A look around the league and the Web that covers it. It's also important to note that the rotation order and starting nods aren't always listed in order of importance. That's for you, dear reader, to figure out.
C: Oakley and Allen. A very important supercut of New York Knicks coach Mike Woodson being very upset at, in all likelihood, J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert compiled from throughout the 2012-13 NBA season.
PF: Project Spurs. After Monday's tragic explosions at the Boston Marathon, Spurs blogger and artist Jesse Blanchard decided to donate some of the proceeds from any of the pieces of art he sells from April through the end of the playoffs to Boston relief efforts; he reached out to a few likeminded artists, who decided to join him in doing so. You can check out the participating artists, the great pieces of NBA-related art they've got for sale and contact information so you can reach out for more info on where your money's actually going to go, if you're so inclined. It's pretty neat when communities, especially ones as disparate and oddball as The Basketball Internet, come together to try to help out people in times of need.
SF: Deadspin. Yeah, that sounds like a pretty "late-era Chris Duhon with the New York Knicks"-style of effort.
SG: Grantland and The Miami New-Times. Important "Parks and Recreation"/NBA updates — Ben Schwartz (a.k.a. Jean-Ralphio) is going to be at Roy Hibbert's bachelor party, and Aubrey Plaza (a.k.a. April Ludgate) is obsessed with Chris Bosh. Now you are up-to-date, "Parks and Recreation"/NBA-wise.
PG: SB Nation. With the 16-team playoff field set, Tom Ziller can't help noticing that, for the eighth time in 10 years, the last team out in the Western Conference has a better record than the last team in the East. Why not just seed 1 through 16 based on overall record?
6th: San Antonio Express-News. Jeff McDonald chats with Tracy McGrady, the newest member of the San Antonio Spurs, about being brought back from China for the express purpose of being around for a long playoff run. The world's funny sometimes.
7th: The Washington Post. At the bottom of a lot of words about how John Wall doesn't even come close to deserving the max-level contract he's sure to get, Jason Reid includes what seems like an important passage (emphasis mine): "Rising stars Stephen Curry of Golden State, Jrue Holiday of Philadelphia and Ty Lawson of Denver all signed multiyear extensions for less than the maximum. Curry, Holiday and Lawson provided salary-cap flexibility for their teams, which, in theory, should help management bolster the rosters around them. Wall recently opened that door, telling The Post’s Michael Lee he’d consider taking less to help." We'll see if he holds to that position, but if he does, that's got to make you feel good if you're a Wizards fan.
8th: Pelicans.com. Now that the switch has officially been flipped between Hornets and Pelicans — it happened as soon as the season ended — New Orleans Pelicans forward Ryan Anderson is blogging about the change in nomenclature: "There were all of these blogs, and everything people were reading was critical of it. But lately it’s completely turned around, with everyone thinking it’s cool now." Yep. Everyone does think that, for sure, without exception.
9th: Sports Illustrated. A good read from Chris Ballard — as if Chris Ballard provides anything but good reads — on the scene Wednesday night at Sleep Train Arena, where the Sacramento Kings once again played what could wind up being their last game as the Sacramento Kings ... except this time around, there seemed to be more optimism than pessimism, more hope than fear.
10th: Rufus on Fire. As we turn our attention toward the playoffs, I'll give the last word to my dude Ben Swanson, who roots for and blogs about the Charlotte Bobcats, which often leads people to ask him, "Hey, why do you root for and blog about a team that bad?" He reaches out for an answer and comes back with something, if nothing else, admirable: "Everyone must derive pride from something, and for us, it's flying under the radar with patience for the day when the pieces fall together. It's taking years of basketball futility, living through it and everyone else's ridicule to come out on the other side watching a better team."
Got a link or tip for Ball Don't Lie? Give me a shout at devine (at) yahoo-inc.com, or follow me on Twitter.
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