UConn is now the #1 team in the NCAA...here's a great pick of 2nd leading scorer (13.3 PPG) Denham Brown of Toronto dunking against UMass last night in UConn's 78-60 win...

So…Mean Gene Keady is going to be a Raptors Assistant/consultant…does that mean the Rpas will trade for the Big Dog? Keady was the lasr coach Glenn Robinson actually played well for, and combined with Jalen Rose and Loren Woods, it would give the Raps three players who can’t actually bend at the waist and touch their toes anymore…Keady, who went 512-270 in 25 seasons with the Boilermakers, will probably be brought in to help the Raps on defence…maybe he’ll recommend the Raps pick up Cuonzo Martin, Steve Scheffler and Kyle Macy be far behind?

OK…The NBA Players Association has filed a grievance on behalf of 76ers' Allen Iverson, John Salmons and Kevin Ollie stating that the said that the shorts supplied by Reebok, the league's official outfitter, arrived at a certain length and that the NBA should not have expected players to be responsible for altering them. "We were just wearing what was given to us, and that's pretty much it," he said…I could not agree more…and no word on if Jermaine O’Neal has called in the NAACP…

NBA’s all Bre-X award: Peja Stojakovic…Over the past five games, Stojakovic is 16-for-62 from the field, including 6-for-24 from 3-point range…And Peja has been declining for years with his shooting percentage sinking fast the last five seasons, including getting into AI territory last year at 40.6 percent…The Bulls, are dying to have him and I’m thinking if I’m the Kings, I offer to trade Peja for Luol Deng and Ben Gordon and see is the Bulls bite…

Did you see the snow in Indianapolis last night on the TNT broadcast of the Pacers-Wizards game? Apparently, Autism Croshere got caught in the storm and didn't make it to Conseco until halftime…after sitting in the car for hours, he starts the second half and finishes with five points and two rebounds…

Trade Rumour: T-Wolves trade PF Nikoloz Tskitishvili to Victoria’s Secret for 2 bras and a garter-thong set…

Speakign of the Pacers, they are often traders at this time of year…here’s an interesting list of 4 good and 2 terrible trades:

Good
1989: Traded Herb Williams, who was past his prime, to Dallas for a young, emerging Detlef Schrempf.
1997: Traded Vincent Askew, Eddie Johnson and two second-round picks to Denver for Mark Jackson and LaSalle Thompson.
2000: Traded Dale Davis to Portland for Jermaine O'Neal and the contract of the retired Joe Kleine.
2002: Traded Jalen Rose, Travis Best, Norm Richardson and a second-round draft pick to Chicago for Brad Miller, Ron Artest, Ron Mercer and Kevin Ollie.

Bad
1980: Traded an emerging Alex English to Denver for an aging George McGinnis…English ended up as the top scorer in the decade of the 80’s…
1982: Traded a 1984 first-round draft pick to Portland for journeyman center Tom Owens….the 2nd overall pick that Portland used to pick Sam Bowie that left Michale Jordan on the board for the Bulls at number 3…

1) Chris Mannix of Si.com thinks the Rockets should shake it up:

Misfire - Rockets' struggles may necessitate change at top

Jeff Van Gundy is tired. Or at least he looks like he is. Take one look at him and you will see a man with enough bags under his eyes to fill a shopping cart. I'd venture to say Van Gundy is the oldest-looking 43-year-old on the planet. The man needs a vacation, and the way the Rockets' season is headed, he could be taking one a lot sooner than he'd like. Here's the thing about being an NBA coach. Sometimes even the best of them eventually get tuned out by their players. Dave Cowens lost the Hornets. George Karl wore out his welcome in Seattle and Milwaukee. I don't think the Celtics ever listened to Rick Pitino. With a little more than a month gone in the season, all evidence points to Van Gundy being the latest in the line of coaches to have his message drowned out. Once that happens, there is no turning back. Yes, injuries have been a problem. Tracy McGrady missed eight games with his chronically aching back, and point guard Rafer Alston hasn't played since Nov. 17 because of a stress fracture in his right leg. Bobby Sura, maybe the most undervalued player on the team, hasn't played all season. But no matter how banged up the Rockets are, the injuries only cloud the notion that maybe the Rockets have gone as far as Van Gundy can take them. Is the talent there? It was supposed to be. Stromile Swift was the most coveted power forward on the market in the offseason and he has been a veritable bust. Even when healthy, Alston has struggled adapting to the Rockets' offense, which has gone from up-tempo to Van Gundy's classic dump and chase. Then there is Yao Ming, who, despite Van Gundy's best efforts, is looking less Shaquille O'Neal and more like Rik Smits every day. What's stopping assistant coach Patrick Ewing from clobbering him in practice. Yao's development -- or lack thereof -- may prove to be the highlight of Van Gundy's tenure in Houston. Van Gundy is Yao's kind of coach, a slug-it-out game planner whose offense revolves around the center. He made a career riding Ewing, who was the focal point of the Knicks offense the six years that Van Gundy was at the helm. If the Rockets run 75 offensive plays per game, Van Gundy would like Yao to touch the ball on 74 of them. But Yao will never be that kind of player -- he doesn't have the heart for it. It's not his fault, it's just the way he was raised. It wasn't until Yao came to America as a teenager that he started dunking in games. In China, dunking is considered taboo because it embarrasses one's opponent. How do you think trash-talking and hard fouls, two components that made Ewing the player he was, are viewed on the mainland? Yao has nearly 20 years of teaching to erase and it will probably take him 20 to do it. The Rockets need to make changes, and not the small kind they made last season -- bringing in Sura, David Wesley and Jon Barry -- to spark a team that started 6-11. This year the Rockets need big changes. They need to make a splash, shake things up. The chips are there. Wesley, Barry, Derek Anderson and Moochie Norris are all free agents after this season, making them coveted commodities for teams looking to slash payroll. What they would bring on the trade market is the question. Houston needs a name like Vladimir Radmanovic or Peja Stojakovic. It needs a bully like Danny Fortson or Kenyon…Need a new look? Here are five NBA assistants who could give a team a facelift

