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• A couple of years ago, the city of Brixton introduced its own currency as a complement to the pound sterling. It was a way to entice local residents to buy from district merchants and to keep money in the neighborhood. A new series of notes has been released. On the five pound note, you'll find Luol Deng, whose family emigrated to Brixton to escape civil war in Sudan when Deng was a boy.
• How much do residents in municipalities that underwrote the construction of NBA facilities have a right to demand accountability from NBA owners? Tom Ziller explores the question at SB Nation.
• An unofficial training camp in Lexington, Kentucky.
• Beckley Mason of HoopSpeak asks whether you'd rather have Monte Ellis or Arron Afflalo in your backcourt.
• Video of LeBron James and Dwyane Wade working out.
• If you peruse Ball in Europe's first installment of the Euroleague Power Rankings, you'll find a slew of NBA names. Andrei Kirilenko has joined CSKA Moscow, while Danilo Gallinari is wearing Emporio Armani.
• Speaking of Kirilenko, would he absolutely return to the NBA in the event of a labor resolution or is he better suited to playing out the autumn of his career in his native Russia?
• Walton High School grads Daron and Zack Blaylock -- the twin sons of former NBA guard Mookie Blaylock -- will be attending the University of Kentucky on football scholarships. "I never was any good at basketball," says Zack.
• Will Knicks fans ever forgive Charles Smith for the 1993 Eastern Conference finals?
• Hirsute San Francisco closer Brian Wilson explains why the 1986 Celtics are the best team ever. "The Chief. He's sweet. He's the Chief. That's his name. 'Hi, I'm the Chief.'"
• Jean-Ralphio Saperstein, Roy Hibbert and Detlef Schrempf all in one place. [Hat Tip: Rob Mahoney]
• Via PistonPowered, Pistons rookie Vernon Macklin might not get the chance to brandish his skills on an NBA floor this season, but his Twitter game is doing just fine, thank you.
• Twitter gives Rasual Butler the munchies.

• The Bulls could use an additional long-range shooter for their wing rotation and, on the surface, Rudy Fernandez seems like a nice fit. So let's say the Bulls are able to acquire Fernandez from Portland in a deal. Could Fernandez reasonably expect more minutes in Chicago than he received in Portland? Matt McHale of Bulls by the Horns: "Look at Chicago’s roster: Derrick Rose, C.J. Watson, Ronnie Brewer, Kyle Korver, Luol Deng, James Johnson, Carlos Boozer, Taj Gibson, Joakim Noah, Kurt Thomas and Omer Asik. That’s a pretty deep team. How many minutes would Fernandez get in a backcourt that includes Rose, Watson, Brewer and (probably at times) Korver? Last season, Rudy became 'disgruntled' playing 23 minutes a game (down from 25 the previous season). How many minutes would he see on the Bulls?"
• Playing an all-out zone defense doesn't translate into much success at the NBA level. As Sebastian Pruiti demonstrates at NBA Playbook, many of the bedrock principles of the zone simply aren't available to NBA defenses because of the defensive 3-second rule.
• Assuming Kendrick Perkins isn't suited up on opening night, which O'Neal should start for the Celtics?
• Yesterday, Tim Varner of 48 Minutes of Hell wrote that it's just a matter of time before NBA teams will be examining the DNA of potential signees. Today, economist Tyler Cowen looks at a paper that suggests some populations are more genetically predisposed to collectivism and mutual cooperation than others. The researchers say, "Genetic association studies suggest that variation within the genes of central neurotransmitter systems, particularly the serotonin ... and opioid ..., are associated with individual differences in social sensitivity, which reflects the degree of emotional responsivity to social events and experiences." Cowen is rightly skeptical, but you can imagine how a credulous NBA organization might want to examine a point guard's serotonin level before entrusting him with running a team for five years.
• PistonPowered features a graph you don't see every day: Percentage of minutes played in 2009-10 by players acquired the previous summer.
• Deuce Bello is a freaky shooting guard out of High Point, North Carolina's Westchester Country Day. Count Kevin Durant among his admirers: "Do me a favor, when u get a chance go look at this high school kid Deuce Bello on youtube...most bounce i ever seen in high school..wowww."
• Yi Jianlian gets a fresh start in Washington this fall. David Thorpe, who has been training with Yi, offers Truth About It's Kyle Weidie this prescription for Yi's game: "I think he should play a game like Rashard Lewis ... Shoot the three, play a shot fake and attack game and spread the floor. He should be really, really effective in transition with John Wall because Yi is unbelievably fast."
• Sactown Royalty is tracking support in the Kings' small forward battle between Donte Greene and Omri Casspi. No word yet on Nate Silver's prognosis.
• Wizards owner Ted Leonsis once pitched a reality series he described as “The Apprentice meets Touched by an Angel.” A couple of years later he was asked to be a judge on "Shark Tank," but declined.
• Oh, you just knew it was coming. Gold's -- not the chain of gyms but the makers of horseradish found at most North American Passover seders -- is challenging Amare Stoudemire to ingest large amounts of the stuff on a piece of matzo to test his Jewish roots. Pun intended.
• Jerry Reinsdorf on the Bulls' six championships: "Michael couldn’t have done it by himself. The rest of the players and Michael would not have been enough. It took Scottie to put us over the top those six times.”
• SLAM recently published a piece on Steve Francis titled, "Where is the love?" A Vancouver Grizzlies fan weighs in with his answer at Daily Thunder.
• Rasual Butler is getting his reps in. He tweets that he went 500 for 598 from mid-range today.
• Want a quick video primer on each of the national teams competing in Turkey next month? Check out FIBA TV's video page.

