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So odd to me, that people wonder why Jason Collins' coming out made bigger waves than Brittney Griner's.

Well, gather 'round, because I'm about to explain.

1. How many WNBA players are out? As of 2005, Michele Van Gorp, Sue Wicks and Sheryl Swoopes. That was eight years ago.
2. That the WNBA doesn't make news like the NBA is elemental. It is a lower profile sport.
3. We don't know precisely the obstacles Collins faced in coming out. But we do know that in NBA, MLB, NFL and NHL history no other active player has overcome them before, despite thousands of athletes over more than a century.
4. Jason Collins is a man.

Whoa. What? Huh? That last point?

If I thought it would work, here's where I'd drop 5,000 words of queer theory on you. Or you can take my word for it that gay men and women have long faced subtly different obstacles in gaining mainstream embrace. For men, a particular issue has been that society's powerbrokers -- disproportionately heterosexual men -- have long acted scared of gay men, and particularly of being sexually assaulted by them.

That quickens the pulse of the people who set the agenda, particularly in the male-dominated sphere of pro sports. For many sports fans that gave Collins' announcement a "wow" factor -- likely subconscious -- that Griner's cool announcement lacked.

This is why we hear so much about group showering whenever gay athletes are discussed. The shower is where a lot of heterosexual men hate to be reminded gay men exist, even if they can handle that reality perfectly well in other settings.

Compared to women or gay men, heterosexual men lack practice coping with sexualization, and are easily alarmed.

So chalk that up as the first fear: That the open existence of homosexual men makes some heterosexual men feel unsafe. This prompts fear. Fear and hatred have always walked hand in hand. Hatred, of course, is the key obstacle Collins will face.

Would you believe there's another fear in play that's even trickier to write about? The second is that admiring professional athletes' bodies -- no small part of what sports fans have long done daily -- just got weird for the ardently heterosexual male. Jason Collins is asking fans to tour their own psyches in a challenging new way.

And here's where I really think you ought to read what one of America's most decorated writers (be warned, it's PG-13 or beyond), Sherman Alexie, has to say about about how we see gay athletes, in The Stranger.

So who are the best-looking men in the USA? The answer, obviously, is professional athletes. I mean, Jesus, Google-Image Adrian Peterson. Study how cut, shredded, and jacked he is.

Cut. Shredded. Jacked. Those are violent straight-boy adjectives that mean "beautiful." But we straight boys aren't supposed to think of other men as beautiful. We're supposed to think of the most physically gifted men as warrior soldiers, as dangerous demigods.

And there's the rub: When we're talking about professional athletes, we are mostly talking about males passionately admiring the physical attributes and abilities of other males. It might not be homosexual, but it certainly is homoerotic.

So when Jason Collins, an NBA basketball player, announced this week that he was gay and became the first active athlete in the four major professional American sports leagues to come out of the closet, I was proud of him. And I was aroused, politically speaking.

He's the Jackie Robinson of homosexual basketball big men.

He's seven feet and 250 pounds of man-loving man.

And he's an aging center in the last days of his professional career who might not be signed by a team next season.

Homophobic basketball fans will disparage his skills, somehow equating his NBA benchwarmer status with his sexuality. But let's not forget that Collins is still one of the best 1,000 basketball players in the world. He has always been better than his modest statistics would indicate, and his teams have been dramatically more efficient with him on the court. He is better at hoops than 99.9 percent of you are at anything you do. He might not be a demigod, but he's certainly a semi-demigod. Moreover, his basketball colleagues universally praise him as a physically and mentally tough player. In his prime, he ably battled that behemoth known as Shaquille O'Neal. Most of all, Collins is widely regarded as one of the finest gentlemen to ever play the game. Generous, wise, and supportive, he's a natural leader. And he has a degree from Stanford University.

In other words, he's a highly attractive dude.

 

ESPN.com's Kevin Arnovitz has been out of the closet, and going to work at NBA stadiums (and yes, in locker rooms) for years.

In his experience, how can Jason Collins, now that he's out, really expect to be treated?

In response to several Twitter requests, here's Outside the Lines on Jason Collins, featuring TrueHoop's Kevin Arnovitz:

The Washington Wizards' Jason Collins has just become the first athlete in a major North American team sport to come out of the closet while still playing in the league (assuming he catches on with a team for next year -- he's a free agent).

Read his inspiring story.

David Stern's office released the following statement on Monday: "As Adam Silver and I said to Jason, we have known the Collins family since Jason and Jarron joined the NBA in 2001 and they have been exemplary members of the NBA family. Jason has been a widely respected player and teammate throughout his career and we are proud he has assumed the leadership mantle on this very important issue."

In 2011, the commissioner discussed the issue at more length. Awkwardly, he both acknowledged the challenges to gay NBA players and made clear he, Stern, would not be the person to instigate change -- specifically saying he did not want to become a "social crusader" on that issue.

I pointed out that roughly 3,600 men had played in the NBA, but at that time precisely none had come out of the closet. And there had been more than a few hints at anti-gay rhetoric in the NBA. Just a few examples:

• In his 2007 book, retired player John Amaechi both came out of the closet and shared word of bigoted behavior from his former owner and coach.
• In 2009, TV cameras caught Kenyon Martin calling Mavericks owner Mark Cuban a gay slur (NSFW).
• In 2011, Kobe Bryant directed the same word Martin used at a referee.

My question for Stern, in 2011, in the wake of Bryant's comment: Do NBA players work in an environment that is hostile to gay people? Might that be why no active player has ever come out of the closet?

Stern's response: "I don't think so. But I think that left unresponded to, statements like [Bryant's] could lead to a hostile work environment, and we're not going to have it."

Why, then, I asked, in an era when it's hard to find large businesses without openly gay employees, had no NBA player ever come out?

