As defending champs and the clear top team in the East, the Miami Heat are the current favorites to win the NBA title. Since Feb. 3, the Heat have gone about proving as much, winning 15 straight games heading into Wednesday night's contest against the lowly Orlando Magic. Fans could be forgiven for assuming that Miami would have few issues pushing their streak to 16 wins.

That was not the case. After coming back from a 20-point early third quarter deficit, the Magic held a 96-95 lead with 12 seconds left, giving the Heat one last chance to pick up the victory. Not surprisingly, they want to LeBron James. Instead of settling for a jumper, LeBron crossed over rookie defender DeQuan Jones and drove to his left. The help was late, and James finished a one-handed lay-up at the rim with three seconds on the clock. Arron Afflalo's prayer missed, and the streak stayed intact.

Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson tolerate each other's handshakes (Fernando Medina/ Getty).

On Tuesday, Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard grabbed headlines when he claimed that his Orlando Magic team was "full of people that nobody wanted." It was a jerky move, to put it mildly, a case of a franchise ex-star casting aside a wealth of experience, relationships, and memories because his colleagues couldn't get him where he wanted. That's just a wee bit selfish and not particularly indicative of the personal characteristics we like to see in athletes and teammates, or really just people in the world.

Not surprisingly, at least one of Howard's former teammates did not take kindly to his words. From Brian Schmitz for the Orlando Sentinel (via Orlando Pinstriped Post):

Russell Westbrook dribbles past Jodie Meeks, keeps the ball (Layne Murdoch Jr./ Getty).

By any available metric, the Oklahoma City Thunder have one of the best offenses in the NBA. They score 110.4 points per 100 possessions (2nd, only 0.1 points off the Miami Heat), shoot 48.3 percent from the field (3rd), hit 39.1 percent of their three-pointers (2nd), knock down 83.1 percent of their free throws (1st by a wide margin), etc. Their only really blemish is that they turn the ball over a lot — 15.8 times per game (29th) and with a 14.7 turnover ratio (tied for last). The idea of the Thunder not turning it over is frightening, because they're already one of the most prolific scoring outfits in the league even with their problems handling the ball.

So it's likely that the Los Angeles Lakers were not prepared for what the Thunder accomplished on Tuesday night. In a comfortable 122-105 win, OKC turned the ball over only two times, tying an NBA record set by the Milwaukee Bucks against the Indiana Pacers in April 2006 and by the Cleveland Cavaliers against the Portland Trail Blazers in March 2009 (in a game that somehow went to overtime).

This weekend, our Dan Devine visited the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, a meeting of the stats-inclined minds where professionals and amateurs alike can communicate about developments in the field, make awkward small talk, and pass each other resumes. (Read Dan's reports — they are really great.) While Sloan features many luminaries on panels, one man is a rock star beyond all others: Daryl Morey, general manager of the Houston Rockets and the figure most responsible for bringing analytics from the background to the foreground of the NBA discussion.

Most characterizations of Morey place him as a fiercely intelligent, nerdy guy with a willingness to think outside the box. However, new video has surfaced that suggests Morey may be a better athlete than we think. In mid-February, Rockets guard Jeremy Lin held a fundraiser for his JLIN Foundation in Houston. Morey took part and proceeded to demolish his prized free-agent pickup in table tennis, displaying a range of shots and impressive quickness.

Serge Ibaka and Blake Griffin battle for a rebound, pre-groin altercation (Andrew D. Bernstein/ Getty).

On Sunday, Oklahoma City Thunder forward Serge Ibaka punched Los Angeles Clippers star Blake Griffin in the groin, bringing on a flagrant foul and resulting in a seven-point possession that briefly put the Clippers back on top. It was a surprising decision by the referees, because most observers, including respected color commentator Hubie Brown, thought it deserved a level-two flagrant and automatic suspension. The call ended up making a difference in the game, too, because Ibaka completed a three-point play later that fouled out Griffin and helped lock down the win for the Thunder.

It was assumed that the NBA would follow the game with a suspension, because, again, Ibaka punched Griffin where it hurts. However, on Tuesday afternoon, the league announced that Ibaka will only be fined $25,000, not suspended. On top of that, the foul was upgraded to a level-two flagrant. So, in effect, the NBA implied that Ibaka should have missed the end of the game and will allow him to play in the next game anyway.

Two young Manila residents play one-on-one at a trash can (Paula Bronstein/ Getty).

Over the past decade, the NBA has opened up its schedule to include several games overseas. Aside from the occasional regular season game in London, most of these games are preseason contests with no real effect on the schedule. They're largely marketing opportunities, an effort to expand the league's global reach in countries with burgeoning basketball cultures. For the most part, the goal is growth.

[Also: Dwight Howard takes a swipe at former Magic teammates]

The Philippines has not yet played host to one of these games, which is a shame. Unlike some of these countries, basketball is their most popular sport by a wide margin. As discussed by Rafe Bartholomew in his book "Pacific Rims," basketball pervades every aspect of Filipino culture, from politics to income inequality to community life.

Yet the islands have never played host to any sort of official NBA contest even though the vast majority of the populace is absolutely nuts about the league. According to one report, though, that's about to change. From interaksyon.com (via PBT):

Dwight Howard imagines everyone in the crowd is a statue (Garrett Ellwood/ Getty).

It is no secret that Dwight Howard has been a really terrible free-throw shooter this season. He's been the target of Hack-a-Howard strategies, discussed and deflected questions about his woes from the line, and even attempted to alter his approach. Nothing has worked. Howard is shooting 48.3 percent on 8.9 attempts per game, the third-highest average in the league. It's a glaring issue for a player who has shot a less embarrassing 58.0 percent from the line in his career.

[Related: Dwight Howard takes a swipe at former Magic teammates]

Throughout his struggles, the Lakers and Howard have claimed that he shoots quite well in practice — over 80 percent, in fact. For some observers, that has been difficult to believe based on Howard's in-game performance.

However, Beto Duran of ESPN Radio in Los Angeles was able to snap a photo of the Lakers' white board detailing the entire team's free throw marks in practice vs. their performance in games. After the jump, check out that photo for proof that Howard knocks down his freebies in private.

Diana Taurasi and DeWanna Bonner, two athletes who play a sport (Christian Petersen/ Getty).

The WNBA started playing games in 1997. Since then, discussion about the league has barely progressed. The majority of NBA-leaning basketball fans make the same comments about the lack of dunks, the league being boring, and the form of basketball generally holding no points of interest for holders of the XY chromosomes. All this despite the fact that many of these people have never attempted to watch a full game.

At least one team is tired of these terms of argument and ready to do something to change men's minds. Ben York, a writer for the official site of the Phoenix Mercury, wants men to give the WNBA an honest chance. So he and the franchise are offering tickets to anyone with an open mind (via SLAM):