Chicago Bulls suspend Tyrus Thomas for 1 game

Vinny Del Negro congratulates Tyrus Thomas on a good play.

Tyrus Thomas didn't attend the Bulls' 95-91 victory over the Heat on Saturday night at the United Center after drawing a one-game suspension and undisclosed fine for conduct detrimental to the team.

Team sources said Thomas directed a profanity-laced tirade at coach Vinny Del Negro in his office with players and coaches within earshot after Friday night's loss in Atlanta, the third straight game Thomas had played less than 16 minutes.

One witness said it made Joakim Noah's vocal assault on then-assistant coach Ron Adams in 2008 look like "nothing."

The suspension came at an inopportune time given the Bulls were playing their fourth game in five nights with a depleted frontcourt. Joakim Noah sat with plantar fasciitis, rookie Taj Gibson played with the same condition and Brad Miller is battling a sore left knee.

NBA Development League call-up Chris Richard played the 20 minutes Thomas would have received.

"It's disappointing and unfortunate timing," Del Negro said. "But in the short run, there's a responsibility to do things right. By handling the situation the right way — which I know we are — no one player is bigger than the team.

"You have to be committed to your role on the team and your teammates and coaches and organization. That doesn't go just for Tyrus. It goes for everybody. The guys know how things run around here. And that's how it's going to be."

Calls to Thomas and his representatives were not returned. Thomas has been hesitant to address frustrations over lack of playing time publicly but clearly has been upset over losing his starting power forward job to injury and the emergence of Gibson.

This is the third time in four seasons the Bulls have disciplined Thomas. Bulls executive John Paxson fined him $10,000 in February 2006 after Thomas claimed he was participating in the All-Star weekend dunk contest "for the free money." Paxson also suspended Thomas two games for skipping practice in premeditated fashion in March 2008.

Team captain Lindsey Hunter, a 17-year veteran, also admonished Thomas for talking back to coaches in full view of reporters after a November practice earlier this season.

"As human beings, we all get frustrated," Hunter said. "But you can't act on your frustrations. At some point, you have to grow up and be a man about it. Life is filled with trials and tribulations. If you get frustrated every time you have one, you're going to live a pretty frustrated life. …

"He has the potential to be as good as he wants to be. It's up to him to take the initiative to realize what he is, slow himself down, put his game in a box."

This latest development might put the Bulls in a box. Already faced with lukewarm trade interest in Thomas, they might be faced with renouncing the restricted free agent for nothing this summer rather than place a roughly $14 million salary-cap hold on him.

Thomas' qualifying offer of $6.3 million would allow the Bulls to match any offer he receives but could gum up their unrestricted free-agent plans.

Del Negro adamantly defended his position on Thomas' diminishing playing time.

"Minutes are up to players," Del Negro said. "I'm going to play the guys who give us the best chance to win, execute the game plan, play hard and get after it defensively and rebound. There's accountability. That just doesn't go for Tyrus. That goes for all the players.

"I have a responsibility to the organization and team, and I have an open-door policy. I'm available 24-7 for my players. If there are any issues — basketball or anything else — I'm there for the players, as is the organization. There's a lot of adversity that happens throughout the year. You have to manage it and stay focused on the big picture."

Chris Bosh wavers on joining U.S. at world championship

Fans might want to hold off on ordering Chris Bosh USA Basketball jerseys from this summer's world championship team.

A report that Bosh had committed to play for the United States in Turkey in August was premature.

"I don't know where that came from, really," Bosh said Saturday. "I have not fully committed. I know there's a whole bunch of stuff going on this summer, I just want to attack that first."

The "whole bunch of stuff" refers to Bosh's impending free agency and the decision on where he'll play next season. Until that gets squared away, he's not about to reprise the role he played on the U.S.'s gold medal Olympic squad.

"It depends on how fast it is," he said. "That's a quick turnaround. (NBA) negotiations start July 1, there's a (USA Basketball) mini-camp mid-July and then a month later (the worlds).

"I just want to take care of my business matters first and there's no telling how long that'll take."

Foyle says owner proposal goes too far

BOSTON -- In the strongest comments yet by a players' union official since NBA owners made a new collective bargaining proposal, first vice president Adonal Foyle of the Orlando Magic said the offer put forth last week by commissioner David Stern's office was "ludicrous."

That was the first word out of Foyle's mouth when he was asked Sunday to characterize the owners' new labor proposal, which was given to the union late last week as the sides took one of the first major steps toward replacing the collective bargaining agreement that expires at the end of the 2010-11 season.

"I think it's a proposal that's far-reaching," said Foyle, the union's second-in-command behind president Derek Fisher. "This [new proposal] has gone too far. It wants a hard cap, it basically will create no middle class, and which, in effect, means none of the Bird rules would apply," Foyle said, referencing the so-called Larry Bird exception that allows teams to exceed the salary cap to retain their own free agents.

Foyle, who was a member of the union's negotiating committee during 2005 collective bargaining talks and was a player rep for the Golden State Warriors during the 1998-99 lockout, went on to call the owners' proposal "rash" and "unfair."

In addition to a hard salary cap to replace the current system of a "soft" cap, with its accompanying luxury tax penalties for teams that exceed a certain payroll threshold ($69.9 million this season), owners have asked that contracts be shortened to a maximum of four years, Foyle said.

"I think when you look at the current CBA as it stands, it benefits both the players and owners. This is an agreement where we can quabble with different things within it, but it's an agreement that gives some things to both parties involved," Foyle told ESPN.com.

"A system like that would be too restrictive, and it doesn't jibe with what we think the league is. We have been willing to negotiate a guarantee that we don't get over a certain threshold, and no other businesses do that. We hold back 9 percent of our income so that the owners can make sure they are covered on the back end. We have given up a lot of stuff, and they have given up a lot of stuff, so I think to start off a negotiation in this rash a term, I think it's unfair," Foyle said.

Foyle said the union was particularly taken aback by the gravity of the owners' demands after the sides had held several cordial meetings in advance of the league submitting the initial proposal.

"That's what I think was what most surprising to all of us. The meetings, in our estimation, had been quite constructive. We were seeming to get a sense of where everybody was, and we went through why we think [the current agreement] should be extended," Foyle said. "But I think a proposal like this is the first time they're saying: 'This is the way we want to go with the league.' "

The union's executive board will meet with team player representatives at All-Star Weekend to discuss the owners' proposal.

The union's executive director, Billy Hunter, has declined to publicly comment on the owners' proposal since it arrived on his desk last week. Fisher, too, has declined substantive comment.

Roy to miss next 3 three games and All-Star Game; Second PRP injection on Monday

Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy will miss the team's next three games leading into the All-Star Break and will also sit out the All-Star Game in Dallas on Feb. 14 because of his strained right hamstring, the team announced Saturday.

Roy will also receive his second injection of Platelet-Rich-Plasma (PRP) on Monday in Seattle.
The injection is supposed to stop bleeding in the injured area and promote healing and growth in the muscle tissue. His first injection was on Jan, 22, two days after he aggravated his hamstring in a game against Philadelphia.

Roy will miss his 10th consecutive game, and 11th in 12 games, tonight against the Lakers and will also miss key Western Conference games against Oklahoma City on Tuesday and at Phoenix on Wednesday.

More to come after Roy speaks to the media at 6 p.m.

Kobe Bryant sits, but Lakers win in Portland

Shannon Brown was one of the Lakers players who stepped up in the absence of Kobe Bryant, who was out with an ankle injury. Brown finished with 19 points off the bench to help L.A. cruise to a 99-82 victory over Portland on Saturday night.

Reporting from Portland, Ore. - No Kobe Bryant. No problem.

No Andrew Bynum for the second half. No problem.

A nine-game losing streak against the Portland Trail Blazers at the Rose Garden staring the Lakers in the face. No problem.

The spell the Lakers always seemed to be under when they went to Portland has been broken, a 99-82 victory over the Trail Blazers on Saturday halting a losing streak that dated to Feb. 23, 2005.

And they did this with Bryant in the Lakers' locker room getting treatment on his sprained left ankle that knocked him out of the game.

Bryant had played in 235 consecutive games, but now he was out and unable to help the Lakers in their quest to end the streak.

Bynum started the game and played with swelling in his left knee that forced him to wear a brace. Then he came down with a right hip bruise, forcing him to miss the second half.

All the Lakers did with two of their big guns out was play as a team, play defense and offense as one.

When it was over, the Lakers hugged each other on the court.

They had finished a grueling week in which they had played five games, going 3-2, finally getting a win in Portland in the process.

"Obviously, we don't like to see Kobe sitting out and he's getting banged up and then Andrew going down," said Pau Gasol, who had 13 points and eight rebounds. "We reacted well. We just played hard and played together, and the result was winning in a place where we haven't been able to play well at all and be successful at all."

Ron Artest led the Lakers in scoring with 21 points on nine-for-12 shooting, including three for four from three-point range. Shannon Brown contributed 19 points off the bench, 14 in the first half.

Lamar Odom, who started in the backcourt in place of Bryant, produced a double-double.

Odom had 10 points and tied his career high with 22 rebounds, 19 on defense for a career best. He also had six assists.

The Lakers outrebounded the Trail Blazers, 47-30, and held them to two offensive rebounds, a Portland franchise low.

