An Important Day for an Important Man...we also remember Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, Jack Johnson and Marcus Garvey...

Bab Robcock watch: Jalen Rose had a season-high 31 points and the Raptors reached a franchise-high in points, ended New York's six-game win streak and generally gave the fans a good show with a 129-103 drilling of the Knicks yesterday. Mo Pete had a season-high 28 and CB4 had 23 for the Raptors…other highlights:

The Raptors scored at least 30 points in all four quarters for the first time in franchise history

The Raptors shot 59% from the floor…

Jalen Rose, also had 6 assists and was 10-for-15 from the floor and 10-11 from the line…

Rose had 21 points in the first half, 18 in the second quarter, and 10 straight at one point…

Jose Calderon started in his place and had 13 points and 10 assists.

In the first quarter 5-foot-9 Knicks PG Nate Robinson won a jump ball over Raptors 6’11” C Rafael Araujo...

Charlie Villanueva may have started scaling the dreaded rookie wall with 15 points and 6 boards…

Joey Graham was a jack-of-all-trades with 8 points 5 rebounds and 5 assists…

However, the schedule gets much tougher with a road trip that looks like this:

01/17 @UTA 9:00pm
01/18 @POR 10:00pm
01/20 @SEA 10:30pm
01/22 @LAL 9:30pm
01/23 @DEN 9:00pm

Reason number # 4563 that Derek Jeter sucks: http://www.yankeescritic.com/jeterwatch.aspx

Trade Rumour: Magic send SG Stevie Francis to the Timberwolves for SF Wally Sczerbiak and SG Trenton Hassell…

Hmmm…Do you think the Cavs may want a do over? 4 years and $18 million for Damon Jones.who is still in a monstrous shooting slump….One NBA scout says this about Jones: ``His mouth wrote a check that his game can't cash.'' The scout meant Jones does not have a real view of himself, that he's best coming off the bench to make some shots. He is a role player…

Quick who’s the best rebounder in the NCAA right now? OK, I’ll tell you…it’s Louisiana Tech's PF Paul Millsap…who? Millsap, is a 6-foot-8, 245-pound junior, who is on track to become the 1st player in D1 history to lead the nation in rebounding for 3 straight seasons…he averaged 12.5 asa freshman, 12.4 as a sophomore, and is averaging 12.3 rebounds per game this year…For posterity and historical context, Millsap was only the second freshman EVER to lead D-I in rebounding, the first being the inimitable Kenny Miller of Loyola College (Ill.) in 87-88…also, only four players in NCAA history have won consecutive rebounding titles, and all did it in their junior and senior seasons: Jerry Lucas (Ohio State), Kermit Washington (American), Artis Gilmore (Jacksonville) and Leroy Wright (Pacific)….heady company for sure…

Quote of the week: "We get kind of mind-boggled a lot." - Atlanta SF Joe Johnson, when asked about his team's increasing struggles to hold late leads…

Kung Pau Gasol…despite Gasol scoring 26 points, the Grizz lost 80-79 to the Pistons Saturday…why? Well, Kung Pau shot 4-for-13 from the line, despite being a 72% shooter…how bad was this, well Elias Sports Bureau says he's the first NBA player since Vin Baker in 1994 to miss at least nine free-throw attempts in a regular-season game that his team lost by the minimum margin; Baker, then with Milwaukee, shot 4-for-13 in a 115-114 loss to Philadelphia. And before Baker, you have to go back to 1970 to find the previous guy to do it -- San Diego's Stu Lantz, 4-for-13 in a 130-129 loss to Phoenix.

Oh my goodness…Yes Duke beat Clemson on Saturday but you MUST see the follow-up dunk from Clemson's Sam Perry over three guys…it is super nasty….

After watching the Colts postgame press conference, the Colts lost 21-18 to the Steelers in a thriller, I ask you: is Payton Manning not the biggest sucky baby you’ve ever seen? Here’s the quote: “I ‘m trying to be a good teammate, but it’s obvious we had some protection problems.” Waah!!!