Marc Iavaroni, Phoenix - The Suns assistant interviewed in Portland before the Trail Blazers hired Nate McMillan; excellent big man coach who worked with Alonzo Mourning and was instrumental in the development of Zydrunas Ilguaskas.

John Kuester, Philadelphia - Veteran assistant was a college boss before he became a Larry Brown disciple. Brings 15 years of experience and a championship ring to the table.

Del Harris, Dallas - Former Lakers coach is content being second fiddle in Dallas, but could be enticed with the right offer; arguably the most seasoned coach on the market.

Kevin O'Neill, Indiana - The combustible O'Neill lost his cool in his first go-round in Toronto; Rick Carlisle's top assistant is a first rate defensive coach and deserves a second look.

Dean Demopoulus, - Portland The Blazers' lead assistant was the subject of a tug of war with Minnesota over the summer; former Temple assistant is a rising star in the coaching ranks.

2) Chad Ford of ESPN.com with his draft eligible update:

Draft watch: Powe sends message

Another week of great college and international hoops means another update of our Top 100: No. 1? Texas forward LaMarcus Aldridge continues to win fans as the potential top pick in the 2006 NBA draft after another strong week for the Longhorns. UConn's Rudy Gay also seems to have picked things up a bit, averaging 19.5 ppg and 7.5 rpg against Army and Texas Southern over the past week. Clearly, these two players have the best shot at going No. 1 right now. Overseas, NBA international scouts are reporting that the other legit candidate for the No. 1 pick in the draft, Italian forward Andrea Bargnani, should still be in the running. Bargnani's Euroleague numbers are nothing to be impressed with. Until last week, he was getting limited minutes for Benetton. However, two things stood out in the past week. First, Bargnani went head-to-head against the other top international prospect, Tiago Splitter, in a Euroleague game versus Tau Ceramica. Bargnani suffered through foul trouble for most of the game, but still managed nine points and four rebounds in 12 minutes. The general consensus among several scouts who were there was that he outplayed Splitter, using both his quickness on the perimeter and his size on the inside to do damage. Splitter wasn't bad either, scoring 11 points and grabbing five rebounds in 23 minutes of play. More impressive are Bargnani's early Italian league numbers. He's averaging 12.8 ppg and 5.1 rpg in just 19.7 mpg. He's also shooting an impressive 67 percent from the field and 46 percent from 3-point range. Combine that with a nice 16-point, four-rebound, two-block performance on Wednesday, and scouts are still bullish on Bargnani. Although he clearly isn't playing at the level of Aldridge or Gay, look for scouts to continue to follow him very closely given his height (7-foot-1) and versatility. High riser: Two weeks ago in Maui, a friend of Cal's Leon Powe came up to me and delivered a message from Powe. Powe was upset that I ranked him at No. 46 on my initial preseason Top 100 rankings and wanted me to know that the ranking was way too low. Powe's message to me, according to his friend, was that he'd be a lottery pick by the end of the season. This happens more than you might think, and I usually say the same thing: "If he plays like a lottery pick, I'll rank him like one." Considering that Powe hadn't played a college basketball game in 630 days, I thought the ranking was generous. A series of injuries (reconstructive ACL surgery followed by a stress fracture in his foot) had kept Powe off the court. Who knew what he was going to be like when he actually played again? Three games into Powe's comeback, it looks like he might have been right. Powe has been awesome, averaging 25 ppg and 9.3 rpg while shooting 63 percent from the field. If he keeps that up, Powe could be a lottery pick. He has the tools. He's long (he's got a 7-2 wingspan), athletic, powerful and very skilled for a 6-8, 244-pound power forward. Had injuries not held him back the past two years, he'd already be in the league. If he can stay healthy, and convince NBA doctors that his knee will hold up in the pros, he's got a bright future ahead of him. We've moved him all the way up to No. 24 in our most recent Top 100. College kids: Nevada's Nick Fazekas impressed scouts after dropping 35 points on Kansas earlier in the week. The fact that he did much of the damage against the much improved Sasha Kaun made it even more impressive. Fazekas was bashed by scouts last year after he decided to declare for the draft. His struggles in the NCAA tournament against a top team like Illinois (he shot 5-for-20 from the field) raised a number of serious questions about his game. Fazekas hasn't answered them all yet. Although he's big and skilled, his game is still too perimeter-oriented for a 6-11 guy, according to NBA scouts. Fazekas has made great strides over the summer improving his interior game (and Kansas got a taste of that), but scouts continue to wonder whether he'll be able to hold his own in the paint in the NBA. Can he rebound in the pros? Several scouts have their doubts. He needs to add more bulk and toughness, especially on the defensive end. Then again, that's what scouts said about Pau Gasol, too. Scouts are still fairly lukewarm about Fazekas' NBA potential, but given the numbers he's putting up this year, that could change. Florida's Corey Brewer has impressed scouts with his solid play for an 8-0 Gators squad. He's averaging 15.6 ppg and 6.5 rpg so far, and is being compared to Tayshaun Prince by some NBA scouts. His versatility, athleticism, defensive effort and rail-thin body mean the comparisons aren't a huge stretch. Kansas State forward Cartier Martin makes his debut on our Top 100 this week after getting off to a sizzling start for the Wildcats. Martin is averaging 20.2 ppg and 9.2 rpg and is shooting 58 percent from the field and 50 percent from 3-point range. Scouts were very high on him coming out of high school, but injuries have caused him to underachieve the past two seasons. This season he seems to be putting it all together and looks like he could be a good prospect. He is long and athletic, rebounds well and has proven he can shoot the 3. Villanova combo guard Randy Foye has turned heads with his stellar play so far for Villanova. Foye has the athleticism, toughness and motor that scouts love in a guard. He's shooting 46 percent from 3-point land and seems to have cut down on much of the carelessness that plagued him earlier in his career. Cal Fullerton's Bobby Brown got a lot of preseason hype as a potential pro prospect and drew a number of NBA scouts to watch him do his thing. But they are almost unanimously claiming to be underwhelmed by what they're seeing, especially after he disappointed in a big loss to Kansas State. He shot 6-for-21 from the floor and 2-for-10 from 3-point range -- not what NBA scouts are looking for in a point guard. In the previous game, he committed seven turnovers against South Dakota State. Scouts love the talent and athleticism, but with a 1-1.3 assist-turnover ratio, there are serious questions about Brown's ability to run the point in the pros. International men of mystery: A plethora of readers wanted to know why Croatia combo guard Marko Tomas took such a huge fall in last week's rankings. I probably should've explained. His play for Real Madrid has actually been quite solid, but multiple sources say his contract is going to prevent him from playing in the NBA anytime soon. Madrid paid a lot of money to bring Tomas over from Croatia and sources say the buyout could keep him in Europe a minimum of two more years. That's going to hurt his stock tremendously. Lithuanian forward Paulius Jankunas might get some second-round love in the upcoming NBA draft. Jankunas is draft eligible in 2006 and scouts have been impressed with his play for Zalgris Kaunas in the early going. He's averaging 14 ppg and 6.4 rpg in Euroleague play this season. Jankunas is especially effective working around the basket, but being only 6-8 and marginally athletic, he doesn't project as a great pro prospect. He's fallen ... can he get up? Illinois' Dee Brown kept saying last season that once teammates Deron Williams and Luther Head went off to the NBA, he'd finally get to play his natural position, point guard, and prove to NBA scouts that he had the skills to be more than a scorer at the next level. So far, the experiment hasn't gone according to plan. Brown is putting up the worst numbers of his college career. Yes, the 13.9 ppg and 5 apg are exactly what he's been averaging over his four-year career. But the 34 percent shooting from the field and 3.8 turnovers per game aren't. Early in the season, a handful of scouts said they thought Brown could get into the first round with a solid senior season. Now there are questions about whether he'll be drafted. He's too small to play the two in the pros and his jump shot has never looked shakier.

3) Jack MacCallum of Si.com finds the hidden gems:

Hidden factors - Role players are fueling some surprising starts

Except for those superstars who have been set back by injuries -- Miami's Shaquille O'Neal and Houston's Tracy McGrady are the big names -- most of the NBA's reliables are doing their thing so far this season. Philadelphia's Allen Iverson and the Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant are battling for the scoring lead; Tim Duncan is his usual solid self for the seemingly slump-proof San Antonio Spurs; Cleveland's LeBron James and Miami's Dwyane Wade are maintaining their reps as the best young players in the league; 2005 MVP Steve Nash has the Phoenix Suns on a hot streak -- without Amaré Stoudemire; and Kevin Garnett is filling up the stat line for a Minnesota Timberwolves team that has won its last five on the road. But for this week's five-pack, let's look beyond the obvious and highlight some of the "secret weapons" for teams that are either meeting or playing beyond expectations. There will be disagreements about what constitutes secret, of course. Is San Antonio point guard Tony Parker, who is playing the best basketball of his young life, a secret weapon? My opinion is no -- Parker's scoring (20.9, almost seven points higher than his career average) may be a surprise but he's no secret. But these five are ...