The Lakers held the Trail Blazers to 37.1% shooting and 34 points in the second half, one shy of their season low.

Brandon Roy didn't play for Portland because of a hamstring injury.

"Winning is fun and in particular in this building," said Derek Fisher, who had 14 points and six assists. "And coming off a loss last night [to Denver], it's very good for us."

The Lakers said that Bryant will be evaluated Sunday to determine if he can play Monday night against San Antonio at Staples Center and that his status is listed as day to day.

Bryant is scheduled to play in the All-Star game as a starting guard for the Western Conference Feb. 14 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, but that remains uncertain.

Bryant has taken pride in playing through his injuries, last missing a game because of one Dec. 8, 2006, against the Atlanta Hawks (sprained right ankle). He played all 82 regular-season games the last two seasons.

The last time he missed a game was March 7, 2007, but that was because of a suspension imposed by the NBA.

Bryant didn't speak to reporters after the game, but Lakers Coach Phil Jackson gave an account of how the decision was made.

Jackson said Bryant followed him into the coaches' office before the game and said, "I'm thinking about not playing tonight." "And I said, 'It's OK if you don't,' " Jackson said.

About 10 minutes later, when it was close to 6 p.m., the time the roster has to be turned in, Bryant came to a conclusion.

"He said, 'Yeah, I think I should take it off,' " Jackson said Bryant told him. "So we did and went from there."

Trade talk follows Dallas Mavericks to West Coast

The Dallas Mavericks got out of town Saturday evening, and the wild rumor of the day was that their plane to the Bay Area had been equipped with ejector seats.

The players, a few of them anyway, know they could be jettisoned at any moment. The Feb. 18 trade deadline is fast approaching, and with four losses in the last five games and a 9-10 record since Dec. 31, everybody is on edge.

Ask the players if they think they have what is needed in the locker room for success this season, and silence is the usual response. Or worse.

"I'm not looking for any help anywhere else but in this locker room," Dirk Nowitzki said after the most recent collapse, a 117-108 drop-kicking by Minnesota on Friday.

That was in response to a question about whether the Mavericks are good enough, as constituted, to get where they want to go this season – that is, positioned to challenge the Lakers. That seems laughable right now.

"That's not for me to decide," Nowitzki said. "I play hard every night. I just work here. But we showed it earlier in the season that we got what it takes. It's just that right now we're in a little funk, a little hole."

Which is getting bigger by the game. So the trade rumors are pouring in.

Several league insiders said Saturday that the Mavericks are heavily involved in talks with numerous teams.

As one source termed it, there are lots of flirtations but no marriage vows in sight.

Still, almost everybody connected with the league expects the Mavericks to make a deal before the deadline.

Most of the chatter centers on the Washington Wizards, who appear ready to clean house in the wake of the suspension of Gilbert Arenas.

Caron Butler, earning $9.8 million this season and under contract for one more year, is the primary name bandied about. The obvious fit, in terms of salary, would be to ship Josh Howard and his expiring contract, since it has a team option for next season.

The Wizards, Philadelphia, New Jersey and a few other teams are expected to try to cut payroll before the trade deadline. That could provide a fire sale for somebody who is lucky and savvy enough to be in the right place at the right time with the right assets to entice trade partners.

A lot depends on what the Mavericks feel they need. Is it an athletic swingman? Or is it another big body, like the Wizards' Brendan Haywood, who is in the final year of his contract at $6 million?

In Philadelphia, Andre Iguodala, Samuel Dalembert and Elton Brand all appear to be on the block, but all have long-term contracts that would clog the Mavericks' payroll for years to come.

If the Mavericks feel Iguodala puts them in the Lakers' elite neighborhood, great. If not, the financial burden would seem to outweigh the potential gain.

New Jersey doesn't have the marquee assets that Washington or Philadelphia does, but players like Courtney Lee might be easier to extract.

Detroit is rumored to have interest in unloading Tayshaun Prince. And with no hope of making the playoffs in the Eastern Conference, the Pistons might make a player like Jason Maxiel available, too.

The only certainty is that speculation will continue to build over the next 11 days.

Players weigh in: By Shawn Marion's estimation, the Mavericks are no longer a smooth-running sports car. They're more like an old junker.

"It seems like every little thing is backfiring on us right now," he said. "We got to find a way to get out of this."

Marion and Jason Kidd have been the Mavericks' best defenders during their slump, but nobody has been able to stop opponents with any consistency.

"Everybody has their ups and downs," Marion said. "This is our down time right now. We just got to find a way to stay gritty and work our way out of it."

Added Nowitzki: "To let teams consistently shoot over 50 percent in your building is just not going to get it done."

Nuggets' effort earns Karl's salute despite loss

SALT LAKE CITY — As Nuggets guard Anthony Carter soared for a baseline dunk in the fourth quarter Saturday night, one wondered what was more improbable:

That Carter soared for a baseline dunk?

That Carter was on the court with Johan Petro, Malik Allen, J.R. Smith and Joey Graham in the fourth quarter?

Or that Carter's dunk cut the Utah Jazz's lead, once 18 points in the third quarter, to three?

Beleaguered and banged up, the Nuggets indeed hung around. But the Jazz pulled away for a 116-106 victory, its lone win against the Nuggets this season.

"After the way we started in the first quarter, a lot of teams could have thrown it in and collapsed," said Nuggets coach George Karl, whose team beat the Lakers 126-113 in Los Angeles the night before. "We kept fighting and fighting."

Denver couldn't duplicate the improbable. On Jan. 2, the Nuggets (34-17) won at Utah (31-18) and did so without Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups. Anthony (left ankle) and Billups (right ankle) sat out again Saturday, Anthony missing his seventh consecutive game and Billups resting because of an injury suffered the night before during his torrid third quarter against the Lakers.

As for Melo, Karl said he has spoken numerous times with the all-star forward and they're shooting for Melo's return Tuesday night against Dallas.

"His workouts are getting more 100 percent game-like performances, and I know he wants to get back on the court," Karl said. "I would think Tuesday is a positive date, but we've said that before."

Billups played on his sore right ankle Friday (as well as on his aggravated left ankle), but by Saturday it was in bad shape.

"I'm going to get treatments, rest it as well, try to get ready for the next game," Billups said.

Chris Andersen (15 points) aggravated his knee Saturday. Arron Afflalo (1-for-9 shooting) hurt his ankle and Nene (20 minutes played) hurt a muscle in his left foot.

But Karl wasn't under the impression any of those injuries were serious.

"I'm hoping everybody's healthy on Tuesday," the coach said.

Entering Saturday, not only were Utah and Denver two of the hotter teams in the Northwest Division, but in the Western Conference too — both went 12-3 in the previous 15 games. And while Portland and Oklahoma City have dropped off, Utah is still hanging around in the division hunt, two games behind the Nuggets (who have the season tiebreaker, 3-1). But the Jazz plays five of its next seven games on the road, and the two at home are against the Lakers and Atlanta.

In the Jan. 2 win over the Jazz, rookie point guard Ty Lawson had arguably his best game in the NBA, scoring 23 points, adding nine assists and three steals. He scored a game-high 25 points Saturday, as well as contributing four assists. Karl described Lawson's night as "a good game. He didn't have a great game."

While Lawson is more of a slasher than a passer, the fact is, Denver's offense suffered without Billups at the point. The Nuggets finished with just 14 assists and committed 20 turnovers.

NBA aims to crush union in labor battle

Here’s how an NBA front-office executive described the document the commissioner’s office delivered to the union to start labor negotiations: “It’s just a photocopy of Stern’s middle finger.”

He was kind of kidding.

The owners delivered an opening proposal to the Players Association this week, CBSSports.com first reported, and months of private assurances turned out to be true: The owners want to fundamentally change the salary structure of the NBA. They don’t want to negotiate a fresh collective bargaining agreement, as much as they want to crush the union once and for all.

The owners want to take a far greater percentage of the basketball-related income. They want to pay millions less for maximum deals and shorten contracts. Most of all, they want a hard salary cap and assurances that protect themselves against a diminished economy and, well, themselves. Everything is hurtling toward a 2011 lockout, a negotiation that’ll likely feel far more like a standoff.

Owners have delivered commissioner David Stern an unmistakable mandate: Get our money back and get us profitable. The tone is downright nasty on the owners’ side. There exists an undercurrent of desperation within much of ownership, a sense they’re hell-bent on bringing the players to their knees.

Players Association executive director Billy Hunter is preparing for the fight of his life, with the agents armed to advance to Defcon 1 with him.

“I have so much respect for David Stern, and I know he wants to create the most competitive environment possible for the fans, but the current system is broken,” agent Mark Bartelstein said. “The luxury-tax concept is anti-competitive. We’ve created a system where in the midst of trying to sell tickets in the summer, we have teams admitting to their fans, ‘We’re not trying to win this year. …We’re waiting for 2010 or some year beyond.’

“We need to start from scratch and develop a system in which everything is designed about creating the most competitive environment possible so that we drive revenue.”

It is improbable the owners will go that way, but Hunter has a restless membership desperate to make a stand with Stern going for the jugular. “It isn’t just a matter of the union losing,” one Eastern Conference GM said. “It’s a matter of how badly they lose.”

