Each weekday morning, BDL serves up a handful of NBA-related stories to digest with your oysters.

Brian Windhorst, The Plain Dealer: "There's a lot going to be made of how well the Cavs played with their so-called 'small' lineup in, which means without a true center and with a lot of quickness. Without a doubt, it led directly to the remarkable second half when the Cavs outscored the Celtics 60-32 and held them to 22 percent shooting. Boston's bigs — the plodding Kendrick Perkins(notes), the knee-hampered Kevin Garnett(notes), the over the hill Rasheed Wallace(notes) and the nimble but not quick Glen Davis(notes) — do not handle athletic opponents well. Anderson Varejao(notes), J.J. Hickson(notes) and even Antawn Jamison(notes) (when he wasn't throwing the ball to the other team) gave Boston all sorts of problems. This, in general, is the lineup that ESPN columnist and Celtics fan Bill Simmons calls 'poop in your pants scary' because of how well the Cavs can play with it. Without a doubt, because of the versatility of LeBron James(notes) and the tremendous shooting ability of several Cavs it can look vicious. Also, they may not be a better big man pick-and-roll defender in the league than Varejao."

Chris Tomasson, NBA FanHouse: "Hey, if the Los Angeles Clippers make the NBA Finals, perhaps Blake Griffin(notes) will be available. We all know that's not going to happen. But Griffin, the Clippers forward who is out the entire season and had Jan. 20 surgery to repair a broken left kneecap, had encouraging information Thursday when asked when he will be back to 100 percent. 'Probably sometime in like May,' Griffin, the NBA's No. 1 pick last June, said in an interview with FanHouse. 'At least I'll be able to do workouts without restrictions.' When Griffin underwent surgery, the Clippers projected he would be out four to six months. Although Griffin later said he didn't know it will be May for sure and Clippers coach Kim Hughes said "June would be more realistic,'' it at least shows the possibility of Griffin being in good shape when the Clippers draft again in the lottery. 'I'm doing rehab and trying to get back and get ready to take that first step,' Griffin said. 'We're kind of taking it week by week. There's no reason to rush. It's not like I have to be back at a certain point. I'll have all summer to work out.'"

Mike Bianchi, Orlando Sentinel: "Seriously, you know what's amazing? That three columnists all criticized [Dwight] Howard within days of each other — during the same time frame when the Magic's magnificent big man was named the NBA's Player of the Week. It's mystifying. It's logic-defying. They call him an underachiever. They call him a puppy dog. They call him a paper tiger. They ought to be calling him an MVP. But they won't, you see, because that would be NBA blasphemy. As Magic coach Stan Van Gundy points out, 'It's over. LeBron's going to get the award.' This is no knock on LeBron; he is certainly worthy of the MVP. He leads the league in scoring and has led the Cavs to the best record in the NBA. All I'm saying is Superman deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as the King by the nation's media. I can understand NBA fans being blinded by the endless LeBron lovefest and eternal highlight loop on ESPN, but you'd think the media would be a little more discerning. You'd think the media would have a bit more historical perspective and appreciate that Dwight is on the verge of doing things that have never been done in the NBA."

Frank Dell'Apa, The Boston Globe: "The Cleveland Cavaliers did not seem to need Shaquille O'Neal(notes) in the lineup last night. The Cavaliers were trailing the Celtics by 11 points before O'Neal sustained a right thumb sprain early in the second quarter. After that, Cleveland outscored the Celtics, 77-46, on the way to a 108-88 victory. But, even though the Cavaliers' offense seemed to be moving in slow motion, their defense shackled with O'Neal, they are eager for him to return, according to LeBron James. 'We play faster without Shaq in the lineup,' James said. 'We run into more pick and rolls. But Shaq, we need him out there. He's going to take as much time as he needs to get back. We need him out there because, in the playoffs, you can't play fast all the time, you have to be able to slow down and execute in the half court and that's what he gives us.'"

