The Mavericks are said to be the latest team interested in acquiring Ron Artest, but so far, their offer to trade for the mercurial (I love that word) star is a little light. Dallas is said to be offering up Jerry Stackhouse (decent player, veteran grit, solid scorer) and Brandon Bass (young, inexpensive, and possibly a Jason Maxiell-light) for Artest, but the Kings are holding out for more: like Josh Howard, perhaps.

The Bee's Sam Amick doesn't see the Kings making the deal as is, and he also doesn't see the Mavericks going so far as to include Howard:

I can't even come close to seeing Kings basketball president Geoff Petrie doing this deal, not unless Josh Howard is involved. And from what I'm told, that's not going to happen. As the Mavs see it, the perceived risk of taking Artest is acceptable so long as the price of getting him is Bass and Stackhouse. Lose Howard to get Artest, though, and the gamble is too great.

That makes sense, because after all, you never know what you're going to get from Ron-Ron. But that was also largely the case with Josh Howard last season. J-Ho (really, kid needs a better nickname) was inconsistent all year, brought up his previously admitted marijuana use for absolutely no reason, and threw a birthday party during the playoffs that went specifically against the wishes of his head coach.

If I'm Dallas, I don't hesitate to trade Howard for Artest. I would not, however, include Brandon Bass in any deal. He just has too much upside being so young at the power forward spot -- a position where Dallas has been historically weak. Howard for Artest seems about right to me; a change of scenery might do both of them a lot of good.

I love this picture. Years from now, young NBA fans will look at it for the first time and think, "Wow, Kevin Garnett, what a stud." But those of us who watched the game will know better, and that's when we'll see those young bucks down and tell the story of The Big Denial and how Jason Maxiell is a bad, bad man.

After tying up the series with an impressive Game 4 win on Monday, the Pistons will now try to take control of the series in Boston. Of course, the Celtics have different plans: Paul Pierce called tonight's game a "must-win," and Kendrick Perkins has essentially guaranteed a win. Believe it: both teams want this win, especially when you consider that the winner of Game 5 goes on to win the series 83% of the time when teams are tied at 2-2 apiece. The ball tips at 8:30pm -- join me here for the live-blog.

Prior to Game 4, Tayshaun Prince was the Piston best known for pulling off dumbfounding, from-behind blocks in playoff games. But after Jason Maxiell's brutal volleyball spike of a Kevin Garnett breakaway dunk attempt (key word: "attempt") on Monday night, the title might just be up for grabs. Peep this insane footy:



Even by Maxiell's lofty standards, this clip was downright nasty. I mean, if Baby Eater was off by half an inch, it might've been KG's skull ricocheting off the backboard. Think that point will be lost on the Celtics the next time they're on the fastbreak and Maxiell's on the floor? I sure don't.

Advantage: Detroit.

In the latest of our continuing series, we look at Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals, as the Pistons try to even the score against Boston.

1. Comparing leashes. Flip Saunders told reporters Chauncey Billups will be on a shorter leash, which means Rodney Stuckey should see extra playing time. But Stuckey's a rookie, and while he's looked great so far, could a few youthful mistakes ping pong Saunders back to his hobbled vet? Meanwhile, Sam Cassell finally got some minutes (8) but spent them looking pissed off and trigger-happy (5 FGAs, 1 turnover). Paul Pierce seemingly took issue, and you wonder if Doc Rivers will tonight, either by benching the vet or keeping his minutes superlow. What a league, when two 30somethings will be on tight leashes in favor of a rookie and sophomore (Rajon Rondo).

2. Die by the three. Detroit made 1-of-13 threes on Saturday, pitiful by any standard, but especially for a team which shot a swell 37% on 16 attempts for the season. Rasheed Wallace and Rip Hamilton need to make their threes count, in particular, else Boston's Pierce-Allen-House barrage provide a decent cushion.

3. Shattered glass. Both teams have been traditionally able on the defensive glass, but neither team showed it on Saturday. Boston came away with 14 offensive rebounds in 32 opportunities, and Detroit had 10 in 40 chances. Antonio McDyess' got to seal off and handle his business, and there's no reason for Jason Maxiell to only record one rebound in 20 minutes when so many misfires were available.

Two more, after the jump.

In the latest of our continuing series, we look at Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals, as the Celtics visit Detroit.

1. But will it last? Game 2 in Boston saw an offensive explosion, as each team made at least 48% of its shots and limited their turnovers to leave us with a fairly beautiful exhibition. But Boston and Detroit represent two of the top four defenses in the league (based on the regular season). Both squads were in the top 10 in team offense this season, but surely their defenses set them apart. It's hard to imagine Boston giving up 100 again, as it's also difficult to envision Boston shooting 48% and having but 12 turnovers against Detroit one more time. 86-82 slobberknocker, anyone?

2. Rotational access. Boston's bench performed poorly Thursday -- just 8 points in the ledger on 3-of-11 shooting. That's a surprise, because the bench was really pretty good from November through April, and has even shone at times in these playoffs. But Thursday's loss didn't really feature the bench options you'd think Doc Rivers would promote, save James Posey. Sam Cassell hasn't played in four consecutive games, and Leon Powe (the best bench big, and perhaps second behind KG on the roster in terms of post play) didn't get three minutes. What is there to lose, really?

Three more, after the jump.