Who stands to lose the most? That’s the compelling subplot. Where do the players give and where do they stand ground? The players most responsible for selling tickets, television ratings and merchandise – the Kobe Bryants, LeBron Jameses and Dwyane Wades – could be the ones taking the biggest hit. The nine-man executive committee of players has just one star: Chris Paul(notes). The days of the insufferable David Falk trying to control the union are long gone, his bellows of “Michael Jordan is the league,” a distant echo in union meetings.

The idea of raising superstar salaries and paying the middle- and lower-class players less won’t wash in a one-man, one-vote union. “If they cut the highest 25 or 30 salaries by, say, 35 percent, you’re not going to have to change that much more for [the owners] to get what they want financially,” another player agent said. “LeBron can scream and shout all he wants, but this is a one-man, one-vote union. Once guys figure out that 400 or so players will benefit by the top few taking a major cut, what do you think they’re going to do?”

Here’s an issue some believe the union could make a bargaining chip: contraction. Hunter has never been open to losing jobs with the elimination of the most financially strapped teams, but some believe he might be more accepting of the idea with the massive losses some owners insist they’re incurring in fledgling markets. Let the rest of the owners buy out, say, two teams, and then share the larger piece of TV and merchandising money.

Of course, that talk will go nowhere with Stern, whom one owner insisted would “never let [contraction] happen on his watch.” As another GM said, “Stern won’t let the WNBA go under, even though most of his owners are tired of taking losses on it. You think he’s going to let that happen with his NBA teams?”

This is a desperate time in the NBA, and there will be desperation in these talks. They’ll go into these negotiations with 30 teams and they’ll come out with 30, but the landscape of the NBA could be dramatically different. The way trades are done and free agents are signed and teams are likely be transformed, and it could take a long lockout – maybe much, if not all, of the 2011-12 season – to get there.

Yes, the NBA delivered its players an initial proposal and it sure did look like a big finger flicked in the union’s face.

Rockets endure painful setback

There won’t be team meetings to follow this time. Yao Ming and Chuck Hayes will not have to give motivational speeches. And it is no disgrace for this season’s Rockets to lose another home game to the Philadelphia 76ers.

But one way or another, the annual loss to the Sixers found a way to be as frustrating as the ones that preceded it. This time, the Rockets left kicking themselves for the way they fell apart in the second half as the Sixers went from a 13-point deficit to a 102-95 win Saturday night, their third consecutive win at Toyota Center.

The Rockets made just 14 of 43 shots in the second half, bogging down as the Sixers fronted Carl Landry in the post and trapped Aaron Brooks on screens. But as much as the Rockets lamented the shots missed from the rim to the 3-point arc — Brooks scored 34 points; the rest of the starters made a combined 11 of 34 shots for 27 points — that was not the worst part.

Guard Kyle Lowry, who had keyed the first-half turnaround and 18-0 run, left on crutches with a sprained left ankle that will keep him out of Tuesday’s game in Miami. Trevor Ariza left in uniform, with a hip pointer too painful for him to change clothes. And the Rockets left battered by another home loss to the 76ers they believed should not have been.

“We played them six times the last three years, and every game, the same thing happens,” forward Luis Scola said. “They just get a run, they get it going, and you can’t stop them. I guess we didn’t learn from our mistakes.”

Whether they let up after building their lead or let down after watching Lowry get carried off the floor, the Rockets saw their offense crash in the second half with the defense soon to follow.

They had taken control of the game when Lowry drove them through the second-quarter rally. Lowry had 12 points in 15 first-half minutes, beginning and finishing a 26-4 surge with strong drives to tough three-point plays. Brooks had 17 in the second quarter. The Rockets led by 10 at halftime and 11 after Lowry sprained his ankle, limping back to the floor to make his free throws before he was helped off.

Missing ingredient

“When he went out, it put a lot of pressure on everybody to step up,” Brooks said. “That was our energy guy to come off the bench. When he went out, it was a little bit of a letdown.

“The difference between this game and the last game was when we got up 10, we put Memphis away. This time, we let them hang around the whole time. When you do that, teams get hot and start hitting 3s and finally start feeling good about themselves and run away with it.”

Second-half collapse

Against Memphis, the Rockets’ depth took over. In the second half against Philadelphia, Chase Budinger could not make shots, Landry could not get shots (he had four points in the second half) and Lowry was in the locker room.

“We had about four or five possessions where we had it at the basket and we didn’t finish plays,” coach Rick Adelman said. “We can’t just rely on Aaron; we have got to have other people stepping up and making plays.”

When Shane Battier finally hit a 3, the game was tied with 5½ minutes left. The Rockets made just two of 11 shots the rest of the way.

“It is frustrating,” Scola said. “I believe everybody here is aware of that and wants to fix it. For some reason, we don’t know how.”

Lakers' Bynum braces himself for worst

PORTLAND, Ore. - Andrew Bynum on Saturday revealed the reason for wearing a second knee brace Friday night. It turned out he knocked knees with Stephen Jackson of the Charlotte Bobcats during the Lakers' victory Wednesday.

Bynum has been wearing a brace on his right knee, the one he injured Jan. 31, 2009, against the Memphis Grizzlies, all season. He wore a different type of brace on his left knee, the one he hurt Jan.13, 2008, for Friday's game against the Denver Nuggets.

He had both braces on again for Saturday's game against the Portland Trail Blazers. He said there was some swelling under his left kneecap, and the only way to get it out was to rest. He plans to rest during the All-Star break next week.

"I knew it would swell up," the 7-foot Bynum said, "but I knew it wasn't going to be too bad. It's a pain thing and the range of motion in the knee isn't there. I've just got to get the swelling out to get that back."

Bynum sat out the rest of the 2007-08 season after stepping on Lamar Odom's foot while chasing after a rebound and suffering a partially dislocated left kneecap. He missed 2 1/2 months last season after tearing ligaments in his right knee.

He laughed when it was mentioned that he made it through January without an injury. He also smiled when asked if he had any feelings of relief upon leaving the court without getting hurt in the Lakers' loss to Memphis last Monday.

Coach Phil Jackson noticed something different as Friday night turned to Saturday morning while the team's chartered aircraft flew from LAX to Portland, where the Lakers would play their fifth game in seven days.

"I noticed they fell asleep on the plane last night, which is unusual for them," he said. "They're night owls. They all sleep in the morning when we fly in the mornings."

Jackson called off the morning shootaround and held a film session instead.

"You can see a drain on players all around the league," he said. "Last night, I was watching Minnesota beat Dallas by 10, Orlando got beat by Washington. You see guys who are struggling, veteran players who play a lot of games."

This has been an exceptionally difficult week for the Lakers, who played Sunday in Boston, then Monday in Memphis, then returned home to play Charlotte on Wednesday and Denver on Friday. They closed their week in Portland.

"We really haven't had a practice in two weeks," Jackson said. "These guys rejoice in it because practice is practice. I get to work 'em out the way I want to get it done. There are some joys to just playing games."

Reluctant Hedo Turkoglu saves some face

Hedo Turkoglu, seen here watching last week's win over the Nets Feb. 3, 2010, says his friends told him 'don't be stupid' after he at first refused a mask.

Hedo Turkoglu has bowed to the wishes of his friends, family and bosses.

The Raptors swingman will wear a mask to protect a fractured orbital bone under his right eye and what transpires when he takes to the court Sunday afternoon is a mystery to all.

Especially to him.

"It's going to be fun," Turkoglu said after he practised wearing the two-strap contraption Saturday afternoon. "I'm excited about it, too. I can't wait to see and I'm going to watch the film after to see how I looked."

Turkoglu was at first reluctant to wear the mask to protect an injury he suffered a week ago after running into the elbow of Indiana Pacers forward Mike Dunleavy.

Team officials were equally adamant that he wear one – doctors might not have cleared him to play without it – and it looked like confrontation was on the horizon. But after discussion with his friends and family, Turkoglu relented.

"I talked to a couple of other doctors, a couple of other friends and they really kind of told me the same stuff that these guys told me," he said "It's not that I didn't believe (Raptors doctors), but (friends) called me because they heard I wasn't going to wear the mask and they said, `Don't be stupid.'"

Part of the reason for the change of heart was the worry that another hit would have meant a far longer recuperation process. No one knows for certain what could have happened but Turkoglu decided better safe than sorry.

"I really appreciate their concern and all that. ... In the end I have to be smarter, too, and not think about the short-term, think about the long-term," he said.

"If ... I get hit again without the mask, it would cost me a long time to get healed and I'd leave the team short and I really don't want that."

Turkoglu scrimmaged with the mask on for about half an hour Saturday and found it – as expected – a bit uncomfortable.

"When I look straight it's nothing, but during the game you really don't run a whole lot of straight," he said. "The strap is wet and the mask is slippery and it moves. I have to keep fixing it and putting it in the right way so I can see better.

"It will be (a distraction) for a few games until I get used to it."

In addition to Turkoglu, the Raptors will have rookie swingman DeMar DeRozan and point guard Jose Calderon back Sunday; both practised all-out on Friday and Saturday.

And Turkoglu will once again be initiating most of the offence, even if he's not entirely sure how good his peripheral vision might be.

"(Sunday) will be a kind of special day for me, too; looking forward to not messing up too much," he joked. "Got to be sure and stop and look and then pass it."

Owners' demands for a new 'hard' salary cap in next labor agreement cast shadows over league's future: NBA Insider

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is predicting that next weekend's All-Star Game at the new Cowboys Stadium could be the biggest party in history.

