December 23, 2010
PBP Roundup
Dec. 22

by Bradford Doolittle

Larry Brown is no longer the coach of a basketball team. It's a story that's been repeated so many times over the decades that the Associated Press probably has a fill-in-the-blank template to use for the occasion. Brown may or may not be done coaching, but the job he did in Charlotte was the latest reaffirmation of what he brings to the table. The team was strong defensively. They were inconsistent-to-bad on offense. They got better, then worse. He coerced his bosses to remake the roster in his image. Then he moved on in what was termed a mutual decision.

If there was any kind of honeymoon between the city of Charlotte and Bobcats owner Michael Jordan, it's probably safe to say it's come to an end. The team is a mess. The Bobcats built around above-average, low-ceiling veterans in order to get the franchise into the postseason for the first time. That was fine, but there seemed to be little thought given to what comes next. Charlotte ranks in the top half of the league in committed payroll for each of the next three seasons (including this one), has no first-round pick in 2012 and has a roster whose foundation players are going to get progressively worse.

Instead of doing the right thing, which would be to tear the damn thing down, there are several reports that Jordan is seeking bloated Clippers guard Baron Davis. Whether or not that's true, and of course no one is on record because no goes on record any more, it's the opposite of the kind of rumor you'd like to see: Jordan is offering Stephen Jackson for young players, expiring contracts and draft picks. Same for Gerald Wallace. The problem with having an owner as notoriously competitive as Jordan is that the roster may forever be a patch-job. Orders from above will always pertain to the battle at hand, with no thought to the overall direction of the franchise. A move for Davis (or for players in another rumor involving Portland) smacks of desperation.

As for Silas, he's carrying an interim tag, so this is a kind of audition--one that also doesn't make much sense. Red Auerbach, John Wooden and Phog Allen combined couldn't win with this team. Better would be an unproven assistant, like Jordan's friend Patrick Ewing or even long-overlooked Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. It's a great chance to give more than a half-season to see what a first-time coach can do. Silas, for better or worse, is just another re-tread. Here's a thumbnail of his career:

COACH          YRS   cPACE   cORTG   cDRTG
Larry Brown     26    94.4   106.0   104.5
Paul Silas      10    92.8   105.8   106.7
AVERAGE         --    94.6   107.4   107.7

Like Brown, Silas is a defensively-oriented coach, and hasn't been as effective with his teams at either end of the floor and coaches an even slower-tempo. These numbers are just roll-ups of a myriad mix of talent, league trends and schemes, but there isn't anything in them to be excited about. There is nothing new in Silas' approach and his hiring, even on an interim basis, is the latest example of the lack of creativity with which Jordan has been running the Bobcats.

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LIVE AT BASKETBALL PROSPECTUS

1. Brown Out in Charlotte (Kevin Pelton) (Unfiltered)

2. Can Al Nolen save Minnesota? (Ken Pomeroy) (Unfiltered)

3. St. John's: Back From the Brink? (Asher Fusco) After a disastrous loss at Fordham, Steve Lavin's team recovered nicely, beating Northwestern Tuesday night and winning the Holiday Festival at Madison Square Garden. (premium)

4. In Its Own Way, a Classic (Kevin Pelton) (Unfiltered)

5. Poll Position: No Turner, No Problem (John Gasaway) Replacing a national player of the year isn't supposed to be as easy as Ohio State's making it look. So in his feature for ESPN Insider, John considers the unthinkable. Is Jared Sullinger the best freshman Thad Matta's ever had? (premium)

6. Moral Hazard: The Dangers of Catering to a Star Free Agent (Kevin Pelton) Saturday's trades by the Orlando Magic might have been the latest example of a team trying to win now in order to hang on to a superstar nearing free agency. Like the deals made by the Cleveland Cavaliers in recent years, they carry a significant long-term risk. (premium)

7. On the Beat: Orlando Makes Bold Deals (John Perrotto) Magic general manager Otis Smith explained Saturday's pair of deals that brought Orlando two new starters and a sixth man as necessary to get the team back on the path to championship contention. (premium)