• Kevin Pelton of Basketball Prospectus notes that Nate Robinson provided a nice jolt for the Celtics during his stints off the bench in Game 1: "While Robinson was not a major factor statistically (he was scoreless and missed all three of his shot attempts, though he did hand out four assists), the Celtics were +10 with him on the floor. He was at the helm for Boston's run to start the fourth quarter and also successfully teamed with Rondo in a small backcourt during the first half."
• Zach Lowe of Celtics Hub takes a peek through the kaleidoscope of troubling stats that came out of Game 1 for the Celtics. A sampling: "... the C’s have played 304 games since KG and Ray Allen arrived in Boston. In a totally unscientific data dive, I decided to see how often in those 304 games a Boston opponent has hit at least 48 percent from the floor and collected 10 or more offensive rebounds. Here’s what I found: It has happened 17 times in the regular season, according to Basketball-Reference.Boston’s record: 5-12. And it has happened seven times in the playoffs. Boston’s record: 1-6." Lowe also looked at Kevin Garnett's miserable night. How can the C's get Garnett on track? "... look for Boston to work KG into more screen/rolls in Game 2. It may represent his best chance to be an offensive threat in this series."
• Due to foul trouble, Ray Allen logged only 27 minutes in Game 1. Neil Paine of Basketball Reference discovers that there isn't a player in the NBA who benefits more from exceeding 30 minutes in a game than Allen.
• Should we really be surprised by Pau Gasol's outing in Game 1? Kelly Dwyer writes that the days of marveling at Gasol's individual performances are long over: "Pau is just this good, now. On most nights, he's just as good as Kobe, and on quite a few nights, he's clearly better. This is the best power forward in the NBA, you must remember. Be glad his teammates, every so often, do."
• M. Haubs of The Painted Area measures the carnage on the defensive glass for the Celtics.
• Ben Polk of A Wolf Among Wolves follows up on Phil Jackson's comments about the pleasure of immersion: "This idea of 'immersion' really grabs me. We’ve probably all experienced this at some point: we lose ourselves in the task at hand; time evaporates; the world pleasantly falls away. And we’ve also, in the past twenty years of watching Phil Jackson-coached teams, gotten pretty used to seeing this phenomenon at play on the basketball court. We know what it looks like. The ball flows freely. The players’ faces take on a cool intensity. Their movements become both calmer and more dynamic and the game suddenly looks easy. As far as I’m concerned, these things–engagement, immersion, focus, joy–come pretty close to defining the best sense of both 'work' and 'play,' which, as anybody whose ever seriously practiced art or sports or music can tell you, aren’t all that far apart."
• This John Krolik post has a lot of great stuff in it about the absurdities of certain discussions surrounding LeBron James -- but nothing better than an embed of the courtroom scene from Woody Allen's "Bananas."
• ESPN.com's Chad Ford reports that a second potential Top 10 European prospect has dropped out of the 2010 NBA Draft: "The withdrawl of [Donatas] Motiejunas comes roughly a month after the top international prospect in the draft, Jan Vesely decided to not enter. Vesely was projected as a top 10 pick by some NBA general managers."
• Huge ups for Jason Bateman and Dustin Hoffman for turning the Kiss Cam on its head.
• Baylor big man Ekpe Udoh: Tim Duncan on the left block ... John Koncak on the right block.
• Rudy Gay is headed to Haiti to help out with relief efforts.
• Philly stalwart Rasual Butler is homehunting in the west San Fernando Valley. A winter in Southern California can do that to an east coaster.

