Praise, stats put Kings' Evans in an all-time conversation

Kobe Bryant is among the players with high praise for Kings rookie Tyreke Evans (right).

• This is getting serious. More than just another Rookie of the Year conversation, the numbers and reviews surrounding Tyreke Evans exceed the usual first-year debate. The discussion has moved from Evans vs. Stephen Curry this year to ranking Evans against past ROY winners for the best debut seasons in memory. At 20.3 points, 5.6 assists and 5.3 rebounds, the Kings' power ballhandler is on pace to join three other rookies to reach 20-5-5. The three others being Oscar Robertson, Michael Jordan and LeBron James. The response from Warriors fans to the premise that the race ended when Sacramento traded Kevin Martin was admirable, no surprise since Golden State backers are wonderfully loud and loyal and Curry is deserving of every positive word. But one newcomer is having a good season and the other is tracking to historical.

• Then there are the reviews of Evans by those around the league. In the previous six days alone, Kobe Bryant said "Tyreke is a grown-ass man" and Trail Blazers coach Nate McMillan said "I really feel he's got some magic in him." As in, electric player, special talent? No. Magic. "Johnson," McMillan clarified. "He's a big guard that can pass, he can get to the basket. He's very similar to Magic in the sense in transition going coast to coast." Oh, is that all?

• The Bulls are doing everything possible to secure an invitation to the lottery -- a 31-36 record, nine consecutive losses, an average of 112.3 points allowed in that time -- but playoff hopes remain. They trail No. 6 Charlotte by four games but still have two more meetings and the chance to claim the tiebreaker. They trail No. 7 Miami by 3 1/2 but still have one more game and the chance for that tiebreaker. And they trail No. 8 Toronto by 2 1/2 but still have one more game with the Raptors.

• Resiliency is one thing, and it definitely is their thing, but the Nuggets have taken it to the absurd with Johan Petro. Pressed into duty at an urgent time of the season, with Kenyon Martin sidelined by injury and Dallas and Utah charging for second place in the West, Petro went from so far at the end of the bench he might as well have been sitting in Colorado Springs to a dramatic impact Denver couldn't have imagined. The former Super Sonics first-round pick is riding a six-game stretch with three outings of 10 boards and another of nine, despite never breaking 24 minutes. He went from 32 rebounds his first 17 appearances to 48 the next six.

• Since it will come up soon enough, when ballots are returned at the end of the regular season and Oklahoma City's Scott Brooks is named Coach of the Year: No one has won the award in their first full season as a coach since Avery Johnson of the Mavericks in 2005-06. Mike D'Antoni of the Suns sort of did it the year before -- it was his first full season in the NBA, but after eight in Italy.

• Forget recommended viewing. Dan Klores' work documenting the Knicks-Pacers rivalry of the 1990s as part of ESPN's 30 For 30 series is mandatory viewing. Klores understandably focuses on Reggie Miller and Spike Lee as the main protagonists of the 1995 playoff series -- the show is, after all, called Winning Time: Reggie Miller Vs. the New York Knicks -- but recounts how the mood made the moment. Indiana-New York was the accompanying storyline as the people of Indy delightfully embraced the Hicks-Knicks angle rather than being offended, parking a tractor outside Market Square Arena and labeling it Pat Riley's limousine. It was a great postseason rivalry to be around, it had great fan involvement and got a great re-telling in 2010.

• One of the most telling statistics as the Trail Blazers go from limping along the side of the road to healing into a factor for the playoffs is that beat-up, eternally short-handed Portland is 13-3 on the second night of back-to-backs. They have a seven-game winning streak in such situations and don't seem like a team ready to go away.

• Deron Williams overall: 18.4 points, 10.3 assists, 47.6 percent from the field. Deron Williams in three games against the Thunder: 17 points, 8.7 assists, 45.2 percent. Russell Westbrook overall: 16.8 points, eight assists, 42.3 percent. Russell Westbrook in three games against the Jazz: 18.3 points, eight assists, 50 percent. Just in case it should happen to come up in the playoffs. Also: Oklahoma City is 3-0 vs. Utah, with one meeting to go.