8. Transaction Analysis: 'Tis the Season to be Dealing (Bradford Doolittle) With a little over 30 percent of the season complete, some NBA general managers have seen enough, as evidenced by the four trades we've seen last few days--involving seven teams--including Saturday's blockbuster re-making of the Orlando Magic. (free preview)

9. The Clipboard: Aminu's Three-Point Shooting (Sebastian Pruiti) After struggling with the college-length three-pointer, Clipper rookie Al-Farouq Aminu has seemingly found his stroke on treys from NBA distance. Has he really improved his technique, or is his percentage due for a correction? (Premium)

10. Being Josh Selby: The Debut (C.J. Moore) In his first game Kansas freshman Josh Selby lived up to the hype, delivering the game-winning three in the Jayhawks' 70-68 win over USC. Just how good can he, and his team, be? (free preview)

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FANTASY PROJECTIONS

Our downloadable Basketball Fantasy Projection spreadsheets are available for anyone with a premium subscription to Basketball Prospectus. The sheet is updated weekly and can be found on your 'Manage Profile' page. The download includes a forecast for the seven days, Monday through Sunday, for every player, game-by-game projections, health status updates and current team rotations.

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HOOPS CHATS

Basketball Prospectus authors will be taking your questions. All chats begin at 1 p.m. EST on the day listed, but you can go in and submit a question now if you like.

Dec. 29: Bradford Doolittle

Dec. 17: Kevin Pelton (TRANSCRIPT)

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HOT FIVES

POWER RATING (POW)     GR (12/22/10)       WP82 -- ALL          WP82 -- ROOKIES
celtics,boston, 67.3   boozer,carlos, 41.4 williams,deron, 29.3 griffin,blake, 10.7
spurs,sanantonio, 63.2 johnson,joe, 35.9   james,lebron, 26.6   fields,landry, 4.4
mavericks,dallas, 63.0 neal,gary, 35.1     nowitzki,dirk, 22.8  neal,gary, 2.7
heat,miami, 58.2       williams,mo, 34.7   paul,chris, 21.2     bledsoe,eric, 1.9
bulls,chicago, 57.3    allen,ray, 34.1     ginobili,manu, 20.3  wall,john, 1.7

Note: GR leaders are from previous night only.

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WEDNESDAY'S BOX SCORES & RECAPS

NOTE: Glossary is at bottom of page.

HAWKS 98, CAVALIERS 84 (box): Joe Johnson is doing pretty well for a guy that isn't even supposed to be playing yet. Johnson has had strong outings in three of the four games he's played since he returned from his elbow injury. Johnson went under the knife for the ailment and was expected to be out for the entire month of December, if not into mid-January. He's back and playing well and the Hawks have won three of four games since he returned.

CLE (8-21)..........PLY%  USG   PCP  +/-   GR   ATL (19-12).........PLY%  USG   PCP  +/-   GR
williams,maurice.....71%  36%  0.95  - 2 34.7   johnson,joe..........75%  26%  1.48  + 6 35.9
jamison,antawn.......83%  21%  1.32  - 5 22.6   horford,al...........78%  23%  1.17  + 6 24.4
parker,anthony.......83%  11%  1.29  - 9  9.1   williams,marvin......84%  14%  1.64  + 8 16.7
gibson,daniel........86%  18%  0.80  - 4  8.4   smith,josh...........87%  18%  1.35  +14 14.7
varejao,anderson.....75%   5%  2.20  -12  7.5   evans,maurice........33%  27%  1.12  +14 10.3
hollins,ryan.........11%  28%  1.97  + 1  6.7   teague,jeff..........38%  29%  0.96  +12  6.4
sessions,ramon.......29%  28%  1.06  -12  6.0   bibby,mike...........62%  11%  1.24  + 2  5.5
hickson,j.j..........30%  20%  0.69  -12  3.9   pachulia,zaza........39%  16%  0.79  + 9  2.7
williams,jawad.......22%  34%  0.30  - 9  1.4   collins,jason........ 5%  18%  0.55  - 1  0.6
moon,jamario......... 9%  12%  0.25  - 6  0.3   crawford,jordan......(DNP)  
harris,manny.........(DNP)                      powell,josh..........(DNP)  
powe,leon............(DNP)                      wilkins,damien.......(DNP)  
PACE: 83.6          ORTG eFG%  oRB%  TO% FTA%   PACE: 83.6          ORTG eFG%  oRB%  TO% FTA%
Cavaliers........  100.5 .451  .244 .108 .068   Hawks............  117.3 .554  .265 .120 .053

