T-Mac playing in China?

But that doesn’t mean O'Neal has to keep bringing it up. Just sit back and relax, Shaq. You did yours, and we respect that. But nobody has to hate Howard to love you.

Tracy McGrady could be taking his talents to the Chinese Basketball Association.

When Howard was traded to the Lakers in August, O’Neal analyzed the situation this way: “You have to care to have a reaction. I’ve got businesses to run. I always tell people that in order to step in my shoes, you have big shoes to fill. For him, he’s going to have to at least win three to get people’s respect.”

Meyers Leonard, the 11th overall pick out of Illinois, had 10 points and five rebounds off the bench.

"Playing with Steve is just a walk in the park," he said. "The guy is just the best passer I've ever played with—that's for sure. He makes the game very, very easy.

When Dwight Howard and Kobe Bryant finally emerged from the Los Angeles Lakers' locker room late in the first quarter, they got a standing ovation just for walking to their seats.

"He blocked it like it was dropped from the building. I was looking for a cord," coach Lawrence Frank said.

“We don’t feel like we just want to be in the playoffs and win games,” Perkins explained. “We’re trying to raise a banner, or a few banners, here. We’re not just trying to get in the playoffs; we figure we can get in the playoffs. We proved we can play in the playoffs. Our goal is to try to win a championship, but we’re just going to take it one game at a time. We’ve got a whole lot of new guys and young guys, so we’ve got to make sure we bring them along and show them what we’re about around here, and make sure we hold ourselves accountable from day one.”

"Alvin has had that in his playbook for years," Suns assistant Igor Kokoskov said.

ut with versatile front-court players such as Scola, Beasley and second-year pro Markieff Morris, the Corner could be an effective option in Phoenix.

Bryant said plenty as he sat at his locker Wednesday before the Lakers' exhibition against the Portland Trail Blazers in Ontario. Although he nursed a strained right shoulder that has since healed, Bryant remained in a jovial mood. He joked that he's pestered new teammate Steve Nash for winning the 2005-06 MVP with Phoenix, which eliminated the Lakers in the first round of the playoffs.

Morris, who made 6 of 11 shots, would have been even more impressive had he successfully finished a couple of slick, lane-area spin moves.

McGrady’s accomplishments in the NBA include seven All-Star appearances, two scoring titles, 18,000 career points and seven All-NBA team selections.

Recovery from the procedure would depend on the extent of the damage in the knee. If nothing is found, a patient can return in a week. Generally, the procedure requires between four to six weeks of recovery.

Ever since these new-look Timberwolves showed up in Minneapolis, the talk has been about chemistry and relationships, the intangible things that are supposed to translate and show on the court.

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Another key aspect working is Dragic’s favor is exactly what Coach Gentry mentioned above: his relationship with Nash. For nearly three of four years that Dragic has been in the league, he was Nash’s backup at the point guard position. During his first stint in Phoenix, he did his best to soak up everything he could from the former back-to-back NBA MVP. Now, with the starting spot his to lose, Dragic returns hungrier than ever.

“It hasn’t been too bad, actually,” Beal said. “I still have a lot room for improvement. I still have to get better, bigger, and stronger. I use my legs more because it’s a further distance, so, just being conscious of where I am on the floor, and just work my way towards the three-point line, not just come out and start bombing threes.”

Both as a man and as a player, Nash’s contributions to the Phoenix Suns organization over the last eight seasons may never be duplicated.

“As far as the pace, I think we’re fine,” he continued. “We love to play fast, we love to get up and down. As long as we keep doing that, keep our endurance up, get guys in and out, and give guys breaks, and stuff like that, we’ll be fine.”

Curry left during the second quarter of the Warriors game against the Portland Trail Blazers when he rolled his ankle. He did not return to the game, but the team said the injury was just a sprain and Curry was not scheduled for an MRI. With Curry out, David Lee led the Warriors with 24 points as they improved to 5-1 with a 101-97 win against Portland.

The addition of Lillard has provided enthusiasm for the club’s fan base, but the arrival has also helped lead to point guard Nolan Smith’s preseason struggles. The Blazers have experimented using Smith at shooting guard this season as it attempts to get Lillard more minutes as the team’s lead point guard. The move likely has contributed to the early struggle in training camp for Smith, although the young guard doesn’t agree.