Charles F. Gardner, Journal Sentinel: "Remember Allen Iverson's(notes) famous tirade about practice? He would have loved the situation [John] Salmons has faced since joining the Bucks in a deal with Chicago last week. Salmons has been with the Bucks for seven days and has yet to go through a true practice session. But it hasn't mattered too much as the 6-foot-6 guard has played a key role in the Bucks' recent surge. Salmons had 18 points in the Bucks' 115-95 victory over New Orleans Wednesday, his second game in the starting lineup after coming off the bench in his first two games with Milwaukee. 'The next time on our schedule where we could have some sort of meaningful practice is Tuesday,' Scott Skiles said. 'We'll do something (in Miami) tomorrow. We may not go to the gym; guys may be getting their lifts in or whatever. We're interested to find out some more things John could do once we have more time in the gym. We've got to just wait, and until then we have to do the best we can. He's certainly doing a nice job.'"

Mike Monroe, S.A. Express-News: "Manu Ginobili, the beating heart of a four-time NBA champion, has declared he feels like, well, Manu Ginobili(notes). The importance of such self-actualization can't be overstated for a team that will play the Rockets at the Toyota Center still seventh in the Western Conference. 'I feel great, and I bet you can tell,' Ginobili said after submitting Exhibits A through Z in a Wednesday night victory against the Thunder. The performance gave every Spur aboard the short flight to Houston reason to believe a late-season surge is possible. The 32-year-old guard scored 26 points Wednesday, his second-highest output of the season and his sixth game with at least 20 in the past nine outings. Ginobili's season has been a four-month search for the lift in his legs that made him a 6-foot-6 highlight reel for most of his eight seasons as a Spur."

Tim Cowlishaw, The Dallas Morning News: "A Superman imitator in our midst? [Brendan] Haywood really does look like the key to the deal, at least for now. You have to think that [Caron] Butler, a career 44 percent shooter, will find that shooting touch. At that point, this deal becomes the kind of thing that puts Dallas on a level floor with Denver for the No. 2 spot in the West. Meanwhile, long-suffering Wizards fans already have seen Drew Gooden(notes) go to the Clippers and Josh Howard(notes) lost for the season with a knee injury. This wasn't a trade, it was a heist. Oh yeah, steals. The Mavericks are fifth in the league (8.6 per game) in this five-game stretch. A team trying to establish its identity following a roster-changing trade is doing it with defense. This is new for the Mavericks. This is a good thing."

Mitch Lawrence, New York Daily News: "In three games as a Knick, Tracy McGrady(notes) has understandably been a shadow of the player who once made All-Star teams nearly as easily as he made baskets. But as bad as he's looked at points in his first sustained action in over a year, it might get worse. Drawing on what he saw in Phoenix when he coached Amare Stoudemire, who also underwent microfracture knee surgery, Mike D'Antoni expects McGrady to struggle even more before he turns it around. 'What happens is that you start off at a higher level and then you go down into a trough and then you work your way back up.' D'Antoni said after practice in Greenburgh Thursday. 'So I would expect him to even go down some. I hope not. But that's very possible.'"

Al Iannazzone, The Record: "Here's breaking news: Athletes, coaches and executives don't always tell the truth, shocking as it may seem. But their words make for good newspaper stories, blogs, weekly Page 2 columns, comments on Web sites and debates among sports fans. This is what will happen when the Nets or any team signs a free agent this summer. The team will say the player was their top choice — even if he wasn't. The player will say this is the team he wanted to be playing for all along, and he'll rattle off the names of the other players on the roster. All the teams with money — the Knicks, Nets, Heat, Clippers, Bulls — have something to offer other than millions. They have location and more millions in marketing potential. If the Nets get the No. 1 draft pick, that would help their pitch. But just know that the player will go where he makes the most money and has the best chance to win -- in that order. Then he'll say it had nothing to do with the money."

RealGM: "Kings forward Jason Thompson(notes) will miss up to two weeks with a lower back injury. Sacramento announced on Thursday that X-rays determined Thompson has two fractures in his lower back. Thompson is averaging 12.7 points and 8.8 rebounds per game this season."

