Each weekday morning, BDL serves up a handful of NBA-related stories to digest with your baked macaroni and cheese.

Scott Cacciola, Memphis Commercial Appeal: "Rookie center Hasheem Thabeet(notes) suffered a ridgeline fracture in his mandible — a bone in his lower jaw — when he appeared to collide with Zach Randolph's(notes) head going for a rebound late in the first quarter. Play was stopped with 57.4 seconds remaining as Thabeet rolled around near the basket in obvious pain. He will not make the trip to Houston for the team's game against the Rockets tonight, but his status will be day-to-day after that."

Tim Reynolds, AP: "Rest a bit easier, Miami fans. Heat owner Micky Arison says he has 'every indication' Dwyane Wade(notes) will be starring in South Florida for many years to come. While acknowledging Tuesday he was disappointed the Heat couldn't agree to a contract extension this past offseason with their franchise player, Arison quickly added he believes there are signs Wade won't be leaving when he gets the chance next summer. 'I have every indication from Dwyane this is where he wants to be,' Arison said. 'He loves Miami. He'd like to spend his whole career [here]. But the reality is, I don't have a signature on a contract. Obviously, we talked about an extension this summer. I was disappointed that we couldn't come to an agreement, but that was Dwyane's right. He's worked hard to have his own flexibility. [...] And as you know, we can pay him more money than anybody. So financially, it's not going to be an issue.'"

Alan Hahn, Newsday: "I've gotten enough indications from sources that the Knicks would still have zero interest in [Allen] Iverson, no matter how desperate things get with the team in it's current state. They had two chances to acquire Iverson over the past year, from when Denver was looking to deal him last season and then when he was a free agent over the summer. Both times, I'm told, the Knicks declined. [Donnie] Walsh before tonight's game against the Jazz included the phrase 'Depends who it is' within his reply to a question I asked about if he would look into making trades to salvage the season if the team's poor start continued. He did, however, confirm that he would look into trades, as long as it did not negatively impact the 2010 plan. 'I'm not going to throw away our ability to get better in the future,' he said."

Britt Robson, SI: "... the biggest difference so far this season is Dallas' decision to make the kind of defensive commitment that gets teams past the first round of the playoffs — and, unlike the productive but turbulent tenure of former coach Avery Johnson, the players seem enthusiastic about embracing the defensive-oriented approach of Rick Carlisle. It's very early yet, but the Mavs are serving notice that even if Gregg Popovich repeats his typical pattern and has the Spurs in peak form by January or February, the Southwest Division will be a toss-up in Texas (with Rick Adelman's overachieving Rockets trying to make it a three-way intrastate race). [Jason] Terry traces the team's new attitude to the start of the preseason, when strength and conditioning coach Robert Hackett began doling out 50- and 100-yard increments of 'the lurch walk' and the 'defensive slide,' which requires that the trunk stays low so the legs and torso are able to sustain constant pivots in any direction. 'It's helped all of us to move our feet quicker and stay down,' Terry said. 'As a shooter, I practice repetition, and this is the same thing; it gives us defensive muscle memory. Has it translated into wins? So far it has.'"

Jason Quick, The Oregonian: "More and more, the Trail Blazers are learning just how much Greg Oden(notes) means to their success. [...] The emergence of Oden is getting the Blazers close to completing the diamond that coach Nate McMillan likes to make with his hands when talking about this team. McMillan puts his forefingers and thumbs together to symbolize the connection between Brandon Roy(notes), LaMarcus Aldridge(notes), Oden, and himself. Prior to this season, that diamond has never been complete because Oden has been learning the ropes. But now, the team and Oden are getting the picture. 'The biggest thing about tonight is seeing how Greg is a huge part of what we do,' Roy said. 'If we can keep him on the floor it makes us a much better team. It opens everything for all of us. So in a lot of ways, it starts with him.' Oden said McMillan has presented him with a hard-and-fast rule: One foul per quarter. In other words, if he has two fouls before halftime, he is going to sit." 

Mike Baldwin, The Oklahoman: "If you're going to develop into a playoff contender these are the games you have to find a way to win. In a road game the Thunder was actullay favored, a tough shooting night and the failure to box out on rebounds put them in a hole the entire game in a 101-98 loss to the Kings Tuesday night in Sacramento. Yes, the Kings are 3-0 without their top player, Kevin Martin(notes), sidelined two months following wrist surgery. But this is a team that probably will finish with one of the league's worst records. Now the road gets a lot tougher. Oklahoma City has three consecutive back-to-backs in a 10-day span. Five of the six games are on the road. Following tonight's game against the Clippers in the Staples Center, the Thunder faces the Spurs Saturday night in San Antonio. [...] That's why Tuesday's game carried a little more importance."

Matt Steinmetz, NBA FanHouse: "We all know Stephen Jackson(notes) is a short timer in Golden State. And now, with the Warriors off to a troubling 2-4 start, it looks as if Jackson will be gone sooner rather than later. When Jackson first said he was 'looking to leave' the Warriors, he listed Cleveland, New York or one of the Texas teams as desired destinations. Since then, a few other teams have supposedly expressed interest. Charlotte, Miami and even Philadelphia are said to have emerged. However, there remains little doubt that the Cavaliers remain Jackson's most likely end-up spot. The reason: compatibility. There is no doubt Jackson would be a big help to the Cavaliers. It would give Cleveland a secondary playmaker to LeBron James(notes), and a shot-maker too. Jackson would also be a plus on the defensive end, allowing James the occasional break from guarding the opposition's best perimeter player."

