendous thrill that was accompanied by some butterflies. 

As we noted previously, the diligent dozen all worked at least twice during the conference finals. Salvatore was the only referee to receive three assignments in that round, so we expected to see him earlier than Game 4. 

Fifteen referees worked two conference finals games. The three that did not make the cut for the NBA Finals were mainstay Ron Garretson and potential newbies Bill Spooner and Marc Davis. 

There were five refs who received just one conference finals assignment and as we correctly projected were not called for the Finals: Dick Bavetta, Tony Brothers, James Capers, Bill Kennedy and Greg Willard. 

Both McCutchen and Stafford made their Finals debuts this year. Washington and Wunderlich broke through last year, and the recent new faces indicate a clear changing of the guard among the league's best refs. 

You may have seen the item earlier this week that long-time referees Jack Nies, Jim Clark and Luis Grillo are retiring. Nies and Clark worked Finals games this decade but clearly were no longer among the league's elite based on the work assignments listed below. 

One last item regarding the guys in the grey shirts: On June 17 - the off day between a potential Game 6 and a potential Game 7 - Tim Donaghy is scheduled to be released from prison.

Below is the referee assignment breakdown for the entire playoffs: 

NBA FINALS (12 REFEREES)

Mike Callahan, Dan Crawford, Joey Crawford, Joe DeRosa, Scott Foster, Steve Javie, Ken Mauer, Monty McCutchen, Bennett Salvatore, Derrick Stafford, Tom Washington, Mark Wunderlich. 

CONFERENCE FINALS (20)

Three: Bennett Salvatore. Two: Mike Callahan, Dan Crawford, Joey Crawford, Marc Davis, Joe DeRosa, Scott Foster, Ron Garretson, Steve Javie, Ken Mauer, Monty McCutchen, Bill Spooner, Derrick Stafford, Tom Washington, Mark Wunderlich. One: Dick Bavetta, Tony Brothers, James Capers, Bill Kennedy, Greg Willard.   

CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS (27)

Five: Dan Crawford. Four: Mike Callahan, Joe Crawford, Scott Foster, Steve Javie, Monty McCutchen. Three: Dick Bavetta, Joe DeRosa, Ron Garretson, Bill Kennedy, Ken Mauer, Bennett Salvatore, Bill Spooner, Derrick Stafford, Tom Washington, Mark Wunderlich.

Two: James Capers, Marc Davis, Greg Willard. One: Tony Brothers, Sean Corbin, David Jones, Ed Malloy, Violet Palmer, Ed F. Rush, Mike Smith, Leon Wood.

FIRST ROUND (35)

Seven: Joe Crawford, Steve Javie. Six: Marc Davis, Monty McCutchen, Bennett Salvatore, Mark Wunderlich. Five: Dick Bavetta, James Capers, Sean Corbin, Dan Crawford, Scott Foster, Ron Garretson, Derrick Stafford, Tom Washington, Greg Willard.

Four: Tony Brothers, Mike Callahan, Joe DeRosa, Bill Kennedy, Ken Mauer, Bill Spooner. Three: David Jones, Ed Malloy. Two: Jim Clark, Derrick Collins, Joe Forte, Violet Palmer, Jason Phillips, Eddie F. Rush, Mike Smith, Leon Wood, Zach Zarba, Gary Zielinski. One: Pat Fraher, Eric Lewis.

NO PLAYOFF GAMES (28)

Bennie Adams, Mark Ayotte, Curtis Blair, Matt Boland, Tony Brown, Eric Dalen, Bob Delaney (injured), Kevin Fehr, Brian Forte, John Goble, Luis Grillo, David Guthrie, Jess Kersey, Courtney Kirkland, Mark Lindsay, Rodney Mott, Jack Nies, Tommy Nunez Jr., Ron Olesiak, Olandis Poole, Blane Reichelt, Derek Richardson, Leroy Richardson, Phil Robinson, Robbie Robinson, Eli Roe, Haywoode Workman, Sean Wright.

Chris Bernucca has covered the NBA since 1996 and is a regular contributor to Pro Basketball News. You can disagree with him at cbernucca@comcast.net.

I've never fit the mold of the conventional sports fan. 

The conventional sports fan almost always roots with unwavering provincial allegiances, regardless of player or coach. For as long as I can remember, I have been exactly the opposite, aligning myself far more strongly with players than teams. 

I have some long-standing allegiances to teams, but they have been dulled by 20 years in sports journalism, where you learn very quickly to root for the great story or the easy story. 

There is only one sports team to which my allegiance remains as passionate as it was 30 years ago. That team is the Philadelphia 76ers, and I have Roy Boe to thank for that. 

Boe died Sunday, right here in my home state of Connecticut. He is regarded as the basketball equivalent of Harry Frazee, the former Red Sox owner who sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees. 

In the 1970s, Boe owned the ABA's New York Nets led by Julius Erving, who at the time was unquestionably the most exciting basketball player - and the best, more than a few people felt. 

I first saw Erving as a member of the Virginia Squires dropping 58 on the Nets in a game on local New York TV, and I was spellbound. The next year, he was on the Nets, and with Wilt Chamberlain and Jerry West reaching the end of their careers, I had a new favorite player to root for. 

You need to understand something about being a basketball fan in New York in the 1970s. Kareem, Dave Cowens, Earl Monroe - you respected those guys but they really didn't matter. What mattered was this: You were either a "Clyde" guy and backed the New York Knicks and were somewhat dismissive of the ABA. Or you were a "Doc" guy and told anyone who would listen that he was the best player in the world. 

And I was a "Doc" guy. You listened to Nets games on the radio. There were a handful of televised road games, and you treated each one as a cherished gift. I delivered the New York Daily News as a youngster, and before I began my route each morning, I opened the newspaper to the Nets game story and boxscore. 

In 1976, rumors of an ABA-NBA merger became stronger and stronger, and Boe had the best chip in the game in Erving. But he also had a disadvantageous financial position because of his team's proximity to the Knicks. To enter the NBA, he was forced to pay a $4.8 million territorial fee to the Knicks - a staggering amount at the time - in addition to his $3.2 million fee to the league. 

Like most ABA owners, Boe was going broke. But he wanted into the NBA very badly, so he raised the capital as quickly as he could - by selling Erving - the best, most exciting basketball player in the world - to the 76ers for $3 million. 

And when Boe sold away Erving, he also sold away my allegiance to the Nets. I was now a 76ers fan, and as far as I was concerned, the Nets could fall into the New Jersey swampland where a new arena was being built for them.

I am sure I am not the only one whose rooting interest took a trip down the turnpike. With the Nets planning a move off Long Island, the Knicks would have New York all to themselves again. 

My passion for the NBA probably helped sustain my passion for the Sixers after Erving retired in 1987. Players such as Maurice Cheeks and Charles Barkley certainly helped, and it was severely tested during the downward spiral of the early 1990s. I will always give the benefit of the doubt to Allen Iverson and Larry Brown, regardless of their missteps, as a way of thanking them for resurrecting the franchise. 

I know reporters, beat writers, columnists, etc. aren't supposed to have team allegiances because it is considered somewhat unprofessional. To a degree, that's hogwash. We all have favorites, whether they be players, teams, or the personalities of GMs and owners, and we silently root for them. 

The blogosphere certainly has softened matters a bit in that regard. I still possess a stronger bond with players rather than teams. And I have almost totally separated my heart from my head when making a prediction on the outcome of a sporting event. 

But I don't see a time when my allegiance to the Sixers will ever waver. For that, you can blame Roy Boe. 

Chris Bernucca has covered the NBA since 1996 and is a regular contributor to Pro Basketball News. You can disagree with him at cbernucca@comcast.net.

Randy Smith died Thursday. 

The AP obit didn't do him justice. TrueHoop, as usual, filled in some of the blanks. 

I am old enough to have seen Randy Smith play. I saw him live a handful of times at Madison Square Garden and on TV countless times. The Braves were a hot item back then - or as hot an item as an NBA team in the 1970s could be - because they featured Bob McAdoo, an absolute scoring machine. 

At one Braves-Knicks affair, we brought along a childhood friend who never had been to a basketball game. Our seats were in the 10th row behind one of the baskets, and he spent pregame and halftime as close as possible to the court, trying to interact with the players. 

At halftime, Smith was hoisting practice jumpers and my friend said, "Hey, Randy, you lead all scorers." 

Smith looked at him, smiled and said, "Oh yeah?" as if he was pleased as punch. That simple response from an NBA player who clearly had gotten over himself made my friend's year. 

The Braves were pretty darn good. McAdoo played the middle and in addition to his scoring titles regularly finished in the top five in rebounding and blocks as well. Other guys who have done that are named Kareem and Moses. 

The forwards were Jim McMillian, a Columbia grad who averaged 18.5 points as a rookie on the powerhouse 1971-72 Lakers as the player who replaced Elgin Baylor, and Garfield Heard, who with Phoenix in 1976 made one of the most famous shots in NBA history. 

The backcourt was Kenny Charles, a defensive-minded guard from Fordham who later was supplanted by Ernie DiGregorio, and Smith, who for my money was the fastest NBA player I had ever seen - discounting mighty mites Calvin Murphy and Charlie Criss - until Allen Iverson came along. 

I know it is unfair to compare eras, but take a look at Smith's numbers - compiled virtually without the enhancement of the 3-point shot - and imagine the second and third contracts he would have commanded in today's market. 

Here's three things about Smith that no one seems to have mentioned yet: 

• In his days with the Braves, Smith sometimes wore one of those weight vests during practice. With 20 extra pounds on him, he still regularly beat his teammates up and down the floor. 
• The TrueHoop post mentioned the mechanics of Smith's jump shot, but it did not address its arc, which was truly a rainbow and perhaps the highest and most odd-looking of any player of his era. 
• In the 1976 playoffs, the Braves trailed the Boston Celtics, 3-2, in the Eastern Conference semifinals and were hosting a tense Game 6. Boston held a two-point lead and the ball in the final minute and JoJo White was yo-yoing just inside the timeline when Smith poked away the ball and appeared on his way in for the tying layup when the whistle blew for a phantom foul. My father had always told me that the Celtics get all the calls, but that was the first time I had seen hard evidence of it. 

I live in Connecticut and had no idea he was working at Mohegan Sun, where I have visited on a number of occasions. It would have been nice to run into him one last time. 

Thanks for the memories, Randy. 

A source within the Boston Celtics organization insisted that contrary to reports, the team is not looking to trade point guard Rajon Rondo.

"Can he be frustrating at times? Absolutely. But no one is ready to give up on him," the source said.

"Whoever put the Rondo rumors out there obviously works for someone other than the Celtics."

The source added that the Celtics "are not looking to gut the team" following a 60-win season, which ended in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Orlando Magic.

The Rondo rumors originated in a story on Hoopsworld.com, which reported that the Celtics may be shopping veteran guard Ray Allen, and would be willing to include Rondo in a possible deal. A few other NBA sources contacted by PBN have said the report was in line with things they had been hearing.

Hoopsworld linked to a story on ESPN that quoted Celtics GM Danny Ainge.

"(Rondo is) stubborn," Ainge told ESPN. "He doesn't always take direction well. He's very bright and he knows what he needs to do to be successful. But sometimes he doesn't understand what the team needs to be successful."

The source questioned the use of Ainge's quote in the Hoopsworld report, saying, "That story was posted a long time ago (April 23). How is that relevant to what's going on with the Celtics today?"

When told Ainge's quote may shed some light on whether or not the team is willing to deal Rondo, the source simply replied, "I don't think so. That's a real reach."

The source said that the Celtics may have had some "very minor" conversations about Allen, "but he's not likely going anywhere, either."

He concluded, "My guess is some other team talked to (the Celtics), mentioned Ray in passing, and then the other team took it to people throughout the league who accepted it as gospel. That's how these things get started, and now Danny is going to have to get out there and refute all this stuff that he really had nothing to do with.

"Does the team need some tweaking? Most definitely. But there is no panic around here, and trading Rajon and Ray would be a panic move. That's why it's so absurd."

Sam Amico is the editor of Pro Basketball News. He can be reached at amico@probasketballnews.com.

During the playoffs, Kobe Bryant has had a few light moments with the media where he has displayed his sense of humor or been a bit coy. 

When asked about whether Dahntay Jones had intentionally tripped him in the Western Conference finals, he said, "No. I'm just a klutz." 

But since the Lakers have secured their second straight trip to the Finals, Bryant has been all business. Gone is the smile, replaced by a scowl. Gone are the expansive answers to questions, replaced by terse replies. 

It was evident at practice Monday and again Tuesday. And it was clearly evident Wednesday at Staples Center, one day before Game 1.  

During his session with the media, most of Bryant's answers were short and devoid of any emotion or personality. When asked if it was important to him to win a championship without Shaquille O'Neal, he responded, "Not at all. Means nothing."

But for one of the few times in the last three days, he expounded a bit. 

"If people think Shaq would have won a championship on that team without me, they're crazy," he said. 

That ought to stir things up again between old friends, don't you think?

Chris Bernucca has covered the NBA since 1996 and is a regular contributor to Pro Basketball News. You can disagree with him at cbernucca@comcast.net.

Bennett Salvatore will almost certainly be working the NBA Finals. And he may be joined by a handful of referees making their Finals debuts. 

Salvatore was the only referee to receive three assignments during the conference finals, making him a virtual lock to be tabbed for the NBA's championship series. 

The league selects a pool of 12 officials to work the Finals. The picks are made on merit as the league's evaluation system rewards its best referees with more games as the postseason progresses. 

Of the NBA's 63 referees, 35 were chosen to work frst-round games. The pool was reduced to 27 for the conference semifinals and 20 for the conference finals. 