Ignoring that hyperbole, it probably won't be much of a party atmosphere for the players after their scheduled negotiating session with the owners to discuss a new collective bargaining agreement. On Friday, CBSSports.com reported the details of a memo the owners sent to the players this week outlining their initial proposal.

In addition to a reduction in current salaries and maximum contracts, the Web site reported the owners are seeking a hard salary cap, not unlike what the NFL has in place.

Currently, the NBA has a "soft" salary cap that can be exceeded under certain "exceptions." Along with a luxury tax that penalizes teams that far overshoot the salary cap, the system has worked for more than a decade.

The owners' demands have a wave of potential consequences, the foremost being an increased likelihood of a lockout following the 2010-11 season.

The players are already facing two years of salary cuts because the salary cap, which is determined by the league revenues each year, is going to decrease in back-to-back years for the first time in the 26-year history of the system. So the threat of a hard cap is a change the players will dig their heels in to fight.

The implications on the Cavaliers could be significant, and not in a good way. If a hard-cap system happened in Major League Baseball, it would be the greatest thing that could happen to the Indians. But it may take away one of the Cavs' biggest weapons.

Forget for a minute that the warnings on the max contracts could impact what LeBron James does this summer. The Cavs are a mid-market NBA team but one that is feasting on the current system because they are generating record-setting revenue and have an owner willing to spend it.

James is the biggest reason the Cavs have the best record in the NBA over the last two years. But the other is how General Manager Danny Ferry has been able to leverage his owner's deep pockets to acquire star players like Mo Williams and Shaquille O'Neal in money-centered trades.

Even Daniel Gibson's presence on the team has roots to this kind of deal. The Cavs got Gibson because back in 2006 they were willing to make a trade that saved the Philadelphia 76ers money and it led to them getting Gibson.

A hard cap levels the entire playing field and, in fact, could penalize a team that has a player like James. Teams who have players making huge money -- James will likely be one of the league's highest-paid players for the next decade (right now he's just the 19th-highest paid, believe it or not) -- may not have the options to surround that player with as much talent.

In the short run, the threat of these measures virtually guarantees that James and his fellow big-name free agents like Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade will opt out of their contracts this summer. It also may change what they're looking for when they do sign somewhere. There was a belief that they may all want to again sign three-year deals, as they did back in the summer of 2006 together, to increase flexibility.

With the danger of new, less favorable max contract rules, they may instead look to sign for longer terms to stay grandfathered into the current system. O'Neal and Kevin Garnett did this before the lockout in 1998, for example, and it saved them tens of millions when the term "max contract" was created after that lockout.

Also, they will probably all seek provisions that would guarantee their salary be paid if there is a lockout. The owners already have a guarantee to get their money from multi-billion dollar TV contracts if a lockout takes place.

No matter what, though, the NBA is headed for some turbulent times.

AROUND THE ASSOCIATION

The Bosh factor: No matter what is said publicly or privately, it seems that few general managers can get their minds off Chris Bosh.

With the trade deadline nearly in sight, the market remains frozen despite the presence of numerous players being dangled and several teams looking to make significant moves with players who have large contracts.

There may be a couple of reasons why there's such a trend at the moment. One is human nature, no one wants to be the first to jump in. But another, say league executives, is the continuing fascination with the Toronto Raptors' star forward.

Bosh has said he doesn't want to be traded. Raptors General Manager Bryan Colangelo has said he's not trading him. The Raptors have played well over the last month and moved into the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference. Yet, apparently, teams are holding their cards tight just so they don't miss out on a chance in case there is a last-minute change of heart.

Cut and run: Last week, the woeful and potentially history-making New Jersey Nets brought in a motivational speaker after a 4-40 start to the season. So they hosted Joachim de Posada, who put a needle in his face to make the point that pain is mind over matter.

Insert your own punch line here. Actually, let Nets center Brook Lopez insert one.

"They've taken sharp objects away from me," Lopez said. "We have to use safety scissors and everything. We're pretty close to getting helmets too."

It must have made some impression on veteran assistant coach Del Harris, who came to the team in December to be interim head coach Kiki Vandeweghe's top assistant. Harris, 72, had come out of retirement to help first-time boss Vandeweghe. Harris apparently had enough after the Nets' recent homestand and resigned -- saying nice things on his way out the door about how much the Nets are improving.

There were several reports that Harris really had just had enough. Maybe it was the needle guy or the fact that Vandeweghe went along with an ESPN promotion that allowed a fan to design an out-of-bounds play for the Nets. They actually ran it, but it didn't work.

Or maybe it was his final homestand. The Nets got to play the Clippers, Wizards, 76ers and Pistons all at home. That was four teams with losing records and a vital chance for the Nets to get something going. Instead, they went 1-3.

Now go through a stretch where they play 16 of 19 games against teams currently in position to make the playoffs. Two games are against the Cavs, two against the Celtics.

Perhaps it just drove home the point that the Nets are headed toward breaking one of the NBA's legacy records, the 9-73 record of the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers. Having that as the last line on his career resume probably didn't seem to appealing to the proud Harris.

It is symbolic of what is going on in Jersey, where the Nets obviously have a dreadful team but there are feelings throughout the league that they shouldn't be this bad. The team has quite a few injuries, but their roster has significantly more talent that their record shows.

From Yi Jianlian having the best season of his career to having All-Star Devin Harris on the roster to Lopez, who is one of the league's best young big men, it would seem they could accidentally win at least 12-15 games. But for various reasons, both real and imagined, they are not, and Harris' departure is just another signal that the record has little to do with talent.

Wade keeping it real: The Miami Heat's plans seem quite clear. They are banking everything on the future and sacrificing the present. Star guard Dwyane Wade, a free agent this summer, has been dealing with it all season as he's struggled to get any sort of consistent support from teammates while the Heat practice self control on making any moves that would add to future payroll.

Recently, however, as the team dipped below .500 and fell to the eighth seed, Wade seems to be showing frustration. After a loss against Celtics, he was asked whether he has the patience to wait around for the team's young players to develop.

"We'll see," Wade shot back. "There's nothing else to that. It's going to be 'we'll see' for a while."

Then after a loss to the Cavs and friend James, Wade spoke about the gulf between the two teams. Wade already has a title, but admits he and James are now on different paths.

"You have to be realistic," Wade said. "I understand this team has NBA championship aspirations. We don't have that. We're focusing on trying to get to the playoffs and this team is trying to get to the championship. It's totally different."

Devin Harris, Jarvis Hayes injured in midcourt collision in NJ Nets' 99-92 loss to Detroit Pistons

The Nets' Devin Harris, left, and Jarvis Hayes, right, lay injured on the court after colliding with each other as the Pistons' Rodney Stuckey jumps over Hayes.

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – If this wasn’t a sign they’re getting closer, they can’t be any more explicit.

Not only did the Nets actually have a lead in the last seven minutes of the game – don’t get silly, they didn’t hold it – they finished the game with two guys being helped off after a demolition derby encounter at midcourt with the game still up for grabs.

Call it the most poignant image of a self-destructive season: The Nets finished the game in a 2-for-11, two turnover meltdown before dropping a 99-92 decision to the Pistons at the Palace, where Devin Harris and Jarvis Hayes smashed into each other in a valiant bid to keep their slim hopes of a rare victory alive.

“It’s been that kind of season,” Harris said.

All X-rays were negative, and the official toll was a sprained left shoulder for Harris and a bruised left shin for Hayes.

The condition of their egos after their sixth straight close loss was still undetermined, but everything is in play when you’re 4-46.

“This was one we felt like we could have had,” Hayes said. “We couldn’t put it away.”

The game was almost an afterthought, however, when the collision occurred, and it was almost easy to forget that the Nets still had a chance to steal it when Harris missed a baseline shot with 30 seconds to play.

That’s when Brook Lopez backtapped the rebound, and a mad scramble ensued. With the possession still up for grabs, Harris and Hayes met head-on at midcourt for the loose ball.

At full speed, Hayes was open and unable to protect himself. Harris ducked, and accordioned his shoulder into Hayes’s leg.

“I thought he saw me out of the corner of his eye,” Harris said of Hayes. “But once he didn’t I had to go low, I tried to duck out of the way as best I could. After that, I just remember seeing them all crossing halfcourt, with them going in for a layup. I thought someone would at least tip it out of the way.”

Insult to injury, indeed: With both men already down and in need of medical attention, Kris Humphries tried to pitch it out to any red shirt still standing. But it was picked off by Rodney Stuckey near midcourt, where he literally vaulted Hayes and fed Tayshaun Prince for the clinching layup with 18.2 seconds left.

“Double-whammy,” said Harris, who had a strong night (21 points, seven assists) that included three 3-pointers. “We were right there. We fought back, got good looks at the basket. That play, it put it out of reach for us.”

And it was in reach. The Nets had a lead, 86-85, with 7:01 left and one chance to build on it, but — like clockwork — that’s when their execution got shaky.

There was an off-the-dribble heave by Terrence Williams – not his strength – that was turned into a Stuckey push and a Rip Hamilton 3. The next six possessions yielded just one foul shot. The Pistons got two key lane penetrations, both drawing Lopez over to help, and both times Jason Maxiell made the Nets pay with scores, giving Detroit a 93-87 lead at 2:43.