Sunday night's buzzer-beater against Boston was big for Baron Davis. He's been the public face of the Clippers franchise since the summer of 2008, but there have been few triumphant moments during his tenure in Los Angeles. That fadeaway over Rajon Rondo still has the Clippers and their fans buzzing.

Did you know that Rondo actually got his hand on the ball before Davis elevated and released the shot?

Davis walks us through the whole sequence:

By Marc Stein

Jason Hart was going to be traded Tuesday by the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The only question was where: New Orleans or Phoenix.

As a story that appeared briefly on the Timberwolves' Web site earlier in the day confirmed, Minnesota was convinced that it had a deal with the New Orleans Hornets to send Hart to the Hornets in exchange for Devin Brown.

But Brown was able to block that deal from going through, much to the disappointment of the tax-conscious Hornets.

Sources with knowledge of the teams' discussions told ESPN.com that Brown and agent Mark Termini refused to reduce the amount on the 10-percent trade kicker in Brown's $1.1 million contract. Brown was not asked to waive the whole kicker, sources said, but the trade math on a deal with the Hornets would not work unless Brown consented to forfeiting some money.

Brown, though, would have been giving up a starting spot as well as the cash. He's started 23 of his 25 games this season and didn't know what sort of playing-time situation awaited in Minnesota.

The appeal for the Hornets was Hart's non-guaranteed contract. They planned to waive him immediately just as Phoenix is planning to release Hart on Wednesday after the Suns capitalized on the collapse of the Minnesota-New Orleans deal to send Alando Tucker, cash and a conditional second-round pick to the Wolves for Hart.

Meanwhile . . .

The big-picture takeaway from all of Tuesday's drama surrounding a seemingly minor deal is that it's yet another example of the pressure -- some would say desperation -- New Orleans is feeling to get its payroll beneath the $69.9 million luxury-tax threshold.

The wing positions have been major trouble spots for the Hornets all season, but Brown entered Tuesday’s play averaging 10.0 points in just 23.4 minutes per game while shooting a solid 41.1 percent from 3-point range.

Yet the Hornets are currently $3.3 million over the tax line and remain prepared to send away Brown in a deal that brings back no guaranteed money, as seen over the summer when New Orleans felt it had to essentially donate Rasual Butler to the Los Angeles Clippers because of the tax benefits.

There is a belief among some rival executives -- or perhaps it's more accurate to call it a hope -- that the Hornets will not be able to resist moving All-Star forward David West before the Feb. 18 trading deadline to ensure that they get comfortably under the tax threshold.

New Orleans' preference would obviously be moving out player(s) from its list of veterans with contracts that stretch beyond this season. That list presumably includes Emeka Okafor, Peja Stojakovic, James Posey, Mo Peterson, Darius Songaila and Julian Wright.

But a major shakeup with the Hornets would appear highly unlikely without involving West, since we know (as covered in this cyberspace last week) that they're not trading Chris Paul.

For sheer theatrics, nothing beats a decisive, buzzer-beating shot.