"I don't want to become a social crusader on this issue," Stern said, "but I think sports, male sports, has traditionally not been an inviting environment for gay men to identify themselves. But eventually ... we will get to a place where it is not an issue in sports."

Stern predicted some player would come out: "It's going to be hard, but it'll happen, I have no doubt about it."

• On Land O' Lakers, Brian Kamenetzky learns interesting stuff about Pau Gasol's mindset: "'I’m reading books about the Zen philosophy and mindset. Zen’s Mind, Beginner’s Mind,' Gasol said. After Sunday’s loss, I asked Pau what motivated him to start exploring Zen in more depth (keeping in mind he used to have a coach into that sort of thing). 'Well, just by reading other books about leadership and self-organization and to have a happy and fulfilled life,' he said. 'All of them pretty much mentioned meditation, self-awareness, live in the present, keeping your mind calm, and emptying your mind.' The last couple years have been tough for him, I noted. 'True,' he replied. And the study, he believes, has been beneficial. 'It’s helped me,' Gasol said. 'It’s helped me, reading these books I think has helped me deal with a lot of stuff that I’ve been through.'" (Pau's Zen mind could come in handy while reading this, in which he is lampooned for failing to play adequate defense against Bill Murray.)
• The flashiest game in the NBA is from the suburbs. Is that a problem?
• There is no such thing as a game-winning shot. There is no such thing as crunch time. There is also no Santa Claus. All three are totally true and totally untrue, and I'm okay with that.
• Larry Sanders' blocks, the website.
• Cole Patty of Hickory High breaks down video of Bradley Beal. Conclusion: "The way Beal moves should be considered one of the finest illusions in the entire NBA."
• Jovan Buha of ClipperBlog on the Clippers sweeping the Lakers: "Make no mistake: this is no moral victory. It’s a real victory, in every sense. The Clippers won the division on their own; nothing was handed to them. They kicked the Lakers’ butts four times spread throughout the season. They deserve all the credit, respect and praise that should be coming their way. For the first time Sunday afternoon, it felt as if there were almost as many Clipper fans as Laker fans at Staples Center. Laker fans have traditionally dominated the crowd in the match-ups, even at Clipper home games, but that’s changing. You could hear Clipper fans booing and fighting back whenever Laker fans would cheer, and there a was a level of off-the-court animosity unbeknownst to the rivalry. L.A. may never be a Clipper town, or even open to the idea, but if the Clippers keep winning, enough fans will flop sides. It happened at the inception of Lob City, and it can happen again. No one loves a winner quite like Los Angeles. The key, of course, is to win."
• Clipper worry: Team was much better before New Year's. (Although, against a tough recent schedule, not bad.)
• Be honest: How'd your NCAA bracket turn out?
• The Warriors' tough new opponent: The idea they're the weak link in the tough West playoff picture. Also, they're good when Carl Landry plays.
• George Karl, Erik Spoelstra, Gregg Popovich, Mike Woodson ... let's talk about coach of the year.
• What's wrong with Gerald Wallace?
• In New York this Thursday, a reading from We'll Always Have Linsanity: Strange Takes on the Strangest Season in Knicks History, which I'm super-excited to read.
• At times a bit PG-13, but thoroughly entertaining. Larry Bird cartoons by an American professional basketball player working Down Under.
• On Hardwood Paroxysm, Alex Wong imagines a different DeMarcus Cousins: "On slower days, he’ll take a larger binder out of the bottom drawer of his desk, and comb through them in detail. He uses a yellow post-it to mark where he last finished. They are the fine print of the company’s travel policy. He wants to suggest changes at the next annual summit meeting with the executives."
• The Rudy Gay trade did good things for Jerryd Bayless.
• Happy Birthday, 48 Minutes of Hell.
• With the season almost over, Blazer scrub Will Barton busted out career highs in almost everything. Danny Nowell of Portland Roundball Society: "It’s a funny idea, that NBA players should shock us by being effective. It’s as if fans imagine a practice wherein the starters win every scrimmage they play 80-0. Fans, I think, and certainly I myself fall into a trap: we think of 'quality' as either a duality or a simple sliding scale. A player is 'good' or 'bad;' a starter is an '8' while his backup is a '4'. Even where we introduce some subjectivity into the idea of player comparison—the numerical scale—we tend to treat player quality as a fixed role rather than a set of attributes unique to individual players. Really, games like the one Will just had are windows into the players’ experience, a night where we see what they do every day. In practice, Barton doesn’t sit on the bench and think about defensive responsibility, he cuts to the rim for lobs from Eric Maynor. How odd it must be, to be a player with such a dynamic style that you work on most days behind closed doors while fans on the other side talk about your ability in the future tense. Let me make an analogy a little closer to my own experience: being Will Barton would be like writing every day, and storing my writing away where no one would see it. My improvements, my present qualities, none of them would get seen. Every NBA scrub, then, is a basketball Kafka."
• The Magic are bad. But Jacque Vaughn has some coaching moves.

• 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.

Jamal Crawford has scored 40 points or more eight times in his career. In a little TrueHoop TV game show, Kevin Arnovitz resolved to test Crawford's memory of those games -- Crawford came up with eight answers, and a nice little Michael Jordan anecdote to boot.  

