Random info…

The Atlanta Hawks Joe Johnson will be out for up to a month with a right calf contusion suffered when teammate Estaben Batista kicked him in the leg during Monday's 88-81 loss to the Miami Heat…

Don’t know if you caught this but Don Nelson, the coach of Golden State Warriors, who makes $6 million (!!) a year had this to say in a press conference after the Warriors were pasted by the Bulls last week…Q: “Coach, were there any adjustments you were trying to make out there?” A: “I didn't know what to do." Huh? $6 mill a year and you don’t know what to do? Time for a refund…

Best quote I’ve heard recently from an in-game commentator came from Tommy Heinsohn during a Celtic’s broadcast…here’s ESPN.com’s Bill Simmons with his version: Coming out of commercial, we see a replay of Yao's finger getting bent back on a rebound and Yao screaming in pain, followed by Gorman reporting that Yao went to the locker room to get it checked out, then Tommy joking, "That was his chopstick finger, too, he may not be able to eat anymore!" and Gorman changing the subject as fast as humanly possible…oh my God, I may never stop laughing…

Look, I know nothing, and everyone is innocent until proven guilty, but for some context around Ron Artest being arrested Monday on suspicion of domestic violence and using force or violence to prevent a woman from reporting a crime….turns out the police have responded to five separate 911 calls from Artest's home since August of 2006 including two domestics between Artest and his wife…

With the NBA average salary at $4.5 million, there’s not too many bargains out there, but here’s a list of fantastic bargains…guys in the league making under a million but who are starting in the NBA:

Portland Trailblazers 6’6” SF Ima Udoka’s $744,551 salary, 8.8 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 1.5 APG, 0.9 SPG, 40.3 3PT%, 48.0 FG%...terrific defender and hustling “glue” guy who can stick the three…worked his way up from the D league…plays like an undersized Shane Battier…

Golden State Warriors 6’3” PG/SG Monta Ellis $664,209 salary, 17.1 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 4.2 APG, 1.5 SPG, 47.2 FG%...the best bargain of the bunch…a candidate for most improved player, his tremendous quickness and leaping ability give him great separation going to the basket, plus he can shoot it and is emerging as a terrific defender…at 20 years old he’s only going to get better…

New Orleans/OKC Hornets 6’5” SG Devin Brown $585,212 salary, 11.6 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 2.9 APG...hard nosed player brings championship experience from his days in San Antonio…ended up here after opting for free agency and grossly overestimating his value…Kevin Garnett makes this much money every two games…

Los Angeles Lakers 6’4” PG Smush Parker $798,112 salary, 11.8 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 2.5 APG, 1.5 SPG…a big guard in the triangle in LA, Parker is useful, but best known as Steve Nash’s bitch…In 2 games this year: Parker averaged 6 points, 4 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.5 steals on 33% from the field and 50% from the line…Nash averaged 19 points, 3 rebounds, 11.5 assists, 1.5 steals on 48% from the field, 40% from three and 90% from the line

Milwaukee Bucks 6’3” PG Charlie Bell $744,551 salary, 13.1 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 2.8 APG, 1.3 SPG…Bell has played well and came up from the minors and has come a long way from his being undrafted by Michigan State…

By now you’ve all seen the gruesome footage of Clippers guard Shaun Livingston’s knee injury, well the fabled torn ligament wizard, Dr. James Andrews operates on him today…Anders compares the injury to the one suffered by former NBA PF Tom Guggliotta, which if you remember him post injury, basically ended his career as an effective player… according to the latest reports Livingston tore the anterior cruciate ligament, posterior cruciate ligament, medial collateral ligament and lateral meniscus in his knee. He also dislocated his patella, and his tibia-femoral…

The main reason why Eddy Curry is better this year? Mark Aguirre…apparently after Curry’s overall production declined under Larry Brown last year, the Knicks sent to work with Curry for five day stretches a number of times over the summer…

Remember this trade? Boston acquired PG Sebastian Telfair, PF Theo Ratliff and a second-round pick in 2008 from Portland for PG Dan Dickau, PF/C Raef LaFrentz and the draft rights to Brandon Roy…let’s see how that’s working out:

Brandon Roy: 34.4 minutes, 15.6 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 4.1 APG, 44.7 FG%, 36.0 3PT%, 82.8FT%, 1.2 SPG
Sebastian Telfair: 21.3 minutes, 6.9 PPG, 1.4 RPG, 3.1 APG, 38.7 FG%, 28.7 3PT%, 83.5 FT%, 0.56 SPG

Yeah…way to trade Danny…