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PISTONS 115, RAPTORS 93 (box): It was turn-back-the-clock night for the Pistons. Tracy McGrady and Rip Hamilton led a second-quarter surge that gave the Pistons plenty of cushion for a headache-free second half. McGrady had 15 points and four assists in the period, spurring one Tweeter to note that he was "running the Pistons' offense like a machine." Words I never thought I'd see. Hamilton scored 11 of his 35 points in the second quarter. Hamilton's outburst came one game after a dreaded "DNP-CD" notation on his box score line..

DET (10-19).........PLY%  USG   PCP  +/-   GR   TOR (10-19).........PLY%  USG   PCP  +/-   GR
villanueva,charlie...54%  31%  0.91  +11 24.1   kleiza,linas.........79%  19%  1.10  -33 25.5
stuckey,rodney.......60%  25%  1.23  +16 23.9   derozan,demar........71%  13%  1.06  -34 15.3
hamilton,richard.....59%  38%  1.49  +22 22.0   barbosa,leandro......53%  32%  1.19  - 6 13.0
mcgrady,tracy........50%  24%  1.75  +32 15.1   davis,ed.............48%  13%  1.35    0 12.5
wallace,ben..........50%   8%  2.02  + 5 11.0   calderon,jose........77%  19%  0.96  -24 11.0
monroe,greg..........52%   6%  2.22  +13  7.7   bargnani,andrea......70%  33%  0.56  -20  9.2
prince,tayshaun......58%  15%  0.84  +14  6.9   wright,julian........34%  14%  1.56    0  4.9
bynum,will...........40%   0% 13.44  + 6  4.5   dorsey,joey..........28%  17%  0.93  + 7  4.2
gordon,ben...........41%  22%  0.42    0  4.4   johnson,amir.........32%   5%  1.25  -10  1.9
daye,austin.......... 8%  46%  0.24  -10  0.9   alabi,soloman........ 8%  11%  0.54  +10  0.8
maxiell,jason........19%   8%  0.56  +11  0.7   bayless,jerryd.......(DNP)  
wilcox,chris......... 8%  12%  0.00  -10  0.0   weems,sonny..........(DNP)  
PACE: 94.8          ORTG eFG%  oRB%  TO% FTA%   PACE: 94.8          ORTG eFG%  oRB%  TO% FTA%
Pistons..........  121.3 .556  .211 .084 .088   Raptors..........   98.1 .560  .071 .253 .107

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BULLS 87, WIZARDS 80 (box): Carlos Boozer was the player of the night, putting up 30 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists for the Bulls. Kurt Thomas played 40:37 with Taj Gibson mostly unavailable, and while he didn't repeat the +41 he enjoyed Tuesday night against the Sixers, the Bulls again functioned well with him in the game. The Bulls' had a rough start defensively in their first game without Joakim Noah in the lineup, but have put up Defensive Ratings of 84.1 and 86.8 there last two times out.

