|  | | GMs have noticed that Juwan Howard is still working hard. |
Juwan Howard has every reason not to come to work every day. His Nuggets are lottery-bound with the league's second-worst record, and he has the luxury of a $105 million contract. But he still chooses to earn every last penny. Because of that professionalism, Howard will be rewarded in free agency for the second time in his career, ESPN.com's Marc Stein writes.Chat wrap: Senior NBA writer Marc SteinHere's to you, Mr. Robinson | No. 1 pick?
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| Robinson |
Now that the hoopla is rightly getting more tangible, we proceed to the other aspect of David Robinson's farewell season. Yes. The actual hoops. Robinson, at 37, is averaging career lows in almost every category. At 8.9 points per game, he's the Spurs' fifth-leading scorer, while attempting just seven shots nightly. In his first six games back from two weeks off to rest his bad back, Robinson didn't play more than 23 minutes in any of them. Factor in the Spurs' 13-3 record when Robinson hasn't played and there is inevitably talk that San Antonio is actually better when the undersized-but-game Malik Rose lines up as Tim Duncan's frontcourt sidekick and athletes fill out the rest of the lineup: Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Stephen Jackson, Bruce Bowen, Speedy Claxton, et al. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, of course, doesn't want to believe that, and not just because the continuation of the 13-3 trend would be the saddest part of Robinson's final season. It's because Pop knows that the Spurs won't run up that kind of success rate against the Lakers or the Kings if Robinson's back doesn't loosen up at least a little. ... Click for more on who'll likely replace Lenny Wilkens in Toronto, what Michael Jordan has to hope for to make the playoffs and and why Hedo Turkoglu is no longer Turkey's main man.
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| SLAMS AND DUNKS |
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| Okafor |
Safe to say David Stern needn't expect unanimous support from his teams if the much-rumored NBA age limit of 20 ever does get implemented. Teams with brutal records, in the year that rule takes hold, will undoubtedly protest the loudest, because the first draft offering up players only 20 or older figures to be the worst draft in league history. Just for torture, er, fun, imagine if the age limit was suddenly applied to the forthcoming draft in June. Of the consensus top five prospects -- LeBron James, Darko Milicic, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Emeka Okafor -- only Connecticut's Okafor would be draftable. ... Click for more on the NBA's senior citizens, New York's sub-.500 fate, the source of Minnesota's sudden slide and the Lakers' schizophrenic behavior.
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Marc Stein is the senior NBA writer for ESPN.com. To e-mail him, click here. Also, send Stein a question for possible use on ESPNEWS.
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| STEIN SIDELINES |
MALE OF THE WEEK
 Richard Jefferson
The opposition wasn't the toughest (Knicks twice, then the Warriors) but the Nets couldn't take anyone for granted after losing (again) to Cleveland. Jefferson responded by averaging 26.3 points in New Jersey's three victories, including a career-high 39 points at MSG on Friday.
E-MAIL OF THE WEEK
 "Why is Gregg Popovich not getting any mention for Coach of the Year?"
Bart Herridge
Abilene, TexasSTEIN: Pop's only failing is that this award has as many viable candidates as the MVP race. In the West alone, you can make a sensible argument for Don Nelson, Rick Adelman, Flip Saunders, Jerry Sloan, Eric Musselman and even Hubie Brown in addition to Pop. Coaches from teams that are consistently good, unfair as it is, just don't get noticed, which probably explains why Utah's Sloan has never won it. Maybe no one expected the Spurs to be as good as they are, but their success hasn't been as surprising as, say, Golden State's. That said, Pop could still win the thing, especially if the Spurs rally to win the West's regular-season crown.
Send Stein a question
SPEAK OF THE WEEK
 "Can I say co?"
— Golden State coach Eric Musselman, when asked to help us sort out our Most Improved Player award ballot, which could involve choosing between Warriors teammates Gilbert Arenas and Troy Murphy.
STAT OF THE WEEK
36-5
That's the record for Texas teams (Dallas, San Antonio and Houston) against visitors from the Eastern Conference. Keep that in mind this week when Orlando, still hopeful of getting as high as sixth in the East, has to travel through the Texas triangle.
STAT OF THE WEAK
5
Only five of the East's 15 teams have winning records since the All-Star break, and Boston didn't join the party until sweeping Cleveland over the weekend to go from 11-12 to 13-12. Philadelphia is 18-5, Orlando is 15-8, New Orleans is 15-9, Detroit is 14-1 ... and that's it. Nothing like finishing strong.
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