SL: Stern: 'Bulls are back'; Deron's doubles; Rondo's a pest

Each weekday morning, BDL serves up a handful of NBA-related stories to digest with your leftover White Castle.

Chris De Luca, Chicago Sun-Times: "As commissioner David Stern was discussing the rosy outlook for the NBA, he ticked off a series of examples that included one startling proclamation. 'The Bulls are back,' Stern said during a wide-ranging discussion Thursday with a small group of sports editors. They are? 'It is true that the Bulls have done a terrific job -- probably the best ... in terms of their attendance is wonderfully out of sync with their record,' Stern said. 'They have marketed to their fans and they have persuaded their fans because, it's true, they are in this for the long run and they are building a roster of young players that are going to be there as the team finds the means to improve. We got one glimpse the other night. As impolitic as Joakim [Noah] may be, he's alive and he's a hell of a player. And Derrick Rose(notes) isn't so bad himself.' Still, hearing 'the Bulls are back' was worth a second take. 'I was only saying it,' Stern said, breaking into a laugh, 'only on the last day of the season. But they are playing exciting basketball. Actually, it is true, when the Bulls are in the playoffs, that sort of Midwestern swath -- in New York, they think it's on the West Coast, but we sophisticated league officials know it's Midwestern -- there is a lot of interest generated in that area. And it's always good ratings. Actually, people are still talking about last year's Boston-Chicago playoff series. It really was one for the ages.'"

Ross Siler, Salt Lake Tribune: "It's nothing Deron Williams(notes) hasn't seen before and something he fully expects to see again. After totaling 33 points and 14 assists in Game 2, Williams is prepared for the Nuggets to start trapping him with a second defender to force him to give up the ball. 'Let them trap me,' Williams said. 'That means they're taking one of their guys off of one of our guys, so we have an advantage. Most of the time, I'm going to find the open man, so that's great.' With Denver interim coach Adrian Dantley stressing the need to better control him, Williams said the Nuggets have trapped more 'every quarter, every game, so it's probably safe to say they're going to want to try to get the ball out of my hands.'"

Denver Post: "On numerous occasions this season, the Nuggets, either against a supposedly inferior opponent or when the stakes were high, have failed to play well. Interim coach Adrian Dantley said Thursday that won't be the case tonight in Utah for Game 3 of the playoff series against the Jazz. Dantley promised his players would come out focused: 'It's 1-1 - you might relax some if it's 1-0, but you want to have that energy when the series is 1-1. Both teams will. It's a matter of who has the most will.' Dantley said he didn't think Denver relaxed in Game 2, at the Pepsi Center, which Utah won 114-111. Dantley said the Nuggets could have won with better execution on a couple of possessions late in the game. Utah moved out to a 14-point lead in the third quarter, which Denver overcame before Utah regained the lead late and held on. 'If we come out and play with some energy, play hard and pass the ball around, I know we'll be all right,' Dantley said."

Joe Freeman, The Oregonian: "There's been an unexpected development three games into the Trail Blazers' best-of-seven playoff series against the Phoenix Suns. The run-and-gun, high-octane Phoenix offense has taken a back seat to -- gasp -- its defense. 'I thought last game and tonight, we won with our defense,' Suns forward Grant Hill(notes) said following the Suns' 108-89 victory Thursday night at the Rose Garden. 'People don't associate the Suns and defense in the same sentence, but we really have improved. And I think that's really been one of the reasons why we played so well right around the All-Star break.' The Suns won 14 of their final 16 regular season games and finished 23-6 after the All-Star break. And a significant amount of the credit goes to the defense -- even if it went largely unnoticed. After the All-Star Game, the Suns held teams below 100 points in 10 games, and below 90 in five. During the most important stretch of the season, they held opponents to 43.9 percent shooting. And nine times, opponents failed to shoot better than 40 percent."