Courtney Lee hit a 3-pointer with 2:12 left – that was the Nets’ only field goal over the last seven minutes, until a meaningless score with 15 ticks left — but Stuckey made it a two-possession game at the line (95-90), and the Nets missed three open shots, the last one ending in the crash.

“We put ourselves in a place to win the ball game down the stretch,” said Kiki Vandeweghe, whose team rallied from 12 down two minutes into the third quarter. “Unfortunately we made some mistakes — really silly mistakes, which took us out of it. But the guys are playing hard. I cannot fault the effort. We just have to get a little smarter down the stretch, and that comes with experience.”

Calderon to play against the Kings

Anyone who has seen Jose Calderon in action on the basketball court, knows he is adept at sign language.

So as he walked out of practice Saturday and caught the eyes of a couple of reporters, the thumbs up signal from him was as telling as any five-minute interview.

Calderon, after sitting out one game with a sprained ankle, will be back in action Sunday against the Sacramento Kings.

"Unless there is a flare-up (Sunday) from something he did Saturday, then he will play," head coach Jay Triano said.

That gives Triano three key pieces back in the lineup that he didn't have Wednesday. Both Hedo Turkoglu, out two games with a small break in the orbital bone beneath his right eye and DeMar DeRozan who missed five games with a sprained ankle, will play as well.

Both DeRozan and Turkoglu will return to the starting five.

A veteran move

One more sign of how far DeRozan has come in just three and a half months. Told he would have to perform a post-practice rendition of Happy Birthday for veteran Antoine Wright who turned 26 Saturday, DeRozan went over to a group of youngsters sitting in on practice as part of their clinic and told them they had to help him out. DeRozan wound up saving his vocal chords but he was forced to dance along while the kids handled the singing duties.

DeRozan then showed his appreciation with a few dunks that had the crowd screaming in response.

Game planning

Only a year ago, a defensive plan for the Kings revolved around containing Kevin Martin. These days though the bulk of the attention goes to rookie Tyreke Evans and his 20.6 points a night average. Triano agreed, but he clearly has not forgotten what Martin is capable of doing.

"Well you better not forget about him," Triano said of Martin. "Tyreke is a very strong with the basketball. He finds ways to score, gets where he wants to go."

Around the courts

Portland Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy will miss the next three games and the all-star game with a right hamstring injury. Roy already has missed 11 of the last 12 games ... The Chicago Bulls suspended forward Tyrus Thomas for their game against the Miami Heat on Saturday for conduct detrimental to the team.

Two Nets hurt in loss to Pistons

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – The clock was winding down on another Nets’ loss and things went from bad to worse on one play.

In the waning moments of Saturday’s 99-92 defeat to the Pistons, Devin Harris and Jarvis collided in midair as they pursued a loose ball. Both men lay on the floor near midcourt for several moments before being helped up and into an examination room.

X-rays on both were negative. Harris has a sprained AC joint in his left shoulder and Hayes a bruise on his left lower leg. Both are day-to-day.

The Nets don’t play until Tuesday, so it’s possible one or both could return by then. But Hayes was limping badly as he left and Harris said he only could lift his left arm about three-quarters over his head.

It’s the same shoulder Harris injured last year against the Clippers when Marcus Camby fouled the Nets’ guard. Harris missed seven games, but that was a Grade III sprain and this a Grade I.

“It’s not as bad as the one I had last year and I don’t expect to be out as long as I was last year,” Harris said. “We’ll see how it feels and we’ll re-evaluate.”

“It feels bad,” Hayes said. “It feels bad now.”

The play that ended the nights of Harris and Hayes typified how hard the Nets battled and wanted this gettable game. They were down 12 in the third quarter and led by one in the fourth. But the Nets, like Harris and Hayes, couldn’t finish. They missed 9-of-11 shots to end the game and suffered a sixth-straight grueling loss.

This was the Nets’ 50th game and their 46th setback, matching at this point the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers, who hold the NBA mark for futility, finishing at 9-73.

“This was one we felt like we could have had,” Hayes said. “We couldn’t put it away.”

Harris finished with a game-high 21 points and Brook Lopez had 20.

Jonas Jerebko was 9-for-9 and scored 20 for the Pistons and Jason Maxiell was huge with nine of his 13 points in the fourth quarter.
The Nets led 86-85 after a Harris’ three-pointer with 7:01 left, but went 4:50 without a field goal. Courtney Lee ended the drought with a three that cut Detroit’s lead to 93-90 with 2:11 remaining.

Two Rodney Stuckey free throws 16 seconds later put the Nets in a five-point hole and things continued to get worse.

After their third straight miss, Lopez tapped out an offensive rebound with about 32 seconds left. Eventually, Kris Humphries got it and lost it and that’s when Harris and Hayes – coming from opposite directions – charged for the ball and ran into each other.

Hayes leaped in the air and thinks it was Harris’ shoulder that hit his leg.

“I thought he saw me out of the corner of his eye,” Harris said. “But once he didn’t I had to go low. I tried to duck out of the way as best I could.”

The incredible thing was that the play continued.

After Detroit got control of the ball, Tayshaun Prince leapt over a face-down Hayes and went in for a layup that made it 97-90 with 18.2 seconds left.

Hayes wasn’t aware that anyone hurdled him, but Harris was.

“I was just hoping someone would fall or I could help the play at some point,” Harris said.

“I was just helpless laying there as they went in and drove in for a layup. It’s an unfortunate situation at that point.
“We were right there. We fought back, got good looks at the basket. That play put it out of reach for us.”

Could local investor want the Pistons?

The Pistons might not officially be for sale, but already a hot rumor about the next owner has started buzzing.

And it isn't Red Wings/Tigers owner Mike Ilitch. Or Hurricanes owner Peter Karmanos. Or a member of the Ford family.

Or even Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert, in a wild franchise swap.

But there is a Cavaliers tie.

The person is David Katzman, a former business associate with Gilbert at Livonia-based Quicken Loans/Rock Financial and Fathead, and a former vice chairman of the Cavs.

Katzman is the founder and managing partner of Camelot Venture Group, a Farmington Hills-based private investment firm that, according to its Web site, deals primarily in online direct-to-consumer companies, technology and financial services. He is listed as a member of several companies' boards of directors. He attended Michigan State, earning a degree in accounting and finance, and Detroit College of Law.

In 2005, when Gilbert purchased the Cavs, Katzman acquired a 15% share for an estimated $50 million. He also took charge of the team's business operations, and, according to the Camelot site, revenues more than doubled the past four years. (That's a lot of LeBron James gear!)

Since at least the summer, Katzman has been trying to sell his share of the Cavs to a series of Chinese investors. In December, an agreement was announced -- with a price tag estimated as high as $70 million -- with Chinese investor Albert Hung. The deal, though, has not been finalized, NBA spokesman Tim Frank wrote in an e-mail Saturday.

Katzman could not purchase the Pistons if he still owned a part of the Cavs. If he did purchase the team, though, a sale could be approved by the NBA quicker than normal because he already has been vetted as a previous owner.

Phone calls and e-mails to Katzman's Camelot office were not returned Saturday. Palace Sports & Entertainment president Tom Wilson said at Saturday night's Pistons-Nets game at the Palace that if Katzman had been in contact with the team's owners, he was not aware of it.

Last month, Karen Davidson, the widow of longtime Pistons majority owner Bill Davidson, revealed that she was considering selling the Pistons and possibly Palace Sports & Entertainment, the umbrella arm that also owns the Palace and DTE Energy Music Theatre and operates Meadow Brook Music Festival.

Forbes magazine, which annually ranks the value of NBA franchises, places the Pistons' worth at $479 million, fourth-highest in the 30-team league. Next come the Cavaliers at $476 million.

Palace Sports & Entertainment received good news Friday when the Tampa Bay Lightning was sold to a Boston financier and minority owner of the Red Sox. Because of the tight economy, when PS&E sold the Lightning in 2008, it still held the note. Wilson said the Lightning's latest sale would take care of the issue.

This past week, NBA officials told the Free Press that the team had not been put up for sale.

Former NJ Nets assistant Del Harris left team after president Rod Thorn shot down possibility of Harris becoming head coach

The agent for former Nets assistant Del Harris, right, shown earlier this season with Nets GM/coach Kiki Vandeweghe, told Nets president Rod Thorn the team would be better off letting Harris take over and moving Vandeweghe back to the front office.

NOTEBOOK

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — The departure of Del Harris Tuesday night came only two days after his agent, Warren LeGarie, approached Nets president Rod Thorn about the possibility that his client become the team’s head coach.

This exchange, according to two NBA officials privy to the conversation who requested anonymity because they are friendly with both sides, took place at Izod Center.

LeGarie, one of the game’s heaviest hitters, told Thorn the Nets would be better off letting Harris take over and moving Kiki Vandeweghe back to the front office, if only to begin preparation for 2010-11.

According to one of the officials, Thorn interrupted LeGarie with this door-slam: “Hold it right there,” he said. “All due respect, he will not be the next head coach here. So if he has any delusions about that, you should let him know it’s not going to happen.”

LeGarie relayed the conversation to Harris, who immediately decided to leave New Jersey, a decision that was reported during Tuesday night’s game.