CHI (18-9)..........PLY%  USG   PCP  +/-   GR   WAS (7-20)..........PLY%  USG   PCP  +/-   GR
boozer,carlos........95%  27%  1.14  + 9 41.4   hinrich,kirk.........89%  21%  1.18  - 6 21.0
rose,derrick.........80%  35%  0.87  + 1 15.6   young,nick...........82%  28%  0.88  -11 19.0
deng,luol............78%  21%  0.80  + 3 11.9   howard,josh..........51%  21%  1.04  + 2 13.2
thomas,kurt..........85%   6%  0.94  + 4  7.2   thornton,al..........61%  17%  0.88  -11 10.5
brewer,ronnie........62%   9%  1.20  - 2  5.7   lewis,rashard........47%  25%  0.57  - 8  9.3
watson,c.j...........20%  27%  0.47  + 6  3.7   blatche,andray.......76%  24%  0.48  - 1  7.0
bogans,keith.........37%  11%  1.00  + 9  3.6   mcgee,javale.........60%   5%  1.25  - 1  5.3
asik,omer............13%   5%  4.43  - 1  3.1   armstrong,hilton.....22%   2%  2.70  + 2  1.0
korver,kyle..........29%  18%  0.36  + 6  2.2   hudson,lester........11%   7%  0.49  - 1  0.5
gibson,taj........... 1%   -%  0.00    0  0.0   booker,trevor........ 1%   -%  0.00    0  0.0
johnson,james........(DNP)                      martin,cartier.......(DNP)  
scalabrine,brian.....(DNP)                      seraphin,kevin.......(DNP)  
PACE: 92.2          ORTG eFG%  oRB%  TO% FTA%   PACE: 92.2          ORTG eFG%  oRB%  TO% FTA%
Bulls............   94.3 .438  .273 .228 .138   Wizards..........   86.8 .405  .220 .174 .091

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CELTICS 84, 76ERS 80 (box): Boston held the Sixers to two points over the last 2:35, winning its 14th straight game. The pesky Sixers led for much of the game, but again fell short down the stretch and fell to 1-6 in games decided by five points or less. Boston now head out on the road, with stops in Orlando, Indiana and Detroit.

PHI (11-18).........PLY%  USG   PCP  +/-   GR   BOS (23-4)..........PLY%  USG   PCP  +/-   GR
holiday,jrue.........83%  18%  1.26  -16 19.3   allen,ray............79%  25%  1.28  +17 34.1
brand,elton..........68%  18%  1.38  - 9 18.8   pierce,paul..........71%  26%  0.67    0 15.7
battie,tony..........53%  17%  1.15    0 15.0   o'neal,shaquille.....57%  23%  1.13  + 8 11.9
iguodala,andre.......80%  21%  0.68  + 1 14.9   robinson,nate........64%  11%  1.83  - 1 10.6
young,thaddeus.......44%  13%  1.07  + 8  8.9   garnett,kevin........66%  19%  1.04  +15  9.1
williams,lou.........46%  32%  0.79  + 9  8.0   davis,glen...........53%  18%  0.65  - 4  7.7
hawes,spencer........41%  32%  0.59  - 7  6.1   daniels,marquis......55%  16%  1.00  - 8  5.2
nocioni,andres.......19%  23%  1.11  + 1  3.8   wafer,von............20%  31%  0.88  + 1  4.4
meeks,jodie..........65%  10%  0.36  - 7  1.6   bradley,avery........12%  16%  0.94  + 3  1.6
brackins,craig.......(DNP)                      erden,semih..........24%   1%  3.08  -11  0.9
speights,marreese....(DNP)                      harangody,luke.......(DNP)  
turner,evan..........(DNP)                      rondo,rajon..........(DNP)  
PACE: 83.0          ORTG eFG%  oRB%  TO% FTA%   PACE: 83.0          ORTG eFG%  oRB%  TO% FTA%
76ers............   96.4 .446  .162 .157 .164   Celtics..........  101.2 .425  .261 .121 .111

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KNICKS 112, THUNDER 98 (box): Best win of the season for the Knicks? The win at Chicago on Nov. 4 was awfully nice, but that was just a night when New York caught fire from long range. This a quality win against a good opponent on a night in which the Knicks shot well, but not superlatively so. Most impressively, the Knicks held the Thunder to its lowest Offensive Rating in more than two weeks. New York also won with a more balanced attack than they enjoyed during its recent win streak. The performance was well timed in that it snapped the Knicks' three-game skid and gave New York some momentum heading into its Christmas Day showdown with the Bulls at Madison Square Garden.