Milk Carton: Carlos Boozer…he re-injured his hamstring in re-hab and is now sidelined for at least another month…with whispers that he may not play at all this season…

The rest of the world is in trouble: LeBron officially committed to the Olympic team for 2008…

1) Marc Berman of the New York Post with the Big apple version of yesterday:

CANADIAN CLUBBING

O Canada. Oh, no! If Knicks president Isiah Thomas had been feeling reluctant to make a trade to disrupt the team's newfound good chemistry, Toronto's Jalen Rose disrupted it for him yesterday. Rose exposed their greatest weakness as the Knicks' stunning six-game winning streak crashed and burned in a Canadian reality check. Rose, whom Thomas has so far resisted taking on in a swap for Penny Hardaway's contract, destroyed the Knicks for 31 points in 23 minutes in a disastrous 129-103 shellacking at the Air Canada Centre. It was the Knicks' first loss of 2006 and the season's most lopsided defeat. The Knicks' last loss came in Milwaukee on Dec. 30. "Jalen killed us," Stephon Marbury admitted. All the Raptors did. The 129 points was the largest scoring total in Raptors history and the first time they scored at least 30 points in all four quarters. "They were all over the place," Jamal Crawford said. "I'm glad it's over with." "We weren't ready like those guys were," Marbury said. "They came knowing this was a big game for them. We didn't have the sense of urgency." It was an alarming sign the Knicks were so outclassed by the Raptors, especially in defending Rose, a veteran swingman whose post-up ability, shotmaking and driving the Knicks can't handle. David Lee, Quentin Richardson, Marbury, Crawford and Trevor Ariza took turns on Rose, who posted 21 points by halftime. The lack of a defensive stopper versus quick small forwards is the biggest hole on the Knicks' roster. "[Rose] is a terrific player," Larry Brown said, "coming off the bench and filling a role for them. He's a tough matchup for us." The Raptors, who've won seven of nine to improve to 13-24, are looking to create cap space this summer and want Hardaway's expiring contract. Rose's maximum contract still has two years left and Thomas is hesitant about adding that much future payroll ($34M including luxury tax). The Knicks were trying to get the Raptors to throw in a first-round pick Toronto owns from Denver. Rose made 10 of 15 shots, 10 of 11 free throws and dished for six assists. On one play, Rose was battered by Richardson on the right baseline, and, off balance, threw the ball up anyway. It sank. "No coincidence at all," said Rose when asked about this being an audition for the Knicks. "I've just been practicing hard and playing hard. Today everything fell into place. I'm pretty sure a lot of other teams in this league have been making that call. I can play a little bit." The Knicks' defense has not been their strongest suit during their turnaround. They allowed 66 points in the first half yesterday and the Raptors charged ahead by 30 points, 118-88, with 5:47 left in the fourth quarter. The Raptors' rookie point guard, Jose Calderon, ran their offense to perfection, scoring 13 points and dishing out 10 assists. Mo Peterson hit four 3-pointers and made 11 of 16 shots for 28 points. Toronto shot 59 percent. "That concerned me forever," Brown said of the Knicks' defensive lapses during the six-game win streak. "We got to get better shotblocking, keep guys in front of us. When you play a lot of young guys, it takes a lot of time." The rookies were awful — Channing Frye in particular. He was 3 of 9 from the field and committed two turnovers: He threw a cross-court pass into the seats and had a ball stripped on the low post, leading to a fastbreak layup for Calderon. Stephon Marbury (18 points, 13 assists) fed the ball beautifully to Eddy Curry (20 points, 8 of 13), but the Knicks otherwise had trouble against the Raptors' zone, just as they had difficulty against the Hawks' zone Friday.

2) Mark Kreidler of the Sacramento Bee thinks Artest and Francis are linked:

Artest saga may shape Francis' future

It's been another great week on the Ron Artest trade front, so long as you aren't counting the part about the Pacers actually, you know … making a trade. But, goodness, there were some great rumors. The Warriors came and went and then crept back in. The Clippers got hot until Corey Maggette's bum foot cooled them off. Houston sneaked into the conversation. It was good stuff. Of course, that's Artest still sitting over there, doing absolutely nothing. And those are the Indiana Pacers, still winning at a slightly higher rate than they lose, but with no serious prospects of making a run at the elite of the Eastern Conference. And this is the emerging truth: Forget equal value for Artest. The Pacers, in the end, are going to be lucky to make a deal that gives them any future to look forward to -- and in the present, they have no part of an NBA Finals conversation. Can we all now agree that it was a giant botch, this whole thing? Indiana's response to Artest's request to be traded, which hardly stacks up at the most outrageous thing ever said or done by the man, has maneuvered the Pacers into a windowless room. It's dark and creepy in there. If Orlando's front office is paying the slightest attention to the Artest fiasco (and place no bets), then it will do the right thing with Stevie Francis. Francis committed an arguably greater sin than Artest talking about being moved to another team: He refused to re-enter a game the Magic were losing badly on the road. But after the guard serves a suspension, Orlando's bosses surely see that the clearest path to a future lies in reactivating Francis, getting him back on the court and telling him, "Play your hinders off so that we can make a great deal and get you somewhere you want to be." Oh, if only Indiana had come to the same conclusion about Artest. Instead, the Pacers, from Larry Bird on through, took the publicly noble step of refusing to allow Artest back on campus, as it were. He's banned for life. The Pacers had had enough. It must have felt wonderful, and no doubt a little righteous. It was a response widely applauded by many people, even by great sports fans who tired of Artest's act and had seen one chapter too many of his Me, Myself and I book in progress. And it's killing the Pacers. Just killing them. Indiana will ultimately deal Artest, but that's only because the Pacers have left themselves no real choice. Artest even opened the door some weeks back for them to let him in, at least long enough to re-establish his market value, and they refused. It surely felt like the upright thing to do, but in the cold world of business in the NBA, the result was this: Every team in the league now knew that Bird and Co. had to move Artest -- and no one in his right mind was going to offer equal value, or anything close to it. Thus, the current steaming pile of possibilities. The Clippers were willing to part with damaged goods in Maggette, whose left foot is so suspect that the Pacers wouldn't bite. The Warriors would give other players, but not Ike Diogu, the one the Pacers wanted. Houston won't give up Yao Ming or Tracy McGrady, so the Rockets reportedly are trying to come up with some combination of players (in concert with other teams) that Indiana might want. Meanwhile, the Pacers chug on. They hit the weekend at 19-14 overall and just 8-10 on the road. They're a decent, but hardly uninspiring, 9-7 within the Eastern Conference. It could never be as simple as this, of course, but consider: When they punched Artest's ticket and sent him away, the Pacers also sent off the floor the NBA's leader in steals and their own second-leading scorer (at 19.4 points per game). That's how you go from potential conference finalist to playoff entry with a chance to advance a round. Indiana has no choice at this point but to wait patiently as the Feb. 23 trade deadline approaches, and hope that a great deal for Artest somehow puts itself together. Other teams in the East are certainly happy enough that they can play the Pacers without facing Artest. Nobody on that side of the league is in any hurry to do a deal. In a parallel universe, the Pacers' brass might have bit its collective tongue one last time in December, ignored Artest's latest look-at-me moment, and quietly pursued every possible trade for the troubled talent. Dunno what the end result might have been, but it couldn't have been more problematic than what the franchise is facing right now. You watching, Orlando? This, for future reference, is a tough lesson in how something that feels so right can go so wrong.

3) Ian Thomsen of SI.com thinks even brighter days are ahead for the Suns:

Fingers crossed - Phoenix has sunny outlook with a healthy Stoudemire

As speculation continues to gather around the inevitable landing place for Ron Artest, his impact will be minor compared to the midseason unveiling being prepared in Phoenix. Already leading the Pacific Division by three games, the Suns hope to welcome back their 6-foot-10 All-Star, Amaré Stoudemire sometime in the second half of February, quite a bounty for a team that leads the NBA in scoring (104.9 points per game) and has ratcheted up its defense to seventh overall in field-goal percentage (43.3). "And we've still got Leandro [Barbosa] coming back next week," said coach Mike D'Antoni after a Tuesday morning shootaround in Denver, nodding to his backup point guard who had averaged 18.7 points over a six-game stretch before suffering a left knee sprain Nov. 19. "That will really help us because his speed is contagious." With the 13.9 points Barbosa was averaging overall this season and the 26 Stoudemire scored per night last season, the Suns may need to make room for 40 points of new offense. "It's not like we're incorporating a role player or a backup," said MVP point guard Steve Nash, referring to Stoudemire. "This team has worked hard to come together as a new team, so it's going to be a big adjustment for us. At the same time we're adding one of the top talents in the world, so we're looking forward to it." "It may take a couple of weeks of practice and maybe playing together, and within that month we'll be where we need to be," said Stoudemire. "We're a bigger team, a stronger team and a more defensive-minded team, and that's what it takes to win championships." But Stoudemire is cautious. Asked if he's confident of returning by late February, he firmly restates the issue: "I feel comfortable about being 100 percent," he said. "I feel comfortable about that." Stoudemire has already returned to the practice court, though limiting himself to shooting with his teammates. "About the middle of the month he'll start running -- a lot," D'Antoni said. "So maybe next week he'll start running and jumping, and a couple of weeks after that he'll get an MRI and then we'll see if he can get into some practice stuff." But a return to the floor may not mean a return to form initially. Kenyon Martin and Chris Webber are among those who suffered lingering effects from microfracture knee surgery, resulting in numerous absences to rest sore knees. "Their surgeries were a little different from mine -- different lesion, different size of the lesion, different area and at a different age, so all that plays a factor," said Stoudemire, who is become something of an expert after talking with the doctors "every other day," by his count. "Webber had a few other things wrong with his knee," he noted. "[For me], it was just that one thing, that lesion that was wrong. Webber had about three different surgeries on that knee, so it's not even close to being the [same] case." Still, Stoudemire will be careful not to push his comeback if any worrisome signs develop over the next month. Better to sacrifice this season than to risk the $72.6 million the Suns have invested (a five-year extension kicks in next season) in the league's most compelling blend of athleticism and power. "Even if I was an older player I'd still be cautious because you can't take any injury lightly," said Stoudemire, 23. "But I think the positive out of this is that the team gets a chance to really become a better team without me. And once I get back it'll be even better." As of Thursday the Suns had won 18 of 25 while holding all but seven opponents to fewer than 100 points. If Stoudemire returns, he'll help form one of the NBA's most intimidating front lines alongside 6-9 small forward Shawn Marion and center Kurt Thomas. "Kurt's doing great for somebody who you probably wouldn't predict would fit into our system," says Nash. "He's a great pick-and-popper, a great post defender and rebounder, and that's a new dimension we've never had -- someone we can leave down there [defensively] in the post and that's been really great for us." D'Antoni predicts that Stoudemire will hike Phoenix's scoring back to last season's level (110.4) while raising the Suns' anorexic foul-shooting production (the Suns' 14.3 free throws on 18.0 attempts per game is a record-low pace.) He'll also create more space at the 3-point line, where the Suns rank 13th in accuracy (35.8 percent) after leading the league last year. If all goes smoothly, the Suns will soon enjoy a blend of last season's explosive scorers mixed with a raft of defensive-minded additions -- including Thomas, shooting guard Raja Bell and Boris Diaw (averaging 11.7 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.2 blocks this season), who will shift to the bench as a playmaking big man. "We're going to have some growing pains for a couple of weeks, trying to get everybody situated," said D'Antoni. "You've got Steve running things, you have a really good chance everything's going to go smooth." If Stoudemire can't make it back this season, the Suns should still have enough to win the Pacific and advance to the second round. But for now, all hopes are set on the return of their gifted big man, who appears even stronger than last year. "I've been lifting weights," he acknowledged. "Getting a little bigger, but keeping my weight right where it was before I was injured." One can just hear his opponents sighing. ***IN HIS OWN WORDS: Kiki Vandeweghe: Few GMs have endured worse luck than the Nuggets' Vandeweghe, who assembled a 49-win team last year only to see his top three big men (Marcus Camby, Kenyon Martin and Nenê) be sidelined with injuries this season. Yet Denver (18-18) remains only a game out of first in the Northwest division, leading to hope that the Nuggets can make a second-half run when the team returns to full health. Vandeweghe is in the final year of his contract. He figures to be the top GM candidate on the