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• Tony Bizjak, Dale Kasler and Ryan Lillis of The Sacramento Bee: The uncertainty over the future of the Sacramento Kings will linger at least into next week. Just as Mayor Kevin Johnson announced on Tuesday that a local investor group was finally ready to present its formal bid to buy the team, league officials in New York revealed they have scrubbed plans to vote this week on a competing offer to move the team to Seattle. An NBA spokesman declined to offer a reason. League Commissioner David Stern two weeks ago said a postponement was possible due to what he called the complicated and unprecedented situation the league faces. The NBA has never before had to decide between two cities competing hard and well for the same team, Stern said. Both have well-financed groups eager to buy the team from the Maloof family, the team's current owner, and both cities assure the NBA they can build gleaming state-of-the art arenas in the next few years.
• Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times: Having Chauncey Billups back in the starting lineup for the Clippers on Tuesday night against the Portland Trail Blazers meant a lot to the team in many ways. Billups brings the Clippers championship experience. He won a title with the Detroit Pistons over the Lakers in 2004, when Billups was named the Finals most valuable player. "He's a little bit older now," Clippers Coach Vinny Del Negro said about the 36-year-old Billups. "He's missed most of last season and a lot of this season, so that's not as easy to do. We still expect a lot from him with his leadership. He can make shots, obviously. He's another guy that can make plays." Billups had missed the last eight games with a strained right groin. He has played in just 21 games this season and is expected to play in a back-to-back game Wednesday night in Sacramento. Del Negro said the plan is to play Billups about 20 minutes per game.
• Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald: The photo, like so many others from Monday’s explosions, had gone viral. A young woman, her body mostly obscured by a distraught man and an EMT, lay face down on the blood-splattered Boylston Street sidewalk. Avery Bradley spotted the photo online and immediately posted it to his Twitter account with a simple hashtag — #sad. “It just caught my eye,” the Celtics guard said before yesterday’s practice. “All I could think was that this is crazy, to think that people go to an event like this to run. That’s what they train for all year. And for people to lose arms and legs, that’s just crazy.” So Bradley did what so many others could only do. He asked for help from a greater power. “All you can do is pray for their families. I definitely did yesterday,” he said. “I feel bad, and if there’s any way I can help, I will want to help. . . . It could happen anywhere. But to see it happen there or anywhere at all is just crazy.” The Celtics took the practice floor in a relieved state yesterday, most glad last night’s game against Indiana was canceled.
• Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News: With a $100 million payroll, four future Hall of Famers and a storied championship history, it's come to this. The Lakers' season finale Wednesdaytonight against the Houston Rockets could decide whether they perhaps salvage an otherwise disastrous season or miss the playoffs for only the third time in the team's history. Few would have guessed this scenario. Plenty envisioned the Lakers waltzing into the NBA Finals against the Miami Heat. Many wondered if anyone could stop a star-studded lineup that featured Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Steve Nash and Pau Gasol. Never shy to boast, Lakers forward Metta World Peace predicted the team would surpass the NBA's regular-season record (72-10) set by the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls team. "I thought we'd be at a different point right now," World Peace said. "But that's all right." Instead, the Lakers (44-37) enter Wednesdaytonight's game against the Houston Rockets (45-36) at Staples Center with a possible must-win situation. The Lakers are a pure lock for the playoffs if they win, earning a seventh seed and playing the San Antonio Spurs in the first round. A Lakers' loss coupled with a Utah loss against Memphis would leave the Lakers in the eighth spot against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
• Bill Oram of The Salt Lake Tribune: Wishing and hoping and thinking and — oh, right — playing. With apologies to Dusty Springfield, nothing else remains for the Utah Jazz. Their season may conclude with a loss to the Grizzlies here Wednesday, it may end with a Lakers win over the Houston Rockets in Los Angeles or it may be extended into a most unlikely postseason. If the Jazz can beat the Grizzlies at FedEx Forum, they will turn into Rockets fans, hoping Houston, trying to avoid falling into the eighth seed, can beat the Lakers in a game that fittingly, cruelly, doesn’t begin until after the Jazz and Grizzlies end on national TV. The Jazz, who won the season series against L.A., would be even with the Lakers and into the playoffs. "I guess I need to try to get in touch with Kevin McHale," Al Jefferson said of his former Minnesota coach, now with the Rockets, "and tell him to handle that for me. Give me a late birthday present."
• Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun: As another Toronto Raptors season crawls to its conclusion, a franchise teetering on irrelevance has a series of enormous decisions to make. There may not be any one right answer for Tom Anselmi and the board of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, but there is almost certainly a wrong one. The decisions, as they seemingly do at the end of every Raptors season, revolve around the general manager, Bryan Colangelo, and the coach, Dwane Casey. Colangelo has an option year remaining on his contract. Casey has one year left on his deal. And the team is forever paddling in circles, creating the occasional wave, but ending up nowhere in the end. The decision for Anselmi and the board isn’t in any way obvious, with the largest issue being the relationship between Colangelo and Casey. Colangelo did his best to distance himself from his coach early in the season and there has been all kind of internal speculation that the two can’t possibly work together again. That determination may wind up saving his job or costing him the position.
• Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: The Hawks had a chance to control their playoff seed. Not anymore. A poor effort against the Raptors, one in which the Hawks went to their bench early and often, resulted in a 113-96 loss Tuesday night in a nationally televised game at Philips Arena. The Hawks played without Al Horford and just a half with Josh Smith in a game they trailed by as many as 23 points. Smith played 13 minutes and received treatment on his knees at the intermission. He banged a knee in the first half and did not immediately come back to the bench after halftime but later returned with both knees wrapped in ice. Regulars Jeff Teague (19 minutes), Kyle Korver (18) and Devin Harris (17) played less than a half. … The Hawks can clinch the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference, and a first-round playoff against the Nets, with a victory at the Knicks and a Bulls loss at home against the Wizards Wednesday. The Bulls will claim the fifth spot with a victory or if both teams lose Wednesday. The Hawks would finish sixth and get a first-round matchup with the Pacers. The Hawks have split the season series with both the Nets and Pacers this season.
• John Rohde of The Oklahoman: Thunder three-time All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook has never missed a game in the NBA and has the league's longest active streak at 393 consecutive games played. OKC (60-21) closes out the regular season at 7 p.m. Wednesday against the Milwaukee Bucks (37-44) at Chesapeake Energy Arena, but Thunder coach Scott Brooks wouldn't share his starting lineup after Tuesday's practice. Westbrook playfully was asked if there would be a fist fight if Brooks asked him to sit out the finale. “No, no, no. There won't be a fist fight,” Westbrook said with a smile, “but he won't ask me (to do) that.”
• Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News: With all the twists and turns during the 2012-13 regular season, it was only fitting that the Spurs gave us one more on Tuesday, signing Tracy McGrady to fill to roster vacated after the unceremonious whacking of Stephen Jackson. It is the seventh NBA stop for the former franchise player, and eighth as a professional including his recent stint in the Chinese league. He dominated with Qingdao Double Star Eagles, averaging 25 points, 7.2 rebounds and 5.1 assists — the type of numbers he put up as a seven-time All-Star before injuries sapped his athleticism. McGrady won’t find it nearly so easy back in the NBA, where he averaged 5.3 points last season with Atlanta. There’s some speculation that McGrady’s addition had been the end goal all along. But at this point, the most likely explanation is probably the simplest: The Spurs excised what they viewed to be a cancer, and they needed a warm body to help pick up the slack on a Spurs bench that suddenly isn’t so deep. That means chewing up whatever time is available behind starting small forward Kawhi Leonard. And from what Gregg Popovich has said recently, there won’t be much. Leonard, he said, could earn up to 40 minutes a night, leaving precious little for a floor-bound ex-star.
• K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune: Keeping Noah and Gibson healthy is critical during the postseason. The Bulls took Tuesday off, and both players continued treatment on their respective lingering injuries, plantar fasciitis for Noah and a sprained MCL for Gibson. Coach Tom Thibodeau said "it's a possibility" the players will be on minutes limits to start the playoffs, which affects his rotation. "You don't know what the minutes are going to be, so that's another huge factor," Thibodeau said. "We have to get that sorted out in a very short amount of time. "The question is: Are we going to be sharp? You're talking about playoff basketball, where the intensity level is very high and it's the same opponent over and over. Most of the time, games are decided by one or two possessions. So how you matchup with people is critical. A bad matchup for a minute in the playoffs, that's 10 points. We have to be right and ready."
• Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News: O.J. Mayo owes an apology to his teammates in general and Vince Carter in particular. In the least, Mayo owes them maximum effort in Wednesday’s season finale against New Orleans. Why Mayo, in coach Rick Carlisle’s opinion, “didn’t compete” during his 28 minutes on the court against Memphis on Monday, is the latest baffler in Mayo’s mystifying late-season swoon. In fact, Mayo’s lack of production and Carlisle’s now-obvious frustration level seemingly increase the likelihood that Wednesday’s game will be his last in a Mavericks uniform. Of course, this could be the finale for some or all of the nine Mavericks who are in the final year of their contract or, as in Mayo’s case, have optional deals for 2013-14. Mayo holds his option, meaning it’s up to him whether to stay at a $4.2 million salary or declare for free agency.
• Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic: Luis Scola and Goran Dragic were asked whether they would recommend interim head coach Lindsey Hunter returning next season. Both players punted the topic. “That’s a tough question,” Dragic said. “ ... I’m here to play basketball. It’s not my decision to make.” Dragic did say he liked Hunter’s approach to practice. “Alvin (Gentry) was a great coach for the veteran players; he knows when to give them a day off, but for our team we have a young team and we really need to practice hard every day,” Dragic said. “When he (Hunter) took over the team I think we maybe had one or two days off. I think it should be like that.” Scola said he thought Hunter did “a great job. Circumstances were bad and he did as good as he could. But I don’t make those decisions. I’m just a player.” Would a third coach in less than a year be unsettling for the team? “I think it would be a sign of things being bad,” Scola said. “But things are bad.” Suns owner Robert Sarver declined comment when asked about Hunter’s future, and Hunter said no time has been set for a postseason meeting with either General Manager Lance Blanks or President of Basketball Operations Lon Babby.
• David Mayo of MLive.com: One day after Pistons owner Tom Gores bluntly said he wasn't satisfied with on-court performance -- Gores also praised basketball operations, which supports the notion that team president Joe Dumars' job is safe -- Frank said he and his coaching staff want another year to right the ship. Frank noted that the Pistons are ahead of schedule in terms of their financial flexibility this summer because of the Ben Gordon and Tayshaun Prince salary-purging trades within the last year, and said he wants to remain head coach of a franchise in "prime position" to make major moves. "Obviously, you want to be a part of it, because that's why you went through the bleeding," Frank said. "I know, without a doubt, we all want to be back. But at the same time, that's not our decision. "But do I want to be back? Of course, because this is what you signed up for. You want to be part of reshaping the franchise and getting it back to where it was.
• Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer: With a 20-61 record entering the season finale against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Bobcats might end up with the NBA’s worst record for a second straight season. Charlotte will have a high draft pick and as much as $21 million in room under the salary cap this summer. Owner Michael Jordan and the front office face some big decisions between now and the start of training camp in October. Do they bring back the coaching staff? Which of their free agents do they re-sign? Do they cut ties with power forward Tyrus Thomas? Even what should they call themselves going forward? Coach Mike Dunlap: Winning one out of every four games isn’t the ideal NBA coaching debut, but the Bobcats’ record is about what was predicted at the season’s outset. When Jordan was asked at a season-ticketholder event about Dunlap, the owner said all his major employees’ performances would be reviewed after the season. To Dunlap’s credit, he’s had an impact in player development, the priority he was given when hired. Kemba Walker, Gerald Henderson and Byron Mullens all improved. But Dunlap has had some rocky moments in his interaction with players, particularly veterans.
• Tery Pluto of The Plain Dealer: Kyrie Irving can be great. That's right, the Cavaliers point guard can be great. But he's not there. Not yet. Great players defend. Great players help their team win. Great players find a way to stay on the court for most games. It will be up to Byron Scott or whomever coaches the Cavs to deliver that message next season. At times, Scott has tried. He has pulled Irving from games for a lack of defense. He has talked about Irving's disdain for defense. He consistently compares Irving to Chris Paul, adding that Paul is superior defensively. It's no secret that Irving is a soft defender. That's true of many young players, who believe all that matters is the points next to their name in the box score. The fact the team has yet to come close to the playoffs with him should point out that Irving still has a lot of work to do. … There are times when rolls his eyes or shakes his head in disgust when a teammate makes a poor play. It's kid stuff, but he should know better. None of this is to say Irving is a bad guy or a lousy teammate. But he has some maturing to do, and the Cavs must demand that he do it.
• Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune: Timberwolves forward Chase Budinger wants to return to the team next season if an agreement can be reached this summer, but as with any contractual agreement, there’s a bit of fine print. That is, if Rick Adelman returns to coach. Adelman is the reason the Wolves traded the 18th overall pick in last summer’s draft to Houston, where Adelman coached Budinger for three seasons before the pair was reunited in Minnesota. He’s also the reason a California kid wants to remain on the frozen tundra when he becomes an unrestricted free agent free to sign with any team this summer. “I would like to come back,” he said. “I like the organization. I like the staff. I love Adelman.” He saved the most important part for last there. “That’s a big part of it,” he said about the coach who taught a second-round draft pick in 2009 the NBA game. “Our relationship, he knows how I play. I work well in his system. It’s [Adelman’s decision] going to weigh big.”