Jeff McDonald, San Antonio Express-News: "The American Airlines Center crowd was howling, the P.A. system pumping. Having abandoned his seat courtside, Dallas owner Mark Cuban was on his feet, lobbing another verbal anti-Valentine in the direction of the team he loves to loathe. A 20-point lead had been reduced to five in the fourth quarter Wednesday, the Mavericks were closing fast, and if the Spurs' season wasn't in dire jeopardy at that moment, it certainly felt like it. Staring at the possibility of blowing a game they could not afford to blow, the Spurs turned to their annual fall-back option. They pitched the ball to a man who has stood stoical at the eye of such storms for 12-plus seasons, and begged for rescue. For about the 1,427th time, Tim Duncan(notes) delivered. He scored four consecutive baskets in five trips to put the Spurs back atop the Mavericks by 13, on their way to a 102-88 series-evening victory that lent extra intrigue to Game 3 tonight at the AT&T Center. 'He's one of the greatest players who ever lived,' Spurs forward Richard Jefferson(notes) said. 'If he's out there on one leg in a wheelchair, we're going to try to get him the ball.'"

AP: "Portland forward Nicolas Batum(notes) re-injured his right shoulder late in the first half of the Trail Blazers' playoff game against the Phoenix Suns on Thursday night. Batum originally hurt his shoulder in Portland's 119-90 loss Tuesday night in Game 2 of the series. He was questionable going into Game 3, but started. He appeared to hurt his shoulder when he was fouled by Jason Richardson(notes). The team said Batum would not return. The injury was of concern because Batum, the team's primary perimeter defender, had surgery on the shoulder just before the opener and missed the first 45 games of the season."

Dan Duggan, Boston Herald: "It was a seemingly minor decision that has paid major dividends. Feeling a little extra energy in Tuesday's Game 2, Rajon Rondo(notes) defended Miami's point guards full court. The added pressure completely disrupted the Heat offense. Rather than getting into their offense and running through multiple options, the Heat were lucky just to get the ball over half court before an eight-second violation. Miami shot just 38.2 percent as the Celtics cruised to a 106-77 win. 'When he did that, the game changed,' Kendrick Perkins(notes) [stats] said. 'I thought the (Miami) coaches made an adjustment and they had to take both of the point guards out of the game. They couldn't bring the ball up, taking time off of the shot clock. That's key when we do that.' With the C's holding a 49-33 lead at the half, Rondo turned up his defensive intensity in the third quarter. He began by pressuring Carlos Arroyo(notes) and then harassed backup Mario Chalmers(notes). 'I just remember (Tuesday) at halftime, guys were like, they smell blood,' Perkins said. 'When they came out, you could tell. When Rondo picked up full court and then (Paul Pierce(notes)) ran up to shadow, guys were just focused.'"

Charles F. Gardner, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: "[Brandon] Jennings, 20, has achieved many of his goals during his first pro season, primarily helping the Bucks reach the playoffs. He also played in all 82 regular-season games and was among the rookie leaders in most statistical categories. He made a sensational playoff debut with 34 points in Game 1 in Atlanta but was guarded by the Hawks' 6-foot-7 Joe Johnson(notes) in Game 2 and finished with nine points on 3-of-15 shooting. 'I'm going to try not to get my shots blocked as many times as I did (in the first two games),' Jennings said. 'I'll try to stop and pop more, try to kick it. I'll just play within the offense and see what happens there.' But he can check off another goal if the Bucks post a playoff victory. 'First is to get a win, then try to get another one, then try to steal the series,' Jennings said."

Rick Bonnell, Charlotte Observer: "For the first two games of this Charlotte-Orlando NBA playoff series, Raymond Felton(notes) has been outscored and outplayed by the Magic's Jameer Nelson(notes). There are many reasons the Bobcats are down 0-2 in this best-of-7 series entering Saturday afternoon's sold-out game in Charlotte, but Felton is one of the biggest. He will tell you that, too. 'As a point guard, I put that blame on me,' Felton said after Charlotte got manhandled for the second straight game in Orlando, 92-77, on Wednesday. 'Some people would say it's not your fault. But being a point guard, being a leader, you've got to blame someone. So put it all on me. I don't care.'"

Jonathan Feigen, Houston Chronicle: "There was talk of All-Star teams and playoff runs, of different varieties of greatness. Rockets television announcer Bill Worrell even said Aaron Brooks(notes), who on Thursday was named the winner of the NBA Most Improved Player Award, could be 'as great' as Worrell's longtime on-air partner, Hall of Famer Calvin Murphy. Brooks, however, set his sights on an unprecedented achievement perhaps even more difficult. The 25th winner of the award said he would aim to win it again. 'I still have a lot of improvement (to do),' Brooks said. 'With that said, hopefully I can win this award next year. I know (it would) be the first time that happened, but that would be nice.'"