But often, it's the penultimate possession that sets the stage for the dramatic finish. That was the case last night at Staples Center where the Clippers nipped the Celtics, 92-90.

Here's what transpires with the Clippers down 90-87 and about 25 seconds remaining in the game. The Clippers collect the rebound off a Ray Allen miss on the defensive end. Rather than call timeout, Baron Davis marches the ball down-court. Remember, the Clips need three to tie -- a 2-point basket still leaves them down a point. Watch Ray Allen and Eddie House, Boston's wing defenders, on the play, and pay particular attention to Rasual Butler in bottom right-hand corner of your screen.



The Celtics are usually an unfailingly smart defensive unit, which is why seeing both Allen and House leave Rasual Butler and Eric Gordon alone on the arc is so strange. Butler and Gordon are the Clippers most potent 3-point threats. Leaving either one of them open behind the line to collapse on a driving Baron Davis with 12 seconds left on the game clock doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

Let's play out the counterfactual. Say Allen and House stay at home on the Clippers' snipers. Davis, who has beaten Rajon Rondo and Rasheed Wallace on the high screen from DeAndre Jordan, glides relatively untouched to the hoop. That's not something you want to see if you're Doc Rivers, but given the circumstances, you can tolerate it (In most cases, you'd play off Davis to induce a long 3-point attempt off the dribble). Your team still leads by one point with about 10 seconds left on the game clock. In that situation, the Celtics would take a timeout, and inbound the ball on their side of the floor to Allen, Wallace, House or Kevin Garnett, each of whom is an 80 percent free throw shooter. The Clippers would get the ball back, behind one (or more likely two) with about seven seconds. They'd still have an opportunity to win the game, but would have to do so under pressure.

Instead, the Celtics have the ball in a tied game with 8.5 seconds left. Rondo works in isolation against Davis. Despite Davis' best efforts to wall off the paint, Rondo gets about a step ahead of him at about 10 feet, then angles his way in from the left side of the lane. With that long, outstretched right arm, Rondo has a good look at the basket, and Davis hacks him with 1.0 left. Rondo, a 52.7 percent free throw shooter, misses both ends. The Clippers get a free look at a potential game-winner.

After Butler drains the 3-pointer, Rivers laces into House over on the sidelines, with House snapping back at him. In his post-game remarks, Rivers says, "We had a whole potpourri of mistakes we made down the stretch -- mental mistakes. It's nothing that anyone did, just us mentally. We talk about how the only opponent we have every night is ourselves and, tonight, we beat ourselves."

I'm not sure the Celtics could have done much more defensively on Davis' game-winner, but they'll definitely be looking at some film of Butler's game-tying bomb from long range.

LOS ANGELES -- If ever there were a team and a head coach in desperate need of a win, the Los Angeles Clippers and Mike Dunleavy were it.

The Clippers had lost five of six games entering Friday night's game against the Denver Nuggets, all without their most efficient player, second-year guard Eric Gordon. Over that stretch, which included a couple of embarrassing blowouts and a gut-wrenching fourth quarter collapse, dark clouds descended over the team. Reports that Dunleavy's job was in serious jeopardy went public, and the malaise that infected the team last season began to surface.

What better antidote for a team on the ropes than a nationally-televised date against the NBA's fourth-ranked offense featuring the league's hottest player, Carmelo Anthony?

The Clippers couldn't do much to stop Anthony, but they showed Denver a variety of effective looks on defense, and got some timely shooting from their wings and reserve unit. That was enough to hold off Denver 106-99 at Staples Center.

To no one's surprise -- least of all the Clippers -- Anthony dominated the game with 37 points (12-for-20 from the field; 12-for-13 from the stripe).

"It's such a tough matchup with 'Melo, trying to get anyone to guard him," Dunleavy said. "So we mixed up our double-teams, our locations, we mixed up the clock with our zone work. We tried to keep him a little off-balanced, but he's so tough. He makes shots. He's got that hang time. He draws fouls."

Al Thornton, who drew the defensive assignment on Anthony for much of the night, was even more emphatic.