Among the 20 who worked the conference finals, five received only one assignment - Dick Bavetta, Tony Brothers, James Capers, Bill Kennedy and Greg Willard. Based on the NBA's merit system, it is unlikely that any of those five will be chosen for the Finals. 

That reduces the pool to 15 - Salvatore plus the 14 referees who worked twice during the conference finals. Among those are Marc Davis, Monty McCutchen, Bill Spooner and Derrick Stafford, all of whom never have worked a Finals game. 

Davis' rise to the league's elite has been meteoric. Prior to last season, he had worked just three playoff games. He has received 10 assignments in this postseason. 

Tom Washington and Mark Wunderlich, who worked their first Finals a year ago, also are in the mix. 

Overall, the referees with the most assignments in the 2009 postseason are mainstays Joey Crawford and Steve Javie with 13 and Salvatore, Dan Crawford and McCutchen with 12. 

There also is a spot in this year's Finals pool that normally would not be available. Bob Delaney, who has worked the last four Finals, suffered a season-ending injury late in the regular season. Yes, referees get those, too.

Below is the breakdown for the entire playoffs to date: 

CONFERENCE FINALS (20 REFEREES)

Three: Bennett Salvatore. Two: Mike Callahan, Dan Crawford, Joey Crawford, Marc Davis, Joe DeRosa, Scott Foster, Ron Garretson, Steve Javie, Ken Mauer, Monty McCutchen, Bill Spooner, Derrick Stafford, Tom Washington, Mark Wunderlich. One: Dick Bavetta, Tony Brothers, James Capers, Bill Kennedy, Greg Willard.   

CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS (27)

Five: Dan Crawford. Four: Mike Callahan, Joe Crawford, Scott Foster, Steve Javie, Monty McCutchen. Three: Dick Bavetta, Joe DeRosa, Ron Garretson, Bill Kennedy, Ken Mauer, Bennett Salvatore, Bill Spooner, Derrick Stafford, Tom Washington, Mark Wunderlich.

Two: James Capers, Marc Davis, Greg Willard. One: Tony Brothers, Sean Corbin, David Jones, Ed Malloy, Violet Palmer, Ed F. Rush, Mike Smith, Leon Wood.

FIRST ROUND (35)

Seven: Joe Crawford, Steve Javie. Six: Marc Davis, Monty McCutchen, Bennett Salvatore, Mark Wunderlich. Five: Dick Bavetta, James Capers, Sean Corbin, Dan Crawford, Scott Foster, Ron Garretson, Derrick Stafford, Tom Washington, Greg Willard.

Four: Tony Brothers, Mike Callahan, Joe DeRosa, Bill Kennedy, Ken Mauer, Bill Spooner. Three: David Jones, Ed Malloy. Two: Jim Clark, Derrick Collins, Joe Forte, Violet Palmer, Jason Phillips, Eddie F. Rush, Mike Smith, Leon Wood, Zach Zarba, Gary Zielinski. One: Pat Fraher, Eric Lewis.

NO PLAYOFF GAMES (28)

Bennie Adams, Mark Ayotte, Curtis Blair, Matt Boland, Tony Brown, Eric Dalen, Bob Delaney (injured), Kevin Fehr, Brian Forte, John Goble, Luis Grillo, David Guthrie, Jess Kersey, Courtney Kirkland, Mark Lindsay, Rodney Mott, Jack Nies, Tommy Nunez Jr., Ron Olesiak, Olandis Poole, Blane Reichelt, Derek Richardson, Leroy Richardson, Phil Robinson, Robbie Robinson, Eli Roe, Haywoode Workman, Sean Wright.

Chris Bernucca has covered the NBA since 1996 and is a regular contributor to Pro Basketball News. You can disagree with him at cbernucca@comcast.net.

The Cleveland Cavaliers won a league-high and franchise-record 66 games this season. 

They had the MVP in LeBron James and the Coach of the Year in Mike Brown. 

They swept the rival Detroit Pistons in the first round. 

They swept the Atlanta Hawks in the conference semifinals. 

They had everything going for them - a superstar, a great defense, teamwork, commitment, and a reachable goal. 

They appeared certain to end Cleveland's 45-year sports title drought. 

And then everything went wrong against the Orlando Magic. 

Summing it up best was Mo Williams, who made the ill-fated guarantee of a victory early in the series. But that didn't stop him from talking. 

"It is basically like, you know, you're at Christmastime and you want that remote control car you have been begging your mom for the whole time and Christmas comes and you open up a present and you open up another present, another present, and you never see that remote control car," Williams said. 

"You can have 10 presents; you don't have that remote control car, you are going to be sad and disappointed anyway. But you will get over it.  You will get over it.  You will look at all the bright spots we had in the season, because we had a lot of them."

Chris Bernucca has covered the NBA since 1996 and is a regular contributor to Pro Basketball News. You can disagree with him at cbernucca@comcast.net.

A total of 26 franchises have reached the NBA Finals, but only two have failed to win a game in any of their appearances in the world championship series.

The unlucky teams are the Orlando Magic and Cleveland Cavaliers, one of whom is guaranteed to emerge from this year's Eastern Conference finals -- and give itself another chance to post a first NBA Finals victory.

NBA Finals
Worst all-time winning percentages
-----------------------------------------------
.000 --- Cleveland Cavaliers (0-4)
.000 --- Orlando Magic (0-4)
.200 --- New Jersey Nets (2-8)
.200 --- Chicago Stags (1-4)
.250 --- Washington Bullets (5-15)
.333 --- Phoenix Suns (4-8)
.333 --- Utah Jazz (4-8)
.333 --- Dallas Mavericks (2-4)
.333 --- Indiana Pacers (2-4)
.333 --- Washington Capitols (2-4)


Eastern Conference finals resumes

Orlando Magic
---------------------------------------
1995 - Indiana Pacers (W, 4-3)
1996 - Chicago Bulls (L, 0-4)
2009 - Cleveland Cavaliers

Cleveland Cavaliers
----------------------------------------
1976 - Boston Celtics (L, 2-4)
1992 - Chicago Bulls (L, 2-4)
2007 - Detroit Pistons (W, 4-2)
2009 - Orlando Magic

Brian Dulik is a regular contributor to Pro Basketball News. He may be reached at brisports@hotmail.com.

The third team for the NBA Finals is starting to take shape. 

Referees Joe DeRosa, Scott Foster, Ken Mauer and Bennett Salvatore have received two assignments for the conference finals, making them favorites to be among the 12 referees selected to work the NBA Finals. 

All four worked last year's Finals. 

Sixteen other officials have gotten the call for the penultimate round of the postseason, bringing the total to 20 - seven fewer than the conference semifinals. Given that four referees have gotten a second assignment, the conference finals roster likely will not grow. 

The seven referees who worked the conference semifinals but have not been tabbed for the conference finals are Sean Corbin, David Jones, Ed Malloy, Violet Palmer, Ed F. Rush, Mike Smith and Leon Wood. 

The only referee to work just one conference semifinal game and move on to the conference finals was Tony Brothers. The other 19 who have gotten the call for a conference final all worked at least two conference semifinal games. 

Why do we tell you all this? Because everyone who watches the NBA has their own idea of which guys are good or bad officials. But the NBA hands out postseason assignments on a merit system, and the better official you are, the more frequently - and deeper into the playoffs - you work. 

In other words, you may feel Salvatore is not a good referee. The NBA begs to differ. 

Below is the breakdown for the entire playoffs through Game 4 in both series: 

CONFERENCE FINALS (20)

Two: Joe DeRosa, Scott Foster, Ken Mauer, Bennett Salvatore. One: Dick Bavetta, Tony Brothers, Mike Callahan, James Capers, Dan Crawford, Joey Crawford, Marc Davis, Ron Garretson, Steve Javie, Bill Kennedy, Monty McCutchen, Bill Spooner, Derrick Stafford, Tom Washington, Greg Willard, Mark Wunderlich.   

CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS (27)

Five: Dan Crawford. Four: Mike Callahan, Joe Crawford, Scott Foster, Steve Javie, Monty McCutchen. Three: Dick Bavetta, Joe DeRosa, Ron Garretson, Bill Kennedy, Ken Mauer, Bennett Salvatore, Bill Spooner, Derrick Stafford, Tom Washington, Mark Wunderlich.

Two: James Capers, Marc Davis, Greg Willard. One: Tony Brothers, Sean Corbin, David Jones, Ed Malloy, Violet Palmer, Ed F. Rush, Mike Smith, Leon Wood.

FIRST ROUND (35)

Seven: Joe Crawford, Steve Javie. Six: Marc Davis, Monty McCutchen, Bennett Salvatore, Mark Wunderlich. Five: Dick Bavetta, James Capers, Sean Corbin, Dan Crawford, Scott Foster, Ron Garretson, Derrick Stafford, Tom Washington, Greg Willard.

Four: Tony Brothers, Mike Callahan, Joe DeRosa, Bill Kennedy, Ken Mauer, Bill Spooner. Three: David Jones, Ed Malloy. Two: Jim Clark, Derrick Collins, Joe Forte, Violet Palmer, Jason Phillips, Eddie F. Rush, Mike Smith, Leon Wood, Zach Zarba, Gary Zielinski. One: Pat Fraher, Eric Lewis.

NO PLAYOFF GAMES (28)

Bennie Adams, Mark Ayotte, Curtis Blair, Matt Boland, Tony Brown, Eric Dalen, Bob Delaney (injured), Kevin Fehr, Brian Forte, John Goble, Luis Grillo, David Guthrie, Jess Kersey, Courtney Kirkland, Mark Lindsay, Rodney Mott, Jack Nies, Tommy Nunez Jr., Ron Olesiak, Olandis Poole, Blane Reichelt, Derek Richardson, Leroy Richardson, Phil Robinson, Robbie Robinson, Eli Roe, Haywoode Workman, Sean Wright.

Chris Bernucca has covered the NBA since 1996 and is a regular contributor to Pro Basketball News. You can disagree with him at cbernucca@comcast.net.

No one has ripped the Golden State Warriors this season more than I have.

(You can read all of my takes on our Warriors page.)

I've written about the sometimes strange goings-on in the front office, the team's lack of chemistry on the court, the unique ways of coach Don Nelson on the sidelines.

But that's only because I've always liked the Warriors and have felt passionate about them since they drafted Chris Mullin back in 1985. All this despite having never been to California and having resided in Ohio for most of my life.

In fact, I can't think of a team I enjoyed watching and writing about more than the "We Believe" Warriors of 2007 -- the team that knocked off No. 1-seeded Dallas in the first round after barely qualifying for the playoffs.

So now that the Warriors have really seemed to mess things up ... well, I've taken my fair share of shots at them.

Today, there's a big stink being made about the fact Warriors public relations director Raymond Ridder posted something on a fan site, WarriorsWorld.net, that defended team management. Ridder posted his comments under an anonymous name ("Flunkster Dude"), which has also been a topic of discussion.

Later, he was reached by a reporter who covers the team, and Ridder admitted to making the post. Now all of a sudden everyone is up in arms.

Ridiculous.

Absolutely ridiculous -- and mostly, absolutely hypocritical for anyone who has ever posted on a message board under an anonymous name to criticize Ridder.

First of all, I admire Ridder for trying to turn the completely negative feel of the "conversation" to something more positive. I know that's a no-no in the world of boards and comments, considering the snarky (and often petty) society in which we now live.

If you have something positive to say then you best not say it all, seems to be the rule of Internet posting these days. Best to be volatile if you're gonna hide behind an anonymous or fake name, is another understood mantra.

So Ridder tried to turn the conversation in his employer's favor. He tried to offer another point of view. He wanted to provide another angle, maybe lessen some of the venom.

So what?

Don't misunderstand. There are a lot of PR-types who are programmed to believe their team can do no wrong. Some have accused me of "thinking negatively," when all I did was ask a question. Just like in any profession, some aren't any good at their jobs.

Ridder is not one of those people. He's very good at his job. He's passionate about the Warriors, he's intelligent, he assists the team, media and fans in every way possible.

So to call him out for something as pointless as showing support for his team -- to me, it's just ludicrous.

And I write that as someone who cares about the Warriors, and appreciates their fans. But I also care and appreciate the idea of freedom of speech, no matter who your employer is or what you do for a living.

The Warriors have done plenty wrong in 2009, but Ridder commenting on a message board is a non-issue. So grow up and get over it.

Sam Amico is the editor of Pro Basketball News. He can be reached at amico@probasketballnews.com.

I always said Blake Griffin will be a decent pro at best, and now I'm sure of it. Seriously, folks. What chance does the poor kid have with the Clippers?

OK, that's just a joke. But when it comes to the Clippers, the jokes never get old.

For instance, after winning the NBA draft lottery and the right to select the Oklahoma University forward with the first pick, Clippers president Andy Roeser said that "next season starts to today."

Really? I thought it started back in late November, when guys like Baron Davis and Al Thornton had already cashed it in.

Also, there's the matter of Griffin joining a frontcourt that's already crowded with veterans such as Marcus Camby, Chris Kaman and Zach Randolph. Of course, those guys are hurt every other game, sharing Davis' motto of, "If it's a bone, I will break it." (Or in Davis' case, at least pretend to break it so he can sit out part of the season and pretend he's Hollywood celebrity.)

Anyway, back to the possibility that Griffin will join the Clippers' frontcourt. Is having too much talent underneath a good problem to have?

"It's not a good problem, it's a great problem," Roeser said. "Any problem we have is a great problem."

Finally, a new way to define greatness for the Clippers: The team with all the problems. I never heard of Roeser before lottery night (hey, you'd hide too if you were prez of the Clips), but he's obviously one smart cookie. So smart that the team didn't even need to wake up coach/GM -- and owner Donald Sterling's new favorite son -- Mike Dunleavy for the lottery. Roeser, the man who no one knows, answered for the team that no one covers.

