Court Awareness: Thursday Review 2009-02-06 News Indiana Pacers

It would be interesting to know the inner reactions by Sixers' brass and players when they were informed this week that Elton Brand would be out for the rest of the season.

Team president Ed Stefanski could have felt a sharp pain in his backside around the area where his wallet resides; Brand played only 29 games in year one of his five-year, $80 million deal. There's no telling how effective Brand will be when he comes back. That's an unknown with a huge price tag attached.

Bleacher Report

Saturday's action

Clippers rock Hawks
Big 4th leads Sixers over Heat
Nets thump Nuggets
Mayo, Grizz top Raptors
Mavs edge Bulls in OT
Rockets handle Timberwolves
Pistons outlast Bucks

FOXSports.com analysis

Hench: NBA back to its Glory Days
Goodman: Lakers erase Boston demons
Rosen: Answering your NBA questions
Galinsky: NBA Power Rankings

Video

LeBron talks about his Garden party
Hill: What Kobe must do now
NBA stars on Black History Month

Photos

Celtics, Lakers battle in Boston
Eastern Conference All-Stars
Western Conference All-Stars

In the meantime, Philadelphia will look to run in an effort to catch up to their own lofty expectations.

Other Notes

Indiana All-Star forward Danny Granger shot 5-of-8 on two-pointers and only 1-of-7 on threes. That's not encouraging for an invitee of the 3-Point Shootout on All-Star Weekend.

The Sixers' starting lineup all had plus-minus ratios of +14 or better. The bench players posted -12 or worse.

The reason the Lakers vs. Celtics game was so close? The Boston bench showed up. Well, Leon Powe and Eddie House showed up, but that's enough when the two of them combine for 26 of the bench's 30 points on 11-of-17 shooting. If Glen Davis or Tony Allen (2-of-11 combined for four points) have better showings for Boston, it's a different ball game.

Did Laker legend and league logo Jerry West watch the game? Did his chest swell with pride every time Pau Gasol scored or rebounded his way to a 24-point, 14-rebound night? Did he say to his friends, "Yeah, I'm the reason the Lakers are whoopin' on Boston. I gave them Pau and now they're knocking on the champs' door."

Where was Kevin Garnett during the most important game of the regular season? He took only 12 shots and two free throws on his way to 16 points. Throw in the four turnovers and six fouls, and it's safe to say he had a sub-par showing. Does he deserve the benefit of the doubt after playing fresh off getting over the flu?

Speaking of no-shows, Dirk Nowitzki was AWOL in the Mavs' 115-87 loss to the Jazz Thursday night. Fourteen points on 6-20 shooting will NOT get it done against a Utah team fighting for their playoff lives.

While there's concern whether Philadelphia can handle the loss of their All-Star forward, there shouldn't be any of the same in Utah. Paul Millsap (14 points, 10 rebounds) is the dream-case scenario for the Jazz in the wake of another injury-racked season for Carlos Boozer. If I'm running things in Salt Lake, I'm trading Boozer to a contender now so I can get something back for him before he hits free agency this summer.

For more from this Bleacher Report writer, click here.