• Ethan J. Skolnick of the Palm Beach Post: So is this his best season? “I don’t know,” LeBron James said. “I’ve had some really good individual seasons. I think, as far as efficiency, yeah. I don’t know if they’ve got all the numbers settled yet, but I felt I played some really good basketball this year.” How good? He has averaged 8.0 rebounds, highest of his career. He has shot 40.3 percent from 3-point range, highest of his career. He has averaged 7.3 assists, highest of his three seasons with Miami. Miami has outscored opponents by 720 points when he’s been on the floor. “Whatever I try to do, I want to be as close to perfect as possible,” James said. And now that Kobe Bryant is finished for the season, James is likely to lead the NBA in field goals made, holding a 36-make lead over Kevin Durant. “I don’t even shoot that much,” James said. “That’s pretty cool. I like that stat.” There’s a statistic that James appreciates even more, the one that tallies wins. Miami now has 64 with two games remaining, and a chance to tie James’ 2008-09 Cavaliers and Ray Allen’s 2007-08 Celtics for 10th on the single-season victory list. Those Cavaliers lost in the Eastern Conference finals to Orlando. These Heat, however, are stronger and deeper than that squad.
• Howard Beck of The New York Times: The scene was set Sunday afternoon at Madison Square Garden — for payback, for message-sending, for a modest celebration and for a timely, well-earned rest. All the Knicks needed on this first day of the final week of the season was a sound victory over the Indiana Pacers. That, and four quarters without anyone being bruised, battered or broken. The Knicks got everything they wanted, and with a minimum of pain. With a suspense-free 90-80 victory, they clinched the second seed in the Eastern Conference and secured home-court advantage for the first two rounds of the playoffs, including a potential second-round meeting with the Pacers. The Knicks will open the playoffs Saturday against the seventh-seededBoston Celtics — the team that swept them two springs ago, in Carmelo Anthony’s first postseason in New York. “That’s in the back of our minds,” said Anthony, who scored 25 points. “We want to beat Boston — I mean, let’s be quite frank. This would be a great series for us.” Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire, who is injured, are the only Knicks left from that 2011 series. Yet the memory remains fresh, and for Anthony, painful.
• Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News: Even if Stoudemire does return, what can the Knicks expect when he hasn’t played since March 7? His blue practice jersey hangs these days in his locker. That’s the only sign of him. Since he had to get knee surgery, the Knicks definitely seem to operate better and win more when it’s Carmelo Anthony and the current supporting cast. If the Knicks are smart, they’ll tell Stoudemire, “See you in training camp.” Donnie Walsh disagrees with that notion. “I would think he would help them,” he said. “Of course, if he’s healthy.” Stoudemire is a proven playoff scorer, something that J.R. Smith and everyone else who gets shots after Anthony aren’t able to list on their resume. But his presence on the floor with Anthony has never made for a smooth-running operation. Quite the contrary. On defense, well, Stoudemire talks a better game than he plays. The Knicks would probably have to get to the second round, potentially against Walsh’s Pacers, for there to be a Stoudemire sighting. Maybe even longer. When Woodson went down his list of walking wounded, he did not mention the player Walsh brought to New York to start the grand rebuilding program.
• Vincent Bonsignore of the Los Angeles Daily News: Life without Kobe Bryant, Day 1, was nothing if not unpredictable. And in a crazy, wonderful, astonishing way, actually quite beautiful. On a night when Pau Gasol was the 7-foot invisible Spaniard, Steve Blake told him, "I've got your back." Blake went on to have the performance of his career while standing on one of the biggest stages of his life. In a game in which the Lakers hovered around 35 percent shooting all night and Gasol clanked 14 of 17 shots, they shook off their notoriously soft-defending ways to harass the San Antonio Spurs into 36.5 percent shooting. And with their playoff hopes resting in the balance, they somehow, someway managed to band together without Bryant and miraculously beat the San Antonio Spurs 91-86 while sold-out Staples Center rocked as loudly as it has in years. Imagine that. With Bryant watching from home, they beat a Spurs team that will finish no worse than the second seed in the Western Conference. And in the process, inch one win closer - or a Utah Jazz loss - to the playoffs. The Lakers finish the season Wednesday at home against the Houston Rockets. Utah plays at Minnesota and at Memphis to finish its season. Any combination of a Lakers win or a Jazz loss does the trick.
• Benjamin Hochman of The Denver Post: Given a chance to state his case, Nuggets coach George Karl places this team, the 2012-13 Nuggets, among the top three in NBA franchise history — with a chance to enhance the position. "I think it's top three, from what I know about Denver," Karl said. "I think the year we had (in 2009), the one year Doug (Moe) had (1987-88) and this year. You can argue whatever you want to argue. ... And I think that argument is probably going to be more definitive from how we play in the playoffs." The playoffs can't come fast enough. Because while the Nuggets were busy setting a franchise record for victories in a season with Sunday's harder-than-it-had-to-be 118-109 win over a Portland team that started four rookies, it also was dampened a bit because of an injury. Starting power forward Kenneth Faried went down in the first quarter with a sprained left ankle and did not return. Though he's considered day to day, Faried did not make the trip to Milwaukee for Monday night's game and is scheduled to get an MRI exam. "I tried to power up and stepped on Will's foot when I tried to go," Faried said, referring to Portland's Will Barton. "Just twisted it. I'm relieved it ain't a break." Asked if he thought he'd be ready for the playoffs, Faried said, "I'm going to play."
• David Barron of the Houston Chronicle: This finale, thankfully for the Rockets and their fans, is not the last word. The Rockets will be back at Toyota Center this month, matching up with a playoff opponent to be determined. So Sunday’s last regular-season home game was considerably more upbeat than those of the last three playoff-free seasons, representing a celebration for a Rockets team that has wildly exceeded expectations with hopes of more to come. With their 121-100 win over the Sacramento Kings, the Rockets improved to 45-35 and tied Golden State for the sixth seed in the Western Conference playoffs. They hold the tiebreaker over the Warriors and can clinch the sixth spot with wins Monday night at Phoenix and on Wednesday in Los Angeles over the Lakers. There are scenarios aplenty for playoff series against any of the five teams in front of them — too many for coach Kevin McHale to focus on. Besides, McHale said, he knows how the form chart will read under any circumstances. “Whoever we play, we will not be favored,” he said. “We’ll be underdogs to whoever we play. That’s fine with us. We want to get in there and get the guys playing well.”
• Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Let the shaving begin. All those bushy beards the Dallas Mavericks sported over the past two months were able to come off Sunday night after the Mavs posted a 107-89 blowout against the New Orleans Hornets. A little more than two months ago, the Mavs vowed not to shave until they reached the .500 barrier. The win over the Hornets pushed the Mavs to 40-40, the first time they were .500 since they were 11-11 on Dec. 12, and Dallas pushed a few whiskers onto the floor inside its locker room. The first player to trim his beard was Dirk Nowitzki, who collected 19 points and six rebounds in Sunday’s win. “It’s been too long,” Nowitzki said. “Even my wife stopped kissing me somewhere in February. It feels good to shave again.” And how quickly did Nowitzki shave off his beard? “I did it in a minute or a minute and a half, and then I did the coach’s meeting,” Nowitzki said. “And then I ran back in right before the interviews and cleaned up the rest on my neck and behind the ears and the nose hair a little bit, and then I did the interviews.” Nowitzki said he used a small razor to get the fuzzy hair off his neck and chin.
• Phil Sheridan of The Philadelphia Inquirer: Doug Collins told reporters anything other than the titanic clash against the Cavaliers was "moot," refusing to answer questions about his future as if they were somehow a product of the media's collective fever dream. John Langel, Collins' agent, stood up and declared that Collins would coach the team in 2013-14. "He's the coach and he's going to be the coach," Langel said, either lying or badly behind the curve. The Sixers honored their 1983 championship team on the 30th anniversary of its achievement, with Julius Erving pointing out that the team isn't going to find a better coach than Doug Collins. It must be noted for the record that Sixers owner Josh Harris was not available to the media, even though he was standing about 30 inches from Langel while the agent was spouting off. A little earlier, during the halftime ceremony for the '83 team, Harris had blurted out that the Sixers would "work really hard to make next year even more exciting for the fans." Really? Even more exciting than this debacle? Please don't set the bar too high. …Collins sounded like a man who was moving on. He just declined to say so. And that really is a shame, because he's otherwise been a standup and accountable and, frankly, admirable figure here. … If this is the end, no one is going to walk away looking good. Not Collins, who owed the fans and his players better. Not Harris, who looks like an empty suit. Not anybody.
• Tom Moore of phillyBurbs.com: The 76ers haven’t publicly criticized Andrew Bynum during a season in which he was paid $16.5 million and played no games due to knee injuries. Hall of Famer Julius Erving, who is the team’s strategic advisor to the Sixers’ ownership group, didn’t hesitate to give his opinion on Bynum. Prior to the Sixers’ home finale, a 91-77 victory over the Cavaliers on Sunday afternoon, Erving was asked about Bynum, whom the team acquired in a blockbuster Aug. 10 trade. “I know what the net result is,” said Erving, smiling. “The net result is Robert Parish’s old number — 00. We have not benefited one degree. I guess he has. “If the Bynum situation is one of total uncertainty for another year, I don’t think the organization should stand for that or the fans should stand for that.” On the other hand, if the Sixers don’t re-sign Bynum or any of their other impending free agents, they could have about $12 million to spend this summer in free agency. “I think if he’s not here, you’re going to free up a lot of money,” Erving said. “Washington and Lincoln can’t play the corners for you, but they can get somebody that can play the corners for you. We need somebody to play a corner for us and play the middle for us. It’s going to be costly.” As for his role, Erving said he’s pretty happy with it, though, “There’s probably room for more communication.”
• Mike Ganter of the Toronto Sun: The irony of the afternoon wasn’t just limited to both men playing so well off the other. The three-point barrage from both men also answered the major deficiency is each man’s respective games, DeRozan since he has been a pro and Gay moreso this season. As for being able to co-exist, well, the two think that theory has just about been put to rest. “People were saying that as soon as he came,” DeRozan said of the trade that brought Gay to Toronto at the end of January. “Me and him laughed about it. Before he came here Rudy was a good friend of mine. We played all the time in L.A., take Nike trips to China together and be over there for weeks at a time. It was funny when people were saying that because they really don’t know. They don’t know we understand each other’s games and that’s why it’s so beneficial.” DeRozan has no hesitancy is predicting many good things ahead for the duo. “We are definitely going to be something to be reckoned with without a doubt,” he said. “I don’t see any team being able to stop us, especially if we play the way we played tonight. We are just trying to get better every day and every game.” As Dwane Casey is wont to say, it’s a process, and right now the process is moving along nicely. As for Gay, it’s a case of the more the merrier.