market this summer, but maintains that he would like to re-sign with the Nuggets -- a desire that is shared by owner Stan Kroenke, according to a highly-placed team insider. On his "lame-duck" status: "It really affords me the opportunity to demonstrate to players how you act in an uncertain situation, because a lot of players end up in their contract year and I think some handle it well and some don't. What you have to do is do the absolute best job you can for your team and your franchise." On Kroenke's surprising decision to hire him in 2001: "I'd never been a general manager. It's interesting, because after he hired me, then there were four or five ex-players that were hired that had never been GMs. Other franchises saw, OK, that's an experiment, and it worked; but [Kroenke] did it first. I can't thank Mr. Kroenke enough for affording me the opportunity to do this." On trying to make trades while his team is suffering with injuries: "The biggest thing is that it's been difficult to gauge the team. Obviously we went into the season and we were rated talent-wise very high, and then we suffered some pretty serious injuries. What you always try to do is evaluate your team, keeping in mind that you're trying to win every game, but you don't want to lose sight of the big picture. I'll say this: We're always actively talking to other teams and trying to find out where other teams are and trying to improve the team. I don't think we would hesitate to improve the team if we thought we could." On the Nuggets' interest in Ron Artest: "Listen, we were one of the 20 teams that called the first week. You call up and you say, 'We read this in the newspaper: Is it true [that Artest is available]?' Yes, it's true. 'What do you want? What are you looking for?' That's the way calls like that start, and you know what you can do and -- more important -- what you won't do. But a person that talented, I think most of the league is interested, depending on what it would take." On his reliance on group ideas: "It doesn't really matter where the genesis of the idea comes from. For example, I give my email out publicly, my private email, and I like to hear suggestions from fans, and we've incorporated at least 10 of them to improve our games. One of the ideas: When a player is either not playing or gets hurt during a game or goes out of a game, the fan said that on the TV or radio they tell you what's wrong. But in an arena you never hear it. So we put it up on the big board -- what's wrong, if he's going to come back, if he's not going to come back, things like that, just to give a little update. I thought that was a very good idea." On his staff of assistant GMs Jeff Weltman and Dave Fredman along with player personnel director Mark Warkentien, who was hired last summer: "Everybody has strengths and weaknesses. I think some of Mark's strengths are our (Weltman's, Fredman's and Vandeweghe's) weaknesses. To me, it's easy: I want to be the dumbest guy in the room. I want everybody around me to be smarter. And Mark's a very smart guy, Jeff is, Freddy is, [coach] George Karl is, Mr. Kroenke is. "The concept when we first got here -- it's no different from today -- is that you try to get the smartest people you can in a room and let's all work very hard. We all have a passion about basketball, so let's come up with good ideas. Who cares who started the idea? If my idea isn't the best one it shouldn't get done. I have a lot of ideas, and I'll tell you 90% of them are no good. But every now and then I come up with a decent one. If I can't defend that idea as the best idea, then let's do something else. I've never had a problem with that: As a player I always wanted to take the last shot, I always felt more comfortable with the ball in my hands -- but if somebody else was hot and going good, hey, listen, let them shoot. No problem." n Kroenke confidante Bret Bearup, a financial adviser to pro athletes who provides input to the Nuggets' front office: "Bret's a very smart guy, and he's very good friends originally with Mr. Kroenke. Bret's been very, very helpful. Again, he presents a different perspective. We sort of all work together and it's another idea. To me, as long as everybody shares that commonality, let's forget the pride of authorship and let's get the ideas out there. A lot of great ideas come from not where you'd expect it. You can't be afraid of great ideas." On his relationship with George Karl: "George has been great. He has really focused on coaching the team, which has been good, and we've worked well together. My concept on a lot of things is I don't want to do what everyone else does. Obviously we haven't, we've done things a lot differently and some have worked out and some haven't. But George and I have a very good relationship, we always have, and I've known George a long time." On their offseason signing of point guard Earl Watson: "You sign every player as an asset. At that time we thought Earl was the best player available. We were obviously in the [Michael] Finley hunt, for a lot of the summer, then he went to San Antonio; and then we thought that Earl was the best player out there. We spent a lot of time talking to George and Doug [Moe, an assistant coach] about it and they liked the idea, because we want to play fast. Playing three point guards is a good thing -- Doug always did it, George always did it, and we liked it. Earl is a very good defender, he brings that to the team and he's improved his three-point shooting. With all the injuries there's a lot of talk about, 'You've got an extra point guard, you've got to do something [to trade] one of those guys.' But I like all of our guys. "When you sign a contract you look at a couple of things: Is [that player] going to make our team better? And at the end of the day, if things change, is this contract a good contract? Is it fair? Can you -- if need be -- trade it, trade the player? There're a lot of factors that go into signing a player."

