Bits n Pieces
At the beginning of the season Kobe Bryant was the only Laker on the injury list. Since then it’s been one player or another succumbing to injury or illness. The latest victim, reserve Nick Young, a patella injury will keep him sidelined for the next two weeks.

Several good collegiate teams have emerged this season. As for choosing an NCAA Champ I have no idea. Arizona looks good so does Wichita State they both could win. In addition there are sleepers all over the nation, Creighton, Michigan State, Syracuse and San Diego State to name just a few.

Clipper Blake Griffin’s game has risen to the level we hoped. He was a high fly dunk talent who seemed unable to score from 15-feet out. His game will continue to grow and he may have realized high fly dunks don’t win NBA Championships.

The NBA Championship will not be decided until June. In addition this is not to be considered a doom and gloom report regarding the Heat. This is the future and the possibility of LeBron leaving South Beach. Tidbits to consider, Wade is still Wade but injuries have curtailed his game considerably. Bosh has “talked” openly about leaving. IF Bosh leaves, IF injuries continue to affect Dwayne Wade‘s performance---well.

Free agents headed to Cleveland-----well?
I pointed out earlier for Cavs fans; “LeBron James ain’t walking through that door.” We know LeBron has a connection having grown up in nearby Akron. Despite the home town prospect give me one good reason for him to return? Got you didn’t I you cannot come up with a valid reason. A better question would any free agent be interested in signing with the Cavs. The team has become the laughing stock of the NBA; General Manager Chris Grant probably deserved to be fired. The 2012 NBA Draft and the Anthony Bennett pick also signing free agent Andrew Bynum are probably keys as to why he was fired.

Next to go should be Coach Mike Brown although he’s probably safe for now, he‘s operating with a 4-year contract. The owner may not want to pay two coaches one working for him and the other terminated. It’s really too bad faithful fans can’t fire owner Dan Gilbert. You remember him; he’s the guy that guaranteed the Cavs would win an NBA Championship before LeBron would. Dan is your NBA Trophy at the Cavs office or your home? This evening on ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption Tony Kornheiser remarked; “LeBron’s last year in Cleveland they won 61 games, in the 3 ½ years since he left they have won 61 games.”

Trading places
Movie buffs might remember the Eddie Murphy/Dan Ackroyd movie Trading Places. A recent ESPN.com story contained the same headline. The report discussed the possibility of teams trading for Rajon Rondo, Pau Gasol or Carmelo Anthony. The Lakers certainly have a poor record but they don’t need point guard Rondo. They have one year left in a hopefully healthy Steve Nash. If Nash cannot return to 70 or 80% ability veterans Steve Blake or Jordan Farmar wait.

A possible future replacement for all is 22-year old lottery pick Kendall Marshall; it’s my belief Marshall will be the starting point guard at some point. As for Anthony a move might prove interesting. Anthony and Kobe friends however Kobe says he’s not going to recruit Anthony. I wonder if the two could merge their games successfully. Finally we come to 33-year old Gasol; he’s a keeper for me provided the Lakers are healthy, younger and more talented. Certainly a tall order but they are partially on the way to a younger team.

A name change
The Pelicans home arena will soon become the Smoothie King Center. Naming rights for stadiums and arenas has now become the norm. At the same time a number of name choices are a little strange. At the time corporations first began naming rights a number were good fits (Target Center, Staples Center). As for others the corporate name was slightly unusual and maybe a little strange. Sleep Train Arena (NBA Kings) or KFC Yum Center (Louisville University). I had to search the web for Smoothie King; I had an idea of the product but no idea where to purchase the product. You already had the information I had to research didn’t you?