In fact, Roeser may not even work for the Clippers. Maybe he just stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

Either way, there's a good chance Griffin is now the property of the one and only L.A. Clippers. Unless, of course, they show some mercy and trade Griffin to Siberia or Guam.

And I might be wrong about you not being any good, Blake. But I can guarantee that you'll be the butt of a lot of bad jokes. Oh, I can promise you that.

Sam Amico is the editor of ProBasketballNews.com. He can be reached at amico@probasketballnews.com.

See, that wasn't so hard!

Given their lack of a postseason pedigree, the Orlando Magic deserve some credit for coming into Boston and taking out the defending champion Celtics in Game Seven. But the Magic shouldn't break their arms patting themselves on the back, because from a number of standpoints, this was an eminently winnable game. 

First and foremost, the Celtics were without injured forwards Kevin Garnett and Leon Powe, who just happen to be the team's two best bigs in defending perimeter forwards like, say, Rashard Lewis. 

Second, the Magic allowed the series to get to a seventh game, partially through losing track of "Big Baby" Davis at the end of Game Four but mostly with a complete and utter collapse in the fourth quarter of Game Five. 

And third, winning Game Seven on the road has become tres chic of late. 

In this same space Friday, Brian Dulik offered up some Game Seven history. Entering this weekend, the road team had broken through just 20 times in 101 tries. 

But it's really not as rare as you think. The numbers compute to a shade below 20 percent, which isn't discernibly different from breakthroughs by Game One losers (.214). And it's much easier to win a Game Seven on the road than it is to erase a 2-0 deficit (14 times) or a 3-1 deficit (8). 

And if you looked at the list of winners Dulik provided, you would see a trend that ABC's Mike Breen has pointed out a number of times during this postseason: There has been a Game Seven road winner in each of the last five years, totaling six in all. 

There have been 16 seven-game series during that span, which means the road team is batting .375 recently. That's more than double the .172 (15-of-87) they were hitting before 2005. 

Among this six-pack, every game was close except two - Sunday's contest and Indiana's first-round win at Boston in 2005. The losing coach in both games? Doc Rivers, who joined Pat Riley (1995, 2000) as the only coaches to lose two home Game Sevens. 

There have been huge droughts between Game Seven road winners - 20 years from 1948-68, another 13 years from 1982-95. But they also have come in bunches, with 10 in 15 years from 1968-1982 and the current glut. 

And once you've witnessed one as a spectator, you know it can happen. 

Chris Bernucca has covered the NBA since 1996 and is a regular contributor to Pro Basketball News. You can disagree with him at cbernucca@comcast.net.

If it seems like the 2009 NBA playoffs have been more exciting than usual, it’s because they have.

Only once in league history have there been more seven-game series in a single postseason than this year’s four (the 1994 playoffs had five).

Heading into the Lakers/Rockets and Celtics/Magic finales, here is how the NBA’s all-time Game 7s stack up: 

NBA playoff history – Game 7 results

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Home teams all-time ........................ 81 wins – 20 losses (.802)

Home teams in 2009 .......................... 2 wins – 0 losses (1.000)

Home teams from 2005-2009 ............. 7 wins – 5 losses (.583)

NBA playoff history

------------------------------------------

390 – Total best-of-seven series

53   – Four-game sweeps

103 – Seven-game series 

NBA playoff history – Game 7 road winners (20 total)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2008 – SAN ANTONIO at NEW ORLEANS (West semifinals)

2007 – UTAH at HOUSTON (West first round)

2006 – DALLAS at SAN ANTONIO (West semifinals)

2005 – DETROIT at MIAMI (East finals)

2005 – INDIANA at BOSTON (East first round)

2002 – L.A. LAKERS at SACRAMENTO (West finals)

2000 – NEW YORK at MIAMI (East semifinals)

1995 – INDIANA at NEW YORK (East semifinals)

1995 – HOUSTON at PHOENIX (West semifinals)

1982 – PHILADELPHIA at BOSTON (East finals)

1981 – KANSAS CITY at PHOENIX (West semifinals)

1981 – HOUSTON at SAN ANTONIO (West semifinals)

1978 – WASHINGTON at SEATTLE (NBA Finals)

1976 – PHOENIX at GOLDEN STATE (West finals)

1974 – BOSTON at MILWAUKEE (NBA Finals)

1973 – NEW YORK at BOSTON (East finals)

1971 – BALTIMORE at NEW YORK (East finals)

1969 – BOSTON at LOS ANGELES (NBA Finals)

1968 – BOSTON at PHILADELPHIA (East finals)

1948 – PHILADELPHIA at ST. LOUIS (League semifinals)

Brian Dulik is a regular contributor to Pro Basketball News. He can be reached at brisports@hotmail.com.

It's not clear whether Tony DiLeo did not want to coach or GM Ed Stefanski did not want him to coach. Regardless, the Philadelphia 76ers now need a new coach. 

The Sixers did not follow the familiar, fading blueprint of the Thunder, Suns and Raptors in retaining their replacement hired during the season. Those teams had different reasons for keeping their guy in place, not the least of which was money. 

But those three teams slid over an assistant, which allows for very little flexibility. You either keep him as coach or turn into Cape Canaveral and fire everyone on the bench. DiLeo came down from upstairs, and given his solid track record as a personnel man, took the option to return to that position - and help Stefanski find his successor. 

A few quick words on DiLeo. Yes, the Sixers played better under him as they returned to their running style, but Elton Brand's absence made that a very easy philosophical decision. His substitution patterns were too rigid, and the criticism he heard from Andre Iguodala and Theo Ratliff about allowing the youngsters to play through mistakes without fear of retribution had a hand in spoiling the Sixers, who too often played with a misplaced sense of superiority rather than urgency. 

At least the Sixers don't have to travel the well-worn path taken by the Raptors and the Suns, who are still paying the guys they fired and likely were limited by the amount they could splurge on a coach. 

What other reason would there be to retain Jay Triano and Alvin Gentry, who have never shown they are more than good assistants? Both got three-year contracts with a club option for the final year, which means they only have next season to prove themselves among impending free agents and outsized personalities. (The Thunder did play better under Scott Brooks, who earned a draft pick and a training camp.)  

So who becomes the next coach of the Sixers? Eddie Jordan and Doug Collins appear to be high on the list. Other names mentioned include studs Jeff Van Gundy and Avery Johnson, assistant-of-the-moment Tom Thibodeau and area college hotshot Jay Wright. 

In fairness, it should be noted that my rooting interest in the Sixers is my only one where a specific team transcends a specific player and has not been brutally dulled by spending 20 years in sports. So I do have more than a passing interest in their decision and a strong opinion on it. 

Wright couldn't be more wrong because college coaches just don't make good NBA coaches without first serving as assistants. 

This seems like the ideal spot for Thibodeau, a proven assistant who would not have to start with a bare cupboard and specializes in an area where the Sixers need help. But I don't know about his ability to coach offense and would feel more comfortable if his first hire was an offensive guru. 

Among the unemployed big names, I would prefer Johnson over Van Gundy. I am aware that Johnson's intensity wore on the Mavericks, but I was blown away by his leadership, use of personnel and ability to adjust. Van Gundy is very good but never has never coached breakneck basketball. 

There's no discount with either of these guys. They both have been to the NBA Finals and would command $5 million per year for at least four years. 

There were a lot of raised eyebrows the last time Collins was hired eight years ago. He wouldn't have to be Michael Jordan's mouthpiece but I wonder if he has been away too long. 

Eddie Jordan's previous relationship with Stefanski in New Jersey has to give him the inside track. He is being wined and dined in Las Vegas by the Maloofs, who also have history with him and want him to resurrect the Kings. But the vacancy in Philadelphia clearly is more appealing, and he would come more cheaply than Johnson or Van Gundy. 

And his use of the Princeton offense would be perfect for the Sixers, who have personnel similar to what he had with the Wizards. Those teams did not seem committed to defense, although they had some terrible defenders. 

I would like to see the Sixers hire Johnson, followed by Jordan, Van Gundy and Thibodeau. I think hiring Collins or Wright would be a huge mistake and simply start the coaching carousel spinning again. And if this past season was any indication, the Sixers cannot afford to keep spinning their wheels. 

Chris Bernucca has covered the NBA since 1996 and is a regular contributor to Pro Basketball News. You can disagree with him at cbernucca@comcast.net.

As a native Northeast Ohioan, my favorite memories of Chuck Daly are of when he coached the Cleveland Cavaliers. I know, that's almost sacrilege.

But don't get me wrong. I have a great deal of respect for Daly's work with the Detroit Pistons, how he coached those Bad Boys to back-to-back championships, and how he got the world's first and only Dream Team to play perfectly together and kept all its major egos in check.

In fact, Daly's stint with the Cavs may have been the least favorite of his career. He was hired during the 1981-82 season, guided the team to a pathetic 9-32 record, then was fired before the season ended by bizarre owner Ted Stepien.

So why is that a lasting memory for me? Well, because Daly -- who died May 9 after a battle with pancreatic cancer -- was the local team's coach when I first started really caring about the NBA. Obviously, the team was bad and Daly was not considered to be much of a genius (he pretty much shot that idea in the foot when he agreed to work for Stepien).

Those Cavs had 23 different players on the roster at one time or another, including such luminaries as Lowes Moore, Mickey Dillard and "Disco" Don Ford -- who was acquired from the Lakers for the Cavs' first-round draft pick, which, if I remember correctly, was used to select James Worthy.

Yes, the Cavs were awful. But back then, they were MINE.

Anyway, the one thing I remember about Daly from that season was the look he wore after another loss. It was during an interview conducted on the 11 o'clock news, and the sportscaster approached Daly with a question. Daly just stood there, staring. He didn't seem angry, he didn't seem sad, he didn't seem anything at all. He was ... just ... there. Or maybe he wasn't.

After a few seconds (which seemed like 10 years in TV time), Daly turned to the sportscaster with an apologetic look that almost said, "Oh sorry. I didn't notice you were there." Then he politely answered the question.

Nothing earth-shattering about that, other than the fact I realized at a young age losing had a profound effect on the man. Luckily for Daly, he got out of Cleveland quickly. And I don't ever recall seeing that look from him again.

Ron Artest is correct when he said," I should've been on the All-Defensive first team along with my teammate Shane Battier this season."

I'm not exactly sure what some of the voters were looking at during this balloting. Artest is one of the few people in the league who would rather defend than shoot and takes great pride in causing problems for opponents.

One of the most frequently asked question is, "Who would you want to take the last shot when the game is on the line?" The question I've asked during the season to some of the top scorers in the league is, Who is the toughest defender?

Ron Artest is at the top of the list. This guy can flat-out play defense and it doesn't matter if you're under the boards or 20 feet from the basket. He can be as physical as the officials allow and dish out everything that he's taken.

And now, especially after Tracy McGrady went down, Artest been asked to be a little more productive on the offensive end and has responded without a mumbling word.

He also has done a nice job of getting back into the good graces of the fans and the league after the fiasco in Indiana. As a matter of fact, the interviews with Yao Ming and Artest together during the first round of the playoff made great sound bites.

Yet, with all the progress that Artest has made, it's about to go straight to hell in a hand basket. When he was ejected early in the fourth quarter of Game 2 with 25 points, a sleeping giant may have been awakened.

Three whistles on the court and you want to tell me that nobody saw Kobe Bryant elbow Artest in the throat? Huh?! It's the same type of cheap shot that Bryant pulled on Mike Bibby (while with Sacramento) several years back.

Bryant doesn't want any part of Ron Artest, period. The little act of throwing a pass to himself off the backboard would've never been attempted with Artest in the game.

The complexion of the game turned around completely when Artest left the court and you could almost see a sigh of relief from several of the Lakers.

Bryant is quick to say that "it's good to be tested," and physical play doesn't bother him, that it's fun."

Well I can tell you right now that Mr. Artest is throwing a party Friday night in Kobe Bryant's honor with all the fun that the "Black Mamba" can handle.

Set your recording devices because this is about to get interesting.

CLEVELAND - I asked NBA commissioner David Stern about the state of the media, particularly the state of American newspapers, prior to Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals between Cleveland and Atlanta.

Stern said he reads four newspapers regularly, and is in fact concerned about the troubles the print media is experiencing. Here is the rest of what he had to say:

"You live in a world where the Seattle Post-Intelligencer announces one day that it isn't, and the Rocky Mountain News announces one day that it isn't, and the Chicago Tribune, Hartford Courant and Philadelphia Inquirer parent companies all decide to file for bankruptcy. Then the New York Times says we're giving a 60-day notice before we shut down the (Boston) Globe ... You bet we're concerned.

"On the other hand, you make sure that the NBA has the most friends on Facebook, and followers on Twitter and views on YouTube. And you make sure you get your message out to the traditional media ... to make sure we get all the data out there. And all of these things are happening, to some measure, because fans and advertisers are changing their habits.

"We're trying to support the print media, because it's very much a horse on which we rode in. But we're also recognizing that cable is the place where more people get their news now -- I'm not the demographic I'm talking about, I might add, but you damn well better be able to address these things in an intelligent way. You have to adapt your organization, otherwise you won't have an organization. That's what we're in process of doing, and it puts a big strain on us because there are a lots of things we have to do. That includes the international media, the print and broadcast, and now the blogosphere."

AKRON, Ohio - LeBron James is the 2008-09 NBA Most Valuable Player because he really did get better.

That's hard to believe when you consider how much James had already done. It's hard to believe when you consider James is just 24-years-old and there is still room to grow. And it's hard to believe when you consider James, like a few other stars, spent last summer competing for Team USA at the Olympics in Beijing, and you could forgive him if he lost a little edge during the long NBA season.