Mike Monroe, S.A. Express-News: "It appears likely the Spurs will face the Dallas Mavericks at the AT&T Center tonight without All-Stars Tim Duncan(notes) and Tony Parker(notes). Neither player participated in the Spurs' light Tuesday afternoon practice session and were officially listed as doubtful for tonight's game. Both are nursing left ankle injuries suffered in last Thursday's game against the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City. Parker sprained his left ankle during the second quarter and left the court immediately. X-rays showed no structural damage and the Spurs officially termed the injury a mild sprain, but he has not played since. Duncan jammed his left ankle at some point in the same game but played 35 minutes and 27 seconds the next night in Portland. He developed discomfort during a Sunday practice session and was a pregame scratch before Monday's home game against the Toronto Raptors."

Jerry Zgoda, Star Tribune: On Monday, the Timberwolves met a Golden State team that plays point guard-sized Monta Ellis(notes) and Stephen Curry(notes) together plenty. On Sunday in Portland, the Trail Blazers did the same, starting a pair of point guards — Andre Miller(notes) and Steve Blake(notes) — together. Which brings us to the Wolves, who drafted Ricky Rubio(notes) and Jonny Flynn(notes) consecutively and then signed Ramon Sessions(notes) to a $16 million deal when Rubio stayed in Spain. Coach Kurt Rambis played those two point guards together for about four minutes in the fourth quarter of Sunday's blowout loss, but he mostly has been reluctant to play the two players in which the team has so much invested together. [...] 'I want Jonny to try and be a point guard,' Rambis said of Flynn, who has been more efficient scoring than distributing the ball (3.1 assists per game). 'He's a more natural scorer than Ramon is, so now I'm telling him to go from the point guard position to a position where his mindset is to score. I'm not sure how that would affect things.'"

RealGM/The Philadelphia Intelligencer: Marreese Speights(notes) has been producing more than Elton Brand(notes) for the 76ers this season. Brand, who signed a five-year, $80 million deal in August 2008, is the team's fifth leader scorer (10.1 points). 'This is very difficult,' said Brand. 'I just root the team on. Hopefully, if I get a chance, I'll be there to box out, rebound and do what we have to do. The guys are playing well, so the decision's (been) made. ... You kind of get to expect it a little bit.' Speights is averaging 14.4 points and 6.9 rebounds through seven games. 'He's getting better defensively,' Sixers coach Eddie Jordan said. 'That's important to us. He has to be a complete player — not just a scorer.'"

Frank Dell'Apa, Boston Globe: "In sports, teams often consider themselves only as good as they were in their last game. But the Celtics are not encouraged or motivated by their 86-76 victory over the New Jersey Nets last Saturday, their seventh win in eight games. Instead, the Celtics are looking back to Friday's game, a 110-103 loss to the Phoenix Suns. 'It's hard to be disappointed with 7-1,' guard Ray Allen(notes) said. 'But, obviously, we'd like to be 8-0 right now. That's a standard we set for ourselves. It seemed as though in this break, these last three days, we were all disappointed with the one game that we lost. And that's how we practiced — like that was the game that we wanted to build on and get better off of. The games we won, we played well. When you play well, you have a tendency not to learn anything — not as much as you learn when you play bad or lose the game. That's where we are — even though we won a game afterwards, we still look back at the Phoenix game we lost.'"

Doug Smith, Toronto Star: "The Raptors have shown at times this year a penchant for playing well one night and wretchedly the next. They give up far too many points — 265 in their last two games alone — but turned in passable efforts in wins over Cleveland, Detroit and New Orleans. The trouble is that when they break down, they really break down. A lack of effort on the boards let the short-staffed Spurs dominate the rebounding battle and register a win on Monday. Against Orlando over a week ago, Toronto's inability to close out on shooters allowed the Magic to shoot at will from beyond the three-point arc. If it's not one thing, it's the other. All connected. 'On the screen-roll, we have a tough time keeping guys in front of us,' said [Jay] Triano. 'So we have to provide help and when we provide help, they kick for threes ... we have to do a better job closing out on threes.'"

Yannis Koutroupis, HOOPSWORLD: "Last season Hedo Turkoglu(notes) had the luxury of playing with the best rebounder in the NBA, Dwight Howard(notes). Howard averaged 13.8 a contest, leaving little need for Hedo to worry too much about crashing the boards. Bargnani and Bosh are no D12 though — they need his help inside. At this point Hedo has pleased the coaching staff and his teammates, leaving them content so far with their big offseason acquisition. 'Hedo's been very good,' acknowledged Triano. 'He needs to get in better shape. That'll come with the minutes we'll play but I think he's done well.' 'He's fitting in,' added Bosh. 'We're still trying to learn each other, really everyone on this team is trying to figure out how we're going to win some games and how we're going to stay consistent. It's been going well, he's a very unselfish player and once he gets his offense going he's going to be a real plus for us.' Hedo's numbers are right about where they were last year when he helped lead the Orlando Magic to the NBA Finals ..."

RealGM/Times-Picayune: "Byron Scott is in the final year of his contract with the Hornets. Scott grew up in Inglewood and played for the Lakers during his playing days. 'Obviously, I love this place. (The Lakers were) my team. I still tell people I bleed purple and gold, no matter what. And I always will,' Scott said while the Hornets were playing in Los Angeles. 'Like Jerry West will always be a Laker, and he's the one who brought me here. That's like my Dad. So that's always going to be associated with this organization. It's not bad. It's not good. It's good for me. This is still home. In the summer, I still come back here.' Scott added that it's 'crazy to speculate' that he could coach the Lakers in the future."

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