• Phil Collin of the Los Angeles Daily News: One teammate uttered the words "bionic nan." Kobe Bryant has taken to calling Metta World Peace "Logan," the character in "Wolverine." Whatever Metta Madness is flowing through his veins, it looks like World Peace will return to the Lakers lineup tonight, 12 days after undergoing surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. A medical miracle? Not really, World Peace said. He was itching to play the moment he was asked by Dr. Steve Lombardo if he could put weight on the leg, and he hopped out of bed and did so only hours after the operation ."As long as he didn't have to stitch anything together, I couldn't do anything to (further damage) it," World Peace said Monday after going through 3-on-3 workouts. "I was in great shape. The doc said he was surprised my knee was in such great shape playing 14 years in the NBA and always in a defensive stance. "When I heard all that, it wasn't like I was trying to come back to be a Superman. I figured I've just got to play through pain and it will get better as time goes." … Guard Steve Nash, who was "super optimistic" about a return last Friday, remains doubtful with a hamstring strain.
• Mike McGraw of the Daily Herald: The last thing the Bulls need with six games left in the regular season is to roll back downhill with their health concerns, but that appears to have happened. Joakim Noah returned to the court Sunday against Detroit after missing eight games to rest chronic plantar fasciitis in his feet. Noah played well (13 points, 7 rebounds in 21 minutes), but his feet didn't react well Monday morning, according to coach Tom Thibodeau. "Jo had a little bit of a setback. We'll see. We'll see where he is," Thibodeau said after practice at the Berto Center. There's no telling if or when Noah might be back to normal this season. It seems unlikely he'll play Tuesday when the Bulls host Toronto. While most injuries slowly improve, plantar fasciitis patients often talk about how the ailment is so unpredictable. Thibodeau said Noah felt good after Sunday's game.
• Joseph Goodman of The Miami Herald: While the rest of the NBA community is busy speculating about the future of LeBron James and how the Heat plans to navigate the new salary cap, Pat Riley is thinking long-term about how special the run of this Heat team can become. Speaking with reporters at the Heat’s “Family Fest” on Sunday, Riley pointed to models of success the NBA considers some the best in its history as the ultimate goal for the Heat while also reminding the city to enjoy this “special time.” “I just want to keep helping them, keep bringing in more pieces that are going to complement them and hope we can have one of those 10-year rides, you know,” Riley said. “You think about every team, through the Celtics in the ’60s and the Lakers in the ’80s and the Bulls and then again the Spurs, those guys have been together eight, nine, 10 years and if we can keep this group together for eight, nine, 10 years, then we’re all going to have some fun.” And then a piece of advice. “So, don’t ever take it for granted,” he said. Already this season the Heat has won 27 games in a row, the most in franchise history and the second most in the history of the NBA. Now the team is on the verge of another milestone. A victory Tuesday against the Milwaukee Bucks would give the Heat 61 victories, which would tie the franchise’s record for a single season.
• Howard Beck of The New York Times: This streak brings its own questions: Is the new, efficient Smith here to stay, or will he revert to bad habits under postseason duress? Can Anthony keep scoring at this rate when defenses target him during the playoffs? Can the Knicks make the finals with a merely average defense? Does their defense have another gear? What happens to the chemistry if Amar’e Stoudemire, Rasheed Wallace and Kurt Thomas return? And most curious of all: After months of mediocrity, where did this Knicks team come from? “It’s April, I guess,” Anthony said. “It’s April. It’s time to go.”
• Ronald Tillery of The Commercial-Appeal: The one thing people would never accuse Mike Conley of is being flashy. He tends to appear conservative — on and off the court. But that is starting to change — at least on the floor — where Conley’s offensive game suddenly has a lot of bling-bling to it. The Griz have increasingly relied on Conley to carry a heavier offensive load, particularly late in games, and it’s allowed him to shine. It’s a dramatic transformation for a point guard who had been content with being a passive piece of the puzzle for most of his six-year career. Conley enters Tuesday night’s game against the Charlotte Bobcats having scored at least 20 points in each of the past four games. That’s the longest streak by any Grizzlies player this season. Relatively speaking, Conley is in the proverbial zone as a scorer. “I’m really comfortable right now,” Conley said. Coach Lionel Hollins seems impressed yet not surprised by Conley’s maturation. “He’s just a more confident player,” Hollins said.
• John Reid of The Times-Picayune: Although they got into an apparent shouting match during a timeout in last Friday’s game against the Utah Jazz, New Orleans Hornets Coach Monty Williams and guardEric Gordon both appear to have moved past the conflict. But Williams said he's not going to stop pushing Gordon to improve his overall play, especially during the final five games of the season. Against the Jazz, Williams did not put Gordon back into game after they apparently got into shouting match. Williams was visibly agitated, yelling in Gordon’s direction when he apparently didn’t think Gordon was hustling enough. Assistant coach Randy Ayers stepped in front of Williams to calm him, after Gordon hollered back at him. “He’s a dynamic guard, that’s why I push him,’’ said Williams, who plans to start Gordon for the second consecutive since the incident on Tuesday night when the Hornets play the Lakers at the Staples Center. “I’m not going to allow him to settle for where he is in his career right now. He’s got to get better. If he gets better, he should be an All-Star someday.’’ Gordon admitted the conflict was a heat of the moment situation that shouldn't be blown out of proportion. “It got very heated in the moment, but I’m not letting none of that get to me,” Gordon said. “I’m just out here, still trying to play.”
• Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon-Journal: As Kyrie Irving continues to shrink away from any public platform, Tristan Thompson is embracing his role as a spokesman — and he’s backing it up with his play on the court, too. “Just being myself, just being a natural leader and speaking up if I see something is wrong,” Thompson said after the victory Sunday against the Magic. “Just recently y’all have been coming to me, and I’ve been speaking, so I guess you can say I’ve been a leader.” Because of the position he plays and his immense talent, Irving remains the floor leader. But twice in the past week Irving has been given the opportunity to take a stand publicly and twice he declined.
• Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune: If there was any lingering doubt, Timberwolves forward Kevin Love’s season officially is over, but it’s not just because of that healing shooting hand. Love will have arthroscopic surgery to remove scar tissue in his left knee later this week. Love will consult with two surgeons on Wednesday at New York’s Hospital for Special Surgery: He’ll see his hand doctor for a checkup on that right hand he has broken twice this season and also will consult with knee surgeon Dr. David Altchek, who probably will perform the operation that same day. Love’s left knee has bothered him much of the season, but it has grown more painful in recent days as he ramped up workouts for a possible return yet this season. He told team doctors after games in December that his hip was hurting him, and Wolves doctors concluded that the problem was connected to his knee pain. David Kahn, Timberwolves president of basketball operations, called the arthroscopic surgery “minor” and said he expects Love to resume his normal summer workouts in Los Angeles by early June after a season in which he has played just 18 games.
• Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel: Larry Sanders has plenty of competition for the most improved player honor, and he's also in the conversation for the defensive player of the year award. New Orleans' Greivis Vasquez, Houston's Omer Asik, Philadelphia's Jrue Holiday, Orlando's Nikola Vucevic and Indiana's Paul George are garnering support for the most improved award, voted on by 122 journalists who cover the NBA. … Several detailed analytical studies support Boylan's view. And a mere glance at last season's statistics shows Sanders played in 52 games without any starts and a total of 643 minutes, while this season he has started 53 of 69 games and played 1,892 minutes, an average of 27.4 minutes. This is the second consecutive year the Bucks have put a player in contention for the award. Ersan Ilyasova finished second to Orlando's Ryan Anderson for the most improved honor in 2011-'12. … The Bucks designed a public relations campaign featuring a colorful set of blocks to promote Sanders' candidacy for the most improved player and defensive player of the year awards. Sanders led the league in blocks for much of the season until recently being passed by last year's rejections leader, Serge Ibaka of Oklahoma City. Ibaka is averaging 3.07 blocks to Sanders' 2.9.
• Michael Lee of The Washington Post: John Wall was unaccustomed to having a teammate challenge him, but in hindsight, he couldn’t disagree with anything that Okafor told him: Wittman had to go with someone else if he was ineffective and Wall has to trust that the coach is doing what was in the best interest of the team, which should always come first. … What followed after the encounter has been the best basketball of Wall’s young career. Beginning with the next game on March 1 against the New York Knicks – the Wizards’ opponent on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden – the third-year point guard has been on a statistical tear that has changed perceptions of his career and shown that his talents are no longer stagnating. In his past 21 games, Wall is averaging 22.7 points, 7.9 assists and 4.9 rebounds and has recorded 10 games with at least 20 points, three games of 35 or more, and seven double-doubles. In that time, only LeBron James and Kobe Bryant are averaging at least 22 points, seven assists and 4.9 rebounds. “I think I really had to grow. Get my teammates back behind me. Because that’s not the way you’re supposed to come out as a leader and as a franchise guy,” Wall said of his attitude the night of the argument with Okafor.
• John Rohde of The Oklahoman: With Sunday's 125-120 victory over the Thunder, New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony is now 11-1 all-time against Kevin Durant in NBA games where both have played. Durant's lone head-to-head victory against Anthony came in a 151-147 double-overtime contest at KeyArena on April 6, 2008, which means Durant has yet to defeat Anthony while with the Thunder. Anthony did not play in OKC's 95-94 victory at New York on March 7 this season. Against Durant, Anthony has averaged 30.2 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals while shooting 50.4 percent from the field, 40.0 percent from 3-point range and 84.8 percent from the free-throw line. Meanwhile, Durant has averaged 26.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.3 steals while shooting 42.2 percent from the floor, 38.3 percent from 3-point range and 89.1 percent from the free-throw line.
• Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News: Dirk Nowitzki doesn’t want it to end like this. Slugging it out for the eighth seed — or more likely missing the playoffs — is bad enough once. Or twice. In the autumn of his NBA career, he wants more. And while he has no problem putting pressure on ownership to find some high-quality warriors to play alongside him, Nowitzki also is OK taking on his share of the workload off the court. He’s ready to hit the recruiting trail. “I’ve said it all year long — this is a big summer for us,” Nowitzki said. “We have to get better. We have to get some guys in that can get us back to the top level. We want to be a top-four seed in the West. That was always our goal, to play for the top. So this is a big summer. If [owner Mark Cuban] needs me to recruit and do all that stuff, I’m more than happy to.” Will it be enough to woo a marquee free agent or finagle a sign-and-trade? Nobody knows for sure. But it can’t hurt.
• Doug Smith of the Toronto Star: What if? What if the Raptors hadn’t screwed up so many years ago when they had the chance to hire Hammond? What if they hadn’t blown it by going through a ridiculous process of whittling a large group to four only to say they were going to open up the process again only to come back to the same four and eventually picking Rob Babcock. The four — Babcock, Jeff Weltman, Mark Warkentien and Tony DiLeo (remember that Gang of Four?) —were basically underwhelming at that time and that the Raptors — and I am pointing a finger directly at Richard Peddie — didn’t even deign to interview Hammond, who was the No. 1 man to Joe Dumars in Deroit at the time, was a shocking blown opportunity. John wanted the job and deserved to have a shot at it; the short-sightedness of Peddie and his people set the franchise back years, so far that they might still be digging out almost a decade later.
• Dale Kasler, Ryan Lillis and Tony Bizjak of The Sacramento Bee: Beverly Hills billionaire Ron Burkle, a driving force for the past two years in trying to keep the Kings from leaving town, will not invest in the team or the proposed Downtown Plaza arena, Mayor Kevin Johnson announced Monday afternoon. Facing questions over a conflict of interest, Burkle instead will focus on redeveloping other portions of Downtown Plaza. "He's so committed to Sacramento," the mayor said, adding that he spoke with Burkle on Monday. "There's a host of ancillary development opportunities that Ron will participate in." … Johnson insisted that Burkle's new role would not deflate the effort to keep the Kings from going to Seattle, and said other investors would pick up the financial slack. He did not give specifics.
• Marcus Thompson II of The Oakland Tribune: The Warriors have a get-well game Tuesday against visiting Minnesota, which is 18 games under .500. A win coupled with a loss by Utah or the Los Angeles Lakers would clinch the Warriors' first postseason bid since 2007. But success against the Timberwolves won't answer an emerging concern. If you let Utah, a bad road team on the cusp of missing the playoffs, shut down Curry and the Warriors offense at the most critical of times, will Golden State be able to score in the postseason? Sunday night was less an anomaly and more like a trend. The Warriors have lost seven of their last 10 games against winning teams, including Sunday's home loss to Utah. In those 10 games, the Warriors averaged 22.4 fourth-quarter points. That includes a 17-point fourth quarter in a blowout of visiting New York, but finding offense against stiff defenses has been a major problem. … Jackson likes having Jack on the floor, so the three-guard lineup isn't going anywhere. That makes sense considering the way Jack has played this season. Jack is more secure with the ball than Curry, and defenses have aggressively double-teamed Curry late in games, something harder to do when he's playing off the ball. This quandary will continue into the postseason when the defenses step up a notch and coaching chess matches ensue. Because, no doubt, as goes Curry, so goes Golden State.
• Bill Oram of The Salt Lake Tribune: Well, this ought to be a good story. Jazz forward DeMarre Carroll tweeted Monday afternoon that he broke the rim during a pickup game at Life Time Fitness, an athletic club in South Jordan. There have been plenty of classic backboard breaking moments [this is a solid compendium] but the whole library doesn't quite seem complete without footage of Carroll's. Does anybody have it? Carroll, 26, averages 16 minutes per game in 64 appearances this season. He is a pending free agent, but even if he ends up leaving it's unlikely it will be without recounting the story of the time he broke the backboard at Life Time Fitness. Stay tuned.

• T.J. Simers of the Los Angeles Times: And a lot of sportswriters, players, coaches and administrators have tried over the decades to make winners out of the Clippers only to fail. I wrote about the immaturity of DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin and problems with Paul that have threatened to sidetrack my favorite team in town, no one more of a Clippers honk than Page 2. Shoot, I went to Memphis with the Clippers a year ago and no one goes to such a rathole unless it's to be there for their family. But then you know what it's like raising children. You can't be their friends. Sometimes you have to lower the boom, and toss in a little discipline even when it might hurt you more than them. So I had to spank the Clippers before we could all come together Sunday and beat the Lakers. … Bringing fun to a locker room is just what Page 2 does. And just as I have preached to the guys all year, if you're going to be successful, you have to feast on the really crummy teams to pad your record. Fortunately, the Clippers got to play the Lakers four times this season, which is like having the Houston Astros on your schedule. And they swept them, of course.
• Vincent Bonsignore of the Los Angeles Daily News: Clippers center DeAndre Jordan shouted across the locker room Sunday to Chris Paul. "I don't like you, Chris," Jordan yelled out. Paul didn't flinch. "I don't care," Paul answered. Meanwhile, Clippers forward Blake Griffin turned to Jordan, whose locker is near his, and snipped: "Get out of my way DeAndre. Move," Griffin shouted. Jordan didn't back down."I don't like you, Blake Griffin," Jordan screamed. Finally, all three players shared a hearty laugh. Turns out it was all in fun. But it also was a message delivered to anyone who thinks the Clippers have a chemistry problem or their star players don't get along. There recently has been talk that Paul, Jordan and Griffin are at odds, but it sure didn't look like they had problems as they joked around in the locker room after beating the Lakers on Sunday to clinch the first division title in franchise history. Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro insisted nothing out of the ordinary is going on with his young team. "There's not this big friction thing going on like people think," Del Negro said. "We've got some good guys. We have to manage (personalities) absolutely. But I know the guys want to win."
• Howard Beck of The New York Times: The Knicks thus claimed their 12th straight win and gave the streak an indisputable new legitimacy, taking down the defending Western Conference champions on their home court, where the Thunder (56-21) had lost just five times. “Probably one of the biggest wins we’ve had in a long time,” Carmelo Anthony said. For so many reasons. The Knicks reached 50 victories for the first time since the 1999-2000 season. They now need just one victory, or a Nets loss, to clinch their first Atlantic Division title since 1994. And the winning streak is the third longest in franchise history. The drive for a championship never looked more tangible. “It all goes hand in hand,” said Coach Mike Woodson, who got his 68th win with the Knicks, securing the best 100-game start in franchise history. … The Knicks had gone 20 days without a defeat, and 20 days without facing an elite team at full strength. They were spared the burden of LeBron James and Dwyane Wade last week in Miami. Their only victory over a team with a winning percentage of .600 or better was against the Memphis Grizzlies. “This may be the biggest, considering that’s a healthy team that’s playing with all their guns,” Chandler said. “It’s very hard to come in this building and get a win.”
• Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman: Yet the only consistent thing about the Thunder's defense seems to be inconsistency. Oklahoma City followed up its best defensive performance of the season with one of its worst. After holding Indiana to eight points on 2-for-18 shooting in the fourth quarter Friday, the Thunder allowed a season high for points, yielded at least 30 points in three quarters (and 29 in the fourth) and allowed 19 offensive rebounds. The rebounding was the worst of all evils. That's because Sunday marked the fifth time in the past 10 games that the Thunder has allowed at least 16 offensive rebounds. The Knicks converted their 19 offensive boards into 23 second-chance points. … After out-rebounding the Pacers, the league's best rebounding team, by 22, Sunday's showing was the equivalent of five steps back after one step forward. In its past 10 games, the Thunder has allowed 14 offensive rebounds. By comparison, the league's high mark is Milwaukee's 12.3. So are the players not blocking out enough? “It's a combination,” Brooks said. “Everybody has to think rebound. We're such a high, explosive offensive transition team that we can't think about that until we secure the ball. That's just something that we will brush up on and try to get better at that the last five games.”
• Bill Oram of The Salt Lake Tribune: By the time the Utah Jazz took the floor Sunday, through no effort of their own, they had crept back in the playoff picture. Early arrivals to Oracle Arena sat around the visitors’ locker room, watching intently on a projector as the Los Angeles Clippers ran the Lakers out of their shared gym. "I think everybody knows what the Lakers did today," Jazz forward Marvin Williams said. "We had a golden opportunity to come out and switch places with them." The Jazz took that opportunity and made a golden statement, beating the Warriors 97-90 after Mo Williams made a game-clinching 3-pointer with 13.4 seconds left. With the win, the Jazz moved a half-game ahead of the Lakers. The victory represented the Jazz’s most encouraging road effort of the season. It was just their third road victory over a team with a winning record, and it gave them consecutive road wins for the first time this season. Beating Golden State may have turned the tide of an entire season. The Jazz host the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday, and Minnesota on Friday, then close out the season with road games at Minnesota and Memphis. "We win out," Gordon Hayward said simply, "we’ll be fine."
• Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe: It’s less than two weeks before the Celtics take the floor for their first-round playoff series against likely the Knicks or Pacers, and during that time they need to find cohesion. The team decided to rest Kevin Garnett (ankle inflammation) for two weeks, and Paul Pierce also needed a break to rest his gimpy ankle. But sooner or later, the Celtics have to get their core on the floor at the same time, and Sunday night was it. The combination of Pierce and Garnett, with the welcomed help of the resurgent Brandon Bass, led to a 107-96 win over the improving Washington Wizards. If only the shorthanded Celtics had played with the same energy Friday as they did on Sunday, they would have made it easier on themselves in their quest for the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference. This is a critical stretch for the Celtics, who don’t want to match up with the Knicks, winners of 12 straight games after beating Oklahoma City on the road Sunday without Amar’e Stoudemire or Kenyon Martin. Moving up to sixth — they trail Atlanta by 1½ games — likely would set up a first-round series with the Pacers, who were soundly beaten by the Wizards Saturday, and the Thunder the previous night.
• Ronald Tillery of The Commercial-Appeal: Newcomer Keyon Dooling and rookie Tony Wroten were back with the Griz after playing Saturday for the NBA Development League’s Reno Bighorns. It was a move designed to allow both players to stretch their legs. … Conley recorded his fourth straight 20-point game. The Griz hadn’t had a player score 20-plus points in four consecutive games this season. He’s been efficient, too. Conley took advantage of the Kings’ weak interior defense and attacked the baskets for layups. He’s shot 59 percent (36 of 61 from the field) in the four games. Zach Randolph is having a hard time getting his shot off around the rim because of shot-blocking defenders and he’s missing easy layups as of late. He finished 4 of 13 from the field and attempted just two free throws. Randolph is 11 of 30 in his last two games.
• Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press: "We're playing like a team. We look good, man." The Pistons fan seated in the first row behind the media table Sunday night sounded surprised in the waning minutes of his team's 99-85 victory over the Chicago Bulls. That's understandable, since it had been nearly two months since the Palace crowd had witnessed a victory. And it had been over four years since fans had witnessed a victory over the Bulls on any court. But with the Pistons' bench combining for 43 points, and Brandon Knight tallying 20 points and five assists, the Pistons were able to get their first victory at the Palace since Feb. 13 -- a span of eight games. "It feels good just to finish out a game strong against them, where we were the team not to make mistakes and to capitalize on their mistakes," Knight said of the Pistons' 18-game losing streak to the playoff-bound Bulls. Although Pistons coach Lawrence Frank downplayed the streak's significance during three earlier losses this season, he admitted it was a topic of conversation.
• John Reid of The Times-Picayune: New Orleans Hornets guard Eric Gordon and his teammates have experienced their share of disappointing losses and missed opportunities on the road this season. But for the first time in nearly two months they enjoyed a road victory, defeating the Phoenix Suns 95-92 on Sunday night in front of 16,780 at the U.S. Airways Center. … Eric Gordon frequently drove the lane and maintained being aggressive after halftime, which is something he has not done frequently this season. It was the Suns that extended Gordon a four-year, $58 million contract offer last summer. The Hornets matched the offer, even though Gordon said his "heart was in Phoenix." In a heat of the moment situation during this past Friday’s 95-83 loss to Utah Jazz at EnergySolutions Arena, Williams got into a shouting match with Gordon during a timeout in the third quarter. Williams apparently didn’t think Gordon was hustling enough. But both appeared to move beyond the conflict as Williams kept Gordon in the starting lineup Sunday. Gordon played with intensity and the Suns struggled to stay in front of him. Gordon made all six of his free throws and he also had six assists and two steals 31 minutes of work.
• Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News: Dirk Nowitzki has twisted and sprained his ankles dozens of times. But what happened Sunday night in Portland was different. He said he came down funny after jumping for a rebound in the second quarter. The ankle stiffened up at halftime, when he had it re-taped. He was ineffective in the third quarter, then sat out the entire fourth quarter. The Mavericks limped to the finish line for a 96-91 win. They were ahead by 26 late in the third quarter and by 20 at the start of the fourth. “I said at the start of the fourth it’s a little stiff, and I decided to just sit this one,” Nowitzki said. “Obviously, it got a lot closer than we were hoping for so we had to grind it out down the stretch. I think I jumped for a rebound in the second quarter and must have landed wrong or something. I must have irritated my bone spurs. I got really stiff and couldn’t really move much in the third quarter. I tried, got it retaped at halftime, but it didn’t help much. I said I’m going to sit this one out and the boys will bring it home. It was a lot closer than we hoped, but we got it done.” Nowitzki said he “definitely” will play Wednesday.
• Michael Beaven of the Akron Beacon-Journal: Cavaliers coach Byron Scott turned to an unlikely five-man lineup for a spark in the fourth quarter Sunday night and the decision paid off big time. Starter Wayne Ellington joined reserves Omri Casspi, Kevin Jones, Shaun Livingston, and Marreese Speights to help the host Cavs rally from a deficit to the Orlando Magic and earn a 91-85 victory. “That group I thought played pretty good basketball, especially defensively,” Scott said. “We didn’t score a lot, but they didn’t either.” A crowd of 16,341 witnessed the Cavs (24-52) start off slow against the Magic (19-59), but regain their composure in time to notch a second consecutive win. “It was a good win,” Scott said. “On the defensive end again, I thought our guys did a lot of good things just like we did in Boston [in a 97-91 win Friday night]. That is basically why we got the win tonight.” … Irving was asked before the game about the speculation that Scott could be let go following the season. He downplayed it and said: “Until that time comes, I’m not really worried about it. To even imagine that, I’m not going down that road. I’m focused on finishing the season with him and that’s all that matters right now.”