Chris Kaman, C -- Los Angeles Clippers…Surely this has happened to some of you: You're speed-thumbing through the NBA League Pass channels when all of a sudden you stop on a Clippers game and say: What is a young Gary Busey doing on the court? His hair stringy and blonde, his energy level relentless, Kaman's appearance suggests one of those wild men who earn their minutes simply because they run around and drive the other team to distraction. That is not the case. The third-year center out of Central Michigan is a skilled back-to-the-basket pivotman and a great athlete who once protested that he didn't want to be compared to immovable centers like Greg Ostertag and Bryant "Big Country" Reeves. And he should not. Kaman and Elton Brand provide a formidable 1-2 punch around the basket, and that's a major reason that the Clippers look, at the very least, like a playoff team.

Boris Diaw, C/F/G -- Phoenix Suns…One of the easiest ways to assure anonymity in this league is to start your career with the Atlanta Hawks. Though the Suns desperately wanted Diaw to be a real player so that the Joe Johnson sign-and-trade wouldn't didn't look so bad, most of America barely noticed when this 6-foot-8' French greyhound, a former club teammate of Parisian Parker's, came aboard. They've noticed now. Starting mostly at center for coach Mike D'Antoni, Diaw (Dee-OW) has looked comfortable whether running the floor or holding his own under the basket, despite being outweighed (he goes 203 pounds) by most of the bruisers. The Suns like to exploit matchups, and Diaw is quick enough to guard multiple positions, even perimeter players.

Troy Murphy, PF -- Golden State Warriors…This is the fifth season that the eternally promising duo of Jason Richardson and Murphy have been together in the Bay Area; and Mike Dunleavy has been there for four. None of them have ever seen a postseason game and, if that changes this year, the main difference will have been the addition of point guard Baron Davis. But Murphy is a constant for the Warriors, a player who rebounds (8.6 per game) and defends his position quite well (though he's not a shot-blocker), scores reliably (16.1 a game), makes his free throws (80 percent) and can even step out and hit the three from time to time.

Shane Battier, PF -- Memphis Grizzlies…Battier is a rarity -- a Duke player who has gotten kind of lost in the NBA shuffle. His scoring average has actually gone down after his 14.4 points per game in his rookie season, but his importance has gone up. He's shooting 55 percent from the floor, he has maintained his rep as a defensive specialist and he's an avid pick-setter and dive-on-the-floor energy guy for a team that has -- in case you haven't noticed -- the second-best record in the Western Conference.

Maurice Evans, G/F -- Detroit Pistons…You watch the confident Evans play for a few minutes and wonder: Why didn't this guy make a splash in Minnesota or Sacramento? He has a chance to do that now with a championship contender. Evans came to the league's most stable rotation -- five starters and sixth man Antonio McDyess -- and immediately established himself as a valuable role player, someone who defends, takes care of the basketball (even though he's not much of a passer) and will take the shot even though he knows he's often the last option. The Pistons like someone in that hard-nosed, athletic third-guard role (last year it was Lindsey Hunter and in the championship season of '04 it was Mike James), and Evans has so far been perfect.

4) Chris Sheridan of ESPN.com review the Team USA possibilities:

Colangelo taking new approach to building Team USA

Gilbert Arenas is gung ho, Chris Bosh is ready to jump on board, too, and Carmelo Anthony has been interviewed by national team czar Jerry Colangelo about representing the United States at the 2006 World Championship in Japan and the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, ESPN.com has learned. Colangelo also has met briefly with several players, including Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince of the Detroit Pistons, and held longer face-to-face meetings with others to ask for a three-year commitment to the U.S. national team. Dwyane Wade, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Amare Stoudemire and Tim Duncan are also on the short list of players Colangelo would like to add to the team's core, but he has not yet spoken to all of them. The toughest player to convince could be Duncan, whose parting words for the international basketball federation as he left Athens -- "FIBA sucks" -- indicate his strong unwillingness to ever play in another international competition. Duncan felt the referees treated him unfairly during the Athens Olympics. If logistics allow, Colangelo plans to speak to as many as 35 players before extending any formal invitations. The first official members of the team probably will not be announced until the All-Star break in mid-February. "I've met with five players and laid out everything expected of them regarding the commitment, and what's expected of them on and off the court," Colangelo told ESPN.com. "So far, I'm five-for-five with the guys I've spoken to about participating. And some players who were pessimistic in their comments a couple of months ago are now soliciting an invitation." Paul Pierce, Elton Brand, Wade, Michael Redd, Lamar Odom, Dwight Howard and others have expressed interest -- some publicly, some through back channels -- in playing for USA Basketball as the American federation tries to recover from the humiliation of a bronze-medal finish at the Athens Olympics and a sixth-place showing at the 2002 World Championship. "Any time your country seeks you out to represent it, it's an honor," Bosh said. "Ever since I saw the Dream Team play in '92 [when he was 8], it was such a big-time thing. It made a big impression on me. They were killing guys." Bryant has expressed a strong desire to play for the national team after his sexual-assault trial kept him from playing on the 2004 Olympic team, while Jermaine O'Neal said he would like to play again but is uncertain about making a three-year commitment. O'Neal and LeBron James both said they had not yet spoken to Colangelo. A few other high-profile stars, including Shaquille O'Neal, Tracy McGrady and Mike Bibby, appear to be off the radar for now. But with Colangelo trying to stock the national team roster with as many as 24 players, he is building in wiggle room for players who might want to play in the World Championship or the Olympics, but not both. In an effort to rebound from its three losses each in Athens and Indianapolis -- the first ever by U.S. teams using NBA players -- the U.S. federation has moved away from the selection-by-committee process it had used for nearly a decade, giving Colangelo full authority to assemble the roster. "This is not necessarily going to involve the top guys in terms of talent," Colangelo said. "There's going to be additions, deletions. It'll be a fluid process. This is not a situation where a guy is invited and he's a lock." Colangelo believes there is only so much room for superstars on the next U.S. team, and he'll attempt to balance the roster with role players who would work well within the team concept and whose specialties would include outside shooting, shot-blocking and man-to-man defending. He also said there will be one significant change for the next U.S. team from the one that went to Athens: No more entourages. "When we break camp, we're leaving on a mission. No entourages and no families are heading to the Far East," Colangelo said. "We'll bring families in for the medal round if we make it." Duke's Mike Krzyzewski will coach the U.S. team at the Worlds in Japan next summer and the Olympics in Beijing in 2008, and the assistant coaches will be Mike D'Antoni of the Phoenix Suns, Nate McMillan of the Portland Trail Blazers and Jim Boeheim of Syracuse. If the Americans fail to win the World Championship next summer, they'll also have to field a team for an Olympic qualifying tournament in 2007. All three of those teams will train in Las Vegas, which is close to finalizing a three-year deal to become the site of the national team's training camp. The U.S. team that will compete in Japan will play two exhibitions in China and two others in South Korea, making stops along the way at U.S. military bases to hold practices. Colangelo said several NBA teams had offered the services of their overseas-based scouts to compile reports on international players, teams and coaches.

5) Ian Thomsen of SI.com thinks Dirk is getting it:

Leadership lessons - Nowitzki, Magic's Stevenson mature into new roles

The most talented players aren't necessarily the best leaders. Dirk Nowitzki understands this as well as anyone. Realizing that Dallas won't win a championship without his guidance, the Mavericks' All-Star forward is determined to improve his leadership skills. "He's been reading books on leadership, he's been talking to [coach] Avery [Johnson], he's been talking to other people, he's been talking to me," says Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. What has been on Nowitzki's reading list? "He read a book on Larry Bird, and I think he's got one lined up on John Wooden," says Cuban. "Dirk's a sponge, he loves to read." Since the departures of Steve Nash and Michael Finley and coach Don Nelson, the Mavericks have been rebuilt as a younger team revolving around the 27-year-old Nowitzki. While the transition has appeared seamless -- they won 58 games last year in the wake of Nash's departure and are off to a 13-5 start this season without Finley or Nelson -- it hasn't come without its share of turmoil for Nowitzki, who must fill the void in veteran leadership while also working harder for the points that Nash used to deliver him on cue. When the Mavericks lost to Nash's Suns in the second round of the playoffs last spring, Nowitzki -- who uncharacteristically produced just one game of 30 points or more in the playoffs -- endured more criticism than he had heard since his disappointing rookie year. Nowitzki's response speaks to his promise as a leader. "Criticism is always good for you," he says. "Obviously I think I deserved it. I didn't have a great playoff run, I wasn't on top of my game for whatever reason. I didn't make my shots, I didn't execute the way I normally do and that's why I took a lot of blame on myself. "In all the press conferences I didn't make excuses. I always said, 'I'm not playing well and I've got to address that.' So all I could do was work hard again this summer." Nowitzki's reputation as a leader is unquestioned internationally. In September he was named MVP of the European Championships after scoring 26.1 points per game and driving an underdog German team to the silver medal. This fall, Nowitzki has averaged 25.6 points and 8.9 rebounds through Wednesday while leading the Mavericks to the second-best record in the West, despite the absences of starters Doug Christie (who left the team because of an ankle injury), Josh Howard (sidelined since Nov. 28 by a sprained ankle) and sixth man Jerry Stackhouse (out all season with a sore right knee). Complicating Nowitzki's transition from teammate to leader was the promotion of Johnson to head coach last March, which has led to more structure at both ends of the floor. "I don't hide behind that,'" says Nowitzki, referring to his postseason struggles last spring. "I still should have made my shots, I still should get to the hoop and get fouled and all that stuff. So maybe there were a lot of changes right before the playoffs, but I still should have played better. I still should have made my teammates better." Cuban believes that Nowitzki -- like the equally soft-spoken Tim Duncan -- has the innate makings of a leader. "He cares about people, he respects their feelings and their viewpoints and that's key," says Cuban. "He's a student of the game and he works on the elements of his game, so he can offer that kind of guidance to other people on how they can improve their game both individually and within a system." The bottom line is that Nowitzki's scoring makes Dallas an elite team. The Mavs are 7-0 this year when he scores 30 or more, and 27-3 overall during the past two seasons. Cuban believes that the other aspects of Nowitzki's game will improve as he and the Mavs grow used to Johnson's system. "Avery asks him to do things differently than Nellie -- a lot differently," says Cuban. "It was the same thing with Michael Finley last year. Fin wasn't scoring nearly as much, but he wasn't asked to play any defense before. He was never asked to make a pass, and there was never a situation where we tried to run down 20 out of 24 seconds -- when we had the ball -- to try to wear down the other team so they wouldn't have their legs in the fourth quarter. It was, you know, if you're open shoot the ball two seconds in, just like Phoenix does. With Avery it's a matter of different roles, different expectations, different fulfillment, and now we all have a different understanding of it -- and it's showing." ***Stevenson comes into his own: The torrent of immature draft picks entering the NBA over the last decade has forced teams to recalibrate their timetables for developing young players. Exhibit A is Orlando Magic shooting guard DeShawn Stevenson. Stevenson was 19 years old when the Utah Jazz made him the shortest -- at 6-foot-5 -- player ever picked in the first round directly out of high school. He never seemed to fit in with Hall of Fame-to-be elders Karl Malone, John Stockton and coach Jerry Sloan, and at the 2003-04 midseason trade deadline the Jazz sent him (along with a second-round pick) to Orlando for Gordan Giricek, a veteran expected to provide immediate help to Utah. Now 24 and well into his sixth NBA season, Stevenson is behaving like a veteran who suddenly understands everything Sloan was trying to teach him. It took awhile, but the lessons have sunk in. "He was determined to show everybody he was a different player than he was in Utah, and that he was a different player than he was for us even a year ago," says assistant GM Otis Smith. "He always ends up guarding one of the best scorers on the other team, he's diving on the floor, he's doing all the little things you like to see guys do." Stevenson is averaging career-highs of 12.6 points and 35.8 minutes while starting every game for Orlando this season. Though he initially had trouble finding his way in Utah, Stevenson is grateful that the Jazz served as his extended boot camp. "I was a flashy high school player and I was going to a situation where you have to learn NBA basketball," said Stevenson. Accustomed to playing at full speed, Stevenson found that the better he understood the game, the more the game slowed down for him. The result has been that he has