"I think he's the best offensive player in the league, hands down this year," Thornton said. "He can do everything out there on that court."

The Clippers countered with a balanced, more fluid attack, racking up 28 assists on the 36 field goals, and earned 36 free throw attempts in the process.

For a team that's sleepwalked through much of the past two weeks, the Clippers played an intelligent brand of basketball. They got into the bonus early. They worked Al Thornton in the post against a smaller Arron Afflalo. Rasual Butler, mired in a miserable slump over the losing streak while straining to create shots for himself (not his strong suit), returned to doing what he does best -- spot-up shooting. He led the Clips with 27 points, draining four of nine from beyond the arc.

Most of all for a team that occasionally has trouble getting on the same page, the Clippers communicated on the defensive end.

"The guys did a great job of talking," Mardy Collins, who relieved Thornton on Operation 'Melo, said. "That allowed us to make good decisions on defense."

After the game, the Clippers coaching staff was huddled in the assistant coaches' office studying film, examining the tea leaves, gleaning what they could from a satisfying victory. Whether the Clippers' win over an elite Western power is enough to reverse the tide remains an uncertainty. Eric Gordon's strained groin will keep him sidelined for at least a few more games, and rookie Blake Griffin won't return before December 15.

Those concerns aside, Mike Dunleavy should have his best night of sleep in weeks.

Posted by Kevin Arnovitz

The Los Angeles Clippers introduced Rasual Butler this afternoon to the local media at their training facility in Playa Vista. For those keeping a tally of what's become of Zach Randolph, Clippers general manager and head coach Mike Dunleavy has now spun him off for the following: 

• Rasual Butler (1 year, $3.95M)
• Craig Smith (1 year, $2.5M)
• Sebastian Telfair (2 years, $5.2M, the second year a $2.7M player option)
• Mark Madsen (1 year, $2.84M)
• A remaining trade exception for $3.36M 
• $14.63M in salary savings for 2010-11, assuming Telfair picks up his option
• A spot in the starting lineup at the power forward for Blake Griffin

There are no marquee names on that list, and nobody who can match Randolph's raw numbers, but judging from Dunleavy's mood on Monday afternoon, he's over the moon that he's been able to parlay arguably his worst blunder as general manager -- the acquisition of Randolph -- into a collection of cheap, complementary assets and tremendous financial flexibility.

The Clippers are almost certain to improve upon their 19 wins of last season. To what extent they'll be in factor in the Western Conference playoff race is anyone's guess. But if Dunleavy the GM has accomplished nothing else, he's starting to cobble together a roster that looks a lot more workable to Dunleavy the coach.

Dunleavy likes to post his guards, and has been imploring the small -- but brawny -- Eric Gordon to develop a post game, something he showed off in Las Vegas. With Butler, Dunleavy gets a lanky swingmen whom he can use in that capacity.

"If you're a 2-guard and you're 6-7, we can throw you down in the post some," Dunleavy said. 

Less discussed, but more relevant is whether Dunleavy will act on his impulse as a tactician: Start Butler ahead of Al Thornton. 

"We'll figure out what makes the best sense for us," Dunleavy said. "Coming into training camp, it'll be pretty wide open."

Dunleavy has coveted a Bowen-model small forward ever since arriving in Los Angeles. He took on defensive stopper Quinton Ross as a project, but Ross was never able to develop a perimeter shot that could stretch defenses. Instead, Dunleavy has had to cope with Corey Maggette and now Thornton. Both are capable creators for themselves, but ball-stoppers, defensive liabilities -- and endless sources of frustration for Dunleavy. Butler is no Bruce Bowen, but he's the corner sniper (45% from there), and long perimeter defender Dunleavy's been after.

Few teams will come into the season with more elastic expectations than the Clippers. So much is uncertain: Blake Griffin's ceiling in his rookie season; Baron Davis' health and resolve; Chris Kaman's ability to bounce back from injury; Eric Gordon's progress.

Toward the end of his media session, Dunleavy spoke about the physical regimen he requires of his players -- their body fat targets and conditioning programs. He also described a torturous, 60-second, three-man weave drill he had to perform himself as a rookie more than 30 years ago.

