Compiled by Chris Bernucca

Your after-school links. Go ahead, blow off your homework. 

• Rasheed Wallace is bricking threes at an alarming rate. But that's not the half of it. I watched the Celtics twice over the weekend - Friday's Game 8 loss to Orlando and Sunday's escape from New York - and saw some of the same things that buddy Chris Sheridan saw. There were extended stretches where the Celtics looked old, slow and nowhere near a championship contender. 

• Otis Smith made a lot of moves during the offseason, but so far, bringing Jason Williams back to the NBA has been the smartest one.

• The Russian Superleague recently had its own black eye along the lines of Pacers-Pistons. 

• The D-League's Springfield Armor has a mascot that resembles a rudimentary Terminator.

• Rudy Gay apparently is the NBA's Mr. Blackwell. 

• This is a remarkable waste of time that could get you divorced or fired. 

• Mike Dunleavy saved his job Friday night after we had clicked earlier with the over in Atlanta, nudging the bankroll to 590 korolevs. Tonight, 10 units on Portland giving 7.5 points and five on Dunleavy's dudes to cover 5.5 points and help California's employment rate. 

• The Song of the Day. 

MORNING NEWS LINKS

• SIXERS: "Considering Jordan has looked for the positive in each game this season, I think the assumption was he would do the same. Not so. He was angry. He said his team played as individuals, didn't stay committed to each other, and basically went their separate ways. He wouldn't go so far as to say they played selfishly, just that there was no leadership. He said a "coach can only do so much." The blame, as far as I can tell, was shifted entirely to the players. A few minutes after Jordan spoke, inside the locker room, the vibe from the players seemed very different. Andre Iguodala and Thaddeus Young seemed to shrug off Jordan's insinuation." Kate Fagan at Deep Sixer 

• BLAZERS: "After going 7-2 with a three-guard lineup, coach Nate McMillan reverted to his opening night lineup, inserting Martell Webster at small forward and moving point guard Andre Miller to the second unit. The move was not an endorsement of Webster nor a condemnation of Miller. Rather, it was a direct move to establish Brandon Roy as the director of the offense. 'I want to give the team back to Brandon,'" McMillan said before the game. 'It's his team.'" Jason Quick in the Oregonian 

• BUCKS: "At certain points in the second half, (Ersan) Ilyasova moved to the center position in the small lineup, and later he combined with Thomas as the two big men on the floor. Ilyasova had a huge impact with 18 points, 12 rebounds and three assists, and (Kurt) Thomas chipped in with eight points and 10 rebounds in 31 minutes." Charles F. Gardner in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 

• BULLS: "Few teams can match the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets when it comes to having multiple long, athletic big men, but you can bet other teams will try to copy the game plan the Lakers and Nuggets successfully used to produce blowout wins against the Bulls in the last two games. Simply put, the Bulls were pushed around by both teams." John Jackson in the Chicago-Sun Times 

• CELTICS: "Magic got headlines for calling out Isiah Thomas ('I will never trust him again') in the book. Larry’s most controversial stuff appears on Page 151 when he rips Cedric Maxwell for not working hard to come back from knee surgery during the failed championship run of 1985. 'He got his money and he quit,' said Bird." Dan Shaughnessy in the Boston Globe

• LAKERS: "With 8:58 left in the fourth quarter, during a timeout, Will.i.am from the Black Eyed Peas grabbed a microphone and began singing 'I Gotta Feeling,' along with his group mate Fergie, who called rapper B-Real out of his seat to be alongside them and Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez. During the song, Will.i.am belted out, 'Kobe Bryant, MVP.' Later in the fourth, Jay-Z walked by and signaled to Bryant, who signaled back." Los Angeles Times

• HORNETS: "When the name Collison comes up, it’s about 'an aggressive guy with energy, with confidence, who’s not afraid to make plays. Darren plays with the mind-set of someone who wants to make something happen, who either wants to do it himself or set someone else up to make the play. ... How about Marcus Thornton? 'The word for him is fearless,' said Bower. ... 'Marcus loves taking it inside, he’s not afraid to make plays, not afraid to fail. He loves running the floor, he’s aware how it helps you get open.'" Peter Finney at Nola.com

• NETS: "Douglas-Roberts has not hidden the fact that he's been bothered by all the losing. In fact, Douglas-Roberts started marching off the court and toward the locker room as the final five seconds were ticking off the clock at the end of Saturday's loss, pulling his shirt out of his shorts along the way. 'I've never been in a situation like this,' said Douglas-Roberts, who played in the NCAA title game in his final season at Memphis. 'I really can't describe it right now. I take every loss very hard. This many losses without a win, I really don't know what to feel. I don't really know where I'm at right now. Mentally, it's tough.'" Julian Garcia in the New York Daily News 