become a reliable defender. "For me when I first came into the league, it was hard to come off screens because I kept getting screened over shots," Stevenson said. "Seeing Stockton go off screens and Bryon Russell, who was another very good defensive player -- they taught me to watch film and focus in and learn the little things." Though the Magic (7-11) are skidding downhill fast, their issues will be easily rectified when Grant Hill returns from a sports hernia in the next week. In the meantime they continue to rely on Stevenson, who is attacking the basket in spite of a recent knee cartilage injury that may require surgery after the season, a setback that has also helped him grow."I used to come to games and sit down and talk to players -- kind of joke around," he says. "Now I don't have time for that. I've got to get treatment (from the athletic trainer for his knee). After I get treatment I get heat, and after I get heat I've got to go out and shoot. And after I'm done shooting I've got to go back and get ice. So it makes you more focused on the game and on your job." ***Interview: Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy - Coach Mike Dunleavy is on his way to producing the second winning season of Donald T. Sterling's 24-year ownership of the Los Angeles Clippers. Through Wednesday the Clippers (13-5) were the surprise leaders of the Pacific Division, in no small part because Sterling has been convinced by Dunleavy -- now in his third year with the team -- to spend big money on current starters Elton Brand, Corey Maggette, Cuttino Mobley and Sam Cassell. Unlike previous Clippers coaches, Dunleavy has convinced his players that he has the ear of the owner and can get things done. On convincing Sterling to invest in the team ... "The owner said to me, 'We'll spend the money if you can convince us the money is worth spending.' I truly believed that he really wanted to win. I said, 'You have to commit to me that you'll spend the money on Elton Brand on a max contract, and I want Maggette re-signed and I'd like to sign one other free agent with the money we have left.' And they said yes." On the one he let get away ... "A lot of the players that [the Clippers] didn't re-sign [over the years], I don't think were worth re-signing for the money they were asking. The only guy that's ever gotten away that I didn't have the answer to was Lamar Odom [who left for Miami as a restricted free agent when the Heat signed him to an offer sheet in '04]. I loved his talent, I thought he could really play great for me. But the money thing happened in a hurry. The guy hadn't played for me, so for me to make a call and say, 'Hey, I want him for 6 years at $65 million' -- I couldn't do it. It was too big a leap for me to take at that time." On his coaching philosophy ..."I learned way back that you can't emphasize everything because you can't get it done; you can only emphasize certain things. One thing I wanted us to do was to shoot free throws better. We don't miss a day of shooting them, we keep track of them and the last two years we've been either No. 1 or No. 2 in the league in scoring points on free throws. "I also wanted us to be better in field-goal percentage defensively, and we've improved from way down. Right now we're No. 1 in the league in field-goal percentage defense. "Our two areas of concern are turnovers and the offensive rebounds that we're giving up. I still can't figure it out: second in the league in rebounding, and yet the offensive boards we've given up have cost us two or three games -- clear non-box outs -- and that drives me absolutely up the wall. So we're giving up turnovers and we're giving up more second-chance points than I want to -- where would our defense be if we weren't giving those up?'' On how he uses videotape ..."We watch a half-hour to an hour every day. I go through every game and pull out every mistake and we'll go through them. The other night (against Indiana on Nov. 27) we had a bad defensive game: Of 108 defensive clips we showed 57. That was a high percentage of things we didn't do the right way. "I tell them, 'The day I stop getting on you and getting on your mistakes is the day I stop caring about you.' Everybody can get into a situation where you get frustrated and you become selfish. And if you haven't got the ball in awhile you say, '(Bleep) that guy, I'm going to get my shot now.' I keep decent track in my head of who gets good shots or not, and when a guy hasn't had a good shot in awhile my mental note is, "'I'd better get him a good shot, or he's going to find a way to get a bad one.'" On teaching scorers how to play team defense ..."We customize it for every game. We try to teach the counters [that the offensive team may employ in reaction to the Clippers' defense]. You have a 24-second clock on your side, so if you can take away their first counter, then the clock's on your side and you have a chance to make them hurry. "We have good discussions. Like today, I went over something on film and said, 'Everybody got that? Did everybody understand it?' One guy had this real blank look on his face. I said, 'Is that a real yes or a fake yes? Do you really understand it?' He said, 'No, not really.' I need to know that. It's OK to not understand it. We'll go through it more slowly or walk through it, and you show me what you would do maybe, and what you (suggest) might work better. There are no bad suggestions ever, no dumb questions." On his contract situation..."The bottom line is, this is the last year on my deal, and the team has the option on my contract next year. I want to be here and hopefully that's what's going to happen. You won't ever hear me talk about renegotiating. If the club wants to do anything that's up to them." On whether he ever called the Warriors to negotiate a trade for his son..."I've always messed around with the idea. But he's happy there, the Golden State Warriors really like him and Mullie (GM Chris Mullin) loves him. "A reporter came to me one time and said, 'You know what, they may look to trade Mike. They're unhappy with him.' I said, 'Really? Do you have a good source?' He said, 'I have a great source.' I said, 'Tell him to call me.' That's pretty much where it ended. They never called me."

6) Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial-Appeal reports that the Diggler has pissed off Kung Pau:

The talking is over - Nowitzki's dismissal of Gasol's play just makes big Spaniard all that more determined

Heat-of-the-moment banter often produces controversial quotes that linger and light a fire under players and their fans. Perhaps Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki is still learning American diplomacy among other things. Just what did Nowitzki mean Nov. 26 with his oft-repeated comment following the Grizzlies' 112-92 victory in American Airlines Center? Grizzlies forward Pau Gasol had just dropped 36 points, 15 rebounds and five assists on the Mavericks' front line when Nowitzki said: "(Gasol) is a good player but he's not that good. We should have had an answer for him." Now, fast forward to the eve of a Memphis-Dallas rematch tonight in FedExForum. The dis had been cast, and Gasol's teammates didn't appreciate Dirk's disregard. "I don't even know why (Nowitzki's) talking," reserve guard Bobby Jackson said Thursday afternoon. "He's probably the softest guy in the industry. I don't like guys who talk and, you know, they're not a hard-core player. Don't talk about another player if you don't have that aggressiveness and are willing to mix it up. "Dirk doesn't have that. So for him to say it, that goes right over my head. I don't respect anything he says. If it was a (Kevin Garnett) or a Tim Duncan then OK. Dirk is one of the premier power forwards in the league. But he doesn't have that aggressiveness, and everybody knows it. Pau is getting there." Another Griz newcomer, Damon Stoudamire, once said Gasol had to be rated R and not PG if the Grizzlies were going to be successful. Upon viewing Gasol on a regular basis, Stoudamire came up with a new rating. "He's rated X right now," Stoudamire said of the 7-foot Spaniard, who is averaging career statistics with 19.2 points, 9.2 rebounds, four assists and 2.4 blocks per game. "I'm not one to get into a war of words," Stoudamire said. "But they always double-team him. I don't see (teams) playing him one on one. He must be something. For us, he's doing the job and he's been making everybody better." Gasol spearheaded the Grizzlies' comeback from an early double-digit deficit in that Dallas game. When he wasn't routinely scoring on hard moves to the basket, Gasol set up teammates for open 3-pointers or drives to the basket. Keith Van Horn couldn't contain him. Nor could DeSagana Diop or Nowitzki as Gasol created havoc and foul trouble for the Mavs' big men. "He's trying to establish his game at a consistent level. Once he does that, then the respect he deserves will come," Griz coach Mike Fratello said. "... He's handling the double teams and the traps much better than we've seen. He's making good decisions with the ball. (And) I like his effort defensively." Jackson approached Gasol after he made 13-of-23 shots and 10-of-13 free throws against the Mavs. "I told him if he plays like that every night we'll be hard to beat," Jackson said. "He does need to be rated R. Once he gets that aggressive move going, can't anybody stop him. He's so long and athletic, and we're going to go to him." So far, Gasol's responded by attacking no matter the opposition. That includes Nowitzki, who has been known to light up the scoreboard while allowing the man he's defending to do the same. Asked if he heard Nowitkzi's comment, Gasol said: "Sure did." "It just makes me want to go out there and take it really hard to all of them and have a great game and help my team win again," Gasol said. "I don't believe in talking and saying negative stuff about anybody. I respect every player in the league. So I'm going to go out there and do my job and help my team win." In other words: Gasol appears intent on walking the walk while leaving the talk to Nowitzki.

