Court Awareness: Thursday Review 2009-01-09 News New York Knicks

Players and coaches are much more short-term than their general managers and owners.

The former go game-to-game, rarely thinking beyond the next match, let alone the following season. The latter group painstakingly plans ahead, trying vainly to predict every pitfall while plotting the ever-elusive path to a championship.

Bleacher Report

Saturday's action

Utah's Okur burns former team
Bobcats take down Wizards
T-wolves rally for 5th straight
Thunder surprise Bulls in OT
Short-handed Rockets cruise
Balanced Blazers top Warriors

FOXSports.com analysis

Rosen: LeBron bests Celts' Big 3
Rosen: Hawks can't hang with Magic
Hill: The importance of home court
Galinsky: NBA Power Rankings

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On the Edge: Charles Barkley

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LeBron, Cavs crush Celtics
2008 year in the NBA

The Mavs aren't good enough to contend now, and they've got zero hope for the future. That's why, on Thursday night, it was preferable to be in the loser's shoes.

Other Notes:

If I'm Rick Carlisle, I'm starting Brandon Bass (12 points, 11 rebounds) instead of Erick Dampier. He's strong enough to bang, and quick enough to run. Start him and let the other teams try to run with a squad of Bass, Josh Howard, Kidd, Nowitzki and Jason Terry.

Sure the Knicks are planning to spend big bucks in 2010, but they have to keep somebody, right? My three keepers are Lee, Chandler and Duhon. Sorry, Nate Robinson shoots with too much gusto and not enough accuracy for me to keep him.

Eddy Curry stuck his nose out of D'Antoni's doghouse long enough to play three minutes. Two points and two rebounds for the former borderline All-Star.

Tim Duncan scores eight points and the Spurs win 106-84? That's a by-product of San Antonio's unique ability to get quality players for chump change every offseason.

Matt Bonner (11 points), Roger Mason (18 points), Michael Finley (15 points), and Kurt Thomas (nine points and nine rebounds) formed the most effective and least expensive supporting cast for one night.

It's hard being a Clipper fan (again). If L.A. had known Elton Brand was going to bail on them, they probably wouldn't have signed Baron Davis (injured) and just rebuilt around Al Thornton (21 points and five rebounds). Thornton is the only bright spot I see on that team, Eric Gordon included.

In off the court news, Trail Blazers president Larry Miller sent an e-mail to the other 29 NBA teams warning them not to sign Darius Miles "for the purpose of adversely impacting the Portland Trail Blazers' salary cap and tax positions."

If Miles plays another two games this season, that's $9 million in cap space out the window for Portland.

Miller went so far as to warn the other teams litigation could come into play if the Blazers feel a team's signing of Miles warrants such action.

Given a fan's desire for drama and intrigue, I'm dying to see if someone will actually sign Miles despite Miller's litigation threat.

Would such litigation actually conclude in time for cap space to be recovered? What would the punishment be? Who would risk the heat of Miller, the courts and the press? I love this game.

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