Ailene Voisin, The Sac Bee: "I heard from several Rush Limbaugh fans today, mostly chiding me for referencing him in my column about Paul Westphal's decision regarding Spencer Hawes(notes). For those who might not have been following the drama, Westphal placed Hawes on the inactive list Tuesday after the third-year center voiced his frustration about roles, rotations, and substitutions. Of course, Evans and Sean May(notes) voiced very similar comments, and neither was punished. Westphal explained that May apologized, Evans was only speaking in generalized, and .... well, he just seemed ticked off at Spencer. I wrote that it was surprising that Westphal, who is a friend of right-wing blowhard Rush Limbaugh, would attempt to muzzle a player, especially since all of the player comments were relatively mild and matter-of-fact. Anyway, to set the record straight, if Westphal and Keith Olbermann were buddies, I would have offered a similar comment about the bombastic left-wing talk show host. While I thoroughly enjoyed an intelligent, enlivened, provocative discussion — we are all about passion here — if I wanted to be lectured or yelled at, I'd re-enroll in my Catholic grammar school."

Sid Hartman, Star Tribune: "The Wolves have won only 14 of 59 games this season, and while their attendance is up over last year's anemic figures, the team expects to lose close to $25 million, and some of the minority owners would like to sell the part of the team they own. However, owner Glen Taylor said he doesn't have any thoughts of either selling or moving the team, and he is confident that the present management will eventually have the Wolves competing with the best teams in the NBA. [...] Taylor confirms that the Wolves will be part of teams in the NBA that will lose a total of $400 million or more this season. About the new management, Taylor said one of the things he is most happy about is the hiring of David Kahn as president of basketball operations and Kurt Rambis as coach. 'Yes, I'm pleased with both David and the coaching staff. I just think they've been very patient,' Taylor said. 'They said to me: Give us a year to look at these guys and let us do an evaluation and let's see if we can get them to improve. My expectation is that when we get to the end of this season, they will make some changes and they'll be comfortable with some of the guys.'"

K.C. Johnson, Chicago Tribune: "Taj Gibson routinely is one of the first Bulls to arrive at the Berto Center for practice, and his initial move is to check the NBA standings. 'I want to experience the playoffs and see how I fare in that atmosphere,' Gibson said Thursday. 'That's all I'm focused on. (Joakim Noah(notes) and Derrick Rose(notes)) have told me it's 100 times more competitive every game and it means so much for the development of young players.' Coach Vinny Del Negro routinely is one of the first Bulls to arrive at the United Center on game days, and once the game starts, his initial move often is to call a play for Gibson. 'I like to get rookies' confidence going right away,' Del Negro explained. Told that Gibson, 24, hardly acts like a rookie, Del Negro smiled. He knows."

Yes, that's Bill Laimbeer. Pre-European tour, post-Notre Dame. All man.

Cleveland at Boston

I'm not concerned with the fact that Paul Pierce(notes) will be out of action tonight. I'm bothered by it, it's always lovely to see fantastic basketball players play fantastic basketball, but I'm not concerned. As much as the Cavaliers have dominated Pierce over the last year or so, I still think the C's can mount a run.

Listen, the team is old. It's fading. It's understaffed. It's underfed. It's slow, it's thin, it's old, it employs Michael Rapaport+12 inches. But I'd be a fool if I put anything past the Celtics, even if they're without the team's heart, soul, scorer, and (with Kevin Garnett(notes) post-Utah) best player.

That doesn't mean Milwaukee and Indiana won't be a good game. The Pacers and Bucks like to run, even if they don't score properly. And the Nuggets and Warriors should run along the same lines - lots of running, even if Denver tops the thing by 20.

Comment away. You'll be sorry if you don't.

Cleveland Cavaliers: 44-14, 91 possessions per game (25th), 111.2 points scored per 100 possessions (fourth!), 103.9 points allowed per 100 possessions (ninth).