"If you can do that," Dunleavy said, "then you're in shape." 

Dunleavy paused, then added wistfully, "Last year, I don't think we ever got to it. Period."

An improbable ending in Sacramento for the Hornets, an improbable W for the Bobcats against the Lakers, and an improbable comeback for a former prodigy. Factor the improbabilities at the TrueHoop Network: 

Niall Doherty of Hornets247: "It was one crazy finish in Sacramento. In the final three minutes, we had Hilton Armstrong and Devin Brown miss four free throws, Rashad McCants and Francisco Garcia hitting long J's to keep the Kings in it, a fit-for-a-wheelchair David West converting a three-point play off a bullet feed from Chris Paul, an amazing block by Garcia on CP's fast break layup, followed by some awesome transition defense by Julian Wright to prevent an easy two by Andres Nocioni. The Kings then reset and Beno Udrih threw in an off-balance, sideways runner to put them up two with 1.7 seconds left. Plenty of time for Garcia and Nocioni to miscommunicate on a switch and leave Butler all alone for three. I'm not sure my elderly neighbor on oxygen support appreciated my screaming Rasual [Butler]'s name and jumping around my living room at 11:45 p.m. on a Tuesday night."

Brett Hainline of Queen City Hoops: "The Bobcats are giving Charlotte a playoff race and took the opportunity to knock off one the league's top teams and most popular players -- and the city is started to get excited ... There was a lot to be excited about last night: Gerald [Wallace] had what is becoming a routine game for him, but that makes it no less exceptional ... Boris Diaw did what he does best, creating for teammates: 12 assists for Boris and just 1 turnover, including handful of 'how did he make that pass' plays. Against the bigger frontcourt of the Lakers, Boris recognized it was not a game for him to try and score a lot of points in the paint -- but that didn't stop him from finding opportunities for others there ... Charlotte got everything it wanted last night: A win, a Detroit loss, and a Chicago loss. That puts the Cats a game out of the 8th spot and just 2 back of 7th. With a game against both the Bulls and Pistons left ... well, last night may not remain the biggest game in Bobcats' history for long."

Rob Mahoney of Hardwood Paroxysm: "The underlying sentiment of most [Shaun] Livingston stories will parade his rehabilitation, and rightfully so.  From that injury to what we can only hope is a full-time comeback, Shaun has come a long way.  At the core of this story is disappointment and redemption.  Strength, will, and resiliency.  But what Shaun represents isn't a moral-of-the-story tagline or cheesy documentary featurette on the power of the human spirit.  Livingston, as much as any player, is hope.  Hope that a lanky, awkward 6′7” point guards can rule the league.  Hope that injured players can return to their previous form, even if that form was but a point on the slope to an undetermined end.  Hope that some players will realize that braids may not be for them, and that they look better with short hair ... Acquiring a hardly proven, injury-ridden point guard has never made so much sense."

THE FINAL WORD
Celtics Hub: Boston's clutch offense -- apart from the Big Three.
48 Minutes of Hell: It's about time for the Spurs to settle on a rotation.
Forum Blue & Gold: Mark Cuban buys the Lakers ... via Twitter.

(Photos by Rocky Widner, Streeter Lecka, Juan Ocampo/NBAE via Getty Images)

Should the Spurs rest Tim Duncan down the stretch and trust they can win playoff games on the road? Can the Celtics trust Rajon Rondo to nail shots from mid-range? Do Raptors fans still trust Bryan Colangelo to assemble a winner in Toronto? Take it on trust at the TrueHoop Network. 