7) Peter Vescey of the New York Post is funny:

KNICKS GO TO DOGS

ISIAH Thomas and Larry Brown really outdid themselves earlier this week when they picked up Qyntel Woods, undoubtedly with a pooper scooper. Any pit bull that hasn't fled the city or can't find asylum within its limits is hereby advised to file at once for an order of protection, because Qyntel is out of the Woods and coming to town in a Knicks uniform. To think, it's the overpaying patrons who have to pass through Garden security. No, the deported Jail Blazer has no ties to any sleeper cells. As far as I know, there have been no illicit trysts with any nannies; that particular perp still plays with Portland, though Fathers Thomas and Brown are intent on fetching Ruben Patterson, a criminal sex offender, to join their New York Boys Club. And, no, Woods is not the former Blazer reputedly implicated with the transportation of Patty Hearst across the country in the trunk of a pimped-out automobile. Still, it's not as if Woods is lacking inhumane traits of his own. Let's just say it's a shame the 6-8 forward wasn't as busy filling up a stat sheet as a rap sheet during his 21/2 years with the Blazers. In their zeal to exploit Woods' wasted basketball talent, Thomas and Brown have chosen to overlook his numerous pedal-to-the-metal incidents, various bouts with wacky weed, and other inappropriate run-ins with the law. Fine, by all means, be my guest. I'm not even going to mention, other than in passing, that the Knicks are the same team, you might recall, whose owner, James Dolan, proclaimed not all that long ago (before Isiah began dredging for dregs on a regular basis) the magnitude of courting character players. Considering Dolan's squalid lifestyle until a few years ago, how could he not, I guess, lower his snooty standards and forgive those convicted or addicted to drugs, liquor, speeding and driving without a valid license? (It's practically hilarious how Woods could produce licenses for his many dogs but never one for driving a car). But Woods brings to the garbage incinerator a different breed of brutality; last Jan. 21 he pleaded to first-degree misdemeanour animal abuse. He was sentenced to one-year probation and 80 hours of community service, and donated $10,000 to the Oregon Humane Society. The investigation of the above charge led to a search of his home in Lake Oswego, one of Portland's most exclusive neighbourhoods. It had evidence of dog-fighting equipment and drug paraphernalia. Numerous complaints of loud, late-night events were logged. According to a Clackamas County source, there was evidence of dog fighting on the premises in a room over the garage. There were bloody paw prints all over the floor and dog blood several feet up the walls, which had been painted over in an attempted cover-up. Sheriffs took sheet rock, etc., as verification. Shoes that matched Woods' were found and confiscated. There were shoe prints and paint on the shoes that matched those found in the garage room. Helicopter video reports of the premises showed Woods kept a number of pit bulls other than Hollywood, the bruised, cut and scarred dog he dumped in a downtown Portland alley, supposedly because it wouldn't fight. These dogs disappeared when the investigation began. While all of us shudder to think what happened to those dogs, it also should be noted there were a bunch of other things inferred but unproven by the police. Like what was to be shipped back from L.A. on a specific road trip. Narcotics and vice squads apparently were keeping Woods' associates under tight surveillance. And you wonder why the Portland community has such a hard time embracing the only show in town. Management's decision to waive Woods (an arbitration is pending) was easy. Had he been getting it done on the floor, it might not have been the end. One big offensive explosion at the Garden and, guaranteed, Knicks fans will be chanting his name. In late September, Robert John Page, Hollywood's caretaker and Woods' roommate, pleaded out by mail (he now lives in Arizona) on the animal-abuse charges. Neither Woods nor Page was ever charged with dog fighting. The good news is, Hollywood was adopted by Aimee Green, lives in Bend, Ore., and now answers to Stella. The bad news is, Junk Yard Dog (Jerome Williams) is no longer an active member of the Knicks. For those keeping score at home, Woods is working on his third agent and fourth team. He finished last season with Miami, playing three games after sitting out five for an October '04 NBA drug violation. His signing with the Knicks ignited a bombardment of phone calls and e-mails by dog lovers. "Based strictly on skill, this is a no-brainer," opinioned an NBA talent questor on the Knicks' acquisition. "Nevertheless, it appears to be a desperation move at this stage. If he was ever going to get it done, my guess is that Pat Riley would have made it happen." FYI: The 130th Westminster Dog Show at the Garden is scheduled for Feb. 13-14. As a special incentive for signing with the Knicks, Thomas and Brown promised Woods he could be a judge.