• NBA hopefuls, and LaMarcus Aldridge, take note: An above average NBA 3-point shooter is far more valuable to his team than an above average 2-point shooter. Ian Levy writes for Hardwood Paroxysm about how we are funny in how we perceive 3s: "Corey Brewer is routinely lambasted for being such a willing and inaccurate 3-point shooter. But while his 3.7 three-point attempts per game generate 1.3 negative blog posts per week, rarely is Joe Johnson criticized for the 9.5 2-point shots he attempts each game, even though they generate essentially the same number of points per shot."
• Magic Johnson tells the tale of his son coming out of the closet.
• The inspiring tale of Ray King, playing for North Carolina Central despite cancer, bathing in bleach every night to ward off staph infections.
• Is the Rockets re-build -- keep a bunch of cap space around for a star who'll come somehow or other -- a road map for post-Josh Smith Hawks?
• Mark Jackson's "next level boldness" has the power to rearrange your thinking.
• Watch for "Millionaire Mama's Boy," a reality show starring JaVale McGee. Not kidding.
• The many ways Carmelo Anthony can kill you.
• Does Manu Ginobili remember the moment he was drafted? He does not, because he wasn't there, nor watching, because he didn't even know it was draft night. He had to be woken up.
• To recover faster from concussion, doctors told Nikola Vucevic not to read, watch TV or text. So what did he do?
• Jim Cavan for The New York Times on the Wizards' freakish recent defense: "Over the last 42 games, the Wizards are third in defensive efficiency (98.6), fourth in opponent field-goal percentage (43.3 percent), second in opponent 3-point percentage (33.1 percent) and second in defensive rebounding percentage (75.6 percent)."
• The sports fans perennial task: to imagine what a player might be.
• Kobe Bryant's off-ball defense really perked up against the Mavericks.
• Things have gone badly for the Suns. But does that mean a change is in order? Suns bloggers chew on Lon Babby's extension.
• LeBron's best game.
• The restaurant that thrives in the building owned by the Players Association, which has offices upstairs.
• Lawrence Frank, candidate to coach Rutgers?
• Not into Jay-Z: A.J. Price.

• 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.