Mostly, the Cavaliers basketball king is MVP because he shared the ball. Not that James hasn't always been a great passer from his small (point) forward position. It's just that this year, he trusted his point guard to run the offense. He displayed confidence in all his teammates, giving them equal opportunity to lead the team in scoring, pad their stats, win the game.

That's maturity.

Again, James has always been a team player. But in previous seasons, he sometimes felt compelled to stand at the top of the key, dribbling and dribbling and dribbling as precious seconds ticked off the shot clock and the offense crashed to a halt. That can happen when guys like Eric Snow or Larry Hughes are running the point.

Today, the point guard is Mo Williams.

He is the type of penetrator, shooter and overall creator the Cavs had been lacking during previous seasons of the LeBron era. Now, just because Williams was added to the lineup doesn't mean the Cavs had to finish with the best record in the league. James had to buy into giving up the ball at the beginning of the shot clock, giving up a few shots and giving up a little bit of the individual glory. James did. Fittingly, he's receiving more individual glory than ever.

But perhaps the most notable difference in James this season has been his demeanor. He spends more time in the locker room before and after games smiling, joking and giving reporters a little more to work with.

For instance, James wasn't playing in the regular-season finale because the Cavs had already clinched the league's best record and home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. So before the game he stood in front of his locker, pulled a dress shirt over his head, smiled and yelled in mocking fashion to no one in particular, "Oh no. LeBron's not talking today. What are we gonna do?"

He then said, "I gotta get outta here," and promptly left the room to play chess in a private area in the bowels of Quicken Loans Arena.

No one can say for sure how James fared in that game. But based on his play on the court, he probably made all the right moves.

And that is why he is MVP today.

Philadelphia point guard Andre Miller used to be the epitome of professionalism. But when I watched the 76ers' first-round playoff series against Orlando (which the Magic won, 4-games-to-2), I couldn't help but think, "What's gotten into Andre?"

It wasn't that Miller was bad, he just wasn't himself. Miller, ever the steady veteran, seemed to look to shoot more than ever, placing a big part of the scoring load on his shoulders. Odd, considering he has always been a pass-first type of player.

But no biggie, I figured. Someone needed to score in a backcourt whose starting shooting guard was Willie Green. Plus, free-agent find and forward Elton Brand had been missing for most of the season, and swingman Andre Iguodala had been fairly inconsistent. So Miller's penchant for trying to produce points was understandable.

His reactions to the Sixers' elimination, however, were not.

First, Miller told reporters that the Magic were a better team without Dwight Howard, implying their ball movement had been crisper and more fluent in Game 6 (in which Howard was suspended). Miller also said a Magic player told him the same thing. (And this is pure speculation, but the name being mentioned most as Miller's inside source is none other than J.J. Redick, who wrote that the Magic were "gonna show everyone that we arent [sic] just the orlando howards!" on his Twitter account before Game 6.)

Now, word comes out that Miller and center Theo Ratliff skipped the Sixers' final team meetings on Friday.

Miller is an unrestricted free agent this summer, and it was already hard to imagine the Sixers mortgaging the franchise on a point guard who is getting old (33) and has never been out of the first round of the playoffs. But after what Miller has pulled lately, well, the Sixers are likely to sit him down and hammer some things out before offering him a new deal.

That's assuming the new and not-so-improved version of Miller even bothers to show.

There are so many components to the game of basketball that the most obvious is often overlooked. Height, speed and quickness are great assets to have but success in this sport starts in the head.

If you doubt me, pay close attention during the NBA playoffs.

Stephon Marbury has been a shooter and slasher throughout his career. I think it's safe to say that he hasn't seen a shot he didn't like.

The past 12 years he's spent in the NBA have gone by in a blur and the mole hill that grew into a mountain that he climbed out of while leaving NYC has obviously taken its toll on him.

His career average is 19.3 ppg, 7.6 apg and 3 rpg -- pretty impressive for a point guard after only one year of college at Georgia Tech.

Marbury has swagger that's unmatched and playing for the Knicks was a dream come true. Isiah Thomas could communicate to him with ease because they shared that lethal competitiveness that only a few possess.

That entire situation was wrong and regardless of how you feel about the guy he didn't deserve to be treated the way he was in New York.

On April 28 during Game 5 of the series vs. the Bulls, Marbury choked. He caught the ball in the top right corner with less than two minutes in the game, and passed on an open three-pointer.

Now his past dictates that he should've have taken that shot. Yes, Rondo was open blah blah blah but the fact remains that it was Marbury's shot to take.

At this stage, I'm just not sure of all that's going on with Marbury. I can only imagine that he's been second-guessing himself on different occasions but it' hard to understand why.

It's apparent that he is trying hard to blend in with the existing players on the Celtics and not upstaging anyone. But he plays as if he's afraid to make a mistake.

Celtics coach Doc Rivers has repeatedly asked Marbury to look for his shot more, so what will it take to jump-start his confidence? The next couple of games will be defining moments for Marbury and it will determine what will happen to him in the off-season.

Game 6 in Chicago will provide Marbury with another chance to prove himself and remind critics of what he's capable of doing on any given night.

This playoffs, after all, are where legends are made.

Five items:

1. Former Boston Globe writer Peter May is like so many of us. He doesn't want the Celtics-Bulls series to end. "Can we make this one a best-of-nine?" May asked in his column for HoopsHype. May says where this one ranks among all-time series is up for debate. "But we know this much: It’s the greatest Celtics-Bulls playoff series ever (OK, given that the three previous ones were 4-0 Boston, 3-0 Boston and 3-0 Boston, that isn’t saying much) and it already has done what no playoff series in 63 years has ever produced -- three overtime games," May wrote. You can read the complete story here.

2. I particularly liked one of the comments beneath the story from someone who goes by the username "W2." The comment read: "I am a huge C’s fan and was shocked by the lack of a double team thrown at (Paul) Pierce near the end of the game. Vinny (Del Negro) is still learning his chops."

3. Fran Blinebury wrote an excellent column for Hoopsworld entitled "Doomsday in Detroit?" In one particular paragraph, he compared the Pistons' title-winning team of 2004 to the Knicks of the Walt Frazier-Willis Reed-Bill Bradley era. "Larry Brown was their Red Holzman," Blinebury wrote. But, of course, those days are long gone for both franchises. You can read the complete story here.

4. The line of the playoffs, of course, was written by PBN's own Chris Bernucca in his "Tuesday's Top 10 Playoff Truths." Truth No. 10? "I'm really looking forward to Dick Stockton being eliminated from the first round," Bernucca wrote. You can read the complete story here.

5. Finally, Stephen A. Smith and ESPN are parting ways. He says he hopes for another opportunity, a la Robin Roberts and Keith Olbermann, but those two are real people. Smith's whole thing was an act, and it's an act that people got tired of seeing. You can read Michael Hiestand's story on Smith (in USA Today) right here.

Gregg Popovich had no interest in looking at the boxscore from Game Three on Thursday night, in which San Antonio was destroyed by Dallas. 

Popovich has always been more concerned with whether his team is playing better. There is one stat that does interest him - the number under the W in the standings and how often it increases. 

However, there is one stat Popovich should have noted from Game Three - the plus/minus numbers for the starters of both teams. More specifically, the glossy plus-36 affiliated to Jose Barea. 

In an effort to limit Tony Parker's ability to get to the rim, Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle inserted Barea, who normally provides an occasional spark off the bench but is emerging as the most influential player in a series that features Parker, Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd and Jason Terry. 

The move was a masterstroke. Barea allowed the slower Kidd to match up with Roger Mason Jr. and made the Mavericks' overall defensive scheme much more solid. 

The switch recalls a similar move by Avery Johnson, who after a Game One loss to San Antonio three years ago inserted the speedy Devin Harris into the starting lineup, effectively making Parker's job harder at both ends of the floor. 

As you may remember from Wednesday's Truths, that series marks the only time in the Duncan-Popovich era in which the Spurs lost one of the first two games at home and returned to San Antonio in a 3-1 hole. With many adjustments to make, the Spurs are one loss away from an identical predicament. 

The Mavs weren't the only team to change their starting lineup. Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan also swapped out a starter with some success, benching Kyle Korver for Andrei Kirilenko at small forward in an effort to slow down Trevor Ariza, who averaged 17.0 points on 81 percent shooting in the first two games in Los Angeles. 

Sloan's move also worked to a degree. Ariza was 0-of-3 with two turnovers in the first half while matched up almost exclusively with Kirilenko. But in the first eight minutes of the second half, Ariza got loose for all nine of his points, all with Kirilenko on the floor. 

Kirilenko sat down with 4:29 left in the third period, moments after the Lakers opened their largest lead at 64-51. He stayed on the bench until the final possession as Korver replaced him and was a key contributor to Utah's second-half comeback, scoring eight of his 11 points ad making a handful of smart passes in the final 16 minutes while Lakers small forwards Ariza and Luke Walton went scoreless. 

For long-term effect, we like Carlisle's move. The Mavericks cannot win the series without somewhat corraling Parker. Meanwhile, Ariza isn't James Worthy; as a young player with limited playoff exposure, he is expected to struggle on the road, which he appeared to do no matter who was defending him. 

But you can't argue with either switch, because both produced the only stat that really matters. 

Chris Bernucca has covered the NBA since 1996 and is a regular contributor to Pro Basketball News. You can disagree with him at cbernucca@comcast.net.

You've probably seen the videotape. After the Houston Rockets repeated as champions in 1995 -- using nine road wins to knock off four teams that averaged 59.5 wins along the way -- coach Rudy Tomjanovich uttered these immortal words in the postgame trophy presentation: 

"Don't ever underestimate the heart of a champion." 

Nice stuff. I also remember the quote from Gary Payton a year later, when Seattle ended Houston's title reign with a sweep in the conference semifinals: 

"It was like a vampire," Payton said. "You stab them in the heart 18 times, and they still don't die."

That was on display in Boston and San Antonio on Monday night, where the league's last two vampires -- sorry, champions -- bared their fangs and went for blood. 

The Celtics and Spurs have plenty in common. In addition to being recent champions, both teams will have to navigate this postseason without a star player who changes the game with his energy level -- Kevin Garnett for the Celts, Manu Ginobili for the Spurs. And both teams were staring at an 0-2 hole that resembles a virtual grave. 

Losing the first two games at home isn't exactly a stake in the heart, but it's pretty close. Only three teams have done it, most recently Dallas vs. Houston in the first round in 2005. 

Both of Monday's games bore some resemblance to the series openers. In Boston. the Celtics delivered an early slap in the mouth that only seemed to wake up the Bulls, while Ray Allen remained invisible. In San Antonio, the Spurs jumped to a big early lead but gave some of it back in the second quarter. 

But Allen finally found his stroke in the second half, winning a classic duel with Ben Gordon (you gotta love his 42 with no assists) and draining the last-second shot that he missed in Game 1. And when the Mavericks closed to 61-52 in the third quarter, Gregg Popovich called a timeout, went Serbian on Bruce Bowen and friends, and the Spurs answered with a 13-0 run that never materialized in the opener. 

We've seen this countless times before from the Spurs. Their championship runs in 2005 and 2007 both included losses in their first home game. They were a silly foul by Ginobili away from erasing a 3-1 deficit vs. Dallas in 2006. They walked into New Orleans last year and won a Game Seven after losing the first three games there by a combined 59 points. 

The Celtics are relatively new at this, although they hardened themselves last year with a pair of Game Seven wins, two breakthroughs in Detroit and a remarkable comeback against the Lakers. They seem to have the tougher path as the injuries are starting to pile up a bit. 

But if I were the Bulls or the Mavericks, I wouldn't get too comfortable in my own bed. In fact, I might sleep with the lights on and leave a silver crucifix on the nightstand. After Monday night, they should have a pretty good idea of what they're up against.

They can't pay Ralph Lawler enough. After 30 years as the voice of the Los Angeles Clippers, Lawler has to be the losingest television play-by-play man in professional sports.

The reason I mention Lawler is because I recently read an excellent piece about him in the Los Angeles Times, written by Diane Pucin. I urge to check out the entire thing here.

According to the article, Lawler has called 1,583 losses. Yet he remains oddly optimistic.

"Straight-backed and broad-shouldered, with a tan perfected by the desert sun at his La Quinta home, Lawler loves being the voice of the Clippers, who are 19-62 with one game left," Pucin wrote. "Only his white hair and mustache hint at his age. Before a recent game, he walks around Staples Center with steps so long -- he's 6-foot-2 -- that people have to run to catch up. He is looking forward to the next four hours because, he says, the Clippers still could win."

I'll be honest, watching Lawler on League Pass has turned me into the only Clippers' fan living in Northeast Ohio. He still holds his microphone when calling games (as opposed to wearing one of those fancy modern-day headsets), he has a great delivery and he'll never be mnistaken for one of those disgusting, blatant homers -- one of the true benefits of having worked for the same team for so many years.

"There is no reason for me to not tell the truth or try to hide the truth," Lawler told Pucin. "I love covering this team, but the idea of covering it means telling the fans the truth. If the truth isn't positive, it's not my job to make it positive."

Amen, and more play-by-play men need to heed those words. It's one of the things that make Lawler among the best, even though the team he covers is always among the worst.

Sam Amico is the editor of Pro Basketball News. He can be reached at amico@probasketballnews.com.

1. If you really love basketball, and don't have much to do between now and the start of the NBA playoffs, I strongly urge you to take in the D-League playoffs. You'll know most of the players, and like the NCAA tournament, it's a one-and-done type of deal in the first two rounds (the finals are a best-of-three format). You can check out my guide here.

