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Vinsanity Returns Again in Orlando

By Tim Povtak 2/09/2010 2:15 AM ET

Vince CarterORLANDO -- This looked like an old Vince Carter highlight tape -- just without the dunks.

Carter, whose first season with his hometown team has been marked mostly by disappointment, finally delivered the game he had promised, exploding for a season-high 48 points while carrying the Magic to a 123-117, come-from-behind victory against New Orleans.

"That was vintage Vince Carter,'' gushed Magic coach Stan Van Gundy. "He was incredible, unbelievable tonight. Most of his shots didn't even hit the rim.''

For Carter, it was his highest-scoring game since getting a career-high 51 points for the New Jersey Nets against Miami early in the 2005-06 season.

Carter, 33, was averaging just 15.8 points going into Monday night, heading for his first sub-20-point average since his rookie season.

His performance Monday, coupled with considerable improvement from January to February, has re-sparked talk that the Magic (35-17) indeed can defend their Eastern Conference title against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

"With Vince playing like this,'' said point guard Jameer Nelson, "you just keep getting him the ball.''
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Collison Shines Quickly In Place of Paul

By Tim Povtak 2/08/2010 3:30 PM ET

Darren CollisonDarren Collison didn't improve his NBA Draft position by staying all four years at UCLA, but it certainly has saved the New Orleans Hornets this season, keeping their playoff hopes afloat.

This is no ordinary late-first-round pick.

Collison, chosen 21st overall in the 2009 Draft, has played surprisingly well for an unheralded rookie after replacing All-Star point guard Chris Paul, who is out another four weeks following knee surgery.

After Paul limped off the court Jan. 29 against Chicago, Collison replaced him with a 17-point, 18-assist performance in an overtime victory against Memphis. He followed with 16 points and 14 assists against Phoenix, becoming just the third NBA rookie in the last 20 years to have 14-plus assists in back-to-back games.

"He looks like a guy who has the confidence, and a strong understanding on how to play. He knows what his team needs from that position,'' said New Orleans coach Jeff Bower before playing the Orlando Magic Monday night. "He's a product of his experiences. He has the mentality, the maturity we needed.''

Collison is coming off a game-high 24 points -- including the game-clincher with 10 seconds remaining -- in a victory Saturday in Charlotte.
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This Isn't What Magic's Bass Expected

By Tim Povtak 2/04/2010 7:10 PM ET

Brandon BassORLANDO -- When he signed as a free agent this summer, power forward Brandon Bass thought he would become the final -- and very integral -- piece to help the Orlando Magic win a championship.

He has turned into the missing piece, all right. As in, missing from the lineup. The defending Eastern Conference champions have been moving forward mostly without him.

"I felt in my heart this was the right place for me,'' Bass said Thursday after practice. "When I signed, it just felt right – but it's not going right, (right) now. I'm not playing, and that's bad.''

Bass signed a four-year, $16 million contract this summer, rejecting a more lucrative offer to stay in Dallas, and other opportunities in New Orleans, Charlotte and Portland.

But instead of contributing, he mostly has watched others, playing in only 28 of the 49 games, averaging just 13.3 minutes, 5.9 rebounds and 2.4 rebounds in a much smaller role than he anticipated.

The Magic wanted him for front-court depth, giving them a physical presence to help center Dwight Howard, an option beyond a lineup with mostly 3-point shooters.

It just hasn't happened.
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Karl Says Billups Should Be an All-Star

By Chris Tomasson 2/02/2010 3:45 AM ET

Chauncey BillupsDENVER -- Perhaps Denver Nuggets coach George Karl will recommend to the NBA office some game film be watched.

No, not because he's complaining about officiating. But to tout Denver point guard Chauncey Billups to be a likely needed injury replacement for New Orleans guard Chris Paul for the Feb. 14 All-Star Game in Dallas.

"I think Sunday afternoon (at San Antonio) was probably good enough (for Billups to make it),'' Karl said when asked if needs to do any more campaigning to get Billups on the West squad after he was snubbed last week by the coaches in voting for reserves. "I'm sure there are some deserving people, but I'd like to see us have another representative (after starting forward Carmelo Anthony).''

NBA commissioner David Stern would name a replacement for Paul, all but certain to miss the All-Star Game due to a knee injury. A league official said Monday the NBA must hold off for the Hornets to confirm that Paul is officially out of the game.
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Time Running Out on Stojakovic

By Chris Tomasson 2/01/2010 10:48 AM ET

It will be news in Serbia when Peja Stojakovic later this season sets the NBA's all-time Serbian scoring record.

It will be bigger news in his homeland when Stojakovic decides after next season what he does with his future.

Retire? Keep playing in the NBA? Head back to Europe for his final years?