• Buck Harvey of the San Antonio Express-News: LeBron James and Dwyane Wade watched on the locker room television, then burst out to greet their teammates. To use Erik Spoelstra’s phrase, they “tackled everyone.” And if it was possible, David Stern would have parachuted in to join them. Stern had looked foolish the last time, announcing “substantial sanctions” were forthcoming before the undermanned Spurs pressed the Heat. This time? The franchise that’s irritated Stern for more than a decade was hit with something more significant than a fine. Those who believe in the worst of the NBA office probably see signs of a conspiracy again. After all, Joey Crawford showed up, and when is the last time that’s been good for San Antonio? Then there was the call by another official, Jason Phillips, with 32 seconds left. The Miami version of Nando De Colo, Norris Cole, fell on a drive; Kawhi Leonard got the foul because he was the only one nearby. “We got some lucky breaks at the end,” Spoelstra said, and he followed with something as true. “But that’s basketball.” One call didn’t determine this game, not when the Heat played with the kind of competitive joy the Spurs had in November in Miami. Chris Bosh used the word “fun,” because it was for them. Just as the Spurs played loose in Miami, so did the Heat Sunday. … With the Thunder waiting for the second game of a back-to-back in OKC on Thursday, will this be the week that scrambles the Western Conference seeding? Stern wouldn’t mind, since he’s butted heads with the Spurs for years. And while he pushed for an economic model that allowed small markets to compete, he always preferred selling something other than a Spurs franchise that has never moved the television needle. And so there Stern was Sunday, with his final postseason as the NBA commissioner approaching, watching Bosh line up the game-winner.
• Ethan J. Skolnick of the Palm Beach Post: Could the Heat center imagine playing at such a level at age 37? “I don’t know if I’ll still be playing,” said Chris Bosh, who recently turned 29. “I don’t want to, no. I will if I have to. You can’t tell the future, but I don’t plan to.” If the rest of his career is anywhere near as enjoyable as Sunday night’s 88-86 victory, you’d think he could be convinced to reconsider. With LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Mario Chalmers all sitting — due to what Miami coach Erik Spoelstra characterized as nagging injuries but what many suspected was payback for San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich’s ploy in November — Bosh had a rare opportunity to anchor the Heat, and to do so against the Spurs, the West’s best squad. And so there he was, with the Heat down one. There he was, after Spoelstra trusted his team to push the ball without a timeout. There he was, standing open after a screen, 25 feet from the basket, just past the top of the key, after Tiago Splitter failed to switch and three defenders flailed toward Ray Allen. “I saw myself shooting that,” Allen said. “I was about to shoot it, and I felt my guy come up on me, and hey, there’s somebody open, and I found him.” He found Bosh, who had 20 points at that stage, including a couple of 3-pointers. “Fairly decent look,” Spoelstra said. Bosh wasn’t surprised to be that free. “I had to make the shot still,” he said, laughing.
• Harvey Araton of The New York Times: One championship, two finals appearances, and countless clutch shots and defensive stands later, Pierce, at 35, is considered one of the league’s sage big-game veterans, a future Retired Number Celtic, a nearly certain Hall of Famer. His delayed ascension might also reflect the best-case career trajectory for the Knicks’Carmelo Anthony, whose professional years have mimicked Pierce’s 20s far more than they have LeBron James’s. With the Knicks poised to displace the Celtics as Atlantic Division champions after beating them, 108-89, on Sunday night at Madison Square Garden, this would be a propitious time to present Pierce as Exhibit A in the case for Anthony’s potential growth into no-questions-asked superstardom. Anthony’s critics, including me, have never underestimated his combustible package of size, strength and first-step speed. But his teams in Denver and in New York have produced poor playoff results, and he has admitted to failing to fully grasp the essence of collective elegance until last summer’s Olympics. Isn’t it fair to say that when it comes to winning at the highest level, Anthony is still an undergraduate student trying to complete a master’s program?
• Baxter Holmes of The Boston Globe: As one of three NBA coaches on the league’s competition committee, Rivers, who is joined by Dallas’s Rick Carlisle and Memphis’s Lionel Hollins, is asked to vote on potential rule changes and other competition-related matters. One issue Rivers said he expects to come up this offseason is the idea of coaches sitting star players in games, which Miami did Sunday night against San Antonio. The Heat sat LeBron James, Dywane Wade, and Mario Chalmers against the Spurs, indicating that each had injuries such as a hamstring strain and a sprained ankle. The move caused a stir because Spurs coach Gregg Popovich had sent forward Tim Duncan, guard Manu Ginobili, and guard Tony Parker home before playing the Heat Nov. 19. … “I’ve got a feeling it will come up, probably loudly,” Rivers said. “But I don’t know what you’re supposed to do about it as a coach. It’s a tough one, honestly. From the fans’ standpoint, they pay to see the players play and I get that. From the league’s standpoint, they want to protect that. From a coaching standpoint, you want to do what’s best for your team. It’s a tough one.” However, the Celtics may have an advantage in this area because their star players are pushing 35 and above, so no one really questions why they sit: they’re just old. “I think ‘old’ is an actual injury,” Rivers joked. “You have the ‘hamstring injury’ and you have the ‘old injury.’ ”
• Craig Stouffer of the Washington Examiner: With a 109-92 victory over Toronto before 14,360 at Verizon Center, the Wizards (27-46) achieved their objective and saw shades of what their starting backcourt hopes to be next year. Bradley Beal matched a career-high with six 3-pointers and a game-high 24 points after missing 11 of the last 14 games with a sprained left ankle. His return was the perfect complement to John Wall's 18 points and 10 assists with a single turnover, the bookend to a superb March played mostly without his rookie teammate. "It's very important, especially to me and especially to the team, because we want to end on a good note, make a run for the ninth seed," Beal said. … Beal checked in with 4:37 remaining the first quarter. His 3-pointer over 6-foot-11 Jonas Valanciunas (18 points, 10 rebounds) broke a 33-33 tie early in the second, starting a stretch in which the Wizards outscored the Raptors by 10 over the final eight minutes of the half. "I think we've seen it in his attitude," Wizards coach Randy Wittman said of Beal. "He's been working, and he wants to get back. That's a good sign. ... I've been in it long enough where I've seen guys say they don't want to get back."
• Cathal Kelly of the Toronto Star: The vogue trend in the league is to shoot three-pointers at every opportunity. On that basis, Gay is a victim of fashion. His three-point shooting is middling overall (33.9 per cent career), and trending like an anvil tipped into a well (26.7 per cent this year). Gay missed his shot. Toronto missed its chance. All the momentum drained away then. It finished 109-92. “You don’t want to question a guy’s decision, but we’d much rather go to the basket,” coach Dwane Casey said. “He made that choice.” Bad choices, large and small, haunt this team. It was a wrong choice to come out looking like they needed a little nap after the excitement of the anthems. ‘We came out with a lax disposition,” Casey said flatly. “(Casey) said that to us also,” Kyle Lowry said afterward, as if relieved to hear that he wasn’t the only one. It was a wrong choice to get into early foul trouble.
• John Reid of The Times-Picayune: New Orleans Hornets guard Greivis Vasquez said Coach Monty Williams called him out in front of his teammates during halftime for not playing like a leader after committing three turnovers and scoring five points. But Vasquez used it as motivation, dominating the third quarter by making all six shots, distributing three assists and most importantly not committing a turnover for the entire second half on his way to a team-high 25 points. Vasquez not only looked for his shot, but he got the Hornets in their offensive sets quicker and looked specifically for forward Anthony Davis on lob passes coming off pick-and-roll plays. Vasquez and Davis combined to score 29 of the Hornets' 36 points in the third quarter. It was enough for the Hornets to end a two-game losing streak and finish their seven-game homestand at 4-3.
• Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon-Journal: Kyrie Irving’s return from a sprained left shoulder Sunday provided Shaun Livingston with a welcome break. Livingston is able to return to his reserve role after averaging 32 minutes in the eight games he started. Livingston played well in Irving’s absence, but he now strengthens a bench that has been depleted by the injuries to the starters. “It keeps the second unit a little more intact and it cuts down his minutes, which I think is important,” coach Byron Scott said. “I thought he was running on fumes for a little while because of all the minutes we’ve been playing him. He gets more of a break and can resume his normal position and normal playing time. That definitely helps.”
• Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune: The NBA's decision to upgrade a Gibson foul onLeBron James from a regular shooting foul to a flagrant foul surprised Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau. "I guess we have to call the league and get clarification on that," he said. "I didn't see it that way. I still don't have a good understanding of what a flagrant foul is. By rule it's unnecessary, excessive. I thought I got some clarity last year, but apparently I didn't." James complained after Wednesday's game of fouls he deemed "not basketball plays." Asked if James' opinion carries weight with the league, Thibodeau replied: "I guess we have to talk to the league to find out."
• Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News: When a team shoots 50 percent on the road and holds its opponent under 40 percent, it expects to win. But when these two meet, no one stat can guarantee victory for the Pistons. They had a chance to send the game to overtime, trailing by three with 22 seconds left, but Charlie Villanueva's 3-point attempt didn't find its mark. Jose Calderon would've been a candidate to take a tying 3-pointer, but he has a tendon problem in his elbow and when the ball swung to him, he was no threat to shoot, so Villanueva launched a long jumper in a failed attempt to send the game to overtime. Rodney Stuckey hit a 3-pointer on the final possession to cut the lead from four to one. The Pistons (24-50) were already undermanned without Jason Maxiell (eye injury, didn't make the trip) and Will Bynum (hand). The Bulls (40-32) were playing without Joakim Noah, Marco Belinelli, former Piston Richard Hamilton and 2011 MVP Derrick Rose, who's yet to return from tearing his Achilles. Even without those four, especially the pesky Noah, the Bulls made the necessary plays down the stretch to give the Pistons that sinking feeling. "It was some bad bounces, I had a bad turnover," said Greg Monroe, who finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds and four assists, benefitting from Noah's absence. "Just a half-second late, that might've been the difference. We played with good energy, good effort the whole game. When it counted, we were a step late."