2. In case you missed it, Ray Allen has been suspended for the Celtics' final for elbowing Cleveland's Anderson Varejao in the family jewels (can I write that on a family Web site?). In other words, without Allen and Kevin Garnett (knee), the Celtics will once again be Paul Pierce and a bunch of so-so players for their game against Philadelphia. That hasn't happened since they won 17 games two seasons ago.

3. Salt Lake Tribune columnist Gordon Monson has gone where no man has gone before. He wrote a column saying Jerry Sloan is partially to blame for the Jazz's recent struggles. Good column, perhaps accurate. But Monson has to have some big (well, think of the spot in which Varejao was elbowed) to write a column criticizing Sloan.

Sam Amico is the editor of Pro Basketball News. He can be reached at amico@probasketballnews.com.

Chauncey Billups had two stellar years at the University of Colorado before making himself eligible for the NBA draft. Since that time his focus has been one thing: "Doing whatever the coach asks of me," he said.

That's the kind of player Billups has been during his pro career. He will give 100 percent effort every night and his calm, confident demeanor is infectious to those around him.

We laughed about the high-top fade he sported when entering the league with the Boston Celtics.

"Yes, but it's all gone now," Billups said. "The funny thing about it is that having no hair is harder to groom then box."

Billups journeyed through Boston, Toronto, Denver and Minnesota before finding a home with the Detroit Pistons. It was there where he won the Finals MVP and NBA championship trophy.

Now, he's doing a second tour with the Nuggets and it has paid off exactly as the organization had hoped.

"The Pistons and Joe Dumars were good to me and kept me in the process of options before moving me along," Billups said.

"(Denver) is home for me and nothing would make me happier than bringing a championship here."

The attitude of the Nuggets has completely changed since Billups arrived. They even got Carmelo Anthony to play defense beyond the free-throw line.

J.R. Smith has been playing out of his mind, Nene is healthy and Chris Andersen obviously has something to prove to himself and others. Overall, the Nuggets roster is solid and they can go nine maybe 10 deep on the bench.

Will the Nuggets when a championship this year? Not likely, but they very well could spoil things for a few other teams with high hopes. Billups is a big reason why.

Wesley Chism Jr. is a senior reporter for Pro Basketball News. He has written for the Milwaukee Times, Rivals.com and Richmond Afro Newspaper, and can be reached at chism@probasketballnews.com.

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The Pistons are sitting Allen Iverson for the season, and I'm guessing it has little to do with his sore back. And I'm no genius.

Iverson missed 16 games with the injury, then returned for three games, two of which he complained afterward. Iverson played 18 minutes in Cleveland and then wondered allowed why he rushed back. One night later in New Jersey, he played 17 minutes then said he would rather retire than come off the bench.

Well, he's now officially retired from the Pistons.

In a written release, Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars said this: "After talking with Allen and our medical staff, we feel that resting Allen for the remainder of the season is the best course of action at this time. While he has played in our last three games, he is still feeling some discomfort and getting him physically ready to compete at the level he is accustomed to playing this late in the season does not seem possible at this point."

But if anyone really believes that, they're kidding themselves. This has only a little to do with Iverson's condition and much more to do with what the Pistons perceive to be a poor attitude.

Personally, I'm with Iverson. I've never liked how the Pistons have handled things -- how they fired Rick Carlisle after he led them to the Eastern Conference finals, how they drafted Darko Milicic (instead of Carmelo Anthony) with a No. 2 pick, how they traded Chauncey Billups for Iverson and how they brought Richard Hamilton off the bench.

And now the mess with Iverson. He is a superstar, a guy with a big ego, and still can be a major contributor when used the right way. Who did Dumars think he was getting when he made the trade? Rashad McCants?

Granted, Iverson handled the situation poorly, but at least he told the truth about wanting to play more. The Pistons, on the other hand, sent messages about wanting to use the young guys more, blah, blah, blah.

I don't get it. This is a franchise that once seemed to have dynasty written all over it. Instead, it has one title and a few more disappointments.

The Iverson situation is a the latest example of why.

Sam Amico is the editor of Pro Basketball News. He can be reached at amico@probasketballnews.com.

CLEVELAND - I was standing less than a foot away from Allen Iverson in the visitors' locker room, not long after he and Detroit were defeated by Cleveland, 79-73.

He seemed to be in decent spirits, joking with the younger players and threatening bodily harm if they didn't save him some post-game chicken.

Then one of the reporters asked Iverson how he felt, considering this was just his second game back after having missed 16 with a sore back.

Iverson smiled and asked, "How many minutes did I play tonight?"

The answer was 18.

Iverson shook his head.

"Eighteen minutes? I can play eighteen minutes with my eyes closed and a 100-pound truck on my back," he said. "I'm wondering what the rush was to get me back. For what?"

Iverson finished with 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field. Not a bad night's work. But he also looked rusty, bricking a pair of free throws early and committing three ugly turnovers. That included a pass to backup point guard Will Bynum that went behind Bynum and out of bounds.

Bynum did the right thing on the play, cutting to the basket for a layup instead of standing still on the baseline as Iverson drove. The mistake was Iverson's fault -- yet he looked at Bynum in frustration, as if the young player was to blame. Bynum never looked to see Iverson's reaction, perhaps well aware of what it would be.

Iverson later told reporters, "It's a bad time for me mentally. I'm just trying to get through it without starting a whole bunch of nonsense."

When asked if he felt the Pistons could challenge in the playoffs if he played just 18 minutes a game, Iverson responded, "That's up to (Pistons coach Michael Curry). Obviously, he thinks we can."

This is exactly what the Pistons did not want when they traded consummate team leader Chauncey Billups to Denver for Iverson earlier this season. Actually, they traded Billups and Antonio McDyess, who, of course, is back in Detroit.

Interestingly, the Nuggets clinched a playoff spot on the same night Iverson, McDyess and the Pistons took another step back.

As I've written a thousand times, I love Iverson. He's the only NBA player of the past 20 years who's walked past me and I thought, "Wow. It's Allen Iverson." And I've walked past Kobe and LeBron and all the others. But Iverson, to me, is the ultimate overachiever. Anyone who's seen him play understands where I'm coming from.

I even admired how he conceded during his post-game rant that he is "never happy" about his playing time. "I always want to be on the court," he said. "I could play 46 minutes and still not want to come out."

Still, Iverson needs to be smarter with what he says and when he chooses to say it. He may be able to play with a 100-pound truck on his back, but that doesn't mean his teammates should be forced to do the same.

Sam Amico is the editor of Pro Basketball News. He can be reached at amico@probasketballnews.com.

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Our pal Ken Berger of CBSSports.com wrote a fine piece about the approaching collective bargaining agreement -- and one of the key talking points between the players' association and NBA commissioner David Stern is expected to be the idea of taking a few games off the schedule.

Not surprisingly, the players seem to be in favor of the idea, as players' association president (and L.A. Lakers guard) Derek Fisher told Berger.

According the article, "In addition to the amount of the cap, which is expected to decrease regardless of the CBA talks because of declining revenue, the two sides are willing to discuss structural changes and possibly a reduction in the regular-season schedule from its current level of 82 games, Fisher said. Injuries that have left so many contenders without star players or forced them to rest key players for the playoffs are paramount among Fisher's concerns."

When it comes to reducing the number of regular-season games, I'm all for it. And I've only had an issue with 82-game schedule recently -- as more star players seem to be falling by the wayside each season.

While arguably not as skilled, today's players are bigger, faster and stronger than the guys of 20 years ago. They spend a lot (too much?) time in the weight room, and the collisions are more taxing on the body.

Pro basketball is a physical game and seemingly becomes more brutal by the season. Players are allowed to clutch, grab, hip check, and hammer smaller dudes when they go to the hoop. All of that is OK, but all of it can take its toll. Mostly, guys are just worn down by the end of the regular season -- which is why the playoffs so often become superstar vs. superstar, as opposed to team against team.

And are we really seeing guys at their absolute best in May and June when their bodies are getting abused during the previous seven months? I mean, this isn't baseball. In the NBA, you're running, jumping and crashing to the court on a nightly basis.

Personally, I think part of the problem are the training staffs employed by the teams. As one NBA executive told me, "Too many guys are being trained as if they're bodybuilders and not basketball players. I don't have a problem with lifting weights, but when you get a little older, the combination of (lifting) heavy and playing professional basketball will take a toll on your ligaments and joints. I really believe that and that's why guys are getting injured at an alarming rate."

The exec added, "While I think shortening the schedule will help, teams need to be more selective about what type of people they're hiring to train (the players). You don't need to be built like Arnold Schwarzeneger to play basketball."

Bottom line: There are a few items that need to be addressed at the next CBA, especially given the state of the economy. Shortening the regular-season schedule and giving the players a chance to play their best when it means the most should be a priority. The game has changed and the league needs to change along with it.

Sam Amico is the editor of Pro Basketball News. He can be reached at amico@probasketballnews.com.

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Five thoughts:

1. Former NBA sharpshooter and current analyst Eddie Johnson called Cleveland the team to beat in his column on HoopsHype. Johnson wrote the Cavs "have the best support group surrounding a superstar of any team in the league ..." I love Eddie, and no doubt, the folks in Northeast Ohio hope he is right. But I'd still take the Lakers, simply because they have more Finals experience. That's especially true of Phil Jackson, who has won nine titles. Cavs coach Mike Brown is considerably younger and has been to the Finals once.

2. That said, I refuse to pencil anyone into the championship round BEFORE the postseason even gets here. (And that's not what Johnson was doing. He was merely picking the "team to beat.") Cleveland and L.A. could both lose in the playoffs. If I'm the Cavs, I do NOT want to see Detroit in the first round. It could wear them down for if/when they play either Boston or Orlando. And the Lakers won't get an easy series no matter who they face. The West is even better than last season.

3. Back to Cleveland. Four weeks ago, I would have told you the Cavs are clear underdogs. But now that they have Joe Smith, I do indeed think they have a legitimate shot at the title. He's been the pickup they needed after the All-Star break.

4. If Phoenix somehow gets its act together long enough to make the playoffs, my prediction is New Orleans (and not current No. 8 seed Dallas) will be the team to drop out. The Hornets have just been too inconsistent and really don't look primed for another run in April and May. I know, I know. Chris Paul told our man Wes Chism differently -- but as much as I enjoy watching the Hornets, they remind me a little of Atlanta in that both clubs are a player away.

4. Peter Vecsey of the New York Post remains one of my favorite basketball writers, and he recently spent a week in Cleveland to do a little research on the Cavs. He ended up writing a two-part series. The second part focused on key offseason addition Mo Williams, and his relationship with his older brother, Michael. Good stuff that you can check out here.

Sam Amico is the editor of Pro Basketball News. He can be reached at amico@probasketballnews.com.

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New Orleans' Chris Paul covers the basketball court like nobody I've ever seen. He runs like a roach when you turn on the lights, sort of scatters to the open spot.

"I didn't pattern my game after anyone. I just go out there and do me," Paul said. "It's hard enough playing on this level, why complicate things by trying to be someone or something that I'm not?"

At times, watching Paul is reminiscent of Rod Strickland, out of DePaul University, when Strickland played for the Portland Trail Blazers during the 1995-96 season.

Paul finished second to the Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant last year in the balloting for the NBA's Most Valuable Player Award.

If Paul wasn't robbed of this honor I'm sure that the French Judge from the 2002 Olympic Skating scandal played a part in the outcome.

He's perhaps the best point guard in the league, and just as good at bowling. They made him the USBC spokesperson last year and he hosts his own celebrity event.

"I've always enjoyed bowling since I was a little kid," Paul said. "It's a sport that includes everyone and a good way to spend time together as a family."

The Hornets are headed into the meat-and-potato part of their schedule heading into the playoffs.

"I'm feeling really good right now and like our chances going into the toughest part of the season," Paul said. "The only difference between our team now and last year is that we had a much better record this time last year. Right now we are just trying to get everyone back and healthy."

Mo Peterson, Antonio Daniels, Tyson Chandler and Peja Stojakovic have all missed a substantial amount of time this season due to injuries.

"I've taken a few bumps and bruises throughout the season but Coach (Byron) Scott allows me to make the decision whether to play or not," Paul said. "He has great confidence in me to do what's best for the team."

Paul isn't worried about what is ahead for the Hornets because of the experience from last year and being able to build on it.

"The greatest road to success in the NBA is about peaking at the right time," Paul said. "All we have to do is play hard and continue to play together as a team and we will be all right."

Wesley Chism Jr. is a senior reporter for Pro Basketball News. He has written for the Milwaukee Times, Rivals.com and Richmond Afro Newspaper, and can be reached at chism@probasketballnews.com.

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A few quick thoughts:

* Just when you figured Clippers owner Donald Sterling couldn't possibly do anything more to bury his franchise ... ESPN reports that Sterling has spoken with Isiah Thomas about a possible front office position with the team. According to the report, the meeting was arranged by current coach/GM Mike Dunleavy.

* Something just happens to guys when they become a Clipper. I mean, Dunleavy once seemed like a sensible basketball man, a guy whom you would trust to run or coach your team. But arranging a meeting with Thomas? The same man who ran at least two teams (the Raptors and Knicks) and one entire league (the CBA) into the ground? You can make no defense.

* Time for the disclaimer: I like Isiah. Any man who faced the New York media as often as he did without erupting into random acts of violence unquestionably deserves respect. When Thomas sees Jonah in heaven he can say: "So you spent three days and three nights inside a whale. But did you see what I had to put up with?"

* Time for the plus side: Thomas can't possibly ruin the Clippers any more than they've already been ruined. Some guys are just born to be Clippers: Michael Olowokandi, Eric Piatkowski, Benoit Benjamin and Zach Randolph as players, Thomas as an executive.