After Mavericks owner Mark Cuban mused about seeing her in a Mavericks uniform, Amin Elhassan, -- formerly of the Suns front office, and a one-time video coordinator for the world champion Phoenix Mercury -- considers how Baylor's Brittney Griner might fit in the NBA.

• Benjamin Hochman of The Denver Post: This. One's. For. Gallo. With Danilo Gallinari out of the game because of a knee injury -- a source close to the situation said Gallo thinks it's an ACL tear -- Nuggets teammate Andre Iguodala made a stupendous drive from the right wing. Dre hit the left-handed layup, with 2.8 seconds left, giving Denver the lead Thursday night against the Dallas Mavericks. "I whispered to A.I.: 'If they're disrupting Andre (Miller), you've got to go,' and he finished the shot," Nuggets coach George Karl said. "It's a win, but it doesn't feel as exuberant." Corey Brewer then blocked Anthony Morrow's shot at the buzzer, and the Nuggets won at home 95-94 in the second game of a back-to-back set. But the Gallinari injury looks bad. A source close to the situation said Gallinari "heard a pop" when his knee buckled and that Gallo "thinks it's a torn ACL." Denver's No. 2 scorer buckled his left knee in the second quarter, collapsing to the floor. It looked bad. Real bad. Gallinari is scheduled for an MRI on Friday morning, but the way he hobbled off the court, fell upon a stretcher and screamed in pain, it would suggest it looked more severe than a sprain.
• Benjamin Hochman of The Denver Post: Andre Iguodala had never won this many games in his NBA career. He's perhaps the greatest perimeter defender the Nuggets have ever had. And the team could finish in the top four of the cutthroat Western Conference. But there is still some uncertainty looming with Iguodala's contract situation for next season. The shooting guard would make about $16 million next season, but he has the choice to opt out of his contract and sign a new, longer deal with Denver or with another team. Re-signing with the Nuggets would give him a chance to sign for an additional fifth season and give him security. But other teams, notably Dallas and Atlanta, will have ample salary cap space this summer. "I'm going to explore every option," Iguodala said. "Ideally, you would want to opt out. The business of the NBA says you opt out and get a deal you like. But I think that's still to be determined, depending on our success in the playoffs. I can't make that decision now.” … This is speculative, but Iguodala could sign with Denver for about $48 million for four seasons. Some teams might be willing to go into the $50 million range. But a lot of signings are based on other signings, so again, it's speculative.
• Mac Engel of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Mark Cuban said he would consider drafting Baylor center Brittney Griner, which is another gimick but clearly the Mavs owner grasps the concept of professional sports as well as Jerry Jones or anyone else - it's entertainment dressed as sport. And a "Dallas Mavericks 42 Griner" jersey will be far more profitable than a "Dallas Mavericks 42 Brand" jersey. Adding Griner would be for discussion, which is why Cuban should do it. Let's see what arguably the best woman's player of this decade can do against guys. Even in a practice or two. Maybe she will suck. Maybe she can hang. We didn't know what Annika Sorenstam could do until she played at the Colonial in 2003 and failed to make the cut. She didn't embarrass herself. She beat a few guys. … There is no need to waste a draft pick on Griner, but sign her to a rookie contract and give her a tryout in the summer. She what she can do. Griner has likely played against guys her whole life, so she would at least be used to it on some level. … The problem, of course, she does not have a forward's game. She has a center's game, and no 6-foot-8 player in the NBA is a center. The other problem is the size of the ball; it's one thing for Griner to dunk with a woman's regulation-sized basketball; can she it do the same with a larger basketball? And it would appear the coordination, and strength, to put the ball on the floor and hit 15-foot shots against bigger, athletic bodies isn't there. Or we don't think it's there. Let's find out.
• Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: When Dirk Nowitzki was asked about the possibility of Baylor superstar center Brittney Griner playing in the NBA, he kept repeating two words demonstratively: “it’s tough.” Earlier this week, owner Mark Cuban said he was open to the possibility of drafting Griner this summer. Cuban’s comments made the rounds nationally — and not always in a positive light. Nowitzki weighed in on the controversy after Thursday morning’s shootaround at the Pepsi Center. “I honestly have huge respect for [Griner],” Nowitzki said. “She may be the most dominant female player ever in college, but I don’t know if the NBA is made for a female. “It’s physical, there are a lot of athletes out there. I think it’s tough.” Speaking candidly, Nowitzki offered a suggestion for Griner, who will be the top overall pick in the next WNBA Draft. “Maybe if she does want to maybe try in the [NBA] summer league to see how it is,” Nowitzki said. “But I don’t think a female, at this point, can play in the NBA.”
• Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman: It was better to get this win than to not. But you can’t ignore the fact that San Antonio was without Manu Ginobili, Stephen Jackson and, after a while, Tony Parker. The result was necessary, but the process didn’t really shed any more light on what we can expect in a potential Western Conference Finals rematch. Inching closer to home-court advantage helps. But we still don’t know if the Thunder is equipped to beat the Spurs in a seven-game series this postseason. Of course, the answer rests in whether the Spurs will be healthy. And nobody at this point can say with certainty that they will be. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said Parker couldn’t go because of a leg injury. “I wish he would have told me that before the game,” Popovich said. “He started out, he looked like he had no energy to start the game. And then as he went it looked like he was limping. And then to start the second half (we) saw him come across halfcourt actually limping one time. So that’s when we pulled him. I said, ‘Tony, you’ve got to stop.’ So we’ll figure out what it is. But he just couldn’t go.” Pop said he thinks Parker might be dealing with tendinitis. Said it “might be something in his shins.” Now there seems to be a very real possibility that the Spurs hold Parker out of their remaining games to let him heal for the postseason. It’s something to watch as the Thunder now tries to fend off San Antonio for that top spot.
• Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman: Russell Westbrook hurried the ball upcourt, 20 seconds into the game, and passed to Thabo Sefolosha for a dunk. Then he swiped a San Antonio pass and took the ball the distance himself for a layup. Westbrook got in Tony Parker's grill as the Spurs tried to run offense. The game was not yet a minute old, and Westbrook had staked his claim. This Thunder-Spurs showdown was going to be his game. That usually means a Thunder victory, and so it did Thursday night, a 100-88 verdict that gives OKC control of its own destiny. Win out, and the Thunder is the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. Against a hobbled Parker, Westbrook was superb: 27 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, three steals. In the West finals last year, the series turned when Scotty Brooks moved Thabo over to guard Parker. No such switch was needed Thursday night.
• Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News: The Spurs got a dollop of good news Thursday when an MRI on forward Stephen Jackson’s right ankle revealed only a mild ankle sprain that should not keep him out long. Of course, that didn’t help the Spurs against Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder. Listed as day-to-day, Jackson did not travel with the team to OKC after injuring the ankle in Wednesday’s victory over Orlando. In the past, he and Kawhi Leonard have proved a physical tag-team against Durant, who is eyeing a fourth consecutive NBA scoring title. “We need him against people like Kevin,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said before the game with the Thunder. “He’s got a good physicality about him. He knows how to play that way. “It’s a good combination with he and Kawhi trying to guard Kevin. Emphasize try.”
• K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune: Thursday night is why anybody thinking the Derrick Rose-less Bulls will be an early playoff exit might want to reconsider. Down three starters and two rotation players to injury, the Bulls rallied from a 16-point deficit and stunned the Nets 92-90 at Barclays Center when Brook Lopez's jumper went in and out at the buzzer. Nate Robinson scored the go-ahead basket with 22.7 seconds remaining, Nazr Mohammed helped force a steal and blocked Lopez in the final minute and Carlos Boozer and Jimmy Butler provided multiple big plays. With eight games remaining, the Bulls pulled into a tie with the Hawks for fifth place and moved one game down in the loss column to the Nets in the Eastern Conference, which truly is the Leastern Conference this season given that the Nets currently sit in fourth place with home-court advantage for a first-round playoff series. This is one matchup the Bulls wouldn't mind seeing.
• Tim Bontemps of the New York Post: With Thursday night’s game against the Bulls on the line, the Nets went to Brook Lopez three straight times. And, three straight times, Lopez came up empty. The result was an extremely disappointing 92-90 loss to an undermanned Chicago team in front of a sellout crowd of 17,732 at Barclays Center. “It’s tough, just because our team was playing so well through the majority of the game and I contributed a lot to how the final score ended up,” said Lopez, “and that’s definitely not something I’m happy with or proud of.” In a season full of milestones and highlights for Lopez, including making his first All-Star Game, the final minute of Thursday night’s game — one that began with Lopez scoring 18 points in the first quarter — will be something he will do his best to forget.
• Howard Beck of The New York Times: Phil Jackson is finally returning to Madison Square Garden as a Knick — not in the role that fans might have wanted, but returning as a Knick all the same. Jackson and the rest of the Knicks’ 1973 championship team will be honored Friday night as the franchise celebrates the 40th anniversary of its last title. It will be Jackson’s first appearance at the Garden in two years, since his retirement as the Los Angeles Lakers’ coach in 2011. The possibility of Jackson’s return to the Knicks as a coach or an executive has been floated many times over the years, but it has never come close to happening. The Knicks declined to contact him last spring before promoting Mike Woodson. … The 1973 team will be honored at halftime of the Knicks-Bucks game. All of the living members are expected, including Willis Reed, Walt Frazier, Earl Monroe, Bill Bradley, Dick Barnett, Henry Bibby, John Gianelli, Jerry Lucas, Dean Meminger and Harthorne Wingo.

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban recently said that he would consider drafting Brittney Griner in the second round of the NBA Draft.

Could Griner play in the NBA? Would it be wise for the Mavericks to use a second-round pick on the Baylor superstar?

Mavericks don’t draft well
Since Cuban became the majority owner of the Mavericks in 2000, the team's 22 draft picks have a grand total of one career All-Star appearance. That was 2003 first-round pick Josh Howard, who was an All-Star in 2007.

Since 1995, the Mavericks are the only NBA franchise whose draft picks have fewer than two combined career All-Star appearances (other than the Bobcats, whose first season was 2004).

The Mavericks have selected 16 players in the second round under Cuban. Of those picks, 10 never played a game in the NBA and just two – Dan Langhi (2000) and Kenny Satterfield (2001) – even scored more than 200 career points.

Those 16 second-round picks have a combined 295 career games and 945 career points. Based on this track record, it appears the Mavericks aren't so great at finding the "sleeper" second-round picks.

The success rate for second-round picks isn't very high league-wide. From 2000 to 2011, only 30 percent (108 of 356) of second-round picks have played at least 100 career games in the NBA.

Griner dominates
Griner is different than most female players in that she can play above the rim. Griner has 18 career dunks, more than every other woman in Division I history combined. Griner dunked three times in one game, while Candace Parker is the only other woman to dunk more than three times in her entire college career.

Griner led all women’s players in points per post-up play, points per play overall, points per play allowed and opponent field-goal percentage this season. She held opponents to 23 percent shooting as an on-ball defender.

Of course, men's college basketball is a completely different game than Griner's competition. Griner doesn't face the same size, athleticism and strength that she would face in the NBA.

But for what it's worth, if Griner posted the same numbers in the men’s game, she would’ve led the country in points per post-up play, points per play allowed and opponent field-goal percentage.

She wouldn’t be the first
If Griner were to be selected, she wouldn't be the first woman ever selected in the NBA Draft. In 1969, Denise Long was selected in the 13th round by the San Francisco Warriors.

Long was a high school player who averaged 62.8 points per game during her senior year. However, the NBA later voided the selection because they felt it was a publicity stunt.

In 1977, Lusia Harris was selected in the seventh round by the New Orleans Jazz. The Delta State star officially became the only woman ever picked in the NBA Draft, although she never actually played in an NBA game.