3) Marty Burns of Si.com with his Inside the NBA column:

A win too far - Drag of long season may doom Pistons' push for 72
Earlier this season, with his Pistons en route to a 24-3 start, Detroit guard Chauncey Billups was asked about his team's chances of winning 72 games and catching Michael Jordan's 1995-96 Bulls for the best single-season record of all time. "That's just crazy," Billups said. "I can't even fathom that." Turns out Billups was right. The Pistons go into Thursday's big showdown at San Antonio with a 27-5 record (.844). Impressive. Remarkable. Amazing. And yet nowhere near good enough to warrant any more talk about 72 wins -- at least until the All-Star break. The NBA season is grueling, and makes it increasingly tough on teams to avoid pitfalls as the calender drags into February, March and April. With five losses, Detroit is already halfway to the tragic number of 10 defeats -- with 50 games still to play. To put it in perspective, the Bulls started out 23-3 in their magical '95-96 season. But Jordan and Co. then proceeded to rip off 18 straight to stretch their record to 41-3. At the All-Star break they were 42-5. As of March 7, they were 54-6. In other words, if the Pistons lose Thursday night they would have to win 27 straight just to keep pace with those Bulls. Eventually, Chicago built its record to 60-7 before losing three of its final 15 (each by a single point). "We won those 72 games and we looked back and we felt like there were five other games we should've won," said Pistons assistant coach Ron Harper, a member of that Bulls team. "And we were still mad because we let those five games go." A more realistic comparison for Detroit would be last year's Suns. Like the Pistons, they got off to a roaring 24-3 start a year ago and actually upped it to 31-4 at one point. Then Steve Nash went down, and they lost six straight. Just like that, the talk of 70 wins and breaking the Bulls' record was history. Not that the Suns would have done it anyway. Even after Nash returned, Phoenix went 31-10 the rest of the way, terrific to be sure but far off the pace needed to scale such lofty heights. That's not to say the Pistons don't have some things going for them in their quest. They boast one of the league's better defenses (although it has slipped statistically to 15th in field-goal percentage allowed) and their starters never seem to get hurt. And under new coach Flip Saunders, they seem to be having fun and playing with a renewed sense of purpose. Meanwhile, Thursday's contest at San Antonio (the Spurs are 17-1 at the SBC Center) might be the most difficult game left on the schedule. The Pistons already have played at Phoenix (W), Dallas (L) and Memphis (W). They have only one long remaining road trip, a late February/early March jaunt involving stops at Cleveland, Denver, Seattle and the Lakers. They have three games left against Shaquille O'Neal and the Heat, but one of them is at home. Lakers coach Phil Jackson, who guided the Bulls in their 72-win season, noted earlier this season that the Pistons' D would give them a chance. He also said it was imperative Detroit avoid injuries. The '95-96 Bulls had to overcome some key player absences -- Scottie Pippen missed five games, Dennis Rodman 18 and Luc Longley 20 -- but Jordan was able to play all 82. "They can hang their hat on their defense," Jackson said of the Pistons. "You have to be able to play defense when your offense isn't going. And there are going to be nights when your offense is flat." The Pistons, of course, won't be worrying about setting any milestones Thursday night in San Antonio. They just want to get one more victory over the Spurs to go with their earlier 85-70 win on Christmas Day. If they can defeat Tim Duncan and Co. on the Spurs' home floor, they will have a psychological edge that could carry over in the event the two teams meet up again in the Finals. As Saunders said earlier this season: "These guys -- trust me -- aren't worried about [72 wins]. They are about championships."