• Andre C. Fernandez of The Miami Herald: The streak was threatened again. Could have fooled the Heat, which again turned a seemingly precarious situation into a victory in a matter of minutes. Even with Dwyane Wade sidelined for the second game in a row and LeBron James scoring only six points through 21/2 quarters, the Heat’s winning streak hit 27 games Monday night with a 108-94 win against the Magic at Amway Center. The Heat used a 13-0 run after finding itself tied at 68 with 2:59 left in the third quarter and scored 20 of the game’s next 22 points to pull away for good and move closer to the 1971-72 Lakers’ NBA-record 33-game winning streak and the Eastern Conference’s top seed. The Heat can clinch the conference’s top record Tuesday if the Knicks lose to the Celtics or by beating the Bulls on Wednesday in Chicago. The Heat also won its 13th consecutive road game, which is one away from matching its franchise record away from home and three away from matching those same Lakers for the longest road-winning streak in league history (16).
• Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: Perhaps no one on the Magic roster wanted to play against the Heat more than Arron Afflalo, one of Orlando's most competitive players. But an injury to his right hamstring prevented him from playing Monday and will keep him out the rest of the season. He suffered the injury during the Magic's loss Friday to the Oklahoma City Thunder. "I don't know if my leg was kind of turned inwards as I kind of reached down for the ball, but whatever movement I made caused me to have a slight tear in my muscle down there," Afflalo said. "Obviously, we didn't have that much time left in the season, so there'd be no way I could even get remotely back ready to play for one or two games." Afflalo is the Magic's leading scorer, averaging 16.5 points per game. He's also the team's leading shot-taker, attempting 14.1 shots per game. The team will treat his injury with rest and physical therapy, and on Monday he walked through Amway Center with a pronounced limp. He hopes that his injury will have a silver lining. He hopes the time off will allow other nagging injuries to heal fully, and he said he hopes to begin training for next season in about six to eight weeks.
• Jimmy Smith of The Times-Picayune: New Orleans Hornets guard Brian Roberts may be the best 27-year rookie in the NBA. Robert played three years in Bamberg, Germany before making an NBA roster as a 26-year-old when he stuck with the Hornets following a nice showing in the Las Vegas Summer League. In only his second NBA start Monday night against the Denver Nuggets, who came into the game on a 15-game winning streak, Roberts exhibited the poise expected of a seasoned veteran, or at least one who has been through the rigors a a professional basketball season in the past. Roberts accumulated a career- and Hornets' season-high 18 assists against the Nuggets, drawing praise from veteran Denver Coach George Karl who said "That little kid played great; he passed as well as any one who has passed against us in a long time." That "little kid" might have earned his way back for a second stint next season based on Monday night's effort in relief of injured starter Greivis Vasquez.
• Benjamin Hochman of The Denver Post: It was over, garbage time, time for the no-names to check in -- when one realized the no-names were already in. The rebuilding Hornets, without their two top players, ended the Nuggets' 15-game win streak abruptly and abrasively, 110-86 on Monday, with guys such as Brian Roberts and Darius Miller having huge nights. Denver was disheartening. By halftime, Denver trailed 59-38 -- the 21-point halftime deficit was the Nuggets' largest of the season. … Folks are learning as much about Ty Lawson's importance when he's not playing as when he is. After a scorching couple of months, the point guard missed his third consecutive game with a heel bruise. In the previous two, Denver barely beat two lottery teams. And then the first half in New Orleans was atrociously abysmal (abysmally atrocious?). Fill-in starting point guard Andre Miller was minus-28, seldom getting Denver into a rhythm. It's been six days since Lawson injured the heel at Oklahoma City. Karl said Monday that it looked "tender." Lawson will get treatment and go through a light workout in San Antonio on Tuesday, as he aims for the big matchup against the Spurs on Wednesday. Sure, the streak was going end at some point. But like this?
• Phillip B. Wilson of The Indianapolis Star: Two more Indiana Pacers were affixed the dreaded “day-to-day” injury tag Monday as the starting backcourt of George Hill and Lance Stephenson sat out against Atlanta at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Hill, the starting point guard, is bothered by a left groin strain. Stephenson has a right hip flexor. The Pacers were also without starting forward David West (back strain) for a fifth consecutive game and 2009 NBA All-Star forward David Granger, who has played just five games as a reserve due to a seasonlong knee problem. “George’s is probably more serious than Lance’s,” Vogel said before the game. “(Hill) still has a good chance of playing on Wednesday, (but) they’re more concerned with his groin than they are Lance’s hip.” The Pacers are about to embark on a four-game trip with the first stop Wednesday at Houston. “David is going to be still day-to-day,” Vogel said. “There’s an outside chance he could play Wednesday, but not 100 percent sure. And Danny as well. Those guys both could see action in Texas.” The Pacers started D.J. Augustin for Hill and Gerald Green for Stephenson. Vogel wanted Orlando Johnson to come off the bench. The plan had Sam Young spelling Paul George and Ben Hansbrough backing up Augustin.
• Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: This one was over early. Or was it? The Pacers were missing four starters. The Hawks were playing to clinch a postseason berth. All signs pointed to a blowout. That is exactly what happened, at least for much of the game, but it certainly didn’t go the way most would expect. It was the Pacers that led by as many as 28 points late in the third quarter. However, they had to hold on for dear life as a group of Hawks reserves nearly erased the entire deficit. In the end, it was a 100-94 Pacers victory Monday night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The Hawks (39-32) could have clinched a playoff berth, the team’s sixth straight, with a victory and a 76ers loss at the Jazz later Monday night. The loss dropped the Hawks into a tie with the Bulls, who own the tiebreaker, for sixth in the Eastern Conference. … The Hawks continue a four-game road trip, with a 1-1 mark, at the Raptors Wednesday.