OKC (20-10).........PLY%  USG   PCP  +/-   GR   NYK (17-12).........PLY%  USG   PCP  +/-   GR
westbrook,russell....66%  40%  0.89  -21 23.9   stoudemire,amare.....77%  31%  0.91  +28 28.8
harden,james.........56%  17%  1.40  - 5 22.4   chandler,wilson......67%  22%  1.45  +26 21.1
durant,kevin.........77%  26%  1.19  -15 21.7   fields,landry........65%  15%  1.73  +25 13.7
green,jeff...........80%  20%  0.82  -22 10.0   felton,raymond.......68%  21%  1.24  +10 13.4
sefolosha,thabo......63%   5%  2.39  -11  5.3   gallinari,danilo.....68%  12%  1.85  +10 12.7
aldrich,cole......... 9%  28%  1.14  + 6  4.6   douglas,toney........45%  16%  1.44  + 5 11.3
maynor,eric..........30%  20%  0.71  +10  3.7   williams,shawne......38%  19%  0.99  -21  9.1
mullens,byron........11%  13%  1.35  + 6  3.2   turiaf,ronny.........46%  14%  1.38  +13  5.1
white,d.j............16%  26%  1.09  + 5  3.1   mozgov,timofey....... 9%  44%  0.33  - 8  1.7
ibaka,serge..........40%  13%  0.49  -17  2.7   randolph,anthony..... 6%  15%  0.57  - 6  0.3
ivey,royal...........15%  15%  0.54  + 3  1.2   walker,bill.......... 6%  15%  0.00  - 6  0.0
collison,nick........36%   3%  0.73  - 9  0.7   mason,roger..........(DNP)  
PACE: 95.6          ORTG eFG%  oRB%  TO% FTA%   PACE: 95.6          ORTG eFG%  oRB%  TO% FTA%
Thunder..........  102.5 .407  .379 .146 .115   Knicks...........  117.1 .547  .184 .115 .097

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JAZZ 112, TIMBERWOLVES 107 (box): Utah, following a familiar formula, shot 70 percent from the floor and outscored the T-Wolves 41-24 in the fourth quarter to overcome a 15-point deficit. Al Jefferson burned his former team with 12 points in the period but what was most interesting was the presence of Gordon Hayward in the final period. The struggling rookie played all 12 of his minutes in the quarter, had five points, three boards and three assists, and cashed in with a game-clinching and-1 play on a late breakout and dunk. Hopefully this will give Hayward some confidence going forward.

UTA (21-9)..........PLY%  USG   PCP  +/-   GR   MIN (6-24)..........PLY%  USG   PCP  +/-   GR
jefferson,al.........85%  24%  0.97  +15 30.5   johnson,wesley.......83%   8%  2.19  - 8 23.6
williams,deron.......84%  31%  0.96  + 5 21.0   webster,martell......53%  25%  0.90  -19 19.2
millsap,paul.........65%  29%  1.18  + 4 20.7   beasley,michael......79%  22%  1.24  + 6 17.6
kirilenko,andrei.....74%  15%  1.44  - 3 15.4   love,kevin...........83%  30%  1.00  - 3 17.4
miles,c.j............52%  18%  0.78  - 1  7.5   ridnour,luke.........68%  16%  1.44  - 3 17.0
hayward,gordon.......25%   7%  3.66  +17  6.0   milicic,darko........51%  21%  0.53  - 7  5.2
bell,raja............72%   8%  1.10  - 1  5.3   flynn,jonny..........32%  21%  0.76  - 2  3.5
watson,earl..........18%   8%  2.88  + 5  4.6   brewer,corey.........27%  11%  0.64  + 9  3.0
price,ronnie.........10%  10%  0.70  - 6  1.1   koufos,kosta.........16%  21%  0.34  + 2  1.1
fesenko,kyrylo....... 5%  14%  0.78  - 6  0.9   ellington,wayne...... 9%   8%  0.54    0  0.6
elson,francisco......10%   7%  0.08  - 4  0.1   gaines,sundiata......(DNP)  
evans,jeremy.........(DNP)                      hayward,lazar........(DNP)  
PACE: 98.9          ORTG eFG%  oRB%  TO% FTA%   PACE: 98.9          ORTG eFG%  oRB%  TO% FTA%
Jazz.............  113.2 .500  .282 .182 .196   Timberwolves.....  108.1 .483  .306 .202 .129

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HORNETS 105, NETS 91 (box): Marcus Thornton scored 18 points on 10 shots off the bench as the scuffling Hornets put up their best Offensive Rating of the season.