In recent years, of course, the game has changed. It’s now all about the versatile, quick players who can blow by opponents and fly down the lane for a dunk. There is more emphasis on three-point shooting and the mid-range game, with fewer and fewer coaches leaning on big men playing with their backs to the basket as a primary offensive set. Finesse seven-footers like Dirk Nowitzki and Andrea Bargnani are now more the norm, while the number of dominant low post centers in the modern NBA can almost be counted on two fingers: Dwight Howard and Andrew Bynum.

“I just try to go out there and have fun,” says Davis. “If guys are messing up, I’m going to say something to them because I expect the same back. If I mess up and am out of position, I want them to tell me because it’s going to make the team better. We can’t just go out there and let somebody mess up, we all got to be accountable, that’s what’s going to make us better.”

Green led the Celtics with 13.9 points in 29.3 minutes per night. He rebounded well (4.9 rebounds per game), played good defense (1.0 blocks per game and .5 steals per game) and kept his fouls in check (1.9 per game) while playing both small and power forward.

However, despite his failing to make the team, his first go-round with Houston got him familiar with the organization, which has made this second opportunity quite a bit easier.

It is going to be tough for Ross to crack Casey’s rotation early on and the rookie will probably have to prove his worth in practice and during those occasional blowout games when playing him will not affect the outcome. It is not a lack of talent that will be holding him back as nearly everyone acknowledges the kid’s potential, but Casey is in the business of winning games this season and Ross will have to earn his coach’s confidence in order to get meaningful minutes.

A solid deep threat in college, Ross has NBA three-point range and a smooth stroke with a high release. Casey had specifically requested that the Raptors add more shooters this summer. Unfortunately for Ross, Raptors president and general manager Bryan Colangelo honored Casey’s request in spades. The Raptors added several players who can knock down threes including Kyle Lowry, John Lucas III and Landry Fields

The wing who has caught everyone’s eye in Toronto this preseason is Anderson. Anderson has been solid at both ends of the court and on a team with playoff aspirations, there is no room to sacrifice victories in order to provide playing time to rookies.

It was a surprise when the Toronto Raptors took Terrence Ross eighth overall at the NBA Draft in June, but after hearing head coach Dwane Casey’s explanation, the pick made sense for Toronto. Casey had scouted Ross personally before last year’s lockout-shortened season got underway and the young wing had exceeded expectations during his sophomore season at Washington.

There are a flurry of questions in the minds of NBA fans in the wake of Saturday night’s blockbuster trade between the Houston Rockets and the Oklahoma City Thunder. Did the Thunder take a step back? Is Houston a playoff team now? Did the Rockets give up too much? Did Oklahoma City get the best deal possible?

Many NBA fans know to go at least one level deeper when looking at stats, taking into account a player’s PER, or Player Efficiency Rating. Even there, however, Harden ranks just 30th in the NBA, and there are a lot of players who ranked above him who are not close to being max contract players. Nope, we have to keep digging.

“He is tested. He knows who he is, which is comforting as a coach when a guy goes in and he knows what he is supposed to do and who he is and not going through the wars for the first time. Now we just have to get Terrence up to speed to perform like that each and every day and be consistent with it. And he will. Terrence is a talented, talented young man and his upside is off the charts. He just has to get up to speed on the NBA right now.”

When Howard was traded to the Lakers in August, O’Neal analyzed the situation this way: “You have to care to have a reaction. I’ve got businesses to run. I always tell people that in order to step in my shoes, you have big shoes to fill. For him, he’s going to have to at least win three to get people’s respect.”

The other part is you just can’t make a three and give up a three at the other end every possession. He is learning, believe me. This doesn’t mean Terrence Ross is not going to play for us or not a part of it. He is going to be big for us. He is our future, but right now he is just a typical rookie and you could stop every play for him [to teach]. He is learning.”

But that doesn’t mean O'Neal has to keep bringing it up. Just sit back and relax, Shaq. You did yours, and we respect that. But nobody has to hate Howard to love you.

"He blocked it like it was dropped from the building. I was looking for a cord," coach Lawrence Frank said.