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: Sports on Earth. Shaun Powell goes in depth with NBA legend and Golden State Warriors consultant Jerry West on a slew of topics, from his impressions of sharpshooter Stephen Curry ("He's very clever") to the demeanor of his head coach ("Mark [Jackson] is almost like a grandfather"), his front-office philosophy ("There's a difference between a risk taker and a gambler") and more.
PF: Grantland. The Oklahoma City Thunder aren't afraid of Dwight Howard's defense in the middle at all, as they showed in Tuesday night's win over the Los Angeles Lakers. You know why? Because they've already beaten this version of L.A.'s big-man defense ... when it was being played by Andrew Bynum, the guy whose performance Howard was brought in to improve upon. Zach Lowe breaks down how the Lakers D keeps breaking down.
SF: CSNNE.com. What's it like to come back from heart surgery at 29, after a decade in the NBA, without a contract or any idea what the next day might bring? Boston Celtics big man Chris Wilcox knows, so Jessica Camerato asked him.
SG: GQ. Friend of the program Lang Whitaker chats with Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving about disposable underwear, life-saving extension cords and whether Brandon Knight will ever talk to him again.
PG: Roundball Mining Company. It's very easy to bang on the Denver Nuggets for being a good-to-great regular-season team that seems to flame out in the first round of the playoffs every year. But guest writer Matt Cianfrone, a Milwaukee Bucks fan, would like to remind us that making the playoffs every year is still pretty flippin' good.
6th: The Point Forward. One day after considering the best values among NBA contracts, ol' pal Rob Mahoney picks out the league's "most problematic" deals. Dig into the underperforming assets!
7th: The Knicks Wall. With Carmelo Anthony now questionable for the New York Knicks' Wednesday game against the Detroit Pistons due to the knee injury he suffered Monday — an injury that apparently followed Melo asking to be taken out of the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers — coach Mike Woodson is finally acknowledging that the Knicks have been riding Anthony for too many minutes this season. What might an optimum distribution of minutes look like for lineups both with and without Melo? Ben Ross mocks up some rotations.
8th: ESPN Boston. Avery Bradley breaking out for a team-high 22 points on 10 of 15 shooting in the Boston Celtics' 109-101 road win over the Philadelphia 76ers might have surprised some, but not Doc Rivers; as Chris Forsberg writes, the C's coach predicted it 13 months ago.
9th: Blog a Bull. Jason Patt would like to know who's got the Kirk Hinrich voodoo doll, just what the heck they've been doing with it all year and which part of the Chicago Bulls guard's body they plan to imperil next.
10th: Hickory High. How much does "controlling the pace" of a game — and, in particular, slowing it down — increase an underdog's chances against a superior opponent? Well, that depends on how big an underdog you are. Andrew Koo digs in and comes away with some cool stuff.
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