So now Devin Harris goes back to the trainer’s room to nurse a sprain in his left shoulder, suffered in a harsh collision with Jarvis Hayes with only seconds left in the Nets’ 99-92 defeat against the Pistons.

It was last March 15 against the Clippers in L.A. when Harris had another tough spill that cost him a lot of floor time, when Marcus Camby caught him on the forearm in mid-flight as the point guard tried to jam on the 7-foot Clipper.

Harris landed flat on his left rib cage and armpit, and the resulting damage — a sprained left shoulder and strained left deltoid — forced him out of seven games.

Harris has already missed 16 games this year.

“I don’t think ... it’s bad as it could be,” said Harris, who could raise his arm only three-quarters of the way above his head. “Better than it was in L.A. last year.”

Still, he wasn’t in a position to give any timetable.

“Like I said, it’s not as bad as the one I had last year,” Harris said. “I expect to be well enough to play. We’ll see how it is (Sunday).”

Hayes, who suffered a bruise to his lower left leg, said his injury “is going to be black and blue in the morning. But I don’t plan on missing any games — hopefully.”

Both players had X-rays, and both came back negative.

The good people of Michigan have wondered for two years why Chris Douglas-Roberts wouldn’t work out for the Pistons prior to the 2008 draft, because his only answer to that question (“Too close – too close to home”) really was no answer at all.

“Everybody knows why I didn’t,” Douglas-Roberts said Saturday night.

That’s news. Do share.

“Not the day of the draft. I wasn’t about to do that,” he said. “I mean the night before? I already did 12 workouts. I just wasn’t gonna do it. Too last minute. But that was three years now. It’s over. They shouldn’t be worried about me. They got a team over there.”

Douglas-Roberts got to play only nine minutes Saturday night before family and friends before calling it a night because of back spasms

There’s an old theory that says general managers should be coaches – just for a while – because it could actually help you become a better GM.

Vandeweghe, who was coaching his 32nd game Saturday night against Detroit, gives it credence.

“No question about it,” Vandeweghe said. “I was on the bench 10 years ago (in Dallas), and the game is very different – game preparation is very different. You see exactly what a coach has to do, you can understand how to help him better.

“You see it all from a different perspective, which really helps. You also see your players and other players from a different perspective. It’s extremely valuable for any GM to do something like this.”

Team USA taking shap

Chris Thomasson, the hard-working NBA writer who has landed at the FanHouse Web site after his newspaper went out of business a year ago, reported Saturday morning that Chris Bosh has committed to play for Team USA at the FIBA World Championships this summer and that Chauncey Billups is being considered for a spot.

If there had been any doubts in Team USA chairman Jerry Colangelo's mind that Billups is the perfect replacement for Jason Kidd as the squad's veteran point guard, he should have lost them after Friday night's Nuggets-Lakers game at Staples Center.

Billups' play in that game, with injured Carmelo Anthony sitting out, was textbook leadership by example. The Spurs got a taste of that a week ago as well, and you have to wonder all over again what Joe Dumars was thinking when he traded Billups to Denver for Allen Iverson.

Colangelo said LeBron James is getting closer to saying yes to playing in Turkey, but that is apt to turn on the status of his free agency this summer. Colangelo won't require free agents whose situations are still undecided to play in a mini-camp this summer, so that should ease some minds.

Colangelo promises some surprises, including some “role players” on the U.S. team.

Pacers' Price leaves with concussion

MILWAUKEE -- Indiana Pacers rookie point guard A.J. Price spent the final 15 minutes of Saturday's loss to the Milwaukee Bucks in the locker room after suffering a concussion on a drive to the basket in the third quarter.

Price, who made his second start, was poked in the eye by Bucks center Andrew Bogut.

Price rolled on the ground in obvious pain before leaning forward and being helped to the locker room.

Pacers coach Jim O'Brien wasn't happy that a foul wasn't called.

Price looked as if he had been in a boxing match in the locker room afterward, as his left eye was swollen.

"(Bogut) smacked me all in my eye," Price said. "My head didn't hit the ground or anything. It's kind of like when you get punched in your eye in a fight. Everything went black for a second. I was laying on the ground in pain after that with my eye in a lot of pain."

Price finished with nine points, four assists and two rebounds in 22 minutes. He said he hopes to play against the Chicago Bulls at Conseco Fieldhouse on Tuesday.

Hibbert struggles against Bogut again

Pacers center Roy Hibbert wanted to redeem himself against Bogut after the Bucks center got the best of him in the first meeting in late December.

It didn't happen.

Bogut followed his 31-point, 18-rebound performance at Conseco Fieldhouse with 21 points and eight rebounds in 34 minutes.

"He's a terrific post player," Hibbert said. "I've had trouble in the past guarding him and today I did again."

Hibbert scored 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting.

Pacers like the Colts

The Indianapolis Colts are overwhelming favorites to win the Super Bowl today in South Florida, according to the Pacers.

"You really have to ask me that question?" O'Brien asked.

Pacers forward Danny Granger is still sticking to his stance that he is OK either way because he grew up in New Orleans and he currently calls Indianapolis home.

"I'm in a win-win situation," Granger said.

Point guard T.J. Ford, who played in his second straight game, grew up with Colts running back Joseph Addai in Houston.

"I knew his brother before I knew him," Ford said. "Once I got to Indy, we connected and we've been together ever since. We always have to hold Houston down for each other."

Ford said he played football growing up in Houston but stopped once he got to high school because he didn't like contact.

Watson should be back by Tuesday

Watson, who has missed the past two games because of the death of his grandmother, is expected to be back with the team for Tuesday's game.

Beat goes on for Celtics

Here’s fodder for those who want to do some early playoff handicapping.

The Celtics [team stats] now are 1-7 against Orlando and Atlanta. Add the Lakers and they’re 1-8.

An unidentified player told coach Doc Rivers following a 96-89 loss to Orlando yesterday that the Celtics still are the better team.

The numbers say otherwise. So does the Celtics coach.

“He said, ‘We’re better than Orlando, and I said, ‘No you’re not,’ ” said Rivers. “That’s a bunch of crap. They beat you three games - two at your place. They’re better. They knocked you out of the playoffs last year. Orlando’s better than you right now. Atlanta’s better than us right now. LA’s better than us right now.

“Those are the teams that have beaten us. It doesn’t mean that we can’t be better than them at some point. But right now, those teams are better than us.”

At the core of this problem is a tendency - no, make that a hell-bent urge - to get comfortable with early leads.

The C’s led by 11 points (51-40) at halftime and followed up that good work with the short end of a 36-11 third quarter. Ball movement froze, and the Magic kicked out with a 25-2 run over the last 6:56 of the quarter.

The first five scoring possessions of this explosion all were three-point swings, including a three-point play and two 3-pointers from Vince Carter. Rashard Lewis, now officially one of the most prolific Celtic killers in the NBA, buried two other treys.

Orlando carried a 76-62 lead into the fourth quarter, and the Celtics never pulled to within closer than 10 points of the visitors the rest of the way.

“Right now we can’t say that we’re better than Orlando,” said Ray Allen. “We can’t say that we’re better than Atlanta. We can’t say that we’re better than the Lakers. It’s all about what’s in the pudding, and right now we don’t have the proof.”

Rivers later referred to his players as “front-runners” - a team that plays well as long as the game is going well - and yesterday’s game was the poster event for such a statement.

The Celtics were great until the Magic, who lost star center Dwight Howard to foul trouble for all but nine minutes in the first half, hit back.

“Maybe we got too comfortable a lead, but we’re not disciplined enough. That’s our problem,” said Rajon Rondo [stats], who barely missed a triple-double with 17 points, nine assists and eight rebounds. “But it starts with me.

“The first game we blew a lead was home against Philly, and it’s been an ongoing issue. In the Atlanta series, three games out of four we had the lead going into the half and that just happened. We’re still hungry, but when we get up it’s not the same focus.

“We got stagnant. They went on a 20-5 run, then it was 30-5, and before you knew it, it was out of control. I don’t even recall what we ran in the third quarter, if we ran any sets. We only had three turnovers in the first half, and then coming out of the third we had eight. It’s difficult when teams score every time down. And then when you turn it over, you’re not running any set stuff.”

It goes deeper than running the offense, of course.

“Right now we’re trying to win consistently and be effective,” said Kevin Garnett. “We can sit up here and give y’all the answers, and you can write it down and put it in your papers, but until we do it, it’s what it is. This is more of a Celtic thing than anything. The coach can’t help you out there, the assistants can’t help you out there. It’s the guy who’s beside you. That’s what it’s going to come down to.”

Paul Pierce return cautious first step

Lost in yesterday’s collapse to Orlando was the return of Paul Pierce [stats] following a foot injury-induced two-game absence.

The Celtics [team stats] captain, not moving particularly well, finished with 13 points and as many turnovers (three) as he had steals. He lasted for 30 somewhat belabored minutes in the 96-89 Garden loss to the Magic.

“The foot was a little bit sore, but I don’t think it restricted too much of my movement,” said Pierce. “Like I’ve said, it’s soreness on the top part of my foot, so as far as my lateral movement up and down, it really didn’t matter.”

Pierce had said following Saturday’s practice that he wouldn’t make a decision on appearing in next weekend’s All-Star Game until he had a better read on the condition of his foot.

The Celtics play one last game before the All-Star break, Wednesday in New Orleans. Pierce also is expected to take part in the 3-point shootout.