* Time for the negative side: Sterling is likely to let Thomas stay with the franchise as long as Elgin Baylor did (23 years) in order to avoid another ridiculous lawsuit.

* Time for the serious side: The Clippers need to make a splash this off-season. Hiring Thomas isn‘t the answer. I would make Dunleavy the GM and try to bring in Avery Johnson as coach. Johnson is an energetic, take-charge guy who understands how to get guys to play together, as he proved by leading Dallas to the Finals three seasons ago. If Johnson won't come, go after Mo Cheeks or Flip Saunders.

* In other news, the Knicks were officially eliminated from the playoff race after losing at home to the Clippers on Wednesday. Notice I didn't say they were "mathematically" eliminated. But according to league rules, "Any team fighting for the final playoff spot that loses at home to the Clippers in the final three weeks is automatically disqualified." OK, the rulebook doesn't really say that -- but it would if I had written it.

* For a more detailed explanation of the Knicks' downfall, I urge you to check out the blog entry by the New York Post's Marc Berman, perhaps my favorite NBA writer. The post is entitled, "Deja Boooo!!!" In it, Berman wrote, "The stuff that occurred tonight at the Garden against the woeful Clippers was too absurd for a Stephen King novel."

* Seriously, though. If the Knicks were any good, they wouldn't be nearly this much fun. Unfortunately for reporters everywhere, I expect them to at least be a playoff qualifier next season. You can't help but believe Donnie Walsh and Mike D'Antoni will get this thing turned around. (The emphasis, it should be noted, is on "this thing.")

Contact Sam Amico at amico@probasketballnews.com, or comment on this post by clicking on the headline link above.

What is journalism in today's world? It's a lot of writers defending themselves. Or, as I've noticed lately, a lot of writers writing disclaimers to their stories before they ever really get started with the actual stories.

I'm not pointing fingers, because in these days of reader comments and hate e-mail, I've done it too. I often find myself defending my point before I even make it.

For instance, in his blog for the Palm Beach Post, Miami Heat reporter Chris Perkins began, "James Jones is maybe the nicest guy on the Heat. I like him. I covered him a year or two at the University of Miami. He's truly a good dude."

But?

"But he's not producing offensively," Perkins wrote.

Then there was this from New York Daily News reporter Frank Isola, who wrote a post about David Lee mentioning himself and Willis Reed in the same sentence.

"I don't have anything against David Lee," Isola wrote. "I hope he hit's the jackpot in the free agent market this summer and if the Knicks find a way to keep him, that's great."

But?

"Real leaders don't need to embellish stories about themselves and Willis Reed," Isola wrote.

Again, I did the same type of the thing in my story about Davidson College guard Stephen Curry. I basically wrote that I don't think Curry will be a good pro -- but by golly, he sure seems like a swell person.

Now, don't misunderstand. I'm not against offering praise to the athletes, or pointing out that they're good people. It's probably not done enough.

My point is that I think the idea of reader comments have a lot of writers on edge. Readers can post anything they want about an article, calling the writer everything under the sun, without using their own name or correct spelling or grammar. They can call the writer a moron or idiot without saying anything beyond that. Readers who comment don't need to make a point -- and a lot don't.

It's one thing to disagree or debate. It's what makes us human. It's quite another to just call someone else a name because you don't like what they wrote about your favorite player or team. To me, it's juvenile -- and ridiculous to associate yourself that much with someone or something else. Fandom is one thing, clinical obsession is quite another.

HoopsWorld.com is an excellent site that is part of the Fantasy Players Network, to which Pro Basketball News also belongs. Above the spot where readers can comment, there is a note that reads: "Please be respectful of the writers in your comments or they will be removed."

We have the same philosophy at PBN. Want to make an argument? No problem. Want to tell the writer he wrote "a horrible article"? We'll usually allow it -- provided you offer a supporting point.

But want to call someone a name? We'll remove it. That's for elementary school. We no longer want to be part of that society and won't allow our readers to be, either.

We still believe in journalism, and will do our part to defend it. And not waste time defending ourselves.

Contact Sam Amico at amico@probasketballnews.com (or add a comment by clicking the headline link above).

Today, the NBA classifies players into three categories. Those categories are star players (Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, etc.), specialists (shooters, defenders, shot blockers) and role players (Kurt Thomas, Kendrick Perkins, Ronnie Brewer). I don't have a problem with how people think of stars and specialists -- I've got a problem with how role players are classified.

Obviously, each player builds his own role on a team, has his own skills. But to make things easier, we should consider two kinds of role players, to identify their talent level quicker.

Upper Tier and Lower Tier

We need to say a guy is an upper-tier role player or lower-tier role player. The reason being is it could help people realize a player's talent quicker. An upper tier role player could be on the brink of being an All-Star, or just an all-around great role player. The lower tier would be a player who doesn't have a ton of skills, but he brings a couple that are valuable enough to get him in the team's rotation.

Putting these classifications into the game could help drastically cut down on time people need to watch a player. Say you don't know a ton about the game of Oklahoma City forward Jeff Green. Well, being able to find out that he's an upper tier role player rather than just a role player would let you know he's got lots to bring to the Thunder. It's just the same when you look at a lower tier guy in Maurice Evans. You know he's a solid player that has talent, but you also know he's not going to ever become a lot more than what he is now. That would be valuable to me.

This would be valuable to fans. When you're sitting around talking about basketball, it would help give information about a player quicker and open up more arguments. I can see the ABC crew for Sunday NBA games bickering about it right now. While this does bring things to the game, it also has its negative qualities.

Nothing is perfect and I know this system isn't. Each person who watches basketball interprets a player's skill differently. Consequently, some will say a guy is an upper tier role player, while others will say he's in the lower tier. I understand that, but, with these classifications, at least we can dig deeper into a player's skill quicker than we could have before.

As the NBA changes, we as fans, players and watchers of the game need to find ways to sift through all the players and teams quicker. If we put the idea of upper tier and lower tier role players into the game, we'll be able to move forward in trying to understand basketball.

Alex Curtis-Slep is 15-years old and attends Northeast High School in St. Petersburg, Fla. He plans to be an entrepreneur and full-time basketball enthusiast. He writes NBAtipoff.com and can be reached at nbatipoff@gmail.com.

It's time for Golden State to gently nudge Don Nelson out of town. If that doesn't work, the Warriors ought to use a method considerably harsher than that. Like a swift kick to the backside.

Nelson's act has gotten really old, and I find myself wishing he would just go away.

I try never to write that a coach should be fired. There are times when the need calls for it, but rarely. In today's NBA, most guys never get a fair shake. In fact, I have been completely against the firing of every coach so far this season -- and it appears I wasn't that far off base, as only Oklahoma City's Scott Brooks has improved a team on an interim basis.

Nelson is a different story.

I once really admired the guy. First with those Run TMC teams of Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond and Chris Mullin in the early 1990s, and then again a couple of years ago with the "We Believe" bunch that upset Dallas in the first round of the playoffs. But today's Warriors are a mess and Nelson is a major reason why.

He seems to have single-handedly created friction in the front office, and the man once credited with saving Mullin's career as a player appears to be detroying Mullin the executive. Now he's upset his current team by alienating the players -- particularly his top guns, by choosing to rest them in favor of developing the youngsters.

Not surprisingly, this hasn't gone over well, with the Jamal Crawford situation just being the latest example. Nelson rested (read: benched) Crawford for three straight games, then wanted him to play in Friday's game against Philadelphia (a 119-111 Warriors win). But Crawford refused, saying something about needing another day of preparation.

This is Crawford's way of sticking to the man, and you can't blame him. Especially when that man is Nelson, who has done nothing but treat Crawford unfairly since the moment Crawford arrived from New York in a trade. And, oh by the way, that trade involved forward Al Harrington, who was dispatched to the Knicks after his own run-in with Nelson.

I'm tired of reading about the craziness surrounding the Warriors. I'm tired of writing about it. I'm tired of hearing how Mullin and Crawford will be banished to another NBA city before the start of next season.

That may be be true but if the Warriors really hope to save their sinking franchise, Nelson should be cast out right along with them.

Contact Sam Amico at amico@probasketballnews.com.

Seven Knicks quickies:

1. For the Knicks, it will take a miracle now. That's what I thought about their playoff chances after seeing how they got hammered by the Nets on Wednesday -- at home, no less. As my man Marc Berman of the New York Post wrote, "The Knicks played uglier than their St. Patrick's Day uniforms." And that's not easy to do.

2. The Nets didn't have Devin Harris, who is out at least another week with a shoulder injury. As soon as I read the news about Harris, I immediately thought, "Well, guess the Nets are done." But I didn't realize the Knicks would refuse to play defense against a team that, for one night, they were clearly superior than (at least on paper).

3. Mike D'Antoni was his typical brutally honest self after the game. "It's hard to point to one thing; I think we were horrible in every aspect of the game," he told New York reporters. "We just had a collapse of desire and energy."

4. Think about that: A collapse of desire and energy. It just goes to show that the Knicks still have no real leader and are therefore prone to stretches of wild incosistency. And while I love Nate Robinson as a person (and most of the time as a player), he is the perfect example of the pre-D'Antoni years, when the Knicks would look great for two or three nights, then plain awful for two or three (or four, five or six) more. Robinson really needs to determine this off-season if he wants to be a potential All-Star or a once-in-a-while contributor off the bench. He's been too in between for too long now.

5. D'Antoni on Robinson after the game: "I just thought early he was in a fog, just in a fog. Just wasn't real sharp about a lot of things. It didn't look like he had great focus."

6. So what do the Knicks need to do this offseason? First, trade Robinson and David Lee, or Robinson and Al Harrington, or any combination of the three. They are the only three players who will bring anything worthwhile in return -- and I never understood why Knicks fans seem so determined to keep them (especially Robinson and Lee). It's not like they're winning. Secondly, they should trade their lottery pick. Why bother bringing in another young guy, particularly when it comes to the upcoming draft, considered to be very weak.

7. Bottom line: The Knicks need to stop worrying about signing someone from the 2010 free agent class -- LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, etc. --and concentrate on what they can do now. Until then, they're just gonna experience more maddening losses like the one Wednesday night, and more disappointing seasons like the one at hand.

Contact Sam Amico at amico@probasketballnews.com.

You've probably already heard all about Charlie Villanueva's halftime tweet.

If not, the story goes like this:

Villanueva is a forward with Milwaukee. The Bucks were playing a game against the Celtics. Like the rest of the free world, Villanueva has a Twitter account.

Being a new user, I still haven't figured out if Twitter is really all that valuable or if it's anything more than a fad that will go the way of the Rubik's Cube. Goodness knows, anyone who follows my "tweets" will likely be bored out of their skulls. (On that note, you can follow them here.)

Oh, and for the uninformed, Twitter is an online service that allows users to make short posts via the Web or text or I‘m guessing, Siberian rain dance. That way, everyone can stay updated on what you're doing. The people who follow your every move are known as, originally enough, "followers." The short posts are known as "tweets."

(By the way, my apologies to the younger-than-30 crowd for the long and probably unnecessary description of Twitter. Not all of my readers are as hip as you guys. Some even work at newspapers, which are a lot like Web sites, only with better designs and for the most part, better reporting.)

At any rate, Villanueva sent out a tweet at the intermission of the Celtics game that read: "In da locker room, snuck to post my twitt. We're playing the Celtics, tie ball game at da half. Coach wants more toughness. I gotta step up."

And guess what? Villanueva DID step up, finishing with a game-high 19 points in an 86-77 win over the defending champions.

But that didn't matter to the Bucks' brass. Villanueva still got in trouble. At first, I figured it was because Villanueva referred to his "tweet" as a "twitt." I mean, come on, Charlie. How am I supposed to follow along if you can't get the vernacular right?

Instead, the Bucks took issue with the fact Villanueva was "tweeting" (or "twitting") in the middle of perhaps their biggest game of the season.

"We made a point to Charlie that it's nothing we ever want to happen again," said Bucks coach Scott Skiles, adding that the Bucks "don't want to blow it out of proportion."

OK, my turn.

I understand the Bucks' position. It's hard to imagine a guy staying focused or listening to the coach when he's messing with his handheld device.

But ...

My guess is that was the most interesting thing Charlie V had to say to fans all season. Now, don't get me wrong. Villanueva is a great guy and like most NBA players, deals pretty well with reporters. But we don't get the type of inside access that he provided on that day. Believe it or not, never once have I been allowed inside an NBA locker room at halftime.

So why not have a player on the injured list tweet from time to time? I mean, wouldn't you love to get Elton Brand's take on a Philadelphia 76ers game DURING the action? Wouldn't you love to know what he's actually thinking on the bench?

OK, I wouldn't really care all that much, either. But that's almost beside the point. The bottom line is someone could make a lot of money off this idea. Whether it be a player, ball boy, referee or assistant coach.

It could be known as "Tweets from the Expensive Seats," or maybe just "Sweet Tweets."

Or perhaps, if Villanueva is behind the operation, it could simply be known as "How to Tweet Like a Twitt." And that, my friends, would be something worth following.

Oh, wait. I think you're only allowed to call someone a "friend" if you have a Facebook account.

Contact Sam Amico at amico@probasketballnews.com.

The Orlando Magic still can't beat the Detroit Pistons, but the good news is tonight's game is against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Even better for the Magic, tonight's game is IN Cleveland. And they've won three in a row at the Cavs‘ Quicken Loans Arena.

But all that is irrelevant. What's matters most is the Magic are playing very, very well -- despite all the predictions that they would fall apart (or at least take a small step back) toward the end of the season.