• Al Iannazzone of Newsday: Carmelo Anthony didn't have to deal with LeBron James on either end of the floor Tuesday night. It made his night much easier and infinitely more difficult for the Heat. Anthony shredded the Heat's defense and matched his career high with 50 points and led the Knicks to a 102-90 victory over the defending champs, who were without James and Dwyane Wade because of injuries. Late in the game, some Knicks fans at American Airlines Arena chanted "MVP" as Anthony attempted foul shots. He was the MVP this night as he carried the Knicks to their ninth straight win -- their longest since the 1993-94 season. … Anthony didn't do much wrong or miss many shots. Noted defender Shane Battier and Udonis Haslem could do nothing to stop Anthony. He finished 18-for-26 from the field, including 7-for-10 from three, and became the first Knick to score 50 since Jamal Crawford had 52 against Miami six years ago.
• Joseph Goodman of The Miami Herald: The maintenance program has officially started. LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Mario Chalmers sat out Tuesday night’s game against the Knicks at AmericanAirlines Arena. It was the second game in a row the three starters have rested with minor injuries. James, Wade and Chalmers also did not play Sunday against the Spurs. Officially, James skipped the season finale with the Knicks due to “tightness” in his right hamstring, according to Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, and Wade was out of action due a variety of minor injuries. Chalmers missed his third game in a row due to a sprained ankle. “These are minor nicks and knacks that happen during the course of a season,” Spoelstra said. Of course, not every team in the league has the luxury of sitting its best players due to minor ailments this time of year. The Knicks, for example, hurried center Tyson Chandler back into the starting lineup for Tuesday’s game after missing 10 games with a bulging disk in his neck. The Knicks were a game behind the Pacers in the loss column for second place in the Eastern Conference standings entering Tuesday night.
• Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times: Shaquille O'Neal dominated the Staples Center court one more time Tuesday, in a halftime jersey retirement ceremony that perfectly mirrored his Lakers career. It was booming. It was poignant. It was funny. It had thousands of fans chanting and cheering. And Kobe Bryant appeared to blow him off. "Can ... you … dig … it?" asked O'Neal, repeating his trademark championship chant for a sellout Staples Center crowd that screamed its affirmation. Bryant apparently couldn't, as he chose to record only a brief video tribute that ran on the scoreboard at the start of the ceremony. It was as if he were in Russia instead of just 45 steps away in the locker room during halftime of the Lakers' eventual 101-81 victory over the Dallas Mavericks. "I would like to have been out there but I couldn't do it, this was just too big of a game," Bryant said afterward. "I had to stay back here [in the locker room] stretching and getting ready for the second half. Bryant laughed and added, "I appreciate you guys trying to start some stuff for old times' sake." Bryant briefly hugged O'Neal in the privacy of the tunnel at the halftime break before O'Neal took the court, but then the men parted ways, just as they did nine years ago to mark the end of one of the Lakers' championship eras. It's a shame Bryant couldn't have later walked those 45 steps and publicly congratulated O'Neal in front of the world, if only for a moment before returning to work. It was a long halftime. Together, as the best duo in basketball history, they won a lot of games. If Bryant is going to end his career as the face of the Lakers, then he needed to publicly, if briefly, represent them in this important connection with their history.
• Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News: If this was the end, and it had all the telltale signs, the Mavericks provided one more night of evidence that they simply are not playoff material this season. Mathematically, they remain alive. But after the Los Angeles Lakers controlled them all night for a 101-81 victory, the Mavericks must face the grim reality that their playoff hopes bit the dust at Staples Center. “We knew we were behind the 8-ball all season,” said Dirk Nowitzki. “This was a game we needed to have if we really wanted to make it interesting.” … The Mavericks lost the season series to the Lakers 3-1 and fell to 36-38, 2 ½ games behind the Lakers and Utah Jazz, who are tied for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. With only eight games left, passing both the Lakers and Jazz is virtually impossible. Dallas has already lost the tiebreaker against both teams. The postgame locker room was despondent, to say the least. The Mavericks now find themselves needing a miraculous finish.
• Mike Wise of The Washington Post: The best teams often compromise the integrity of the product to rest and protect their players with the express reason of being fresh for the postseason — see San Antonio and Miami. The worst teams sometimes don’t play their stars simply because they don’t want to miss out on the possibility of moving one slot ahead of another team in the draft for a significantly better player. Wittman and the Wizards could get away with sitting Nene or Wall the next two weeks. Lord knows the organization, headed for the lottery for the fifth straight time, has not always done what’s right for the game the past five seasons. But finishing the job, making the league and themselves believe they have something here much better than 4-28, became important. Did they cost themselves a better player the last few months? Probably, but that’s okay. The last thing the Wizards needed was another 20-something, doe-eyed kid trying to figure his game and his new environment out at the same time. They need a piece or two to be a playoff team next season. One of those pieces became showing purpose and passion this season, right up until Game No. 82. Going all out for ninth place doesn’t sound very noble, does it? But from whence the Wizards came this season, it’s a building block for next year. After all the wrong, it’s doing the right by the game. And in the dog days of another lost season that’s something, no?
• K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune: With just nine games remaining, the Bulls are being conservative with Joakim Noah, whose plantar fasciitis sidelined him for the sixth straight game, andMarco Belinelli, out for the fifth straight time. "They both have the type of injury where you don't want it to linger," coach Tom Thibodeau said. Belinelli, who has an abdominal strain, said he felt pain Monday when he tried to increase running. "This injury is the worst," he said. "You can play like five minutes and it can be worse than before. At least it's better than last week." The goal is to get them in game conditioning and rhythm before the playoffs start. Richard Hamilton and Derrick Rose remain out indefinitely.
• Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic: With his contract set to expire at the end of June, Lon Babby agreed to a two-year contract extension to remain at the helm of the Suns in what was an unconventional NBA front office format when he was hired in 2010. Babby, 62, tabbed Lance Blanks, who has one contract year remaining, to be his general manager and basketball expert while Babby was charged with remaining competitive for Steve Nash’s final two years and then transitioning to a new era this season. “I’ve had a wonderful career and I view this was a wonderful opportunity,” Babby said. “I knew it was an extraordinary challenge. Not every day is simple. It can be painful and difficult. I didn’t want to leave it at this stage. I may be like Moses. I’m on a journey to get to the promised land of a championship. I didn’t want to leave at the start of the walk through the desert. “... We’ve done a lot of heavy lifting. It doesn’t feel right to leave if Robert and the organization have faith in me when I feel like we’re about to start the climb up the mountain.” The Suns have gone 96-126 (.422) during Babby’s tenure. With the franchise’s second worst record ever this year, the Suns will miss the playoffs for a third consecutive season for the first time since 1986-88.
• Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times: By last fall, there were whispers Michael Heisley, who had decided to sell the Memphis Grizzlies, had more than a passing interest in joining forces with Kohl. Some NBA officials and insiders even contended Heisley would be part of the Bucks’ ownership group sooner rather than later, perhaps even this season. The scenario painted by some individuals was that Heisley intended on first becoming a Bucks minority owner with Kohl still in charge. Then, after approximately three years, Heisley would have the option of becoming the majority owner. According to some people close to Heisley and Kohl, though, the latter got cold feet and balked at the idea of relinquishing his franchise, just like he did in the summer of 2003 when it appeared he was on the brink of selling the Bucks to a consortium headed by Michael Jordan. Kohl, who purchased the Bucks in 1985 from Jim Fitzgerald for approximately $19 million, is apparently still receptive to bringing on an additional business partner. The possibility of the 76-year-old Heisley re-entering the Bucks’ picture is highly unlikely. Heisley suffered a debilitating stroke in February and remains in a Chicago-area hospital. I’ve been told he’s been in a coma for more than a month and the prospects of a recovery are extremely bleak.
• Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times In a Manhattan hotel on Wednesday, the months-long battle over the fate of the Sacramento Kings will turn into a daylong debate. It looms as the most critical date yet in this saga. Representatives of a Seattle group hoping to buy the Kings and move them to Seattle and a Sacramento contingent attempting to keep the team there will take turns making their cases to a combined NBA relocation and finance committee. Each side will present its plan, and likely poke holes in the other city's efforts. The relocation/finance committee will talk afterward, then send a recommendation to the NBA's Board of Governors. The board will cast a final vote on the matter when it meets in New York April 18-19. "This is one of the biggest days of my life and a seminal moment for our city," wrote Chris Hansen, who will lead the Seattle contingent, in a note onsonicsarena.com Tuesday afternoon. Hansen also wrote that 44,000 Sonics fans put their names on a priority ticket waitlist established three weeks ago, including 32,000 in the first 24 hours. He said 268 put their names on a list for suites, and 983 businesses expressed interest in sponsorship opportunities. Those figures will be part of Seattle's presentation by a group that will include Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, mayor Mike McGinn and King County executive Dow Constantine.
• Dale Kasler and Tony Bizjak of The Sacramento Bee: Dueling teams of billionaires and mayors are heading to New York for a pivotal Wednesday showdown over the future of the Sacramento Kings. Before an elite committee of NBA owners, delegations from Sacramento and Seattle will present their arguments on the issue that's been making headlines for weeks: Should the Kings stay put or be allowed to move to the Pacific Northwest? The meeting, to be held at a Manhattan hotel, comes a week after the Sacramento City Council approved a non-binding term sheet for a new $448 million arena at Downtown Plaza - a crucial piece in the city's attempt to keep the team. The committee is likely to make a recommendation sometime this month. A final decision is expected April 18 or 19, when the league's Board of Governors, consisting of all the team owners, convenes in New York. … [Mayor Kevin] Johnson is also expected to be accompanied by three of the investors who are bidding for the Kings on Sacramento's behalf - Vivek Ranadive, Mark Mastrov and Ron Burkle. Lobbyist Darius Anderson, who was instrumental in pulling the group together, also will attend.
• Mike McGraw of the Daily Herald: I've heard NBA scouts complain for months that this year's draft will be weak at the top, which is one reason why Kentucky freshman Nerlens Noel might be the No. 1 pick despite suffering a torn ACL during the college season. The 2014 draft should be different, thanks to a loaded group of incoming college freshmen. All of the top players are scheduled to play in Wednesday's McDonalds All-American Game at the United Center. Basically, this game could be a 2014 lottery-pick preview. Topping the list is 6-8 Andrew Wiggins, who grew up in Toronto and attended Huntington (W.V.) Prep. He's smooth, athletic with guard skills. I've seen him compared to many NBA superstars, but Tracy McGrady might be the best match. He's undecided for college, reportedly considering North Carolina, Kentucky, Kansas and Florida State. Then there's 6-9 Julius Randle from Texas. He's the main guy in Kentucky's loaded recruiting class, which also features twins Andrew (6-5 point guard) and Aaron (6-6 shooting guard) Harrison, 6-6 James Young, 6-10 Marcus Lee and 6-11 Dakari Johnson. Another player with draft potential is 6-8 Aaron Gordon from San Jose. He's also undeclared, but might be headed to Arizona. Analysts love comparing him to Blake Griffin and it does seem justified.

• Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel: It was time for the Milwaukee Bucks to make a stand. Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard were in town Thursday night for the Los Angeles Lakers' annual visit, but it didn't matter. The Bucks knew that somehow, some way, they had to halt a four-game slide that was putting their playoff push in reverse gear. And they did it with a collective effort, posting a 113-103 victory that featured a career-high 21 points from center Larry Sanders and a stellar defensive performance by veteran Marquis Daniels, who had the difficult assignment to defend Bryant. "We came out and accepted the challenge," Daniels said. "We needed a win bad. We came out with more intensity and more energy. You just try to make all his shots tough and make him work for everything that he got." Bryant finished with a game-high 30 points and came within five points of passing Wilt Chamberlain for fourth place on the NBA's all-time scoring list. But the Bucks (35-36) pushed the pace in the second half while scoring 60 points and delighting a majority of the 16,884 fans at the BMO Harris Bradley Center, despite a strong presence of Lakers fans.
• Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News: The anxiety heightened as former Lakers coach Bill Sharman watched the television screen. He "felt that Miami had a very good chance" to surpass the Lakers' all-time record of 33 consecutive wins set in the 1971-72 season when Sharman oversaw the team's first NBA championship in Los Angeles. Even with Miami nursing a double-digit deficit for most of Wednesday night against Chicago, Sharman said he didn't feel fully at ease as he watched the game with his wife, Joyce, and sister-in-law until the Heat officially ended their 27-game winning streak. "We were all very nervous even when Chicago was ahead because the Heat team is so good and has come back from large deficits in other games," Sharman wrote in an email to this newspaper. "Who can say if the 33-straight winning streak will ever be broken? I am glad that it stays with the Lakers." Sharman, 87, has spent the past 23 years as a Lakers' special consultant, drafting monthly reports filled on the team's play. Hence, why Sharman flipped back-and-forth between the Lakers' win Wednesday over Minnesota and Miami's loss to Chicago.
• Mike Wells of The Indianapolis Star: Do the Pacers need Danny Granger? Yes. But officially shutting Granger down, which was his decision, is the best thing for him and the Pacers. Don’t get me wrong, you never want a player to be sidelined with an injury. But the Pacers need to close the chapter on Granger this season. The most obvious question was: What changed from Frank Vogel saying before and after the game in Houston that Granger would play in Dallas? As of Thursday morning, the Pacers were under the impression Granger would be play. Vogel wouldn’t publicly go on the record and blatantly lie. … This was strictly Granger’s call. He knew he wouldn’t be able to play through the pain. He made the decision to have surgery at some point Thursday. … The next question is: Will Granger ever play again? No one will know the answer until Granger has the surgery and starts the rehab process. Granger is heading into the final year of his contract that will pay him $14.2 million next season. Will he back in a Pacers uniform? Nobody knows – yet. And we may not know for some time. But for now, the right thing is to shut Granger down.
• Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: While Rick Carlisle acknowledged that the workload for his players increases this time of year, the Dallas Mavericks’ coach realizes that he might lean more on 11-time All-Star forward Dirk Nowitzki. “Dirk’s a superstar, and superstars have more of that burden on their shoulders than the other guys just because of who they are, what they can do and what they have done,” Carlisle said. “Dirk’s worked himself to a point now where he can carry that load within reason. “But we have to take advantage of the things that he does with his screens that gets guys open.” Owner Mark Cuban appreciates all the glorious moments Nowitzki has given the Mavs during his 15-year career. “Dirk will play 48 minutes if that’s what we ask him to do — and like it,” Cuban said. “It’s been 20 years of great stuff from him in that locker room. “He is the culture of this team and you can’t underestimate the impact.”
• Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee: If there is a cliché about the importance of statistics, it probably applies here. Because when it comes to Keith Smart and his defensive grading system, he's not likely to deviate from it when substituting players. That was evident in Wednesday's win at Golden State, when the Kings' leading scorer and rebounder, center DeMarcus Cousins, and starting power forward Jason Thompson did not play in the fourth quarter, even though they weren't having bad games based on their offensive numbers. Smart's grading system isn't based just on defensive statistics such as steals and blocked shots. It rates players for being in the right defensive coverages, being in the right spots on the floor, and if they take gambles that hurt the team, among other aspects. "The one thing about the grades is it just lets you know when I make a decision, here is the reason," Smart said. "The grade and the numbers don't lie. They come together."
• Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic: At this low point, with nine remaining games, mounting losses are just fine with many fans and many in the organization who have an eye on draft lottery odds to reverse the franchise’s three-year spiral. Some loyalists could never wish for losses, question how much a weak draft class will help or just disapprove of what a losing atmosphere does to young players. The Suns players are the most united front. Their futures depend on performance. Some do not have certain returns in Phoenix or even the league. Most players are wired to compete, albeit now with a resigned outlook. Players are disappointed when the US Airways Center crowd turns purple and gold for a game against the Lakers but understand their fans’ conflicted support in the seaon’s final weeks. “I understand it because they want us to turn around as fast as possible,” Suns co-captain Jared Dudley said. “At the same time, I think the team with the worst record hasn’t even won the No. 1 pick for a few years (2004). At the same time, individual players are playing for their jobs, playing for next year, playing for reputation. We have to finish it out the right way. Hopefully, we win some games. You can’t always count on making shots. But playing hard and together you can do.”
• Mike McGraw of the Daily Herald: After losing for the first time in 28 games Wednesday, Miami's LeBron James sat at his locker and complained about the rough treatment he received from the Bulls. From the Bulls' perspective, those comments could serve as a chapter in the how-to guide of beating the Heat. Especially if the best-case scenario occurs and these teams meet in the playoffs with Derrick Rose back in uniform. But slow down a second. The Bulls probably reached the proper limit of physical play Wednesday at the United Center, and it paid off in a 101-97 victory, snapping Miami's 27-game winning streak. There's a tradition among NBA referees where the more aggressive team usually gets away with more. That means attacking the basket, hitting the glass and making the first contact when battling for position. The Bulls executed this concept well against the Heat. Even while putting heavy emphasis on getting back defensively, they took advantage of Miami's small lineup and won the second-chance points 22-8.
• Ronald Tillery of The Commercial-Appeal: Zach Randolph’s eyes grew wide with disbelief. Lionel Hollins cracked a joke. There is a growing belief that the Grizzlies’ veteran power forward and head coach aren’t on the same page as they prepare for a postseason run. However, both men dismissed that notion Thursday, saying there is no friction between them. “Our relationship is fine,” Randolph said. “I respect my coach.” … Memphis fell behind the New York Knicks by 30 points during a loss Wednesday night when the Knicks’ broadcasters suggested that there was a wedge between Hollins and Randolph. “The only beef I had with Zach is he was excessively late for a shootaround that started at 4:30 p.m. (last Saturday),” Hollins said. “I told him I can’t start you and he understood. Everybody’s got their opinion about what goes on in our locker room. But only the people in there know. I haven’t had a beef with Zach and he hasn’t had one with me.”
• Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle: General manager Daryl Morey on Thursday disputed rookie forward Royce White’s contention a plan is in place for White to leave the Development League at the end of the regular season and skip the playoffs, indicating no decision has been made. Morey said in his weekly radio interview he expects White to play the remaining four regular-season games with the Vipers before a decision is reached about him playing in the playoffs. “We’ll see where it goes from there,” Morey said. “The plan is to play it by ear. See what the best plan is at that point when we reach the end.” But White said via Twitter on Wednesday that a plan for him to leave the Vipers at the end of the regular season has been in place for several weeks, citing the “hectic” schedule of the D-League playoffs. White had 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists in his first game back, but eight points with two rebounds and two assists in the second game.
• Monte Poole of The Oakland Tribune: A hypothetical question has been making the rounds lately asks if the current Warriors were to play a series of crucial games against the "We Believe" team of 2007, which would prevail. It is chewy candy for the mind and the answer, for now, is the "We Believe" bunch. Not because it was more talented; it wasn't. Not because it was more athletic; it wasn't. Not because it shot better; it didn't. Not because it played better defense; it most certainly didn't. But the "We Believe" team, inferior in so many ways, would have a decisive edge in two elements crucial to success: mental toughness and NBA experience. Those ingredients are missing from the current Warriors as they stagger through the final weeks of the regular season, and every now and then they've gotten spanked because of it -- most recently in Wednesday's distressing home loss to lowly Sacramento. These Warriors are destined for the playoffs but still digesting the rules required to gain admittance to the NBA elite, the room where the sign over the entrance says "Grown Men Only."
• Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News: The turning point for Reggie Evans occurred when he held his tongue and stepped out of character, avoiding conflict after a teammate told interim coach P.J. Carlesimo that the forward needed to be benched because he was an offensive liability. Evans, typically outspoken, said he left it alone at that moment instead of lashing back, using the insult as motivation before progressing into the most positively surprising season for the Nets. Evans, who has more 20-rebound games (7) this season than any player in the league, traces it all back to an insult. "In the past when people play off me, I was still looking to be less aggressive on the offensive end. I still was looking to pass it and stuff like that. And (after a teammate told Carlesimo to bench me), I said, 'Let me just be a little aggressive and make them play us honestly instead of not playing me and stuff like that.' "I'm just doing my best to be more aggressive so if they respect me, cool. If they don't, cool. I'm not tripping. At the end of the day, they know I'm out there."
• Dan Woike of The Orange County Register: Matt Barnes, a player who has made a career of not backing down from anyone on the court, didn't back down from the touchy topic, calling for the leae to be more transparent with their officials. "One I thing I will say is I know they get graded. I think their grades should be public record," Barnes said before the Clippers' victory over New Orleans Wednesday. "Everything we do on the court is public. Our fines, our techs, everything we do is under a microscope. And the refs are supposed to be a part of this league just like we are. Their grades should be public record. Everyone should be able to see." Everyone can see the Clippers' problems with technical fouls this year – the numbers are easily available. Players have been hit with 58 technicals this season, led by Blake Griffin's 12. Coach Vinny Del Negro has picked up three technicals, with the team averaging 0.8 technicals a game, tied for first in the league with Oklahoma City. Almost all of those technicals have come because of complaining to officials, including technicals against Griffin and Crawford Tuesday night in the team's overtime loss to Dallas. "It's hard," Barnes said. "When you're playing as hard as you can and you're getting beat up and nothing is being done about it, it's frustrating." Multiple players agreed that the team has developed a reputation around the league for complaining about calls.