Boston Celtics: 36-19, 91.8 possessions per game (22nd), 107 points scored per 100 possessions (13th), 101.7 points allowed per 100 possessions (first).

All statistics courtesy basketball-reference.com.

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: Empty The Bench. Two point guards are better than one in the Bulls' starting backcourt.
PF: The New York Times. Walt Frazier is livin' the life in beautiful St. Croix.
SF: By The Horns. Hunting can wait; Brad Miller(notes) might play basketball forever.
SG: Hardwood Paroxysm. Haberstroh: Are rookies better finishers in their sophomore year?
PG: ClipperBlog.com. A fascinating exchange between Baron Davis(notes) and Donald T. Sterling.
6th: The Sports Guy. Bill Simmons has a fan-friendly solution to fix the NBA.
7th: ProBasketballTalk. Scott Skiles values playoff experience over lottery picks.
8th: RU. Report: The Grizz will assign second overall draft pick Hasheem Thabeet(notes) to the D-League.
9th: TheKnicksBlog.com. The Knicks rebounding is, well, pretty darn offensive.
10th: Sports Pickle. "With nearly half his league's teams reeling from massive operating losses, NBA commissioner David Stern today declared that he would begin charging both players and fans for free throws."

Got a link or tip for Ball Don't Lie? Hit me up at jeskeets (at) yahoo.ca, or follow me on Twitter.

Arnie Kander, the Detroit Pistons' longtime strength and conditioning coach, says he's never seen as many ankle, knee and groin injuries as he has this season. And he's not kidding. From opening night to mid-December, three different Pistons guards — Richard Hamilton(notes), Ben Gordon(notes) and Will Bynum(notes) — all missed time thanks to buggered ankles. What's that sayin'? Two's a coincidence, three's a trend.

So, like any good NBA trainer who moonlights as a private investigator, Kander donned his deerstalker hat and overcoat, smoked a pipe, and quickly figured out that it was a specific brand of sneakers — *COUGH* Nike Hyperizes *COUGH* — that were making the Pistons' ankles go lame.

Case closed; shoes banned.

"I'm not going to name the brand of shoe it was [Ed. note: Woops!], but it has been banned from our locker room and the guys aren't allowed to wear it," Kander said. "These shoes had taken most of the support out of the sides and it was a lighter shoe. Most basketball shoes weigh between 1.4 and 1.7 pounds."

"These shoes were weighing 0.8 pounds, which was way too light as far as side support. Since we've banned the shoe, knock on wood, we haven't had any ankle sprains. Hopefully, the good Lord willing, we won't have any more and we can finish the season healthy and see what these guys can really do.

Kander, who once referred to current basketball shoes as glorified "moccasins," takes his players ankles very serious. In fact, the Pistons actually fine members of the team who don't tape their ankles because it has shown to be so effective in preventing injury. Kander's hardcore — his ankles have mustaches.

Note: I can't for the life of me find a photo of Hamilton wearing the aforementioned Hyperize kicks. Sneakerhead, and Kix in the City CEO, Rich MaZe Lopez says Rip, being a Jordan Brand athlete, rocks only Air Jordan retros or Team Jordans. Can we blame Michael, too, Kander?

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"Dr. Marvin, guess what? Ahoy! I sail, I'm a sailor, I sail! Isn't this a break through, that I'm a sailor? I sail! I sail now!" Best caption of Kings rookie Tyreke Evans(notes) "sailin' the stanchion" wins a life preserver. Good luck.

After the jump, Harrington plays hide-and-go seek.

Winner, Cursor:
The crowd watches in awe as Spike Lee hangs from the rafters, demanding to see a basketball team.

Co-runner-up, Certified:
"Welp, those horrible stats on an equally horrible team just killed any hopes for a next big contract for me. Might as well suffocate myself now. One nostril at a time ..."

Co-runner-up, B.How:
Sigh. I should have been a ninja.