Not full-filling

The return of Pierce and Marquis Daniels to the lineup yesterday meant that the Celtics had a full, healthy roster for the first time this season. Glen Davis had missed the first 27 games of the season with a broken thumb.

Unfortunately, there was little solace to be taken in full manpower.

“Tonight was the first night that we had our whole team together, the first night all year since training camp,” said Ray Allen. “We were very optimistic and we still are. We’re not going to hang our heads. Whatever it is, we’re ready to take whatever criticism we need to take, to try and figure out the third quarter and whatever lapses we’re having in any particular game.”

Said Kevin Garnett: “This is our first time full throttle, so we look forward to putting it all together.”

No Magic formula

Doc Rivers joked earlier in the week that he expected Orlando’s Stan Van Gundy - this year’s Eastern Conference All-Star coach - to be kind and play the three Celtics representatives only five minutes apiece.

Van Gundy, true to form, actually has put some thought into who is going to play how much time next Sunday. Pierce, Garnett and Rajon Rondo [stats] can expect to have a say in their minutes.

“(Rivers) has a better chance of me not playing them because we don’t have to see them again this season,” Van Gundy said before yesterday’s game. “One thing I plan to do is get all 12 players together and get a feel for what each of them wants. There’s always going to be a couple who don’t want to play that many minutes.

“I know that Paul and Kevin have injury consideration, and I told (Celtics assistant) Mike Longabardi to tell Doc that if he has any concerns, to let me know,” he said. “Of course, Kevin was voted in by the fans, so he has to play a few more minutes.”

Rivers laughed.

“I disagree with Stan 100 percent,” he said. “The fans want to see Kevin for about 30 seconds, and then he should play Dwight Howard 48 minutes, LeBron (James) 30 minutes and Joe Johnson 30 minutes.”

Van Gundy believes that he has a different perspective on the game from most All-Star coaches.

“It’s a great honor for somebody like me, as opposed to Doc, who has been around this league forever,” said Van Gundy, who also referred to himself as a nobody. “I was pretty damn old before I thought I wanted to become part of the NBA. It’s really going to hit me - the whole thing.”

Celtics disappear like Magic

The Celtics [team stats] obviously were banking on Newton’s first law of motion when they bounded onto the court for the second half of yesterday’s game against the Magic.

In earning an 11-point lead at the break, they moved the ball, made extra passes and - holy teamwork, Batman - got wide-open shots. At the other end of the floor, they moved in concert and held the Magic to 40 points on 39.5 percent shooting.

It was just the type of performance the Bostonians had been seeking - a bravura beatdown of a top conference foe in front of a national television audience that surely included peers munching on chips and salsa as they awaited the Super Bowl kickoff.

Ah, but after slipping their principles of inertia textbooks back in their lockers, the Celtics proceeded to forget Nike’s first law of selling expensive sneakers.

They failed to just do it. In fact, they didn’t do much of anything.

Doc Rivers was asked to recall his thoughts as the Celtics were shooting 28.6 percent, allowing the Magic to hit 70.8 percent and getting outscored 36-11 on the way to a 96-89 defeat.

“We were getting what we deserved,” the coach said. “I thought we played like crap in the third quarter.

“I thought everything we did in the first half we decided not to do. We were making up our own coverages defensively, switching. We gave up nine points on switches that we never switch.”

Switching to his offense, Rivers said, “The ball moved from in to out the entire first half. (In the) second half it stayed on the outside, stayed on the outside. Over-dribbling. And I told them when I called a timeout, I said, ‘We’re doing our own thing. We’re going to lose the game.’ ”

Rivers has sounded similar themes after ugly losses and near losses this season. But yesterday he was more blunt. Maybe he wanted to get in his shots before the dressing room doors opened and the players got their chance.

Maybe he had just seen enough. But it is growing abundantly clear that the Celtics cannot talk their way out of this drop into the NBA’s middle earth.

“I thought we lacked discipline,” Rivers said. “I think right now when you look at our team, and I say it, I love our team on paper. But we tend to be front-runners. When we get a good lead, we relax and teams take advantage of it and then you’re caught. And it’s tough to turn it back on.”

Looking at the smoking gun - the stat sheet - Rivers went on.

“It’s rare in a game that you outscore a team three quarters and lose the game,” he said. “But our third quarter was so bad. You know, you look at 24, 27 and 27, is what we scored in three quarters. When you see those numbers, with our defense, you would say, ‘Boy, they probably won the game.’ But we gave up 36 points in a quarter. And I really believe this: I believe we could’ve scored zero points in the third quarter, and we should never give up 36 points. But we did.”

The Celtics planned on having the best defense in the NBA. Now they’re just defensive.

They continue to say there is plenty of time left to divert the ship and avoid the iceberg, and that’s hard to argue with 33 games remaining before the playoffs. But each day they fail to back up their talk further erodes the confidence. And right about now, the Celtics’ talk-to-action ratio is rivaling that of Congress.

Agreeing there is still time, Rivers acknowledged, “You’ve got to show it. I don’t know at what point is the answer. I just know at this point those teams are better than us. And that’s, you know, that’s up to us what we want to do with that.”

In return, Marquis Daniels receives thumbs-up

It took just a matter of seconds for the Celtics [team stats] to realize just how much they had missed Marquis Daniels.

The man is a walking mismatch for opponents, and immediately he threw a wrench into the Magic’s plans yesterday. Orlando has gotten quite a bit from J.J. Redick off its bench, but after a few minutes with Daniels on his case, Redick had to be hooked and reeled back in to the bench.

Daniels took him into the lane and began hitting short jumpers on him. Soon a one-point Celtics lead after one quarter was on its way to 11 as Daniels scored six points.

He was used sparingly in the second half as Orlando came back to win 96-89, but after 28 games out following left thumb surgery, Daniels had made his point. Eight of them actually.

“Marquis played phenomenal,” coach Doc Rivers said. “I’ve got to tell you I was shocked by that. I wasn’t going to play him. That’s how I thought he looked in practice. And he was terrific.”

Daniels said he won’t feel completely comfortable until he survives the first hit on the thumb. No one reached it yesterday, but he was pleased to get through this first shakedown cruise.

“I didn’t really have any expectations for myself,” Daniels said after a 12-minute, 31-second stint. “I just wanted to come out and play my hardest.

“It’s always a good feeling to make your first shot. The basket started looking wider. It was just a good feeling to make that first one.”

Daniels believes he needs to improve his conditioning.

“I was a little tired out there,” he said. “I have to just keep working on my conditioning.

“All 12 minutes of it was adrenaline.”

But Daniels didn’t have time to just run around and get reaccustomed to the surroundings. He had a job to do against the smaller and lighter Redick.

“Coach told me he wanted me to come out and be aggressive,” Daniels said. “I wanted to come out and not have any fear and just play. I tried to come out and do the regular things that I usually do.

“I tried to take advantage of the situation. They were giving me the shots, and I was just trying to take them and be aggressive.”

Daniels took seven shots, pulled in three rebounds and had a steal. More important down the line is what he will do for others - getting more rest for Paul Pierce [stats] and Ray Allen and freeing up Eddie House to be a shooting specialist with the second unit.

“It was good,” Daniels said. “I think that we came out with a lot of energy. We just have to continue to work and get better.

“I’m just trying to make sure when I get in that we keep our intensity and pick up the first group.”

NBA labor talks may be in stars

NEW YORK - The NFL’s party week was briefly interrupted by a sobering message about the league’s labor situation.

Now it could be the NBA’s turn.

The league’s Collective Bargaining Agreement also will expire in 2011, and management and the players’ association will meet next weekend during the All-Star events in Dallas as they try to negotiate a new one.

Indications are it won’t be easy. CBSSports.com, citing a person familiar with the document, reported that the first proposal the league sent the union last week called for a reduction of the players’ share of the basketball-related income from 57 percent to below 50, as well as reductions in the length and amount of maximum value contracts, and elements of a “hard” salary cap to replace the current system that forces teams exceeding the cap to pay a luxury tax.

Neither the league nor the union have commented about the proposal, but it surely will be a topic when commissioner David Stern, and perhaps players’ association executive director Billy Hunter, meets with the media Saturday.

Hunter sometimes appears with Stern at the commissioner’s annual state of the league press conference on All-Star Saturday night, but it’s not clear if he will do so this year - especially if Friday’s bargaining session goes poorly.

The sides already held some informal meetings last summer and exchanged some financial documents, getting an early start on what could be difficult negotiations. The economic downturn hit many team owners hard and they are seeking significant changes in a system that the players argue has largely worked.

FBI checks Chuck Daly mail

DETROIT - The FBI investigated a series of threatening letters sent to Detroit Pistons coach Chuck Daly at the height of his team’s success during the 1989-90 “Bad Boys” championship era, newly released government records show.

The 67 pages, obtained by The Associated Press as part of a Freedom of Information Act request, detail how federal agents in Detroit ordered fingerprint, handwriting and even psycholinguistic analysis as part of an effort to determine who sent the correspondences.

Daly’s teams played a punishing, in-your-face brand of defense that angered opposing players and coaches, and - based on the content of the letters examined by the FBI - fans, too.