Timothy Varner of 48 Minutes of Hell: "The issue before [Gregg] Popovich is whether or not he should give [Tim] Duncan some rest prior to the playoffs. From where I sit, the answer is an unqualified 'yes, please.' At a minimum, I'd like to see Duncan sit out one game apiece of the remaining three back-to-backs, but I suspect Popovich already intends to make this move. If that's the case, the Spurs should be more aggressive. They should look for opportunity to accomplish two objectives at once: to provide Drew Gooden with meaningful minutes and give Duncan time on the shelf. The Spurs play the Warriors, Hawks and Clippers this week.  That's the easiest remaining 3 game stretch of the season. Perhaps, Coach Popovich should make a go of it sans Duncan and [Manu] Ginobili. Maybe they only go 1-2 in those games and squander an opportunity of winning back the 1/2 game they just gave up to the Rockets. But that's better than entering the playoffs with a partial Duncan."

Zach Lowe of Celtics Hub: "Read that again: Ray Allen penetrated and kicked to Rajon Rondo for a jump shot.

This doesn't have to be an isolated incident; I've written before about Ray Allen's ability to create off the dribble because of the way defenders have to rush out at him in a panic ... I'm not saying Rajon Rondo has turned into Ray Allen or even that he could do so in his wildest dreams. I'm saying that Rondo has developed a serviceable jump shot, and that he's come a long way from the player the Knicks completely ignored in a defensive strategy that was (justifiably) touted at the time as one way to successfully defend Boston. Some team will probably try that again, and it might work. But I'm guessing it won't. And if that guess is right, the Celtics will go into the playoffs with four elite offensive players, not three."

Rob Mahoney of Hardwood Paroxysm: "The greatest moments in NCAA history are great tournament moments (or great team moments), not great Michael Jordan moments or Christian Laettner moments or Carmelo Anthony moments. Because the NBA at the very least creates the illusion of consistency and longevity ... the focus is on the players, who are an establishment unto themselves ... Kevin Garnett and Dirk Nowitzki, two players who never enrolled in one of America's fine collegiate institutions, revolutionized the power forward position forever. MJ redefined greatness not because of the system-imposed limits at North Carolina, but because of his sustained greatness in Chicago. Shaquille O'Neal and Wilt Chamberlain forced the game (and its rules) to change to specifically address their dominance at the pro level, not in college arenas. The most significant basketball change has and will always take place in the professional sphere. If not simply because the players are bigger, stronger, and outright better than their college counterparts, then because the ability to remain relevant for more than a few years allows players the proper avenue to demonstrate their brilliance."

THE FINAL WORD
Raptors Republic: A blueprint for recovery.
Knickerblogger: Actually, the Knicks have improved.
Hornets247: Rasual Butler -- proving reluctant bloggers wrong.

(Photos by Brian Babineau, Nathaniel S. Butler, Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)

The Lakers defense needs to turn up the intensity. The Rockets' reserves turned in a stellar effort in the Big Easy. The Celtics turn the ball over way, way too often for a championship-caliber team. Take a turn for the better through the TrueHoop Network:  

Kurt Helin of Forum Blue and Gold: "The Lakers will go as far as their defense will take them.

I typed that sentence roughly 8 million times in the preseason and the first month of games. But as the season has moved on and wins kept piling up, the early season mantra has faded out. The offense has been beautiful, a shiny toy that distracts us from a defense that is at times brilliant and at times frustrating.

But the mantra remains true. It is the Lakers defense that is the key to a title - and now is the time to start really ratcheting it up...

[W]e all know the Lakers have the personnel to play good defense. The question is are they focused on it. Right now, starting in the next stretch, they need to get that laser focus back.

The Lakers will go as far as their defense will take them."

Anup Shah of Rockets Buzz: "With Yao out with flu-like symptoms, the Rockets had lost their primary playmaker, their best free throw shooter, and the team leader in points/rebounds/blocks. One player sat out. Ten players stepped up.

... For nearly 48 minutes, the Rockets played as a unified basketball team, and the strength of this team was greater than the sum of its parts.

... This game was exactly what the Rockets needed. With Yao out, the team had a chance to come together and fill the void he left. As the season continues, this team will draw on tonight's experience to play as a cohesive unit. The Rockets demonstrated tonight that they have the potential to play at the highest caliber, even without their superstars.

Chris Paul might have put up a pretty stat line tonight, but the Rockets' team defense put up a Win."

