BOSTON – Kevin Garnett(notes) walked out of the TD Banknorth Garden alone on that night in mid-May, his step carrying a slight limp. He didn't say a word, but it was clear he was burning inside. The Boston Celtics' chances at a repeat championship had just ended, and Garnett had been unable to do anything about it.

Garnett isn't a "what if" guy. He doesn't spend much time dwelling on the past or the hypothetical. Yet even K.G. couldn't help but wonder if the Celtics' season would have ended differently had he been healthy.

The reality? That stung. With Garnett stranded on the sideline while his right knee ached with bone spurs, the Celtics were eliminated by the Orlando Magic in the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs after having two opportunities to win the series. Their dreams of back-to-back titles vanished.

"Like everybody else, I was very [mad]," Garnett said. "[Mad]. Very [mad]. Very [mad]. Very [mad]."

The Celtics face the Magic on Friday for the first time since

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The lane opened, and suddenly Derrick Rose(notes) was bolting toward the rim. Surely, the Chicago Bulls' young point guard would deliver a highlight to remember, a soaring dunk, maybe even a vicious one-handed flush like the one he memorably threw down on Leandro Barbosa(notes) last season.

Not on this night. Rose instead opted to coast toward the basket for an easy layup, looking far more like John Stockton than Michael Jordan.

The truth is Rose has yet to dunk at all this season.

"The times I've attempted to I was barely getting up," he said. "So I will just say it was a high layup."

A sprained right ankle Rose suffered early in the preseason has limited him. Three weeks into the schedule, it's clear his game isn't the same as last season when he was named Rookie of the Year. Nor is Rose certain when exactly he'll regain his explosiveness. He just knows he's getting better – slowly.

"Every day it's improving," Rose said. "…Before when I got up in the morning, I

Allen Iverson(notes) fully intends to resume his NBA career, preferably this season, his personal manager told Yahoo! Sports on Monday night.

Iverson reached an agreement on Monday to part ways with the Memphis Grizzlies after previously taking a leave of absence from the team. He is expected to clear waivers in a couple of days and become a free agent.

“There is absolutely no doubt that he still wants to play,” said Gary Moore, Iverson’s personal manager. “There should be no doubt in anyone’s mind. He will be working out every day until he hears from someone.”

A New York Daily News report said the New York Knicks would explore possibly signing Iverson. Team president Donnie Walsh wasn’t committal, telling the Daily News, "We'll look into it. Right now, I'd say probably not, but we'll see."

Moore has not heard anything from the Knicks, but said Iverson would be excited about playing in New York, provided the team’s interest is sincere.

“That’s one of his favorite places to play,” Moore

DENVER – Pau Gasol(notes) didn’t play. Kobe Bryant(notes) did, but he might as well have not after producing one of those rare, forgettable games. The Los Angeles Lakers also were in the second night of a back-to-back. For them, this was little more than an early season contest, one likely to be lost among 81 others once the playoffs begin.

But try telling Carmelo Anthony(notes) and the Denver Nuggets that Friday night didn’t matter. Try telling them their 105-79 rout of the defending champion Lakers counted as just another win.

The Nuggets will tell you that you’re wrong.

“It was a big win, a big, big win for us,” Anthony said. “…Hopefully, it sends a big message to not only the Lakers but to the whole NBA saying we’re a legit team. We live by that.”

The Nuggets are still haunted by their loss to the Lakers in last season’s Western Conference finals, still trying to prove they belong on the same stage with the league’s elite. They feed off disrespect, perceived or real, and they

DENVER – Less than three weeks into the season, and already Carmelo Anthony(notes) is hearing people mention him as a leading MVP candidate. Around the NBA, they're talking about 'Melo's 30-point nights, about how his game has expanded, about how he's finally realizing his enormous potential.

Anthony laughs when he hears this. He's been a big-time scorer for years now. The difference isn't in his game. It's the perception of him that has changed.

Slowed by hand and elbow injuries, Carmelo Anthony was left off last season’s All-Star team.

(NBAE/ Getty)

All those first-round exits, all that off-the-court drama, finally have been pushed aside. These days, Anthony shines so bright that not even those old dark clouds can hide him.

"I don't think I'm doing anything different than I've done in the past," Anthony said in a recent phone interview with Yahoo! Sports. "I have no idea why everyone's surprised. I've been doing the same thing for six years. I don't know why people are acting

Struggling to stay competitive just two seasons after reaching the Western Conference semifinals, the New Orleans Hornets fired coach Byron Scott and replaced him with general manager Jeff Bower on Thursday.

The Hornets said Bower will be the full-time coach and there are no current plans to search for a replacement. Bower has never been a head coach on any level, but previously worked as an assistant for the Hornets.

The Hornets fired Byron Scott as head coach after starting the season 3-6.

(Darren Abate/AP Photo)

Former Hornets coach Tim Floyd also is returning as an assistant coach. Floyd coached the Hornets during the 2003-04 season, going 41-41 before losing in the first round of the playoffs. Bower was an assistant on Floyd's staff that season.

Floyd will be with the Hornets on Friday for their game against the Portland Trail Blazers.

Floyd “brings a teaching, strong defensive coach as well as a late-game technician,” Bower said in a phone interview. “His skills add a lot to

OAKLAND, Calif. – Having tired of the near-daily disruption Stephen Jackson’s(notes) unresolved status has had on their young roster, the Golden State Warriors are more committed than ever to trading the veteran swingman and NBA sources said the team is optimistic a deal can be completed within the next few weeks.

Even on a night when the Warriors beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 146-105 while scoring their most points in 15 years, two Golden State players told Yahoo! Sports on Monday that the team’s play – and overall morale – won’t truly improve until Jackson is gone. Jackson first declared in August he wanted the Warriors to trade him, and his impending departure has become one of a handful of issues hanging over the team.

“The Jax situation is a constant distraction,” one Warrior said.

“Once they trade him,” another player said, “it will clear up a lot of things.”

The Warriors no longer seem to have any desire to repair the damaged relationship with their former captain. Jackson’s

A frustrated Allen Iverson(notes) has left the Memphis Grizzlies and is not expected to return anytime soon, if at all, a source close to the situation told Yahoo! Sports on Saturday.

The Grizzlies granted Iverson a leave of absence to allow him to return to his offseason home in Atlanta. The source said Iverson wants to clear his head and is extremely unhappy about the lack of communication with Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins over his playing time and role with the team.

Grizzlies officials said Iverson was allowed to leave the team so he could attend to a personal matter. The decision came after he met with Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley Saturday morning in Los Angeles.

“I’m not going to get into the personal reason but it has nothing to do with the other stuff,” Heisley told the Memphis Commerical Appeal, which first reported Iverson's departure on Saturday. “I’m the guy who said he could go. It’s a real family issue that I don’t think should be reported.”

While it is true Iverson