If you've followed the NBA blogosphere with any interest over the last three years, you know that newly-acquired Dallas Mavericks guard Caron Butler(notes) likes to chew on plastic straws.

Dan Steinberg of The Washington Post did a Pulitzer-worthy exposé on "The Straw Man" in 2007, citing Butler's favorite straws (McDonald's, Burger King), how many he goes through a game (believe it or not, 12!), and when and why it all started (he switched from toothpicks to straws back in '98). Fascinating read.

But, today, the chewing stops.

As first reported by DallasBasketball.com, and confirmed by ESPN Dallas, the NBA has ordered Butler to stop chewing straws on the court.

Pour out a little Mountain Dew, friends.

NBA executive vice president Stu Jackson phoned Butler on Tuesday and told him to leave his straws at home. Butler did not play against the Los Angeles Lakers due to a reaction to medication, so he was unavailable for comment.

But the Mavs confirmed that the league is serious about outlawing straw chewing.

"It's against the rules," Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said.

The NBA's official explanation: it's a "safety issue." League spokesman Tim Frank told Tom Ziller of FanHouse that Butler can chew all the straws he wants on the bench — just not any during game play.

This, of course, makes sense. I mean, chewing on plastic straws while running and jumping is definitely a choking hazard. I don't need kids who swallow LEGO blocks like grapes to know that much.

But the real question is why the ban now? Butler's been chewin' for years. To quote his teammate Brendan Haywood(notes), "If he ain't choked by now, he ain't gonna choke." The Baseline must be right — David Stern's only course of action to swing the balance of power back to his Lakers ratings darlings was to deprive Butler of his precious straws. Crafty move, Stern. Crafty move.

And hey, one more question: When's the league going to ban Cavaliers superstar LeBron James(notes) from chewing on his fingernails during games? That's dangerous and disgusting.

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• Jeter bites tongue over contract issue
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"Benwallnophobia" (from the Greek: bigben, "Ben Wallace" and phóbos, "fear") is defined as an irrational fear of shooting free-throws. This phobia is often triggered by the mere thought of shooting free-throws or, in some extreme cases, by a photo or video of someone shooting 'em.

Warriors' center Andris Biedrins(notes)? He has "benwallnophiba," according to Warriors coach Don Nelson. Well, that, and AB hides during pick-and-rolls, misses Stephen Jackson(notes) and has played like ass since signing a new, six-year contract to stay in The Bay.

"I've bent over backwards with [Biedrins] trying to be positive," Nelson said after Wednesday's practice. "Whatever he's going through, he's not the same player this year as the last couple — or the same player that got him the big contract. Whatever it is, he's got to get the passion back. I can't do that."

Tell us how you really feel, Don!

"[Biedrins] doesn't really have an inside game that you could go to. When I've tried to go to it to get his confidence up, he hasn't delivered. His shot's not there. There's a way to be involved in a screen and role, and there's a way to hide and not be involved. I think he chooses to hide at this point. We're trying to demand that he get the ball and do things with it and be aggressive."

Nelson suggests Biedrins is tentative because he doesn't want to get fouled and shoot free-throws. As we pointed out yesterday, he's on target to set the record for worst free-throw percentage in a season (minimum 20 shots), held by Boston's Garfield Smith in 1971-72 (19.4 percent).

In fact, things have gotten so bad, Nelson has even tried to convince Biedrins to shoot his free-throws underhanded — ala Rick Barry — because his "over-handed shot is basically broken."

He won't.

Monday to Friday, The Basketball Jones look at the big games and storylines from the night before with a mix of in-depth analysis and irreverent humor. As always, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it are appreciated.

On today's show, Skeets and Tas dissect the new-look Mavericks. What defensive combo seemed to frustrate Kobe? How will the Wizard additions help down the stretch? Does Dirk own a Roc-A-Fella Records chain? All that, plus a struggling Lakers' offense, Morey bargains and the arena wave — cool or not?

Check out some bonus TBJ footage from our All-Star Weekend interview with Kobe Bryant(notes)!

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