Instead, the Magic just keep on rolling. Since the trading deadline deal that brought them point guard Rafer Alston, the Magic are 10-3. Take out the two losses to the Pistons, and they're 10-1.

Right now, the Magic are playing better than defending champion Boston. Right now, they look like the Cavs' No. 1 challenger when it comes to the Eastern Conference crown.

Granted, the Celtics have been playing without the injured Kevin Garnett, and are still trying to determine if picking up Stephon Marbury was a smart move (they're 4-4 since his arrival).

And granted, this group of Magicians isn't exactly playoff-tested, having lost to the Pistons in each of the previous two playoff series. They could be in trouble if they open against the Pistons this postseason, and it's a definite possibility based on their current playoff seedings.

But back to tonight's game in Cleveland. The Cavs keep winning, but it's no secret they've had trouble keeping opponents from getting easy baskets in the low post during the past month or so -- especially since injured power forward Ben Wallace has been out.

And it's no secret that the Magic just happen to have the game's most explosive low-post threat in Dwight Howard (sorry, Tim Duncan fans). With outside shooters such as Rashard Lewis, Hedo Turkoglu and others, and a competent Alston filling in for injured Jameer Nelson, the Magic boast the best inside-out combo in the East, maybe the entire league.

Still, in order for anyone (including perhaps themselves) to believe they're truly ready to contend for a title, they'll need to give the Cavs a game tonight. They don't need to win, they just need to show they're CAPABLE of beating Cleveland in Cleveland. They have yet to play the Cavs on the road with Mo Williams as the Cavs' starting poinjt guard. So forget about the three straight wins at the Q. It means nothing.

What matters is the Magic prove they truly are worthy of being put in the same class as the league's elite -- i.e., the Cavs and Celtics and Lakers. A mid-March game like tonight's can be considered a tune-up for the playoffs. These teams could meet again in May, and each wants the other to feel like it has the edge should that happen.

The Cavs are 29-1 at home, best in the East. The Magic are 23-10 on the road, also best in the East. Something has to give and the Magic are hoping it's the idea that they're a good team, but not a great one.

Contact Sam Amico at amico@probasketballnews.com.

Knicks beat writer Marc Berman of the New York Post -- one of my favorite people in this business -- polled Cleveland's most knowledgable basketball voices, asking whether they thought LeBron James would leave the Cavaliers when he's a free agent in 2010. The responses were telling.

Cleveland Plain Dealer columnist Terry Pluto said there's 80 percent chance James stays, 20 he goes. "Of the 20 percent, it's only 10 percent he goes to New York," Pluto said.

Tom Withers of the Associated Press added, "Despite (James') riches, he's not gonna leave $25 million on the table just to play in a big market."

Berman wrote that if James leaves Cleveland, "their city becomes irrelevant again." As a native Northeast Ohioan, let me be the first to say amen.

At any rate, I say LeBron stays. He's from Akron, he likes living there, and it's hard to imagine him getting any more endorsement opportunities by starting over with a Knicks franchise that has been inconsistent and full of drama in recent seasons. Heck, James has already hosted "Saturday Night Live" and co-hosted the ESPYs. And as Plain Dealer writer Brian Windhorst said in Berman's article, James is "already on billboards in Times Square and cover of Vogue." In that sense, what can New York offer James that Cleveland can't?

These Cavs have the opportunity to win multiple championships. They'll need another frontcourt presence for that to happen (at least, they will down the road) -- but they're already among the top two or three teams in the league, and James is only 24.

Here's something else to think about:

In Cleveland, James is King. He can do no wrong in the eyes of most fans. That includes his appearance at a Cleveland Indians game while wearing a Yankees cap. True, a few fans were enraged, but most wouldn't care if he showed up sporting pink slippers. All that matters to most fans is that he leads the Cavaliers to the championship.

Meanwhile, they're awful judgmental in New York. Most of the media there wouldn't wait to sink their journalistic claws into James. They'd just be sitting there, waiting, for James to do something they deemed wrong (namely, failing to lead the Knicks to something like 10 titles in 11 years). If James were to bolt for New York, he would be fair game. The scrutiny would be relentless, unforgiving. Just ask Randy Johnson or Stephon Marbury or Alex Rodriguez.

But in Cleveland, James doesn't need to worry about disappointing. He's a monstrous fish in a mid-sized pond. He may be the only athlete in modern Cleveland history who can turn fans' attention away from the Browns from time to time. In Cleveland, he's adored.

My guess is James will sign another three-year extension with the Cavs this summer. If things go well, and they should, he'll be a Cavalier for life. If the Cavs don't win a title in that time, then yes, James may go somewhere else. Then again, if the Cavs don't win a title within the next three or four years, most fans won't care nearly as much if he leaves.

Contact Sam Amico at amico@probasketballnews.com.

Covering the NBA isn't always as glamorous as you think.

The chicks don't dig you. A lot the athletes could live without you. Readers can flat-out despise you. Pay is low, and with newspapers dying by the minute, jobs are scarce. The online industry isn't exactly flourishing, either.

On top of all that, I don't really like sportswriters. Some of them smell. Others are conceited for no good reason. A few are just plain miserable and hate their jobs -- hard to fathom, considering there probably isn't an easier gig. You go to a game, you write about it, you sleep for 12 hours, you pick up a check (although I often refer to my own paycheck as "hate mail").

But it's not brain surgery. I'm not inventing anything. It would be difficult for me to even make a strong case that I'm making the world a better place. Coaches sure don't seem to think I am -- even if I do respect most, and even if most do treat me like I'm not completely annoying them (sans Don Nelson, who hates sportswriters and his own team in the same manner).

There's also this: I'm the single father of a 4-year old boy. I often look at him and hope he chooses a career path different from mine.

What's my point? Well, I'm not sure there is one. Maybe my sister is right. Maybe it's just another case of me "thinking out loud too much," as she likes to say. Maybe I wouldn't be so over-analytical if I didn't have a job that provided me with so much time to do nothing but sit around and contemplate.

Then again, the fact I'm a sportswriter isn't really my fault. I applied to work in the front office of various NBA teams at the age of 18 and no one would hire me. I offered to try out for the Cleveland Cavaliers at the age of 21 and they never replied, perhaps learning that my rec league team finished 0-10 that year.

I'm 41 now and have lost a lot of money chasing this game. I'm probably destined to lose a lot more. And for what? The occasional e-mail exchange with Scottie Pippen or once-in-a-lifetime returned phone call from Larry Bird?

The funny thing about being a sportswriter is that when you're wrong, no one likes you. When you're right, well, no one likes you. It's easy to be unfair in this business, because you're often lonely and mad at the world. So you rip the people around you. Then you rip your colleagues. Then you rip David Stern (you're not officially an NBA writer unless you've done it at least once, from what I've gathered).

I guess what I'm trying to say is I'm not always proud of what I do for a living, and I'm often less proud of some of the things I write. I admit, sometimes I write stuff out of frustration. I'm never really mad at any particular individual or team -- but perhaps at the thought that I'm pouring my heart and soul into the game, only to have the game occasionally spit back me.

Sound depressing?

It's not meant to be. I'm happy in life. I'm lucky to have the career I do.

Truth is, no matter how I spin it, writing about pro basketball sure beats wearing a tie and having to get things right all the time. Or even some of the time.

Contact Sam Amico at amico@probasketballnews.com.

Henry Abbott of TrueHoop just sent out a "tweet" of five quick thoughts. I hate Twitter, I hate tweeting, and I especially hate the fact it's become fashionable for grown men to use the word "tweet" and think it makes them sound cool. But I like Abbott, so I'm ripping off his idea with five quick thoughts of my own. Well, almost my own.

1. Abbott wrote that if the Knicks make the playoffs, they should build a statue of coach Mike D'Antoni. I'm gonna take it a step further. If they make the playoffs, they should change their nickname to the New York Mikes. (I'd go with "D'Antonis," but the apostrophe makes it look too sloppy). If the Knicks make the playoffs, D'Antoni has to be named Coach of the Year. If Milwaukee makes it, then Scott Skiles should win the award.

2. I really like the Knicks (well, D'Antoni and Nate Robinson), but I'm secretly rooting for the Bucks. If the Bucks can't get in, the Knicks would be my second choice. And won't it be funny if the Knicks make the playoffs and Phoenix doesn't?

3. My third choice would be Charlotte or New Jersey. Both of those teams are at least somewhat interesting. But as I wrote earlier, if the basketball gods have any compassion, Chicago won't see the postseason. Large-market teams shouldn't be allowed to be so doggone dull. In fact, David Stern needs to work that out at the next collective bargaining session -- if you're from one of America's major markets, your team either needs to be really good (Boston, L.A. Lakers), continously surrounded by lots of drama (New York), endearingly pathetic (L.A. Clippers) or never allowed to hire someone with as bad of a hairdo as Vinny Del Negro as coach.

4. Quick word of advice to fellow basketball writers: Never try to write a blog entry at Panera Bread on three hours of sleep while sitting near some slob who eats his potato chips with his mouth open. It will make you feel like repeatedly smashing your laptop over someone's head.

5. OK, since that didn't really count as a thought, I'll go with six.

6. Heck, make it eight.

7. The Nets saw a naked lady walking down the street of San Francisco before their game at Golden State. The most interesting aspect is they seemed surprised. Haven't they ever been to San Francisco before?

8. Why is everyone blaming coach Mike Dunleavy for Zach Randolph's awful three-point attempt in the final moments of the Clippers' loss against Cleveland? What's more amazing to me is Dunleavy's best players are Randolph and Baron Davis, and people still expect the Clippers to win.

Contact Sam Amico at amico@probasketballnews.com.

Cleveland's 87-83 win over the L.A. Clippers was one of the ugliest basketball games I've ever seen -- and one of the most beautiful.

For three quarters, the Cavs looked more like the Clippers than the Clippers themselves. I mean, the Cavs really stunk. Mo Williams had his worst game in a Cleveland uniform, making just two of his first 15 shots. Delonte West was a non-factor, and Daniel Gibson continued his season-long stretch of being ineffective on offense and useless on defense. Basically, the backcourt was a disaster, and the Cavs were off to an embarrassing 0-of-17 start on three-pointers.

They trailed 69-52 entering the fourth quarter.

Meanwhile, the Clippers weren't great, but they weren't entirely Clipper-like. At the very least, they were able to take advantage of the Cavs' laughable effort during the game's first 36 minutes.

It was past midnight in the Eastern time zone, and I remember thinking, "Why am I still watching this?"

Then I thought, "The Cavs will have to go on something like a 33-13 run to even make this close -- and they were barely able to score more than 33 points in the first half!"

Then LeBron James turned into LeBron James. He drove, he drew fouls, he finished near the basket, he dished pinpoint passes to teammates. Still, the Cavs went on a 17-2 run and STILL trailed by NINE points. I figured even though the Clippers suddenly remembered the name on the front of their jerseys by playing mistake-prone, failry selfish basketball, the Cavs would run out of gas.

Besides, it seemed no matter what James would do, or how well big men Zydrunas Ilgauskas or Anderson Varejao played, Williams and West and especially Gibson would continue to mess it up and miss shots.

But as critical as I've been of Gibson this season (please, Mike Brown, give Tarence Kinsey a chance!), he came up with a huge rebound and putback in traffic that went practically unnoticed. Then he broke the Cavs' slump with a three-pointer at the 5:02 mark to trigger a game-ending 18-7 run.

Earlier in the evening, I watched a couple of those college basketball conference tournament championship games -- and saw Cleveland State and North Dakota State (yes, NORTH DAKOTA STATE) advance to the NCAA's Big Dance. At the time, I thought, "Man, these college kids just play with so much emotion."

Not long after, I surprisingly found myself thinking the same thing about the pros, as Williams broke out of his slump by burying a couple of huge shots late, including a three that proved to be the game-winner. Following that shot, Williams turned to the crowd and displayed the "Cleveland" on his shirt. Then he and James embraced, LeBron whispering something in Williams' ear before they walked to the bench during the Clippers' ensuing timeout.

It was ugly, it was beautiful, it was NBA basketball at its worst and best.

And, oh yeah, the Cavs outscored the Clippers 35-14 in the fourth.

Contact Sam Amico at amico@probasketballnews.com.

I'm heading to Cleveland tonight for one reason: To see Dwyane Wade live. Nothing against LeBron James and the Cavaliers, but being a Northeast Ohio guy, I can watch them anytime. In fact, I can see them every home game and go to most (and believe me, I do feel fortunate to be in the presence of pro basketball's King).

But tonight, it's all about Wade. As crazy as it may sound, he gets my vote for NBA MVP. James and Kobe Bryant are awesome, no doubt. Either could win the MVP award and you couldn't complain. But to me, Wade has simply done more with less.

Seriously, think about. Without Wade, the Heat stinks.

OK, maybe that's a bit harsh. But without Wade, no way is Miami a playoff team. With him, the Heaters are my pick for postseason darkhorse. Wade is an ultra-athletic one-man show, much like Michael Jordan was early in his career. He's also a likeable guy and among the new breed of classier NBA stars (a la James, Chris Paul, etc.).

So for the first time ever, I've hopped on the D-Wade bandwagon. Check back later to see if I still feel that way after my first time watching him live.

* Quick note: We are taking the weekend to further develop the PBN "Rumors" page, and appreciate your patience. It should be back to its normal updated-around-the-clock status by Sunday morning at the latest. Feel free to e-mail me with any feedback at amico@probasketballnews.com.

Atlanta Hawks head coach Mike Woodson and forward Josh Smith had to be separated by staff during halftime of the team's game against the Bobcats in Charlotte, according to sources with knowledge of the situation that transpired Friday night at Time Warner Arena.