Ryan Schwan of Hornets247: "I know this isn't a popular idea, and I can already hear the outraged grumbling that these are athletes who shouldn't be tired, but once again Paul and Butler played 44 minutes.  West played 42.  Chandler played 38.  These sorts of minutes have been going on for half a dozen games now.  Chandler is on a gimpy ankle. West has to bounce on a ball when he's on the bench to keep his back from tightening up. Butler is required to run off curls all the time and take the other team's toughest offensive player, and Paul has the ball in his hands most of the game and is always receiving contact.  That's just too many minutes, and it showed as the jumpers in the fourth fell mostly short, which is a sign of tired legs.  They aren't going to be able to keep this up for another month without breaking down."

THE FINAL WORD
Celtics Hub: Is Boston's turnover epidemic fatal?
Raptors Republic: Getting inside Shawn Marion's head.
Valley of the Suns: Can Phoenix make its case to the Selection Committee?  

(Photos by Andrew D. Bernstein, Layne Murdoch, Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images)

Do fans in Phoenix have it all wrong?  Are there things Kobe gets that LeBron doesn't?  Have the Hornets learned to cope without Chris Paul?  Nothing is "untouchable" at the TrueHoop Network. 

Matt Moore of Hardwood Paroxysm: "Stoudemire has had a 300 pound loudmouth move into his apartment, eat all his cheezewhiz, hang up on all his calls when he's on the other line, take up the DVR, drink all his Sunny D, and hit on his girlfriend. The acquisition of Shaq was supposed to create a dominant twin towers in the post. But in those combinations, one player is always the primary scorer alpha dog. And if Shaq is in your paint, he's the alpha dog.

I'm not saying it's Shaq's fault.

Wait, yes I am.

It's exactly Shaq's fault. What's more infuriating is that Phoenix fans have actually fallen for it. They truly believe that Shaq's little resurgence, which has been conspicuously absent against playoff teams, I might add, will be what takes them deeper into the playoffs (deeper than multiple conference championship appearances and several six game series against the eventual champions, but hey, they act like they never got past the first round with D'Antoni). But let's make this real simple. If you're relying on a 37 year old center with conditioning issues who has trouble going in back to back games to lead you to a championship?"

John Krolik of Cavs the Blog: "Fairly quiet night for that Mamba fella, as apparently he was battling a touch of the flu and, more importantly, Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol were having an absolute hammer party down low, with Lamar shooting 13-19 from the field and Pau, who looks worlds better when Bynum doesn't play, directing traffic and getting 6 assists.

Kobe's off-ball movement in the first quarter to get low catches was an absolute thing of beauty, as were his little mini-jumpers to get the buckets. I think one reason why so many people go with Kobe over LeBron, despite the evidence to the contrary, is that Kobe's solved a lot of the problems LeBron has, and the difference is evident, while the things LeBron does better than Kobe are either more subtle or a result of pure athletic talent -- he just seems like he's at a further point on his development curve. And that turnaround to end the game was absolutely ridiculous."

Ryan Schwan of Hornets247: "[G]ive it up to Byron Scott, folks.  The vaunted ball movement you were all hollering for?  It was in full effect tonight.  They opened the game cutting and moving, with Peja setting down screens for Daniels and Butler before fading high for open shots off of picks by West or Bowen.  You'll also notice that of the 13 possessions David West had tonight, only three were in a basic low post situation.  All the rest involved his cutting back to the free throw line, receiving the ball, looking for open shooters, and if nothing opened up, driving into the paint against Jefferson, who couldn't move fast enough to keep up with him.  Peja and Butler were rolling off of curls all night, and though Devin brought back the old Pick-and Roll offense when he was on the floor, there was still a lot more moving around as he drove to get open."

THE FINAL WORD
Queen City Hoops:  A smart comparison of Vladimir Radmanovic and Adam Morrison's defensive shortcomings (with charts!).
Valley of the Suns: Why Steve Nash is "untouchable."
Hardwood Paroxysm: 20 things Anderson Varejao should never do.

(Photos by Melissa Majchrzak, David Liam Kyle, Chris Graythen/NBAE via Getty Images)