In another of our continuing series, five things to keep an eye out for tonight in the Pistons-Magic Eastern Conference Semifinals Game 3 this evening.

1. Hemming And Hawing About A Hammy: Will he play? Won't he? Is he okay? Is it fine? Lord, you tweak one hamstring and the whole world goes nuts. Such is the life of Chauncey Billups. Billups is doubtful for tomorrow's game, but has been improving steadily since the injury he sustained in Game 3. Chauncey is now officially the hinge on which this series rests. Without him on the floor, the Magic can create turnovers, open shots, spread the floor, and play their game. With him in, it's like the teacher's back in class. No more spitwads from Lewis, and Mr. Howard! Take that ridiculous cape off!

2. Hey, Where Did That $118 Million Guy Come From?: Rashard Lewis was not the primary focus for the Pistons coming into this series, but maybe he should have been. Lewis is hitting his groove in this series, averaging 24 points a game, including a career playoff high 33 points in Game 3. He's working it from the outside, driving the lane, getting rebounds, the whole nine yards. The Pistons probably assumed that they can accept Lewis' points as long as Turkoglu and Howard are kept down. But at some point, the Pistons need to get a clamp on him before he really gets going.

In another of our continuing series, five things to keep an eye out for tonight in the Pistons-Magic Eastern Conference Semifinals Game 3 this evening.

1. Where Time Stands Still: Maybe tonight we'll actually play the game for the correct amount of time, huh? I know, I know, much ado about nothing. But the impact on this game could be considerable if the Magic come out fighting mad. The Magic shot the lights out in the third quarter of Game 2 before falling back off into the void in the fourth, and still managed to keep the game close to the very end where they lost because the Pistons had a three point lead (kind-of) and the refs called a rather questionable foul on Keyon Dooling. This isn't to say the Pistons wouldn't have won anyway, I have every confidence they would have. But it doesn't change the fact that if you're on the Magic, you have to have at least a glimmer of confidence heading back to the friendly confines of the Magic Kingdom. If the Magic can use Game 3 as their proverbial rallying point, it might give them the boost they need to get past Detroit's defense which has been, well ...

2. Stingy As All Get Out: No, the Pistons aren't leading the playoff teams in opponents' field goal percentage. Philadelphia's unheralded and momentary uprising cut that thing off at the knees before the playoffs had even barely gotten started. But they're still holding teams to 41.9% shooting and only 31 makes a game. In news that will shock and amaze you, the problem with Detroit is not stopping their streaky, inconsistent offense. It's getting past the gauntlet. The Magic did a better job in Game 2 of getting out in transition like I called for, but they would be better served by working to create good quality shots instead of blindly hoping for threes to fall like manna from the heavens. Let me put it this way. Whatever Detroit decides to give you? It's probably poisoned.

Notes from a trip to the NBA Playoffs.

The Pistons have won five straight games in the playoffs since Jason Maxiell moved into the starting lineup. Maxiell can't take all of the credit, but as Chauncey Billups described after Monday's win over the Magic, he makes an impact every time he steps onto the court.

"He's so athletic and he just has so much energy out there, he makes plays on both ends," said Billups. "He's blocking shots, [and] if he's not blocking them, he's changing shots. On the other end, he's getting offensive rebounds. ... He's causing them a lot of problems because I'm sure going into this series they knew about Max, of course, but they didn't expect him to have this kind of impact. So he's been a pleasant surprise for us."

I sat down with Maxiell for a few minutes after Monday's game and tried to get him to talk a little about himself. That's easier said than done; for a guy who's downright ferocious on the court, he's one of the most modest and reserved players in the locker room.

Matt Watson: You're doing a lot of what you've doing the entire year, but now you're doing it in front of a national audience. Do you think this is kind of like a little bit of a coming out party?

Jason Maxiell: I wouldn't say nothing like that. I mean, my job tonight and I guess for the series is to beat up on Howard a little bit, get him off the block and just show my ability to guard someone who's bigger than me.

Notes from a trip to the NBA Playoffs.

Dwight Howard may be the most dominant big man in the game, but the Pistons had a plan to contain him last night, holding him to just 12 points and eight boards as Detroit routed the Magic 91-72. Flip Saunders talked about Detroit's strategy after the game. "You're not going to stop him. Tonight's game is not going to happen very often," said Saunders. "But the big thing is we try to send a lot of bodies at him. And we wanted to keep a fresh body on him all the time."

Jason Maxiell started out on Howard, but Rasheed Wallace, Antonio McDyess and Theo Ratliff all took regular shifts banging with him. The steady stream of physical play took its toll on the Magic, who responded late in the game with chippy play on both ends of the court. That's not usually Orlando's style, but it's something Detroit relished. "Well, you can't rough up the game with us," said Rip Hamilton. "We've been doing this for years, and that's the way we want to play. So they tried, but you know, we enjoy it, we like it."

Things almost boiled over in the fourth when Rashard Lewis wrapped up Theo Ratliff under Detroit's basket. Ratliff shook off the contact, but Lewis drew a technical, as well as an earful from Maxiell. "I wanted to make sure my teammate's okay," he said after the game. "We're all family here, so I let it be known [if they] try to get physical, it's not going to be that easy for them and we're going to fire it back at them."

When asked if the rough play affected the Pistons, Maxiell laughed. "Oh no, not at all," he said. "We're a rough team ourselves. We're going to do the roughing."