ROUNDBALL/ ALEXIS AJINCA ANNONUCES HE'S TAKING HIS TALENTS TO TDOT

At some point this weekend, the Dallas Mavericks are going to acquire Peja Stojakovic. Time will tell how well this will work out for the Mavericks. Personally, I thought they could have done better with Gerald Wallace or Tayshaun Prince. Maybe those players weren't as readily available as reports would lead you to believe. Plus they are getting Stojakovic on the cheap if I am not mistaken. We'll see how those knees hold up in the playoffs.

It was a slow night for NBA games last night.

The Charlotte Bobcats used a career night from DJ Augustin to help them narrowly defeat the Philadelphia 76ers. This was a hard fought battle from start to finish between two Eastern Conference teams that will likely be fighting for a couple final playoff seeds in a couple months. The 76ers were able to close the deficit late, but Gerald Henderson helped seal this victory with a few clutch shots. They might need to turn to him more now, with the team finding out yesterday that forward Tyrus Thomas will miss extended time with a torn meniscus. Nazr Mohammed and Kwame Brown (!) may or may not see some extended minutes in the months Thomas is to miss as well. If someone would have told me I would be pushing thirty and those two would still be getting burn in the league...



Derrick Rose carried the Bulls to victory once again last night, this time against the hot and cold Dallas Mavericks.Someone had to win this game, I guess. It wasn't pretty though. Both teams shot around 36% for the game. Derrick Rose scored 26 and the Mavericks had Dirk with 19 (6-16 shooting) and three with 12 each. Most of the players left their shots back at the hotel apparently. I would wager a guess that Rose has put himself at the head of the pack for MVP consideration currently. The Bulls will need to rely on him pretty heavily while Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah get healthy. I just hope he has enough in him for the playoffs, too. The Eastern Conference is going to be looking pretty loaded come playoff time.

Blake Griffin got his double double streak going again. This time, in a losing effort to the Blazers. All of the highlights on Sportscenter and playing in the same building as the Lake show has only helped build Griffin's fanfare. Quietly however, the Portland Trail Blazers have been holding down the eight playoff spot in the west. They have done this with a starting five that most recently has been Andre Miller, Wes Matthews, Nicolas Batum, Dante Cunningham, and Lamarcus Aldridge. No offense to Matthews, Batum, and Cunningham, but I don't think most people would be expecting them to be starting on a playoff team. Obviously, Lamarcus Aldridge's transformation from rotational player to star has helped keep this team in the hunt. You have to wonder if the Blazers can maintain this pace for an entire season, with all of their injuries piling up. All of these extra minutes they are shelling out will lead to fatigue which could in turn lead to more injuries.

While the Carmelo Anthony saga continued in New York, Chicago, Denver, Houston, and several cities, the Nets got back to business yesterday. Now that the TMAC and Yao era is over in Houston, I am hoping for Carmelo Anthony to come to town asap!