Then & Now: Your Weekly NBA Digest, 2/22

Welcome to Then & Now, where Bethlehem Shoals sums up the week in NBA hoops and tells you what to look for. Find it here every Sunday evening.

The stars come tumbling down: Al Jefferson and Amare Stoudemire, out for the season. Danny Granger, Kevin Garnett, and Manu Ginobili, down for several weeks. Greg Oden once again in street clothes; it doesn't matter how long he's out for, the jury's getting restless already. Of course it's sad that first-time All-Star Granger has to take a break from his breakout season, or that Jefferson can no longer play for the honor of GM-turned-coach Kevin McHale. The Spurs will miss Manu, but they've got youth and depth at the guard position. But the Celtics without Garnett, that's serious. It could very well cost them home court advantage.

Trades no one believes in: It's funny, a few months ago everyone was stockpiling cap space or expiring deals for a shot at LeBron, Wade, Bosh, or other marquee free agents, the ultimate boom or bust fairy tale. You know, the kind of irrationality we all expect from this most outrageous of pro sports leagues (MLB takes itself too seriously and refuses to play along, despite the steroids). Now, though, this nation's economic woes have hit owners and franchises, and suddenly saving money is about -- gasp -- saving money. Color me disillusioned.

Phoenix returns to scoreboard busting: Since replacing Terry Porter with Alvin Gentry, the Suns are 3-1, having gone over 140 points in all their wins. Yeah, I'd say the old Suns are back. So maybe only one of the wins came without Amare, and Sunday they fell to the KG-less Celtics -- suggesting they're not going to be winning any titles this year. But let's hope that Steve Kerr has learned an important lesson and that as long as Nash anchors the team, running will be a priority. The best sign? Leandro Barbosa has returned from oblivion.

FILM CRITIC:


LeBron's three-point shot has improved greatly this season. But to be quite honest, top-of-the-key jumpers just never really felt like the real James. That is, until Friday's 55-point explosion against the Bucks, where LBJ hit a slew of outrageous long bombs that were every bit as jaw-dropping, improbable, and superhuman as the rest of his game. He took the three-pointer and made it his, and we may never look at it the same again.

COMING ATTRACTIONS:

-Will Toronto go on a second-half run now that Shawn Marion's come on board, and Andrea Bargnani's secured the starting spot? Will Jermaine O'Neal, the other half of this semi-blockbuster, provide the Heat the big man they need to move up in the East? And what about the Sixers, greatly improved since losing Elton Brand? Couple that with Garnett's injury, and there might be a lot of movement in the Eastern standings these next few weeks.

-Delonte West has been on the shelf since mid-January with a fractured wrist. Cleveland hasn't exactly struggled in his absence, but with him and Williams on the floor, the Cavs instantly become a more versatile, potent, active, and less Bron-centric team. And, in a sharp break with the past, anything but stagnant in the half-court.

-Here's a storyline no one really considered: The "soft" Pau Gasol and "enigmatic" Lamar Odom have a chip on their shoulder because of last year's crushing Finals loss, as well as the good news that Andrew Bynum would fix everything this season. That's why Gasol's an All-Star and Odom, restored to a central role in the wake of Bynum's injury, has taken it upon himself to dig in and single-mindedly crash the boards like he hadn't spent most of his career trying to measure up to outlandish "next Magic" comparisons.

This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.