• Brandon Parker of The Washington Post: As John Wall stepped to the free-throw line late in the fourth quarter of Monday’s game against Memphis, his new career high and the Wizards’ sixth straight home win in hand, faint chants of “M-V-P” arose within the Verizon Center. When asked about it later, the third-year guard shrugged off the praise. “Nah, I’m not no MVP, man,” Wall said with a grin. “I’m just glad to finally be able to play good, be healthy, help change things around. Like I said, if this team’s healthy from start to finish, we’d easily be a playoff team. That’s how we feel.” With the way the Wizards have fallen prey to injuries, especially of late, that’s something fans will never know this season (Five players missed Monday’s game with injury or illness). But with the way Wall has played, especially of late, one can’t help but wonder “what if” about this resilient group. After recording a career-high 47 points in Washington’s 107-94 win against playoff-bound Memphis, Wall is now averaging 25 points and 9.3 assists during his past nine games. The Wizards have gone 6-3 during that stint and are now 21-16 since Wall’s return from a leg injury. … Wall has also shown patience with his jumper, steadily working to eliminate the hitch in his shot and add another dimension to a skill set built on speed and flash. By doing so, he also seems to be indirectly addressing the questions surrounding his value as a franchise and max-contract player.
• Ronald Tillery of The Commercial-Appeal: Grizzlies guard Tony Allen exhaled with disappointment several times while standing in front of his station in the visitor’s locker room. For the second straight game, the Grizzlies didn’t look like themselves. Memphis played fast relative to its standard pace over the weekend and won. But the Griz were rendered defenseless Monday night and that led to a bad result in the form of a 107-94 loss to the Washington Wizards before 17,868 in the Verizon Center. “We need to decide what team we want to be,” Allen said, lamenting a belief that the Griz are beginning to play down to the level of their competition — especially on the road. The combination of Allen’s observation and Wizards guard John Wall’s offensive onslaught defined the Grizzlies in a not-so-flattering way. … The Griz, fifth in the Western Conference standings, are a game behind the Los Angeles Clippers and Denver Nuggets for third and fourth place, respectively. “They deserved to win,” Hollins said. “They were the aggressors from the get go.”
• Jody Genessy of the Deseret News: Speaking from experience, Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin knows how difficult of a position some of his guys are in right now. Eight Jazz players will be free agents this summer — nine if Marvin Williams doesn’t exercise his player option for 2013-14 — and it's only natural to be affected by the unknown. Though he believes his players are usually able to tune out noise about the future, Corbin admitted it's possible that has played a small role in the team's recent struggles. "With this group, I like to say that they've been tremendous all year," Corbin said. "Right from the beginning of training camp, we talked about the number of free agents we had. Everybody keeps mentioning it. We tried to get the guys — as much as they could — to not worry about it as much, but it's been there." Corbin said it's been more evident since nobody was moved on the final day of player transactions Feb. 21. "Once the trade deadline was over and everybody realized we were going to be this way for the rest of the year, I think we relaxed a little bit," Corbin said of his team that was 3-11 since that deadline before Monday's 107-91 win over the 76ers.
• John Mitchell of The Philadelphia Inquirer: The inability to be consistent, something that has haunted the 76ers all season long, reared its ugly head again Monday night. One night after the lowest-scoring team in the NBA played with bounce in its stride, the sluggishness that has been a hallmark all season returned in an ugly 107-91 loss to the Utah Jazz at EnergySolutions Arena. The Sixers (27-43) shot the ball poorly and never led. They trailed by 19 at the end of the third quarter. Utah, which began the night 11/2 games out of the final Western Conference playoff spot, led by as many as 22 points in the fourth quarter. The loss came at the end of a four-game Western Conference road trip for the Sixers. It also came one night after they ended their road losing streak at 15 games.
• Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle: With 0.5 of a second still remaining on the first-half clock Monday night and his team trailing the Warriors by 23 points, Lakers guard Kobe Bryant walked off the court and headed dejectedly for the locker room. The message had been sent. "We've played 72 games, and the survey says that we're the better basketball team," Warriors head coach Mark Jackson said. "That cannot be debated. We were not going to come into this game on our heels. "We respect them. They've got some guys who are going to be in the Hall of Fame. ... But this is a different day, and we're a different basketball team." The Warriors can make those types of claims for the first time in nearly 20 years and now have more proof with Monday's 109-103 victory, during which they generally dominated the Lakers in front of the 25th consecutive sellout crowd at Oracle Arena.
• Kevin Ding of The Orange County Register: The Lakers' hope was that Pau Gasol's return from injury would help them develop a consistently solid second unit. The Lakers figured to have enough depth that fill-in starter Earl Clark wouldn't even have regular minutes once Gasol got back to his usual level of conditioning. But the Lakers' depth was woefully lacking Monday night at Golden State with Antawn Jamison struggling to adjust to a sprained right wrist suffered last game and then starting small forward Metta World Peace not playing the second half because of a strained left knee. Welcome back, Earl. Shooting guard Jodie Meeks started the second half in World Peace's place. World Peace did return to the Lakers' bench before the fourth quarter, moving around some on the leg. The Lakers have Tuesday off before a back-to-back set at Minnesota on Wednesday and Milwaukee on Thursday. World Peace has been one of the few Lakers to avoid significant injuries this season, although Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni said World Peace wasn't full strength in his lower body earlier this season and struggling to defend small forwards. Aside from the first half Monday night against Golden State exposing Gasol as moving very poorly in his second game back from the torn plantar fascia in his right foot, it showed again that the Lakers' second unit is heavily reliant on 3-point shots.