• Howard Beck of The New York Times: It will be at least another month, perhaps in a first-round playoff series, before declarations can be made, or conclusions drawn, or torches passed — or wrested away. After five years of pre-eminence, the Boston Celtics have at least earned a withholding of judgment until the games really matter. But the ground continued to shift beneath them Tuesday night, the balance of power tilting ever more sharply, unmistakably, southward. The Knicks cruised to a 100-85 victory at TD Garden and inched ever closer to taking the Atlantic Division crown that the Celtics have owned for the last five years. It was the Knicks’ fifth straight victory, the Celtics’ fifth straight loss, and it left a seven-and-a-half game gap between them, with 13 games to play. “We want to beat them, let’s just be quite frank about it,” Carmelo Anthony said, after scoring 29 points in the win. “We always want to beat Boston. New York in anything wants to beat Boston. And when we do, it’s a great feeling.” The Knicks (43-26) have a 2-1 edge in the season series, having won twice in Boston for the first time since 2003-4. They meet once more on Sunday at Madison Square Garden, with the Knicks poised to win the series for the first time in nine years.
• Marc Berman of the New York Post: The South Beach showdown is six days away, but Mike Woodson is hoping the Miami Dream Team enters with a 30-game win streak. “They’re playing at such a high level, nobody is coming close to beating them,’’ Woodson said before the Knicks’ 100-85 win over the Celtics last night. “It would be nice. Their streak could end. They’re playing two good teams [beforehand]. [But if] they’re undefeated and we go into Miami, hopefully we can be the team to break their streak.’’ The Heat have won 27 straight and have Chicago tonight, New Orleans Friday and San Antonio on Sunday. If the LeBron James juggernaut keeps winning and beats the Knicks Tuesday in Miami, it would be just two away from tying the Lakers’ 1971-72 magical run of 33 straight wins — the NBA record.
• Baxter Holmes of The Boston Globe: Tuesday night at TD Garden, the Celtics faced the Knicks without Kevin Garnett and Courtney Lee. And though the Celtics have masked the absence of key players before, winning without Rajon Rondo and Jared Sullinger and Leandro Barbosa and even Garnett, they could not do so against New York, which prevailed soundly, 100-85. For the first time since Rondo went down with a season-ending knee injury in January, it seemed as though the Celtics had finally – if not reluctantly — succumbed to the reality of their limited roster. A 15-point home loss to a shorthanded team will do that. “It’s been like that for us all season long, it just seems like it gets worse and worse,” captain Paul Pierce said of the injuries. “We can’t feel sorry for ourselves.” The Celtics have lost five consecutive games, and as Garnett is expected to miss up to two weeks with inflammation in his left ankle, a rather gloomy question looms: Is this what the Celtics can expect while their defensive anchor is out? “No,” a defiant coach Doc Rivers said. “Guys, I think you’ve been around me long enough. Kevin’s not playing. I don’t worry about it. I really don’t. “Somebody else has to play better. A lot of guys. It’s not going to be one guy. But overall, we were pretty bad [Tuesday]. Kevin had nothing to do with that.”
• Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald: Kenyon Martin, as plain-spoken as they come, left no doubt about the reason he’s not a Celtic today. The team decided it simply wasn’t interested in the veteran power forward, who signed with the Knicks for the rest of the season on March 15. Coach Doc Rivers said on Monday that the Celtics were more interested in finding a guard at the time Martin was available. “It’s their fault; they lost,” Martin said after helping the Knicks to last night’s 100-85 win with nine points and five rebounds, including four on the offensive glass. “There was talks, there was negotiations, they chose not to do it. It was out of my control. I’m a Knick now, so they lost. I’m just here to prove I never lost it. I guess I’m a better person than I am a basketball player. But the chip I’ve always played with hasn’t gotten bigger. I’m here to prove what I can do; that’s against everybody, every night. It doesn’t start with the Celtics. It’s whoever puts on that uniform opposite us.” Martin shot 4-for-7 last night, including three put-backs. He is 20-for-28 in his last three games.
• Kent Youngblood of the Star Tribune: For nearly 10 minutes the Timberwolves poured it on in a slow, consistent, startling burn. From the starters to the bench, through timeouts and personnel changes, the Wolves played pesky defense, shared the ball and shot it. Boy, did they shoot it. On Tuesday at the Palace of Auburn Hills, against a Detroit team that is darned near 0-for-March, the Timberwolves did everything right in a 105-82 victory. Especially in the third quarter. Or, more specifically, over the final 9:48 of said quarter. “We said win the third quarter,” Wolves coach Rick Adelman said. “And we dominated.” It took less than 10 minutes for the Wolves, running and hitting from everywhere, to rain down three-pointers in a 32-9 run that turned a five-point game into a double-digit rout. And it didn’t stop there. By the time this was over, the Wolves (25-44) — the worst three-point shooting team in the league — had hit a season-high 14 treys, with seven players getting at least one.
• Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News: With Andre Drummond still out at least for one more game, it's perhaps one more opportunity for rookie Slava Kravtsov to get some playing time. The 25-year-old rookie has played only 20 games this season, averaging 3.3 points and 1.8 rebounds in 9.8 minutes. The Pistons have an option for his second year, which they'll have to decide on before July 1. "He's worked hard," said Frank, noting his 14-point, 10-rebound game against the Pacers on Feb 22. "He's had some good moments and some moments where (he's struggled), just the adjustment of the verbal commands and positioning and quick-twitch reacting."
• Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News: Lamar Odom came into Tuesday’s game with 4:15 left in the first quarter, and before he even had his sweatpants pulled off, the boos rained down from the sellout crowd at American Airlines Center. When he touched the ball for the first time, the boos got louder. Second time, more anger from the crowd. The last time there had been this much venom in the joint, the snake convention was in town. Either that or when the Miami Heat came through, which could be construed in these parts as the same thing. Odom had a modest impact in the first half, when he had four points and three rebounds in nine minutes. The Mavericks weren’t real concerned with Odom’s return. In pregame warm-ups, Odom gave a couple of winks toward the scorer’s table but had no interaction with any Mavericks to speak of. Odom had a dramatic divorce from the Mavericks last season when owner Mark Cuban questioned the 2010-11 sixth man of the year about his commitment to the franchise. Weeks later, he was told to leave, making it “addition by subtraction,” as Cuban said at the time. If there was any intention on Odom’s behalf to apologize or converse with Cuban on Tuesday, he never got the chance. Cuban was not at the game. He’s on vacation with his family for spring break.
• Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times: It was an interesting question that even Clippers Coach Vinny Del Negro thought came at an interesting time of the season. Del Negro was asked by a member of the media in front of the group about his coaching future with the Clippers. The Clippers picked up Del Negro's contract last year, but he wasn't given an extension. His deal expires when the season is over. "I enjoy the pressure," Del Negro said. "That's what it's about. I love the competition. Could things be a little bit better in certain areas? Of course. But all those things get answered at the end of the year. "Our focus is on tonight's game and on this season and all those things get answered at the end of the season, one way or the other," he said. The Clippers are playoff-bound for the second consecutive season under Del Negro. It will be only the third time in franchise history the Clippers have had consecutive playoff appearances. Del Negro was asked if his future was tied to how far the Clipper go in the playoffs this season. "No, my future is great," Del Negro responded. "I've got a great future, no matter what. I've been pretty fortunate, so I don't really worry about that stuff so much. Like I said, all those things take care of themselves when we finish."
• Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee: Here are a few other thoughts, quotes and observations from the meeting in the overheated, and overcrowded council chambers: Steve Hansen, who was thought to be vacillating about the arena issue, and who some thought would vote against the term sheet, instead gave a very impassioned explanation for his pro-arena vote. He cited the potential for jobs and economic growth, and added, "We have four billionaires who have said that Sacramento is worthy. It's been a long time since people have validated us in this way." Kevin Johnson, a former All-Star, said he intended to call David Stern despite the time difference and the fact the NBA Commissioner was not feeling well. Ron Burkle spokesman Darius Anderson, who addressed the council and took a swipe at Seattle for attempting to steal the Kings, said the four major investors will accompany Johnson to New York for his April 3 presentation to Stern and members of the league's finance and relocation committees. The ownership subset thereafter will evaluate both Seattle and Sacramento situations and make a recommendation to the entire Board of Governors. The owners will vote at the April 18-19 meetings, also in Manhattan.