In an interview with FanHouse, the New Orleans forward with one year left on his contract, didn't rule any out as options. Stojakovic, who hasn't been the same player since undergoing back surgery in 2006, said it's too early to contemplate his future, but, when he leaves the game, wants it to be on his own terms.

"I am going to be 34 after this contract,'' said Stojakovic, 32, who has 13,108 career NBA points, putting him in line in March to break the Serbian NBA record of 13,398 set by Vlade Divac, his former Sacramento teammate. "I want to make sure I play out (the current contract) on my own terms as far as being healthy and not being forced to stop playing because of injury.

"I love to play. I still enjoy playing. But also sometimes it's (tough) to be out there if you're in pain and just to take the pain medicine to get on the court.''
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Will Chauncey Billups Replace Chris Paul in the All-Star Game?

By Matt Moore 1/31/2010 11:39 PM ET

With Chris Paul out for 1-2 months following what will be arthroscopic surgery on his knee to repair a torn meniscus, he'll of course also be missing the All-Star Game in Dallas, Texas. And while basketball fans across the globe are bummed that such a terrific talent will be missing time from dishing dimes in the regular season as well as in the House That Jerry Built, the question naturally must follow:

Who will replace CP3 in the All-Star Game next month?
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Report: Chris Paul Out 1-2 Months After Knee Surgery

By Matt Moore 1/31/2010 10:32 PM ET

Every year we are robbed of stars, phenomenal players who fall to injuries; the fates denying us their talents as randomly as anything in this bizarre world.

A few days ago, we were robbed of Chris Paul. And it turns out we've been robbed of him for a good while longer. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports is reporting that Paul will miss 1-2 months after planned surgery on his left knee to repair a torn meniscus. The injury is not believed to be season ending, and because he is not Kevin Garnett Tracy McGrady Andrew Bynum, we might be able to trust that information.

For the Hornets, a rough season that had recently started to look up just took a drastic turn for the toilet. Join me as we examine the flush.
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Hornets Trade Devin Brown to Bulls for Aaron Gray With Little Tax Benefit

By Tom Ziller 1/26/2010 7:47 AM ET

Earlier this winter, the Hornets tried to send Devin Brown to Minnesota as part of Operation Avoid Tax. The team entered the season a good bit over the luxury tax threshold, and a bad start on the court left the franchise looking panicky. Brown was so close to heading to Minnesota that the Wolves even posted the trade -- for Jason Hart, whose deal was unguaranteed until Jan. 10 -- on the team website. It fell through when Brown refused to waive his trade kicker, worth about $100,000. (The nerve!)

So Plan B, or C, as it were: the Hornets managed to trade Hilton Armstrong for a phantom draft pick, getting the team within $400,000 of the tax line. At that point, the Hornets could get away with pawning off Sean Marks or Ike Diogu to someone under the tax to slip under the threshold themselves, earning the all-important pay-out given to non-tax teams, and expected to be at least $4 million this season.
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Martin, Karl Moved by Events in Haiti

By Chris Tomasson 1/24/2010 10:00 AM ET

DENVER -- You probably think Kenyon Martin would run over an old lady in a crosswalk and then claim it was a blocking foul on her.

OK, so maybe Martin only would do that if the old lady was in the paint in front of the basket.

Really, though, Martin, the tough guy for the Denver Nuggets who is most known by some for picking up flagrant fouls and technicals, is different than you might think.

Off the court, he's a compassionate guy. Honest.

He's got the Kenyon Martin Foundation, a charitable organization that helps underprivileged youth and single mothers. And before last Thursday's game against the Los Angeles Clippers, he vowed to donate $1,500 for each rebound he grabbed to earthquake-ravaged Haiti.
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Hornets Inch Closer to Tax Line By Giving Up On Hilton Armstrong

By Tom Ziller 1/11/2010 2:57 PM ET

In retrospect, Hilton Armstrong probably didn't belong in the lottery, even in the weird draft of 2006. A classic Big Man Rising chosen 12th by the Hornets, Armstrong never became even a dependable back-up center in New Orleans, let alone a starting level player. And finally, today, the Hornets officially gave up on Armstrong by sending him to Sacramento for a condition 2016 second-round pick.

Of course, New Orleans is getting a real asset beyond that invisible 2016 pick: less distance to the horrifying luxury tax threshold. With the move, the Hornets lose Armstrong's $2.8 million salary off the books (the only place it really matters), bringing the team's player payroll to $70.4 million -- only $500,000 away from the threshold. Because for every dollar over the threshold a team sits at season's end it must pay an extra dollar to be distributed among teams under the threshold, Monday's trade saved New Orleans a definite $2.8 million in tax.
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