NJN (9-21)..........PLY%  USG   PCP  +/-   GR   NWO (17-12).........PLY%  USG   PCP  +/-   GR
harris,devin.........68%  25%  1.50  -14 29.6   okafor,emeka.........78%  24%  1.16  + 3 20.0
lopez,brook..........63%  33%  0.80  -11 14.5   paul,chris...........74%  11%  3.03  + 9 19.3
vujacic,sasha........52%  22%  1.20  -12 11.7   west,david...........71%  21%  1.41  +10 18.5
outlaw,travis........75%  17%  0.69  - 6 11.3   jack,jarrett.........35%  23%  1.24  + 6 16.7
humphries,kris.......42%  11%  1.87  -15 10.0   thornton,marcus......40%  32%  1.60  + 9 16.3
graham,stephen.......52%  12%  1.64  -13  9.4   ariza,trevor.........68%  22%  0.75  + 7 15.7
favors,derrick.......49%  19%  1.07  - 1  9.0   belinelli,marco......56%  15%  1.68  + 9 10.5
murphy,troy..........34%  11%  1.04  - 9  8.1   smith,jason..........37%  18%  1.16  + 9  6.4
farmar,jordan........42%  19%  0.74  - 1  5.7   ilungambenga,didier..14%  20%  1.25  + 6  4.8
petro,johan..........12%  17%  0.61  + 8  1.1   pondexter,quincy.....27%   9%  0.11  + 2  0.3
uzoh,ben.............10%  11%  0.68  + 4  1.0   andersen,david.......(DNP)  
ross,quinton.........(DNP)                      gray,aaron...........(DNP)  
PACE: 81.8          ORTG eFG%  oRB%  TO% FTA%   PACE: 81.8          ORTG eFG%  oRB%  TO% FTA%
Nets.............  111.3 .481  .195 .086 .075   Hornets..........  128.4 .592  .405 .171 .113

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SPURS 109, NUGGETS 103 (box): Rookie Gary Neal had 22 points and shot 5-of-7 from long-range as the Spurs won their 10th straight and improved to a league-best 25-3 on the season. San Antonio outscored Denver 29-14 in the fourth quarter, led by Neal's 10 points and a defense that held the Nuggets to 4-of-24 shooting during the final 12 minutes. J.R. Smith started at small forward for Denver because of Carmelo Anthony's absence due to a death in his family. Smith scored 22 points, but went scoreless in the final period. Anthony is not expected to return to the team until after Christmas.

DEN (15-12).........PLY%  USG   PCP  +/-   GR   SAS (25-3)..........PLY%  USG   PCP  +/-   GR
billups,chauncey.....77%  26%  1.09  + 3 25.8   neal,gary............55%  26%  1.64  +13 35.1
lawson,ty............59%  27%  1.35  -14 22.8   bonner,matt..........54%  14%  1.92  +11 22.0
smith,j.r............80%  25%  1.26  - 2 21.4   ginobili,manu........74%  25%  1.47  +14 21.3
hilario,nenê.........65%  16%  1.50  + 4 17.7   jefferson,richard....75%  19%  1.16  - 8 11.8
afflalo,arron........83%  15%  1.34  - 6 13.2   parker,tony..........75%  25%  0.83  - 8 11.7
martin,kenyon........35%  12%  1.85  + 9 11.9   duncan,tim...........56%  18%  1.15  - 4  9.5
andersen,chris.......40%  16%  1.14  -11  4.6   splitter,tiago.......44%  20%  1.55  + 6  9.4
harrington,al........49%  12%  0.48  -10  1.9   quinn,chris..........25%   6%  2.90  +14  2.9
forbes,gary..........13%  13%  0.32  - 3  0.4   blair,dejuan.........35%   3%  2.41  - 7  2.9
balkman,renaldo......(DNP)                      udoka,ime............ 1%  91%  0.00  - 2  0.0
carter,anthony.......(DNP)                      mcdyess,antonio......(DNP)  
williams,shelden.....(DNP)                      hill,george..........(DNP)  
PACE: 86.1          ORTG eFG%  oRB%  TO% FTA%   PACE: 86.1          ORTG eFG%  oRB%  TO% FTA%
Nuggets..........  119.7 .500  .310 .151 .148   Spurs............  126.6 .618  .268 .151 .123

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ROCKETS 97, CLIPPERS 92 (box): Kevin Martin continued a recent surge with 28 points as the Rockets won for the sixth time in seven games and moved within one game of Portland for eighth-place in the West.