• Ethan J. Skolnick of the Palm Beach Post: Perhaps it is possible to have more fun playing basketball than the Heat have had lately. Perhaps other professional teams, the Harlem Globetrotters not included, have turned the court into their personal playgrounds. Perhaps it will get this good for some of these guys somewhere down the line, at some other stage of their careers. Still, after scenes like so many seen Sunday during the Heat’s 26th straight victory — this one 109-77 against the beleaguered Bobcats — it’s not a stretch to believe otherwise. On an evening in which the biggest stars were observers – such as Rory McIlroy and Novak Djokovic – rather than opponents, AmericanAirlines Arena was again a funhouse, with giggles galore. Dwyane Wade didn’t join the on-court party, sitting out to rest a sore right knee, not the same knee that he had repaired last offseason, and not really a concern. More likely, there will be maintenance to come, particularly during back-to-back sets like this one, with a Monday date in Orlando.
• Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle: There wasn’t a person in the arena who did not know the ball and the Rockets’ fate would be in James Harden’s hands. The Rockets trailed the San Antonio Spurs by a point Sunday night with less than 10 seconds left. It was Harden’s decision who would take the last shot. He chose himself. Harden inbounded to Omer Asik, dashed around Asik’s screen to take a handoff and, with Kawhi Leonard closing from behind and Tim Duncan approaching in front, drilled his off-balance jumper from 16 feet for the lead. And 4.5 seconds later, the Rockets had a remarkable 96-95 win over the Spurs and sat eight games above .500 for the first time this season. “This was huge for us,” forward Chandler Parsons said. “They are not No. 1 for no reason. This was a good test for us going forward, because they are a great team. We know that if we can beat them, we can beat anybody.”
• Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Anthony Tolliver called it. Not a game-winning shot but a game-winning rebound. Tolliver’s rebound of a missed free throw by teammate Dahntay Jones with 22.4 seconds remaining preserved the Hawks’ 104-99 come-from-behind victory over the Bucks Sunday afternoon. With a one-point lead, 100-99 after Jones’ first free throw, Tolliver looked at Jeff Teague and told his teammate a missed shot would be all his. “Yeah, I told him right before it happened, ‘I am going to get this rebound,’” Tolliver said. “I just tried to analyze the situation. I knew he has missed a few free throws earlier so I just wanted to be aggressive toward the rebound. I saw an opportunity. They didn’t box me out and I jumped and it came to me.” Tolliver called timeout after gathering the loose ball forcing the Bucks to foul. Al Horford and Teague each made two free throws in the closing seconds for the final margin.
• K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune: But if you wanted to hear Tom Thibodeau rave on and on about the Bulls' 104-97 victory over the Timberwolves Sunday night at Target Center, just ask about Luol Deng. In particular, ask about the offensive rebound Deng grabbed with just under six minutes remaining and the Timberwolves having whittled a 16-point deficit to six. Deng fed Robinson for a 3-pointer after corralling one of the Bulls' 20 offensive boards as part of a 52-32 rebounding advantage. The Bulls never again were seriously threatened. "That's finding a way to win," Thibodeau said of Deng, who tallied 17 points, seven rebounds and four assists. "We're a little disjointed right now. We have a lot of guys in and out, so it's hard to build a rhythm. But that's a big-time play. That, to me, is what gets overlooked with Luol all the time. People look at him not shooting the ball like he's not playing well. That's never the case with Luol because of all the other things he does on the floor."
• Roderick Boone of Newsday: As for Joe Johnson, he suffered the bruised quadriceps when he bumped into Blake Griffin in the third quarter of the Nets' 101-95 loss to the Clippers. He said it was swollen and tight Sunday, so the Nets made the decision to sit him out, starting Keith Bogans in his place. Johnson was unsure if he'll be able to play when the Nets face the Trail Blazers on Wednesday. "It's frustrating for me because all these little knick-knacks are starting to happen with me down the stretch of the season," Johnson said before the game, "and this is the most important part of the season at this point right now. So that's probably the most frustrating thing. It's not about where we are playing and who we are playing. I always want to be out there with the guys. I hate sitting out and watching. That's the hardest part." Since the All-Star break, Johnson hasn't been the same explosive player. He's averaging 13.8 points, down from the 17.0 he posted before the break, and his three-point percentage has taken a serious dip, dropping by nearly 8 percent. "Yeah, I'm concerned, because he's come back and he's not healthy yet," Carlesimo said.
• Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Dallas Mavericks guard Rodrigue Beaubois confirmed Sunday what had already been speculated by coach Rick Carlisle. Beaubois will miss the rest of the season after fracturing the second metacarpal on his left hand during a 107-101 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on March 17. But Beaubois, who is out four-to-six weeks, amended the medical report by saying he could return for the playoffs, depending on how deep the Mavs go. As far as his plans for this summer when he becomes a free agent, Beaubois said, “Right now I don’t want to think about it, even though I can’t play right now. I’m still on the team and I really want us to make the playoffs, so I’m going to be behind the guys and do anything I can to help them make the playoffs. “And once the season is going to be over for us, then I’ll think about the summer. But right now I’m just focusing on this season.” Beaubois doesn’t expect his latest injury to linger into next season. “I’ll be good,” he said. “It’s nothing bad.”
• Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman: Serge Ibaka trudged to the bench midway through the second quarter, with three fouls and not so much as a shot taken. Frustration mounted. Sometimes, it doesn't go away. “Sometimes,” Nick Collison said, “guys are out of it” all game long. But Ibaka's maturation continued Sunday night. He returned in the second half unshackled by his first-half performance. “Hungry,” Ibaka said. “I was hungry after the first half.” Ibaka ate well. In the Thunder's 103-83 victory over Portland, Ibaka scored 16 points in the second half and blocked more shots (four) than he missed (two). “Didn't seem like he missed a shot,” said Blazers coach Terry Stotts. “I can't remember the two he missed.” And it wasn't like Ibaka was rattling home his jumpers. One swish after another. Ibaka's misses came on a 16-footer early in the third quarter and an air-balled baby hook. Otherwise, he was money.
• Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee: Spencer Hawes doesn't mince words. He's from Seattle and wants his hometown to land an NBA franchise, even if it comes at the expense of the team that drafted him moving there. "I won't make any qualms about where I stand," Hawes said. "I want to see my hometown get a franchise. There is some confliction, but I'm not going to beat around the bush about what my stance is." Predictably, that stance earned Hawes scorn in his return to Sacramento as a Philadelphia 76er for Sunday's game at Sleep Train Arena. Hawes' celebratory tweets about the possible return of the NBA to Seattle in January drew the ire of Kings fans. They began an online campaign to boo the center anytime he touched the ball or his name was mentioned by the public-address announcer, and he got an earful Sunday. Hawes hated seeing Seattle "sold a false hope" when the Oklahoma City-based ownership group bought the SuperSonics and discussed keeping them there. And he admits he "kind of gets hypocritical and my hometown fandom comes out more than maybe it should" in the situation because he believes the only way Seattle will get a team is if the city takes a franchise in the manner Oklahoma City took the Sonics.
• Zach Buchanan of The Arizona Republic: Suns center Hamed Haddadi has been paying attention to the University of Oregon’s run in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. Specifically, he’s been watching his former teammate on the Iranian national team, Arsalan Kazemi. Kazemi, a 6-7 forward from Esfahan, Iran, has started both games for Oregon and totaled 43 rebounds in upsets over Oklahoma State and Saint Louis as Oregon has made a run into the Sweet 16. Haddadi sent Kazemi a text on the Iranian New Year on March 21, and is rooting for the Ducks. “I wish him good luck,” Haddadi said. “He’s my boy.” The 27-year-old Haddadi and 22-year-old Kazemi first played together on the national team in the 2010 FIBA World Championships in Turkey. Iran went 1-5, but both Haddadi and Kazemi played well. Haddadi finished in the top 10 in points (20 per game), rebounds (8.6) and blocks (2.6), and Kazemi was ninth in rebounds (7.4) and first in steals (2.8). But Kazemi had been on Haddadi’s radar much earlier than that. As a 19-year-old, Haddadi’s club team played in Kazemi’s hometown, and Haddadi took notice of a 14-year-old Kazemi at a practice. “(I) said, ‘This kid is going to be a baller,’” Haddadi said. “He’s got long arms, he can jump and he can run. He was dunking when he was 13 or 14.”
• Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel: It can be a lonely existence for Milwaukee Bucks forward Gustavo Ayon. The 6-foot-10 Ayon arrived from Orlando in the same February trade deadline deal that brought J.J. Redick to the Bucks. Ayon has played sparingly since his arrival, averaging 3.8 points and 3.0 rebounds in six appearances. The soon-to-be 28-year-old is working hard with the coaching staff before games and is hoping Milwaukee can be the place to launch his NBA career. Ayon played with the New Orleans Hornets last season before being traded to Orlando in the Ryan Anderson deal. He also has played with several professional teams in Spain. As the only current Mexican-born player in the NBA, he feels some pressure to succeed as Eduardo Najera did before him. "It is a responsibility because you are representing an entire country," Ayon said in an interview translated from Spanish to English. "No matter what you do, if you play well or you play poorly, it reflects on your country. You have a responsibility both on and off the court and I like it. I consider it a privilege and I do it with pleasure and pride. I wish that many more Mexican players shared in this responsibility. I hope for a future with many more players in the league."

• The Thunder's schedule is about to take a turn for the easy, and all this will be forgotten. But they did just lose to the Nuggets and Grizzlies, which counts as worrisome for a team that's used to nothing but sunny news. Meanwhile, there has been some eye-opening ball-hoggery from Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. Against the Nuggets, the star duo combined for 44 field goal attempts and just 11 assists. Against the Grizzlies, it was 53 shots to a piddly six assists. Remember, their offense has long been at its best when the other players on the roster shoot more. Dean Oliver and Alok Pattani know this. I know this. I assume Scott Brooks know this. But until Durant and Westbrook know that victories are on the fingertips of open Serge Ibakas and Kevin Martins ... that offense won't be all it can be.
• Chris Paul becomes the NBA's first real-deal superstar to be called for a flop, after a whole mess of people on Twitter, and Beckley Mason on TrueHoop, insist on it.
• Thinking about LeBron James, Michael Jordan, minutes and exhaustion. A key difference I'd point out: The NBA has changed such that guys who play very long minutes don't win titles like they did in Jordan's day. Rest appears to be more valuable now than it once was, likely because defenses have become more active.
• Kate Fagan making wonderful points: "So, to recap: Women's basketball is maligned for not being as athletic as the men's game, but as women become more athletic, these players are often labeled unfeminine, and therefore unwatchable. Feel free to pause here and scratch your head."
• The West's top teams keep losing to the Nuggets.
• Is Portland locked into mediocrity?
• Mark Cuban sure does make the NBA more fun and interesting. There's no arguing that.
• Travis Wimberly of The Two Man Game talking Mavericks: "Here, I’m lodging a grievance with one thing in particular: the ability to consistently get the ball to the Mavs’ best scorers. As noted above, Dirk Nowitzki finished the week on an incredible shooting tear, yet had very few opportunities to actually put up shots. ... A large part of OJ Mayo’s struggles this year have stemmed from the Mavs’ need for him to handle the ball excessively, which again draws back to the same underlying problem. If the Mavs had point guards with credible fundamentals, they could get Mayo the ball at the appropriate times (as with Dirk) and allow him to focus exclusively on scoring. And you could probably say the same of several other Mavs scorers. Anybody miss Jason Kidd? Just kidding — I already know you do."
• CBS News asked economist David Berri about paying college athletes. His response includes this: "Every student that we hire to do things on campus we pay. I have a grader. She grades my exams for me. We pay her. We pay her enough so that she will not go work at Arby’s. That is what you do. In a market economy when people do things for you and they generate revenue for you, you pay them. Everybody does this. Everybody who is arguing the players should not be paid, have a job where they are being paid by somebody else. And if you told those people ‘We have a rule that says cannot get paid. Those are the rules.’, they would sue. That is not a rule that would stand up in court."

• Joseph Goodman of The Miami Herald: Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert is well-known for his shocking public statements regarding LeBron James. To that end, Wednesday’s latest bombshell should come as no surprise. Hours before the Heat was to play the Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena, Gilbert took to Twitter with a message directed at Cavs fans: “Cleveland Cavaliers young talent makes our future very bright. Clearly, LeBron’s is as well. Time for everyone to focus on the road ahead.” Focus on what road ahead, exactly? The message served two purposes. First, it was a public plea for Cavaliers fans to go easy on James on Wednesday night rather than boo him unmercifully and chant stuff like, “Akron hates you.” Secondly, but more importantly, it was Gilbert’s way of extending an olive branch to James. James can opt out of his current contract in 2014, and it’s never too early to start courting the best player in the league. And, of course, here’s the cynical translation of Gilbert’s tweet: Please, for the love of God and my pocketbook — but mostly my pocketbook — cheer for LeBron tonight.” Don’t forget, that when Gilbert lost James to free agency in 2010, the Cavs’ owner lost bank-vaults worth of revenue potential.
• Bill Livingston of The Plain Dealer: If James does indeed return in 2014, when he can opt out of his Miami contract, it would take on overtones of the biblical story of the prodigal son. To many Cavs fans, it would only be good business to take a shortcut back to contention. To others, because of the way he surrendered on the court before leaving and the ugly tone of the television show in which he announced his defection, it would be the story of another, more sinister family. James would be Fredo, as described, after he betrayed the Corleone family in "The Godfather: Part II" by his brother Michael: "You're nothing to me. You're not a brother. You're not a friend. You broke [our] hearts." To these fans, it will always be personal. Most of all, in the Cleveland way, the way of Red Right 88 and The Drive, The Fumble, The Shot, and Jose Mesa, it will always be about the next time. Someday, it will be their time, the time when the last game ends and there is no choice but to shine a light on a city that has waited for its close-up for almost a half-century.
• Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel: This was not accidental death-by-dunk. No, LeBron James confirmed Wednesday that his power slam at the expense of Boston Celtics guard Jason Terry in the second quarter of Monday night's Miami Heat victory at TD Garden was very much with malice intended. Asked after the morning shootaround at Quicken Loans Arena if he had the opportunity to review the dunk, James nodded and said, "Yeah, I have, I have." He wasn't finished. No, not after Terry has taken opportunities while with both the Dallas Mavericks and now Celtics to launch verbal salvos at James' Heat, including when the Mavericks defeated the Heat in the 2011 NBA Finals. "It was one of my better ones," James said. "And the fact that it happened to J.T. made it even that much sweeter. Because I think we all know what J.T. talks, and he talks too much sometimes and I'm glad it happened to him." Asked for comment at Wednesday's Celtics shootaround in New Orleans, Terry told the media, "I'm not even commenting. No comment. Zero. I have none. A basketball play. My reaction was when the fans were cheering and I went up and knocked down the technical. That's a great reaction. Wasn't the first, won't be the last." James received a technical foul for his stare-down of Terry after the dunk.
• Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News: With Tim Duncan again anchoring the show — to the tune of 25 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and four blocks — the Spurs sent the Warriors to their 29th consecutive loss in San Antonio, a string of futility dating to Valentine’s Day 1997. It wasn’t the most talked-about streak around the NBA, but it was one the Spurs (52-16) were satisfied to prolong. Combined with Oklahoma City’s overtime loss at Memphis, it left the Spurs 21/2 games ahead of the Thunder in the Western Conference race. … If there were any doubts whether Duncan could regain the form from before his Feb. 2 knee injury, the past three games have put them to rest. The 36-year-old is averaging 27.7 points, 14.7 rebounds, four assists, and 3.3 blocks over that stretch. “He’s an all-time great for a reason,” Mark Jackson said. After going 11 of 17 for his third straight game shooting above 60 percent, Duncan was asked to assess the state of his revived jump shot. “It doesn’t feel great, but it’s going in a little bit,” Duncan said.
• Ronald Tillery of The Commercial-Appeal: It didn’t take long to discern the measure of intensity that would fill FedExForum on Wednesday night. Instead of going around a screen Griz center Marc Gasol set near mid-court, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook charged into Gasol and delivered a deliberate hockey-style check with his right shoulder. Gasol took umbrage and so did referee Michael Smith, who whistled Westbrook for a foul while players from both teams engaged in verbal jousting. And the game was less than two minutes old. The rivalry, however, dates back nearly three years when these teams bumped and grinded through a seven-game Western Conference semifinals series. The Griz actually hit first in this one. Memphis jumped out to an early 10-point lead and then Gasol delivered a knockout punch that allowed Memphis to get a 90-89 overtime victory before sellout crowd of 18,119. Gasol extended the Grizzlies’ home winning streak to nine games when he tipped in a Zach Randolph miss with 0.9 seconds left. Westbrook’s desperation heave was way off as the final buzzer sounded. “I just crashed the boards and got lucky,” Gasol said. “What does Tony (Allen) say: ‘Grit, grind?’ We definitely believe.”
• Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Jeff Teague made his statement. With so much talk about the Bucks’ guard combination of Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings, the Hawks guard had something to say about his game Wednesday night. Teague finished with 27 points and 11 assists as the Hawks held off the Bucks 98-90 at Philips Arena in a key Eastern Conference game. It was one point shy of Teague’s season- and career-high point total. The Hawks (38-30) won for the fourth time in five games and kept hold of the fifth spot in the conference playoff race. Teague was challenged by Player Development Instructor Nick Van Exel at halftime to pick up his energy and play. The guard responded with 12 points in a decisive third quarter. “C’mon,” is what Teague said Van Exel simply told him. “Me and him a little way we talk to each other. I knew what he meant.”
• Richard Walker of the Gaston Gazette: When the Charlotte Bobcats acquired Josh McRoberts last month, he was the throw-in on a no-risk trade deadline deal. When they signed Jannero Pargo last week, they were simply looking for a healthy body to back up starting point guard Kemba Walker. On Wednesday night, McRoberts and Pargo were more valuable than perhaps their team could’ve ever imagined in a 107-101 win over the Toronto Raptors that gives Charlotte its first winning streak since Nov. 19 and 21 – or way back when the Bobcats were off a franchise-record 6-4 start. “The journey’s been a long and tough one for our team,” said Charlotte coach Mike Dunlap, whose team has won three of its last five games, including three straight at Time Warner Cable Arena, to improve to 16-52. “But we’re playing hard and we’re playing together.”
• Jimmy Smith of The Times-Picayune: New Orleans Hornets forward Anthony Davis has some Kobe Bryant in him. It is often said that the Lakers' legend plays best when he's not at 100 percent. Davis was far from 100 percent on Wednesday against the Boston Celtics, but told reporters after the game there was no way he was not going to play with what Coach Monty Williams had described as "a stomach issue." Davis said he nursed his energy throughout the day, sitting out the morning shoot-around, but managing to play 28 minutes Wednesday night. Davis' game-winning tip in of an Eric Gordon miss with 0.3 on the clock helped the Hornets snap a four-game losing streak with a win over a quality opponent. Davis had 9 points and 8 rebounds, along with two blocked shots and a steal. He is the unquestioned future of this franchise. … If there's an indispensible player this year, it's Ryan Anderson. Easily, the acquisition of Anderson over the summer in a sign-and-trade with the Orlando Magic was the Hornets best offseason move. Even though Anderson is just in his fifth NBA season, he plays with a veteran savvy that will help solidify the future of the team for the next few years.
• Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle: With a day off and orders to clear his mind, Jeremy Lin took the opportunity to head to the gym. He did change things up a bit. With Alicia Keys taking over Toyota Center, Lin found a different court and a few different teammates. But Lin’s idea of a day off included basketball. “It’s therapeutic,” he said. After Sunday’s 30-point loss to Golden State, he and the Rockets needed the therapy, so Lin spent a chunk of Monday launching jumpers and playing HORSE. When the Rockets reconvened at Toyota Center on Wednesday, Lin spent the night as if still goofing with his brother and buddies far from the cameras and lights. He repeatedly pierced the Utah Jazz defense, helping to drive the Rockets to a 26-point lead. And when the Jazz rallied in the fourth quarter, Lin knifed through them again, with one drive to a layup and another and a pass for a Chandler Parsons dunk that finally closed out the Jazz 100-93. Lin made eight of nine shots in the paint as the Rockets went from launching 3-pointers to beating the Jazz at the rim, and from a series of slow starts to a rapid bolt from the opening tip that set the tone for the game.
• Michael Lee of The Washington Post: The visiting locker room at US Airways Center was filled with the usual laughter and playful banter that comes following a victory, but the Washington Wizards’ celebration of a much-needed road win over the Phoenix Suns was tempered some by what was happening behind a glass window leading to the training room. There, rookie Bradley Beal sat with a white towel covering his head, left leg elevated as he received treatment on a troublesome ankle that he aggravated in the fourth quarter of the Wizards’ 88-79 win. “It’s tough for him,” forward Trevor Ariza said, looking back at the beleaguered Beal. “I feel bad for him that he has to go through this.” Beal will likely miss more time after his second gruesome landing this month; the latest coming during a near meltdown in which the Wizards let an 18-point lead get whittled down to just three points with about nine minutes remaining.
• Howard Beck of The New York Times: Iman Shumpert said he felt a pop in the knee while pushing off toward the rim. The medical staff later told him it was probably scar tissue. … Doctors will re-evaluate Shumpert on Thursday, but no tests are planned. The Knicks can hardly afford another serious injury after losing Thomas, Rasheed Wallace and Amar’e Stoudemire in recent weeks. Woodson pushed for a veteran-laden roster over the summer, in the belief that experience wins playoff games. Now it appears that two of those veterans — Thomas and Wallace — will never get the chance to prove the point. Another veteran, Marcus Camby, has hardly played because of foot troubles. And Jason Kidd’s production has declined since the fall. But Woodson remains adamant that the strategy was correct. “Absolutely — I will never back off that,” Woodson said, adding: “We’re still sitting where we need to be, at the top of our division. And we just got to get some key pieces back, like Melo tonight, and get Tyson back in a uniform.” For better or worse, this will be the roster the Knicks take into the playoffs next month. They have no plans to sign a free agent, because it would require cutting a player — likely Wallace or Thomas. That is a trade-off Woodson refuses to make. Instead, he is banking on the possibility, however remote, that Thomas and Wallace could return in the postseason.
• Filip Bondy of the New York Daily News: Before the game, Mark Cuban lectured the Nets about why they shouldn’t have signed Deron Williams to such a big, suffocating contract. Then Williams went out and disputed that claim with a soaring second half, leading the Nets to a 113-96 road victory over the Mavs that P.J. Carlesimo rightfully labeled, “one of our best games all year.” Williams finished with 31 points in this bittersweet homecoming, all but five of them in the second half. He also had six assists, most of them to Brook Lopez, who scored 38 points on 15-of-22 shooting and 11 had 11 rebounds. Reggie Evans contributed his usual manic energy and 22 boards. It was an inspiring, entertaining victory for the visitors, and for Williams in particular. During one stretch of the final quarter, Williams buried every shot he attempted – from step-backs to fadeaways. When he nailed a running, off-balance jumper from the right side to give the Nets a nine-point lead with 6:28 left in the game, even Williams broke out in a broad smile at his own ridiculous display.
• Phil Collin of the Los Angeles Daily News: With another wave of injuries hitting the Clippers, and probably a little stung by losses in three of the previous four games, Coach Vinny Del Negro was a little testy prior to Wednesday's game against Philadelphia. His point? The Clippers can't worry about lineup rotations. They have games to win. "It's funny," Del Negro said, not smiling. "I hear a lot of talk out there about rotations, 'I've got to get a rotation.' One, we can't do it because we've had so many injuries. Two, it's hard for us to do because guys are in and out of the lineup and three, guys have minute restrictions. "So people talk about rotations, of course we'd like to get a rotation but it doesn't work like that. So everybody out there talking about it needs to do a little research and understand it doesn't work like that.” … The Clippers played without Chauncey Billups, Eric Bledsoe and Ronny Turiaf available. Jamal Crawford is still working through his ankle injury. Maalik Wayns, on his second 10-day contract with the Clippers, started the second quarter at point guard.