Stephen Curry was leading the Warriors on a 3-on-1 fastbreak as the Wizards scrambled to get back. Advantage: Golden State.

Until Cartier Martin, trailing the play, made what has become a fairly routine, if constantly dangerous, NBA play. Rather than concede the offense the advantage, he grabbed Curry around the waist.

Curry is crafty, however, and initially eluded Martin with a nifty behind the back dribble. Except Martin wasn't just reaching for the ball. He wasn't really playing basketball at all. His intent was to stop the play. Instead of a touch foul, he held on to Curry who -- in a scene all too familiar to Golden State fans -- rolled over his surgically repaired right ankle (VIDEO).

Curry stuck around to hit his free throws, then went to the locker room to be examined by medical personnel. He would not return to the game.

With all those huge players moving at high speed, injuries like rolled ankles are bound to happen. But the Curry-Martin incident was in a different category of blatantly intentional fouls that never would have happened if the rules didn't encourage players like Martin to prevent likely scores with drastic fouls.

The mission of HoopIdea's Working Bodies campaign is to maximize player safety. Although a number of dangerous plays and injuries are very tough to prevent, intentional fouls are different. There's no mystery about why they occur. They are the result of conscious decision-making, not random chance. On TrueHoop in the days to come, we'll explore this overlooked but important (ask a Warriors fan!) part of the game, and what can be done about it.

 