The near-scuffle ensued, according to eyewitnesses, after Woodson got into Smith's face over what he perceived to be selfish play and got in his face about it, which apparently Smith didn't take too kindly to.

This isn't unprecedented in league history, of course, as a few situations where intensity boils over transpire over the course of a season without anyone hearing about it, but the word I've gotten is that this one got especially contentious.

Smith was 6-for-10 from the field in the first half, adding two blocks. He didn't play at all in the second half of Friday's Bobcats/Hawks game, and it remains to be seen whether there are any further developments.

Providing yet more evidence that I need to get out more, I was thinking about the NBA's Sixth Man Award last night -- and wondering who should win it this year.

Everyone seems to hop on the Manu Ginobili bandwagon, and it would indeed be hard to discount the San Antonio guard. Jason Terry (Dallas), Leoandro Barbosa (Phoenix) and Nate Robinson (New York) are other names that deserve frequent mention.

But what Golden State's Corey Maggette?

That's right, I said Maggette. And I know what you're saying. You're saying, "I always knew this Amico guy was a moron. Now here's proof."

But before you threaten to break my fingers so I can't ever type another sentence, let's take a look at the numbers:

* Maggette is averaging 19 points per game on 48 percent shooting, and grabbing 5.6 rebounds per game.

* Terry is at 19.7 ppg, 47 percent from the floor, and passing for 3.6 assists per game (hardly worth mentioning, actually).

* Robinson? He's at 17.6 ppg, 45 percent on field-goal attempts, and 4.2 rpg (not bad for someone who's 5-foot-8 on a good day).

* Ginobili is scoring 16.1 ppg on 46 percent shooting, and pulling down 4.7 rpg. But the man sure has been injured a lot.

* Then there's Barbosa, who has flourished in the Suns' return to a helter-skelter up-tempo brand of basketball -- but still only averaging 14.0 ppg (less than I thought) on 48 percent from the field (better than I thought).

* Finally, Milwaukee's Charlie Villanueva (16.4 ppg, 46 percent from floor, 6.6 rpg) also warrants consideration.

But to me, Maggette has the edge. I know, the Warriors have been bad. And yes, his numbers may be inflated playing in Don Nelson's I-bet-I-can-shoot-quicker-than-you offense.

But unlike the other guys, he's been Mr. Consistency. Rarely does he erupt for one of those 30-point shockers (read: Barbosa), but rarely does he put up less than 10 or 11. He just brings it every night -- and the Warriors know EXACTLY what they're getting when he steps on the court.

Earlier this season, Maggette walked off the floor following a loss to Boston, and Celtics forward Kevin Garnett taunted him by saying something to the effect of Maggette only looking to put up numbers. But Maggette was the main reason the lowly (at the time) Warriors almost upset the defending champs on their own home floor.

Also, a lot of people may not consider Maggette to be a sixth man. But he came off the bench in 21 of the Warriors' first 40 games -- and league rules say all a player needs to do is be a reseerve in more games than he starts to be a candidate for the award.

Don't like Maggette as my pick? Well, maybe you need to watch him play a little more. After all, as a guy who rarely gets out of the house, I've gotten to see him plenty.

Contact Sam Amico at amico@probasketballnews.com.

Boston's new employee No. 8 helped key its game-winning run against the Pacers on Friday night, and while it's premature to say the Celtics will be hanging banner No. 18 just yet, you can see why the defending champs are a more dangerous team now than they were a week ago.

The Stephon Marbury/Celtics marriage got off on the right foot, with the basketball equivalent of getting your groove on honeymoon-style going down at the TD Banknorth Garden in a 104-99 win over Indiana.

Marbury connected on a jump shot in his first five-minute stint, but it was his work in the fourth quarter that brought the possibilities of this union to life. With Indiana's defensive scheme against the Celtics geared to giving questionable jump shooter Rajon Rondo open looks and living with the results, Marbury punished Indiana with a mid-range jumper to set up his drive.

Afterward, the Celtics new reinforcement told Comcast's Greg Dickerson that he had no legs, and that he still had to pick up the team's defensive schemes. There were no bold declarations or boorish bravado -- just a humbled man happy to have made a contribution in his first action of a distraction-filled season.

Marbury looked comfortable dishing the ball to snipers Eddie House and Ray Allen and worked the pick-and-roll with fellow new acquistion Mikki Moore, employee No. 7, if you will. His line, 4-for-6, eight points, two assists and one board in 14 minutes, was efficient. At game's end, Doc Rivers inserted him for Eddie House for defensive purposes, which tells you how much he thinks of Marbury's athleticism and potential as a defensive contributor.

This will be a new role for the former All-Star, and you hope he never gets to the point where he questions not being in the game over Rondo, at least publicly. Whether called upon to play garbage time or whatever other spot duties he's assigned, he'd better embrace them as opportunities. That's what this whole thing is, a chance to play into June and work himself back into the league's good graces by proving he's a winner.

Time to see what happens once the honeymoon ends. Can't get a do-over on that first night, though. For Starbury, this one will go down as special.

Everyday, this Web site and others like it link to newspapers that report from NBA cities. We often get a lot of credit for the “rumors” sections on our sites, but without newspaper columnists and beat reporters reporting on the news -- well, our “rumors” would consist solely of links to ESPN, Yahoo! Sports and several others.

And while those major media sites are indeed must-reads for basketball fans, most of them don’t cover your favorite team on a daily basis. Most of them take part in what is known as “drive-by” journalism. In other words, they stop by an NBA arena, gather material for a feature, profile or column, then bolt for the next game in the next city.

Again, that’s OK.

But when it comes to NBA coverage, beat writers at daily newspapers are the lifeblood. They talk to your favorite team’s coaches and players -- every day. They go to practice, they arrive at games at least a couple hours before tip-off, they stay there and write usually long after you’ve gone to bed, they put up with agents and public relations departments and Jerry Sloan. Some are treated like the enemy.

But without newspapers and their writers, we wouldn’t care nearly as much about the NBA. There simply wouldn’t be as many voices telling us what we want (and sometimes even need) to know.

That is why I am saddened to learn of the death of Denver’s Rocky Mountain News, which will print its final edition Friday, Feb. 27, just two days shy of its 150th birthday. It will then close its doors forever.

The News has done a fabulous job of covering the Nuggets through the years. The paper’s beat writer, Chris Tomasson, has been one of the best in the business for at least a decade, dating back to his time covering the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Akron Beacon Journal. Aaron Lopez is another talented writer from the paper whose work is linked to regularly.

Like all of the other employees at the paper, both newsroom and otherwise, their futures are unclear.

I worked for newspapers for 12 years. Most of the time, I didn’t care for my job. I found the atmosphere to be stuffy and much of the reporting uninteresting. That’s not to say I didn’t appreciate newspapers, or don’t admire many of the men and women who work for them today. It just wasn’t for me. I much prefer my new career in the online world, television and radio to anything I did while working for newspapers.

Still, I understand and respect what newspapers have brought to my favorite game. I understand how valuable they are to the communities they cover. I understand that without them the world (and therefore, the NBA) wouldn’t be the same.

Will there be a day when newspapers don’t exist in their current form? I think it’s a real possibility. Between now and then, let’s hope they figure out a way to repurpose themselves, stay afloat, and eventually thrive.

Truth is, people such as Tomasson and Lopez and others like them are simply too valuable not to have around our game.

Contact Sam Amico at amico@probasketballnews.com.

This much we know: The Celtics will sign Stephon Marbury on Friday morning (he announced as much today in the New York Times).

What we aren't yet sure of is what the Celtics plan to do once Marbury is on the team. Two sources have told PBN that the C's are only signing Marbury to keep another team from doing so. Then, according to the sources, Marbury will be released after March 1. That would make him ineligible for the playoffs if he were to sign with someone else.

Now, if it's true, it would no doubt be a cold-blooded move. At the same time, it might not be a bad strategy for the defending champs. If this is indeed the case, it's likely because the Celtics think Marbury would be bad for chemistry, not to mention the psyche of young and constanty improving point guard Rajon Rondo. (I wrote as much in a column two days ago.) But they also wouldn't want to risk having him play for, say, Miami should the teams meet in the playoffs.

That said, there's no telling if this is actually the Celtics' plan. Personally, I have a hard time believing they won't even give Marbury a chance -- or that they'll spend $1.3 million just to keep Marbury from playing elsewhere.

But as one of my editors told me long ago, you're only as good as your sources. And the sources we spoke to on this issue have proven to be extremely reliable in the past. In fact, neither has been wrong when it comes to anything they have told us. One even helped us break the story that Kevin Garnett, then with Minnesota, would not be traded to the Lakers. We got a lot of hate mail that day -- but the bottom line is our source was right. Less than 72 hours later, Garnett was traded to the Celtics.

Either way, when a source is in the know (as the two we are using for this story have proven to be), then our job is merely to report what they say. Whether we have our doubts or not, or even if we hope what they say isn't true, is irrelevent.

Guess we'll only really know the truth sometime between now and the end of the regular season.

Contact Sam Amico at amico@probasketballnews.com.

Devin Harris and the Nets aren't the only ones affected by his miracle shot at the buzzer to defeat the Philadelphia 76ers. There was another team on the floor, you know.

And according to a report by Kate Fagan of the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Sixers are still stinging from the loss.

"It seems like that's the way the season's been going," Andre Iguodala told the Inquirer after the game.

"The game was there and it was pretty much taken from us," Andre Miller said.

The Sixers have now lost four games on a last-second shot this season. That's almost unheard of -- and something PBN contributor Chris Bernucca will be addressing in greater detail in the coming days.

"We have a lot of young guys on the floor and you can only hope that they're learning from it," said Sixers president and general manager Ed Stefanski. "No one is going to feel sorry for us but our fans.

"We've taken more hits than you're used to."

Contact Sam Amico at amico@probasketballnews.com.

Whether Devin Harris' heroics wind up pulling New Jersey's season back off life support remains to be seen, but the shot itself deserves to be treasured as one of the most amazing we as a basketball community have ever seen.

Discussing your favorite shots could lead to an endless discussion, because obviously there's a Jordan montage, countless of trick shots on YouTube, Trent Tucker's rule changer, and if you delve into the NCAA lore, you've got Christian Laettner, James Forrest and Bryce Drew among countless others.

Just saying, Harris did something on Monday night that belongs in the conversation. Put it on the tip of your tongue for future use.

In the scope of 1.8 seconds, Harris gets the inbounds pass at three-quarters court, jets forward with a dribble, has the ball knocked out of his hands by Andre Iguodala, who bumps his elbow as he falls forward towards halfcourt. He's able to recover the ball as he completes his next stride, sets his right foot with his left kicked backwards, and beats the buzzer with a perfect heave from halfcourt by about 1/100th of a second.

It was a great basketball moment, complete with Marv Albert and Mike Fratello on the call, giving it a nostalgic old school NBA on NBC feel.

Kudos to SportsCenter for leading with it. Those people know what they're doing.

Curious to see how Harris' shot is received over the next day or so. ESPN has to think it's a big deal for it to get the play it deserves, and considering the treatment given to it on its premiere show, it looks like they might. NBA TV's GameTime led with highlights and full analysis, too.

Harris wore a beauty pageant winner look after the officials reviewed it and announced it was good, complete with his hands over his head and a dazed, foolish grin.

Is it among the most amazing shots of all-time? Given the degree of difficulty, the climactic finish and the players involved, it should have some staying power. Best shot this season, hands down.

Contact Tony Mejia at mejia@probasketballnews.com.

Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee got in touch with former Sacramento coach Reggie Theus, and he seemed open and honest when she asked him to evaluate the Kings' current situation.

For instance, Theus said he thought both Beno Udrih and Spencer Hawes haven't played as well under interim coach Kenny Natt, and that the Kings were "being laughed at after we (Theus and assistant Chuck Person) left. For the most part, we played hard every night. This team was not a joke."

Theus was fired Dec. 14. He wasn't taking a shot at Natt so much as he seemed to be at Kings GM Geoff Petrie. You can read the entire interview here: Kings Blog Q&A.

In conclusion, let me just say that without question, Voisin and fellow Bee reporter Sam Amick are two of the best basketball writers in the country -- and you should read their work often. It's just too bad they have such an awful team to cover.

Contact Sam Amico at amico@probasketballnews.com.

Right now, it's hard not to be excited again about the Phoenix Suns. Seriously, 140 or more points in three straight games -- one of which came without Amare Stoudemire?

In other words, the Suns aren't just going back to the fast pace they played under former coach Mike D'Antoni, they're going above and beyond that under Alvin Gentry (who replaced Terry Porter the day after the All-Star game). It's as if Gentry and the Suns are apologizing to fans for nearly five months of fairly dull, ineffective basketball. They are making up for lost time, going over the top when it comes to running, gunning and then doing it some more.

And hey, what do you know -- even Shaquille O'Neal is getting in on the act. One hundred and forty or more points in three straight games? So much for Shaq getting in the way, huh?

It's funny, because longtime NBA fans are suddenly uttering the name of Paul Westhead again. Die-hards remember him as the man who once coached Loyola-Marymount, and later, the Denver Nuggets -- instituting a philosophy that preached the only bad shot was the one that wasn't taken quickly. The Suns suddenly seem to be adhering to that theory once again.

Granted, those three games came against two of the worst teams in the NBA, with two wins against the L.A. Clippers, the other against Oklahoma City. As Gentry told reporters of the Suns' upcoming home game against defending champion Boston, "We're not going to get 140 points on Sunday."

But hey, you gotta start somewhere, right?

And even without Stoudemire, who's likely out for the regular season with an eye injury, the Suns will be worth watching. In Phoenix, basketball is tons of fun again.

Contact Sam Amico at amico@probasketballnews.com.