One letter, mailed from Cleveland and postmarked April 24, 1989, arrived about two months after Cavaliers guard Mark Price suffered a concussion following a Rick Mahorn elbow and three months after Cleveland’s Brad Daugherty and Detroit’s Bill Laimbeer had an on-court fistfight.

“God made me realize that YOU, not Laimbeer, Mahorn or any of the others are the one possessed by (Satan),” the author wrote in the one-page handwritten letter addressed to “Mr. Chuck Daly.”

Daly, a Hall of Famer who died in May at the age of 78, gave the letter to team officials, who in turn notified NBA security in New York.

Federal agents interviewed Daly and team personnel and submitted the letter for various tests. A psycholinguistic analysis determined the author likely “has had previous psychiatric hospitalizations and/or is currently on outpatient status,” but lacked “the capacity to carry out any form of planned action.”

Toronto topples Kings

TORONTO - The Sacramento Kings picked a bad time to blink.

Chris Bosh had 36 points and 11 rebounds, Andrea Bargnani scored 22 points and the Toronto Raptors rallied to beat the Kings, 115-104, yesterday, extending Sacramento’s losing streak to six games.

“We had a lead in the fourth quarter and couldn’t hold it,” Kings coach Paul Westphal said. “We missed a lot of free throws; we couldn’t control Bosh. We couldn’t finish the deal and it’s primarily because we couldn’t get the stops we needed. It was about 42 or 44 minutes of really good basketball for us. The four to six minutes that wasn’t gives us a loss.”

Hedo Turkoglu and Antoine Wright each scored 16 points as Toronto topped 100 for the 16th consecutive game and won its seventh straight at home.

Kevin Martin scored 24 points and Spencer Hawes had 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Kings, who have won just three of their past 20 and are 3-22 on the road.

“You start missing free throws and you start missing shots, everyone gets pressing, everyone kind of tenses up,” Hawes said. “That tends to happen in the fourth quarter, regardless. When things start going wrong it kind of magnifies itself.”

Donte Greene scored 13 points while Tyreke Evans and Andres Nocioni each had 11 for Sacramento.

Bosh made 14-of-18 field goal attempts and went 8-for-11 from the foul line as the Raptors won for the 13th time in 14 home games.

“I said coming into this season that I want to be the best forward in the league and I was going to have to be consistent, try to play every game,” Bosh said. “So far it’s been pretty good.”

Leon Powe now rarin’ to go

First things first for Leon Powe.

The fourth knee surgery of the former Celtic’s young career appears to have taken well.

Now he’s back on the floor, this time as a Cleveland Cavalier, participating in 4-on-4 drills and aiming, as predicted, for a post-All-Star break return to action.

Call it resolve after being rejected by the Celtics [team stats] last summer, or just a natural drive to persevere, but Powe isn’t thinking twice about his latest surgery.

“It’s good, real good,” Powe said last week. “I’ve taken tests, and everything looks good. The way I deal with it is that I just go out there and play. I’ve had a couple of knee injuries, so it doesn’t bother me as much now to just go out there and put it to the test.

“It’s been good. I’m working on stuff. I’ve been going for the past month, but I’m not practicing as much right now. But now I can do everything. Today, I did drills - shooting, 4-on-4, stuff like that.”

Powe’s next challenge will be cracking a rotation in which he stacks up as the Cavaliers’ fifth big man. The Cavs are also actively looking for ways to improve in the days leading up to the Feb. 18 trade deadline, which further clouds Powe’s immediate prospects of playing.

But regardless of how it works out, Feb. 25 is imbedded in Powe’s internal calendar. At the very least, Powe will be on the bench when the Cavaliers return to TD Garden that night.

“I’ll be there,” he said. “It’s fun playing against old teammates. But I just compete. I have nothing against them.”

Powe spoke without a trace of anger or regret. He appears to have recovered from last summer’s snub, when the Celtics, wary of his latest surgery, declined to extend Powe a qualifying offer.

It was something agent Aaron Goodwin could see coming.

“Early on there were indications the Celtics weren’t moving to keep him, so we got together and talked about how it was just business,” Goodwin said. “As much as he was hurt by it and some of the other players were hurt by it, it turned into motivation for him to get back. I’ve know Leon since he was in the eighth grade in Oakland, and I know he’d love to play against the Celtics in the playoffs, but it’s not personal.”

Especially not in light of Powe’s most recent comeback.

“I’m being told he’s much stronger than he was a year ago,” Goodwin said.

Powe estimated his current state of health at 85 to 90 percent. “I’m working on my explosiveness,” he said. “Then I’ll be on my way back.”

Unlike the Celtics, Powe never doubted he would reach this point.

“I never thought that I wouldn’t,” Powe said. “I just tell myself that this time I’m going to do more leg and rehabilitation work.”

Said Goodwin: “Over the last year you have really been able to see the character of Leon. He never doubted he would be back healthy, or continue to play in this league. He just doesn’t believe in defeat.”

That’s why Powe now sounds as though he’s missed a week or two - not half a season to rehabilitate from reconstructive surgery.

“It just shows my hard work, and the fact we have a great training staff here,” he said. “It’s been hard - don’t get me wrong - but it’s also been great. The first two months (after a surgery) are always tough because you can’t really move or do anything, and that’s frustrating. But once I got past that I was just able to work on things.

“I’m going to give them rebounding and scoring in the post - the same as I did in Boston. You can just go out and give it all you’ve got, especially on the defensive end. I love playing defense.”

The Celtics [team stats], last summer’s hesitation aside, should remember that much.

Under development

Geography may be a college course, but right now it is also a curse for the newest teams in the National Basketball Development League.

The Maine Red Claws and Springfield Armor have played each other eight times this season, and will meet once more before the playoffs begin.

The entry from Erie, Pa., the next closest D-League stop, has played the Red Claws four times, and this series will have two more dates before the end of the regular season.

So the early days of the NBA’s first officially affiliated minor league system is still a little rough in the details.

But the Celtics see a blessing to the curse, having made the most of their affiliate in Portland, Maine. J.R. Giddens, Bill Walker and rookie Lester Hudson - since claimed off waivers by Memphis - all saw time as Red Claws.

The convenience of such a nearby farm team can’t be stressed enough - not after flying Giddens halfway across the country to tour with the Utah Flash last year.

“I wasn’t around with the CBA, but there has always been players not in the NBA playing in places like the CBA or the USBL,” Celtics general manager Danny Ainge said. “You’re always aware of those players. If there is someone you’re interested in, you’re always going to find a way to go see them play. It’s better to have teams in Portland and Springfield, though, because there is such easy access.”

Technology makes the process even simpler - at least simpler than evaluating minor league or overseas talent ever has been.

“It’s easier to evaluate players in the D-League than somewhere else, because we can see it all,” Ainge said. “You can watch all of these games by computer. It’s just a matter of downloading all of those computer programs.

“I can watch all of Bill Walker’s offensive possessions or defensive possessions - all of whatever it is I’m looking for at the drop of a hat.

“We also know the level of competition. In foreign countries that information is not necessarily up to date, though we have improved access to European players through (the Euro system) Synergy.”

And unlike previous American incarnations like the Continental Basketball Association and United States Basketball League, Ainge believes the NDBL product has more consistency.

Uniform talent can be more easily evaluated.

Gone, for the most part, are stories like that of Pavel Podkolzin, the 7-foot-5 Siberian who wowed NBA scouts through workouts, not his track record in the Italian League, and was an early bust when he finally joined the Dallas Mavericks.

“Everyone knew who Podkolzin was, but it was still a matter of who he was going to become,” said Ainge, who now claims that the best teams in the D-League could hold their own against the best teams overseas.

“Teams in the D-League can compete with teams all over the world, though the teams in Europe probably have better continuity because of long-term contracts,” he said. “A player who signs with CSKA Moscow is going to have a good chance of being with the same 12 players all year.

“The D-League has a lot more players shuffling in and out because the pay is so low. So the players are always looking for something better. But I would say that the talent is equal.”

And Maine’s benefit, for both the C’s and co-affiliate Charlotte, has only started.

“But it’s been good for our guys,” Ainge said. “Lester just didn’t get enough opportunities down there. Billy has benefited a great deal. It was great for getting his body back in shape (after a knee injury).

“He came back up here and didn’t get a chance, but he was really enjoying playing there. When you’re young and you want to establish yourself and get respect, it’s hard not playing. If we get healthy up here, then we send them back down.”

That’s motivation?

His name is Joachim de Posada, and beyond being a distant relative of Yankees catcher Jorge Posada, he is a renowned motivational speaker. He has published a book entitled “How to Survive Among Piranhas.”

He has also done some work with Del Harris - the veteran NBA coach who until last Wednesday had taken on the reclamation project known as the Nets.

Though the two moments aren’t necessarily related, Harris brought de Posada in to talk to his players, who were so mortified by the guru’s methods that they asked him to stop.

De Posada, in an attempt to illustrate the power of mind over matter, stuck a needle in his cheek as the players briefly looked on.

Getting the point, they asked him to stop.

“The whole thing was about confidence,” said Nets guard Chris Douglas Roberts. “He strongly believes in hypnotizing people and stuff like that.”

All teammate Devin Harris could say was, “Ow.”

The players thus had fresh material for their gallows humor.

“They’ve taken sharp objects away from me,” center Brook Lopez said. “We have to use safety scissors and everything. We’re pretty close to getting helmets, too.”