Los
Angeles Lakers at Minnesota

A good night for basketball, with 11 games in total, and two
real winners on ESPN. They might not be the closest games, but the Celtics in Detroit and the Hornets in Golden State
should be pretty entertaining.

I like the Lakers’ trip to Minnesota, though, above all. I don’t pick
many Laker games because they tend to be head and shoulders above just about
every team they go up against, but a trip way up north to take on a potent (25
and 11 boards over his last seven games) and potentially seething (no All-Star
berth) Al Jefferson could make for some good times.

Adding to the potential mess is Los Angeles’ relative inability to stay in
front of smallish, quick guards. Derek Fisher and Kobe Bryant try, and Kobe
could make Randy Foye’s life hell when all is said and done, but it’s also a
bit much to ask two guys who entered the league together in 1996 to try and
stay in front of Foye, who is averaging a little under 19 points and five
assists in January, with a 43 mark from long range.

And if things are close in the end, not that I’m rooting
either way, you’d like to hope that the Lakers would be the first team to not
act surprised when Minnesota throws out its late-game go-to play; a curl that
sees Foye grab the ball on the strong side of the inbound passer, only to turn
over his left shoulder, drive hard with the right hand, and go up for a floater
off glass. They’ve only been running this, and we’re serious, since 2006. And
yet, teams have looked surprised by it ever since.

Comment away all weekend, BDL’ers,
enjoy the big baseball game on Sunday, and stay safe.

Los Angeles Lakers:
35-9, 94.3 possessions per game (5^th), 113.6 points scored per 100
possessions (1^st), 104.7 points allowed per 100 possessions (5^th). 

Minnesota Timberwolves: 16-28, 91.6 possessions
per game (14^th), 106 points scored per 100 possessions (22^nd),
109.4 points allowed per 100 possessions (24^th).

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A look around the league and the web that covers it. It’s also important to note that the rotation order and starting nods aren’t always listed in order of importance. That’s for you, dear reader, to figure out.

C: Globe. Damon Blust, the man who played Lucky the Leprechaun, has parted ways with the Celtics.
PF: At The Hive. OK, so David West shouldn’t have been an All-Star. He’s still better than ‘Melo. Discuss.
SF: Houston Chronicle. Well, that didn’t take long: McGrady leaves Rockets practice with sprained ankle.
SG: Wicked Good Sports. Could Nigerian spam mail be the key to the Celtics’ success?
PG: SR. "The Sacramento Kings locker room is currently in an uproar over the All-Star selections."
6th: The Sporting Blog. The 500th, but by far best, interview with NBA legend Clyde Drexler.
7th: Mouthpiece Blog. Just an awesome pic of Michael Jordan escapin’ Chicgao in his Ferrari Testarossa.
8th: Basketball Fiend. "It feels strange to consider the Magic as potential NBA champions — kind of like believing in 1997 that Jay Z would go on to be the biggest rapper in the world …"
9th: The Painted Area. Highlighting the next six or seven days of basketball on television.
10th: LiveLeak.com. I remember hearing about this, but here’s the slightly creepy video footage of that illusionist who nearly drowned while performing at an Oklahoma City Thunder game. (Thanks, Chris.)

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Grizzlies forward Rudy Gay has once again jump-started the buzz for his Sprite Slam Dunk Contest appearance. Last year, the Memphis high-flyer asked amateur dunkers from around the globe to send in their best dunks via YouTube. It was a great idea, but the dunks he picked were horrible. So this February, flipping the script, Gay has turned to comedians Randy and Jason Sklar for slam advice. Watch out, Phoenix!

In addition to the video, Gay has unveiled a special online widget that can be viewed and "snagged" from his swagger-iffic website RudyGay22.com. To help bolster the overall excitement for the contest, Gay will autograph the ball (or skunk or Brad Pitt baby) he dunks with during the comp and give it to the fan who generates the most widget views and/or snags on their site.

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Denver
at New Orleans 

You can get on me for featuring a contest that offers David
West, Tyson Chandler, and Carmelo Anthony in street clothes, and you’d probably
be correct. But this one just jumps off the page at me. Denver plays so hard, so smart (yes, smart)
at times, and the Hornets feature a transcendent player that PTI still isn’t
sure is any better than Tony Parker or Deron Williams.

That said, take your pick. 12 games on, one
on ESPN, plenty to go around.

Milwaukee at Indiana has some fun
parts. Sacramento and Boston will be decided by 39 points or less.
Washington and Miami,
maybe not. Toronto and New Jersey? Almost picked it. Lots of fun participants
to watch, even if the teams aren’t great. Or good.

New York’s hot, Atlanta is not hot, so what happens in the
Garden? Memphis
and the Thunder? You always have to tune into those. Detroit
and Minnesota,
two teams going in opposite directions, so do they reverse each other’s course?

Philly really gave Houston
a good beating last year, and will the Rockets (with Yao Ming) have the energy
after finishing a long road trip on Monday? Charlotte
and Portland might not be much, and Chicago against the
Clippers features the two teams you should reserve the most enmity for among
all.

Comment away, and we’ll see you here on Thursday morning.
Until then, I’m going to stick this song in your head.

Update: John Hollinger agrees, right down to the "pay attention" line.

Denver Nuggets:
30-15, 94.6 possessions per game (4^th), 109.9 points scored per 100
possessions (8^th), 105.7 points allowed per 100 possessions (9^th).

New Orleans Hornets:
27-14, 87.3 possessions per game (29^th), 110.4 points scored per 100
possessions (5^th), 106.5 points allowed per 100 possessions (13^th).

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In New Orleans last year, Dwight Howard (and his Superman costume) edged out defending champ Gerald Green (and his cupcake) for the NBA Slam Dunk crown. It was a wildly creative contest — one for the ages. But what could Dwight possibly do for an encore? Well, if you believe his meetings with teammate and dunk strategist Jameer Nelson, flying pirates and/or body paint might come into play …

(via Soxs & Dawgs)

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