• 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: He is now not just a man of distinction, but one with a distinction, having somehow scaled to heights — on legs that don’t lift — that no one else in NBA history has reached. And, still, that bemused expression remains stuck to Heat forward Shane Battier’s face whenever someone asks him if he is impressed by what he and his team are accomplishing. “I welcome my teammates to the 20-win club,” said Battier, now the first player in NBA history to play for two teams with streaks of that length. “I told them I’ll teach them the secret handshake on the flight tonight.” Battier’s Houston Rockets actually won 22 in a row in 2007-08, and they won many in the just-barely, needed-breaks fashion that the Heat did Wednesday night, this one by a 98-94 count against the Philadelphia 76ers. “Oh yeah, quite a few,” Battier said. “Luck plays a big part in wins and losses. I believe if you play hard and play the right way, luck goes in your favor more often than not. But you can’t be good in this league without a little bit of luck.”
• Jeff Schultz of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: With a dented roster, a lineup to make even the most ardent NBA fan look sideways and the presumably lame-duck Josh Smith sitting out with a knee injury and, yes, after another benching (sssssh), this didn’t figure to be a night the Hawks would juice their playoff seeding or season-ticket sales. They were sliding (losing six of seven and 14 of 19 since a 20-10 start). They were facing the suddenly functioning Dwight Howard and the Los Angeles Lakers. They were starting their 23rd different lineup of the season, and probably the weakest of them all. In the eyes of most: No. 30, No. 10, No. 4, No. 34 and Al Horford. And with this worst of all backdrops, they won, anyway. Of course. They do this. Move aside “Miracle on Ice.” The Hawks led by as many as 14 points in the first half, lost the lead in the third when Kobe Bryant followed a three-point first-half with a 20-point third, showed remarkable resilience with a depleted team and held on to defeat Los Angeles 96-92 at Philips Arena (which was half-filled with Lakers fans). So they’re not dead yet.
• Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Kobe Bryant questioned the defense of Dahntay Jones, which left the Lakers star with severely sprained left ankle, in the closing seconds of the Hawks’ 96-92 victory Wednesday night. According to team officials, Bryant is out indefinitely. Jones was guarding Bryant when he missed a potential game-tying baseline jump shot with 2.6 seconds remaining. Bryant turned his ankle when he landed and stayed down on the court for several minutes. He was eventually helped to the locker room. “I think officials really need to protect shooters,” Bryant told reporters following the game. “You can contest shots, but you can’t walk underneath players, that’s dangerous for the shooter. …I’m always conscious of it. When I go to contest shots I’m always very conscious about making sure I don’t walk underneath them. It’s just a very, very dangerous play. Especially if I’m fading away, there’s no rhyme or reason why I should come down anywhere near somebody’s foot.” At the end of his interview, Bryant added: “I can’t get my mind past the fact that I got to wait a year to get revenge.”
• Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe: There was no guarantee either would be here. Here as in the NBA. Here as in Boston. And here as in on the list all-time great players. Boston is no stranger to milestones. It seems a Celtic — going back to Cousy, Russell, Heinsohn, Havlicek, Bird, McHale, Parish — is always passing somebody on an all-time list. PA announcements from Eddie Palladino are commonplace. But Wednesday night, during Boston’s 112-88 rout of the Raptors at TD Garden, was different. Palladino had the pleasure of informing fans that Garnett had passed Jerry West for 15th on the all-time scoring list. Garnett now has 25,201 after his 12-point night. One quarter later, Palladino used his golden voice to alert the crowd that Pierce had passed the famous/infamous Charles Barkley for 20th on the all-time list. Pierce now has 23,763 after his 15-point effort. Two teenage buddies who took dramatically different paths to get here are now among the top 20 scorers in NBA history. That’s a long way from Slam-N-Jam youth leagues, in which Montell Jordan’s “This is How We Do It” would blast before games.
• John Rohde of The Oklahoman: Despite a precipitous drop in his shooting percentages from the field since All-Star weekend, Durant remains alive and well for his fourth straight scoring title (28.3) and also had kept his head above water for the prestigious “180 Club” – shooting 50 percent from the field, 40 percent from 3-point range and 90 percent from the free-throw line. Before the All-Star break, Durant was shooting 51.9 percent from the field; 42.7 percent from 3-point range and 90.7 percent from the free-throw line. Since the All-Star break, he has shot 43.1 percent from the field, 34.1 percent from 3-point range and 92.0 percent from the line. On the season, Durant stands at 50.5 percent from the field, 41.5 percent from 3-point range and 91.0 percent from the line after Wednesday's game.
• Ronald Tillery of The Commercial-Appeal: Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins said his team is on a simple mission as the regular season draws to an end. He just wants his troops to be comfortable and consistent with their brand of basketball every time out. That certainly looked to be the case Wednesday night as the Grizzlies dealt the Los Angeles Clippers a 96-85 loss, and a heavy-handed dose of what Hollins was talking about. The Griz left Staples Center with their sixth straight win and 14th in 15 games. Memphis (44-19) also claimed sole possession of third place in the Western Conference playoff standings. The Clippers’ high-powered offense never got on track against the Grizzlies’ NBA-leading defense, which allows just 89.5 points per game.
• Mike Wells of The Indianapolis Star: How the standings in the East look today could look drastically different when the regular season ends in the middle of April. The only thing that’s basically certain is that the Miami Heat will finish with the best record in the conference. I think the Pacers have the inside track for the second seed. After that, though, who knows how things will shake out. The New York Knicks have been one of the top three teams in the conference all season. But that could change. … Boston could also make a move up the standings. With that being said, is there a team you think the Pacers should avoid in the first round of the playoffs? I still say it’s Boston over any other team the Pacers could face in the first round. The Celtics are 2-0 against the Pacers this season and you can never shortchange any team that’s coached by Doc Rivers and has Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, both future Hall of Famers, on its roster. They’re the team nobody wants to face in the playoffs.
• Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle: Midway through the second quarter at Toyota Center, the Rockets were sinking, the Phoenix Suns were leading, and Saturday’s confounding and deflating Rockets loss seemed to be repeating itself. James Harden had missed a 3-pointer and then failed to get back defensively, leaving Jared Dudley open for a corner 3 and a five-point Phoenix lead. As cranky as coach Kevin McHale had been since Saturday’s two-point loss, the message during the timeout must have been at full blast. The point was clearly made, but this time McHale didn’t have to make it. The Rockets heard all they needed from each other, returning to the floor transformed. The game was never the same, either. The Rockets went from that timeout to 18 dominant minutes and from Saturday’s loss in Phoenix to a 111-81 blowout of the Suns on Wednesday night to open a seven-game homestand with their biggest rout of the Suns in franchise history. It all began with those few minutes recharging their batteries on the bench.
• Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee: In the eyes of the NBA, a flagrant foul 2 and ejection were enough discipline for Kings center DeMarcus Cousins. Cousins was not suspended for Wednesday's game against the Chicago Bulls. He was thrown out of Sunday's loss to Milwaukee for landing an elbow to the back of Milwaukee forward Mike Dunleavy's head shortly after being called for a technical foul in the third quarter. Kings coach Keith Smart received the news in a conversation with Stu Jackson, the NBA executive vice president of basketball operations. … Cousins still missed Wednesday's game because of a left quadriceps contusion suffered in a collision with Dunleavy, who was trying to box him out. The maneuver preceded the technical foul, flagrant foul and ejection. Cousins was listed as day-to-day. The Kings' next game is on the road Sunday against the Los Angeles Lakers.
• Michael Lee of The Washington Post: On the verge of their worst collapse of the season, the Wizards regrouped around Wall, who settled down his teammates with his playmaking and scoring, posting 23 points and 10 assists to lead the Wizards to a 106-93 victory at Verizon Center. Wall was prepared to carry a heavy burden with the Wizards down to just two healthy back-court players and he overcame his own fatigue to log a season-high 43 minutes on the second end of back-to-back games. “I’m still trying to get back into top game shape,” said Wall, who soaked in the cold tub after the game. “Whatever to help my team win and me to getting better, I’m willing to do it.” The Wizards (21-42) surpassed their win total from the 66-game lockout-shortened campaign of last season and improved to 16-14 since Wall returned from a three-month absence with a stress injury in his left knee. Washington also won its third straight game at home and took two of three in the season series against the Bucks (32-31), a likely playoff team.
• Benjamin Hochman of The Denver Post: Kenneth Faried took a risk. He became the first NBA player to join an organization that supports gay rights while playing. Wednesday, the NBA honored the Nuggets forward for his efforts by giving him the monthly Community Assist Award for February. According to the league, Faried was honored for "his efforts to champion equality and bring awareness to the importance of respect and inclusion." Faried, who was raised by his mother and her female life partner, is a member of Athlete Ally, an organization that helps promote acceptance of gays in sports. In a show of support for equal rights, in January he attended the launch party for One Colorado to celebrate the passing of Senate Bill 11, the Colorado Civil Union Act.
• Marcus Thompson II of The Oakland Tribune: Free-agent small forward Dominic McGuire, the defensive specialist who became a fan favorite with the Warriors last season, probably won't be returning to Golden State this season as many fans hope. According to team sources, the Warriors don't want him taking minutes away from rookie forward Draymond Green. It is obvious Golden State could use a defensive stopper. And they have the roster space to add McGuire, who is a free agent looking for a team. And McGuire would be eligible for the postseason should the Warriors sign him by season's end. But the Warriors let McGuire walk during the offseason largely because they believed Green could bring what McGuire did, plus more rebounding. Jackson, who one source said has veto power, doesn't want to inhibit Green's development. So instead of getting a perimeter wing defender, the Warriors decided to fill their hole at third-string power forward, hence the signing of Malcolm Thomas from the D-League. Golden State doesn't have a legitimate power forward behind Lee and Carl Landry since Jeremy Tyler was traded to Atlanta.