HOU (14-15).........PLY%  USG   PCP  +/-   GR   LAC (8-22)..........PLY%  USG   PCP  +/-   GR
martin,kevin.........65%  37%  1.10  +10 22.3   griffin,blake........79%  29%  1.06  + 7 24.4
battier,shane........68%  11%  2.55  +14 16.2   jordan,deandre.......69%  15%  1.51  - 1 18.1
brooks,aaron.........35%  22%  1.49  - 1 14.2   gordon,eric..........61%  23%  1.28  + 1 12.6
scola,luis...........76%  32%  0.77  - 3 13.7   diogu,ike............35%  22%  0.91  - 5 10.0
lowry,kyle...........65%  12%  1.13  +10 12.0   davis,baron..........53%  21%  0.46  -16  7.4
budinger,chase.......32%  28%  0.89  - 9  9.0   foye,randy...........26%  31%  0.50    0  5.8
miller,brad..........39%  13%  0.64    0  4.3   bledsoe,eric.........53%  10%  1.17  + 2  4.5
hayes,chuck..........57%   8%  1.39  + 5  3.7   butler,rasual........52%   8%  1.35  - 6  4.3
lee,courtney.........35%  20%  0.49  - 5  3.0   gomes,ryan...........48%  17%  0.80  + 1  4.1
patterson,patrick....16%   4%  3.36  +10  1.8   aminu,alfarouq.......14%  31%  0.98  - 3  3.6
hill,jordan..........11%   6%  0.00  - 6  0.0   collins,jarron.......10%  10%  0.24  - 5  0.3
williams,terrence....(DNP)                      warren,willie........(DNP)  
PACE: 96.7          ORTG eFG%  oRB%  TO% FTA%   PACE: 96.7          ORTG eFG%  oRB%  TO% FTA%
Rockets..........  100.3 .482  .238 .196 .105   Clippers.........   95.1 .425  .286 .165 .118

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NEWS & MOVES

Minutiae from around the league

HAWKS: "The lawsuit among the owners of the Atlanta Hawks and Atlanta Thrashers has been settled. Terms of the settlement are confidential. Going forward, Michael Gearon and Bruce Levenson will serve as managing partners of the Atlanta Hawks, Atlanta Thrashers and Philips Arena." (press release)
The quoted passage represents the sum total of the release the Hawks sent out. The settlement, a long time coming, cuts Steve Belkin from the ownership group and ends the Hawks' prolonged period of limbo. As evidenced by Joe Johnson's max contract from last summer, the Hawks were able to spend freely while the ownership conflict was being resolved, though not necessarily intelligently. (Which was the reported basis of Belkin's beef with his former partners.) Hopefully, Gearon and Levenson will now focus their efforts on re-energizing an apathetic fan base but, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, they are actually seeking out additional investors. (WANTED: Suckers to help pay for Joe Johnson's decline phase.)

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FAB FIVE

A selection of our favorite NBA links

WTC  VIS @ HOM,  GAMETIME     NBAPET LINE    OFFICIALS
+18  sas @ orl,  8:00 PM EST [ sas by  2 ]   Mike Callahan, Tony Brown, Mark Lindsay
+ 7  mia @ phx, 10:30 PM EST [ mia by  9 ]   Steve Javie, Derek Richardson, Leon Wood
- 8  mil @ sac, 10:00 PM EST [ mil by  2 ]   Greg Willard, Bennie Adams, Gary Zielinski
Note: WTC is a junk stat rating the "watchability" of a game, taking into
account the quality of the opponents and the likelihood of a close game.