• NETS: "Indeed, the return of Harris from his groin injury gives this 0-13 team hope, but it likely starts the clock on Lawrence Frank’s tenure as head coach. The Nets remain the NBA’s only winless club — four losses shy of tying the record for most consecutive defeats to start a season — and Harris’ return removes some of the convenient excuses and mitigating circumstances. As will the returns of Courtney Lee and Tony Battie, who get their uniforms back sometime during the four-game road trip that begins Tuesday in Denver. Rod Thorn, who is not going west, made clear what his expectations are for his team, once healthy: It should 'not only be competitive, but win our fair share of games.'" Dave D'Alessandro in the Newark Star-Ledger 

• ROCKETS: "Though he said he did not want to answer questions about Tracy McGrady's unchanged status every day, on Saturday coach Rick Adelman offered his most extensive explanation of the situation since McGrady donned his uniform Wednesday in Minnesota. 'There is no magical date (for McGrady's return),' Adelman said. 'It wasn't the 18th of November. It wasn't the 23rd. It's a process. You don't just take somebody who has been out a whole year and suddenly just throw them out on the court. It's not about Tracy at this point; it's about our team, what's best for our team. He's part of that.'" Jonathan Feigen in the Houston Chronicle 

• MAGIC: "The Raptors have been celebrating their 15th anniversary as a franchise by honoring former players and coaches with video tributes during timeouts. Given the acrimonious back story of the relationship, the Raptors contacted the Magic to see if Carter might be a willing participant (or target) for the tribute. George Galante, director of communications for the Magic, said he asked Carter if the Raptors could honor him, but Carter declined. 'Why would I want to do it? You heard it out there,' Carter said. 'They came to me. It just didn't make sense. Actually, it wasn't as loud as it has been. It used to be deafening.'" Brian Schmitz in the Orlando Sentinel

• MAVERICKS: "The question to Rick Carlisle drew a long, thoughtful pause. He was being asked how to describe Kris Humphries' game on the basketball court. Clearly, there wasn't an obvious answer. And then, Carlisle came up with perhaps the perfect, if not the most mainstream, response. 'He's sort of like a construction worker with Sunday School clothes on,' Carlisle said. 'He's a dirty-work guy. But he's got some very good skill aspects to his game, too.'" Eddie Sefko in the Dallas Morning News

• SPURS: "The past six months have been a half-year of change for Richard Jefferson. He has changed addresses, changed uniforms, changed roles. Jefferson, however, is happy at least one thing remained the same after his June trade from Milwaukee to the Spurs. 'The paycheck doesn't change,'  Jefferson joked. Jeff McDonald in the San Antonio Express-News

• THUNDER: "A byproduct is additional trips to the free-throw line. Durant averaged 5.6 attempts as a rookie, 7.1 last season and before Sunday night’s game was at 9.7 foul shots per game. It’s a trend that suggests Durant can soon average 30 points. Of the eight times that a player has averaged at least 30 points in the past five seasons, only Kobe Bryant has averaged less than nine free throw attempts." Darnell mayberry in the Oklahoman

• WOLVES: "This is progress? Kurt Rambis called it such after the Wolves allowed 66 in the second half — the most the Blazers have scored in a half all season — and couldn’t score a lick after holding that brief 51-49 lead. The Blazers outscored them 57-27 the rest of the way. Rambis said his team played 'really, really well for tremendous stretches' and when I asked if he saw progress from those first two games against Portland, he said, 'Absolutely.' Later, in the locker room, I asked Al Jefferson the same question and he stared at me blankly."  Jerry Zgoda in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune

• WARRIORS: "Cuts and bruises showed through Ellis' heavily tattooed arms as he answered questions about the most complete game of his career and communicated his most comprehensive understanding of his role on the Warriors. Very simply, he is everything to the Warriors. How he plays is the prime barometer of how they will play. How he leads is the best indicator of where they'll go. 'With what I did on the defensive end, getting everybody involved and being out there leading players and making plays for others, you could say' this is his team, Ellis said after his 34-point, eight-assist, six-steal performance. 'If people want to say it's my team, then it's my team, but I've got soldiers behind me who are ready to go with me.' That's the line the Warriors' brass has been waiting to read. San Francisco Chronicle

• WIZARDS: "But immediately after Haywood was done talking to reporters, Arenas emerged from the shower and basically said that he was going to start going for his if the situation doesn't get better. It was a rather bizarre because Haywood intentionally yelled his answers so that everyone in the room could hear them. Arenas actually walked in from the shower while Haywood was talking, then returned until Haywood was finished." Michael Lee in the Washington Post