• Ethan J. Skolnick of the Palm Beach Post: The game-winning jumper was a perfect capper to another brilliant night for James, one that included 37 points, seven rebounds, 12 assists and a vicious dunk off a Norris Cole lob that left Heat nemesis and nuisance Jason Terry flat on his back, an emasculation that warrants an aside. It was Terry who teased and tormented Miami in the 2011 Finals, and who had said over the weekend that he “wasn’t impressed” by anything the Heat did, even the streak. “I seen him down there,” James said. “I don’t think he saw me.” James could smile about that second quarter encounter, because of what occurred in the game’s final 10.5 seconds. Because, even after James’s jumper, there was still that little time left — time that, in Boston for the Heat, is usually too much. Green drove on Shane Battier, but Battier, in as a defensive substitution, stuck with him and blocked the ball out of bounds. … with all that hooting and hollering clearly heard from behind the closed door. In NBA history, over a 23-game stretch, only one team has been better. “If you’re not first, you’re last,” Wade quipped. “That’s what Ricky Bobby said.” That’s a reference to the movie Talladega Nights. The race to the Lakers continues Wednesday in Cleveland, as everyone is now fully aware.
• Benjamin Hochman of The Denver Post: At the Nuggets' pregame shootaround Monday, this exchange happened between coach George Karl and some local TV guy. TV guy: "You scored 64 points in the paint in the Bulls game in Denver. I wouldn't expect you to get that here at the United Center, would you?" Karl: "Wanna make a bet?" Sure enough, Denver scored 64 in regulation time and finished with 68 in its 119-118 overtime victory over the Bulls. The Nuggets' brand of basketball leads to persistent paint penetration. It's NASCAR basketball. The fast-breaking Nuggets entered Monday leading the NBA with an average of 57.6 points in the paint, scoring 60 or more 27 times. In the NBA this season, the six-highest paint-point totals have come from the Nuggets, with 78 as their high. Nuggets fans should appreciate what they're watching — few teams win this way. The Nuggets are just different. … Denver could finish with the highest average of paint points since the league started keeping that stat in the 1996-97 season. The record was set by the 1997-98 Lakers, who averaged 54.1. Denver entered Monday leading the NBA with an average of 19.7 fast-break points and trailed only the Clippers with 19.7 points per game off turnovers.
• Bob Conney of the Philadelphia Daily News: How the Sixers will move forward will be the biggest question surrounding the organization in quite some time. DiLeo said repeatedly during the season that Bynum was "Plan A." But Bynum, who is making $16.5 million this season on the final year of a contract he signed with the Lakers, can become an unrestricted free agent after the season. The Sixers will have to decide whether Bynum will be healthy enough to continue his career, if indeed he wishes to return to the team. Bynum, 25, was obtained during a four-team trade in August that cost the Sixers Andre Iguodala, Nikola Vucevic, Maurice Harkless and a protected first-round draft pick. In mid-September, Bynum hurt his right knee while working out to get ready for training camp. It was announced the day before training camp that he would be out for about 3 weeks, but could be ready for Opening Night. … Hopes were high for the Sixers after they obtained Bynum, who averaged career highs in points (18.7) and rebounds (11.8) last season with the Lakers, playing 60 of 66 games in a lockout-shortened season. Hopes have faded to disappointing reality as Bynum will not see the court this season. Whether the team is willing to take another chance on him will no doubt be a heavy topic.
• Al Iannazzone of Newsday: The Knicks didn't go winless on their five-game road trip, and hobbled Kurt Thomas was a big reason for it. The 40-year-old Thomas showed his toughness after a pregame X-ray revealed a bone spur in his right foot. It could be worse than that; there are fears that Thomas has a stress fracture. He will undergo an MRI Tuesday to determine the severity of the injury. But Thomas, the oldest player in the league, pushed aside the pain. He logged 27 physical minutes in the finale of the trip, and his interior defense helped the shorthanded Knicks to a 90-83 win that snapped their four-game skid. "That's a pure warrior right there," said J.R. Smith, who led the Knicks with 20 points. "We gave him the game ball after the game," Mike Woodson said. "He deserved it, too.''
• Tim Bontemps of the New York Post: Jerry Stackhouse hadn’t played for nearly two months. He looked, however, like he hadn’t played for about two days. Stackhouse, playing his first minutes for the Nets since scoring six points in Houston on Jan. 26, went 5-for-6 and scored 10 points in 19:22 to help the Nets cruise to a 119-82 win over the Pistons in front of 16,072 inside The Palace of Auburn Hills. “It’s always good to get out and compete,” Stackhouse said afterward. “I kind of understood the dynamic of what needed to happen. Coach [P.J. Carlesimo] came to me and told me what the deal was a couple months ago. ... He told me he was going to give the younger guys some time, and that the odd guy out would probably be me.” … Part of the reason Stackhouse made his return to the lineup was because Keith Bogans sat out with a sore left ankle. After the game, however, Bogans said his injury won’t force him to miss any more time, and he’d be ready to go when the Nets take the floor again tomorrow in Dallas.
• Ronald Tillery of The Commercial-Appeal: Reserve guard Jerryd Bayless’ open-court windmill slam highlighted a third-quarter surge that featured alley oops and 3-pointers that helped the Grizzlies run away with a 92-77 victory Monday night in FedExForum. “We knew we had to come out and put them away,” Bayless said about the Griz building a 25-point lead in the third quarter. The Grizzlies (45-21) played their first home game after a taxing road trip that featured four games in five nights. There was plenty of pep in their step for the homecoming, and Memphis nailed its eighth straight home win. … Mike Conley picked up two steals and broke his own franchise record (144) for steals in a single season. Conley needed just one steal, and got it with 6:27 left in the opening period. He now has 146 steals and has recorded a steal in an NBA season-high 57 straight games.
• Richard Walker of the Gaston Gazette: When Charlotte Bobcats coach Mike Dunlap was hired, the directive was to develop players, even if it was at the expense of winning games. When you can accomplish both tasks – as Charlotte did Monday night in the 119-114 win over the Washington Wizards – it certainly has to feel good. Fourth-year forward Gerald Henderson led the way in the early going, then second-year guard Kemba Walker closed out a comeback rally on both ends of the court. “I was brought in to develop players,” Dunlap said in response to a question about Henderson’s recent improved play. “His development is not deniable. So is Kemba’s.” Their development has coincided with a recent surge for the Bobcats, as they have won two straight home games in a year in which they once lost 16 straight home contests.
• Mike Wells of The Indianapolis Star: Go ahead, scratch your head. Rub your eyes. The boxscore is not wrong. Gerald Green, the player who has spent the past two months on the bench other than garbage time, was back in the rotation against the Cleveland Cavaliers. And he was very effective during his 23 minutes off the bench. Green was so effective that he led the Pacers in scoring. Green, getting a shot to prove he’s worthy of playing time, scored 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting in the Pacers’ easy victory. Green’s stay on the bench lasted way longer than D.J. Augustin’s demotion earlier in the season. Part of the reason is because rookie Orlando Johnson stepped in and hasn’t done anything to make coach Frank Vogel want to yank him from the rotation. I give Green credit, he didn’t become a distraction during his time on the bench. He easily could have, especially considering he hasn’t lived up to the three-year contract the Pacers gave him last summer. … Now it’s up to Green to continue to play well off the bench.
• Tyler Killian of The Arizona Republic: After establishing himself as a reliable starter through the first five seasons of his career, all with the Houston Rockets, Luis Scola has often found himself in an unfamiliar place this year with the Suns: on the bench.Scola is averaging the least playing time (26 minutes, 11 seconds entering Monday’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers) since his rookie season in 2007-08 with Houston, when he seized the starting power-forward job midway through the year and never again came off the bench for the Rockets. With the Suns struggling to forge an identity under interim coachLindsey Hunter, Scola’s role often has been reduced as Hunter experiments with different rotations. The 6-foot-9-inch Argentinian admits to feeling discouraged at times. “It’s hard for me. It’s hard,” Scola said. “It is (frustrating), but I try to use that frustration to work a little harder. Just try to stay ready and in shape.” Whatever frustrations he may be feeling, Scola is keeping them private, living up to his reputation as a team player.
• Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News: Then came the 30-point triumph on Sunday, followed by the squashing of New Orleans on Monday. So I asked Lacob: Can you say that Mark Jackson definitely will be the coach next season or that you're contemplating an extension offer past next season? "Honestly, we will not even discuss this until after the season," Lacob said in the email, adding that all focus is on making the playoffs this season. "We are clearly better now than a year ago. That matters." It does matter. And it's fair for Lacob and the Warriors brass to defer on any public statement on Jackson or anybody else until after the season. But read between the lines: The start of this trip was a landmark period for this team and this coach; getting the ship headed back the right way was the only thing that mattered. Everything else flows from there -- making the playoffs, playing credibly once they're there, ensuring Jackson is the coach next season. There are clearer answers now, because of what the Warriors have just done, and it will get clearer and clearer if they continue to do it.
• Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Although guard Dahntay Jones would have loved to have remained with the Dallas Mavericks, he believes he’s in a much better situation with the Atlanta Hawks. The Mavs traded Jones to the Hawks for Anthony Morrow on Feb. 21. At the time, the Mavs were just 24-29, while the Hawks were 29-23 and in the middle of the playoff picture. After beating Atlanta on Monday, the Mavs are 32-35 and chasing a playoff berth, while the Hawks are 37-30 and in fifth place in the Eastern Conference standings. “They have a great group of guys, they play hard, they play together, they’re very focused, they have fun with the game, so I have no complaints,” Jones said of the Hawks. “And they’re playing for something. “And the sky’s the limit for this team, so it’s a great situation to be in.”