Gregg Popovich chats with funnyman George Lopez at the 2011 All-Star Game (Andrew D. Bernstein/ Getty).

In addition to being one of best coaches in the NBA, Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs can be a big grump. He's well known as one of the league's least forthcoming interview subjects, treats between-quarter talks with sideline reporters as a burden, and generally seems to like any sort of NBA-mandated public relations responsibilities. This lack of interest reached a new level of controversy in November, when Popovich sat four of his best players for a nationally televised game against the Miami Heat and earned the Spurs a $250,000 fine for his actions. In his view, the needs of the team should never come secondary to promotional interests.

On Wednesday night, the Spurs beat the Charlotte Bobcats 102-78, running their record to a conference-best 37-11 and ensuring that Popovich would coach the West in February's All-Star Game in Houton. Given his history, it stands to reason that Popovich might not have much interest in that job. Except, as he explained to reporters, he sees at as an immense honor. From Mike Monroe for The San Antonio Express-News (via SLAM):

Mickael Gelabale in hairier times (Doug Pensinger/ Getty).

The NBA has had some uncommon hairstyles in his time — remember Scot Pollard, everyone? — but sometimes those new 'dos end up coming perfectly standard basketball looks. For instance, when players first started sporting dreadlocks, fans were taken aback by something they were most familiar with via their well-played copies of Bob Marley's "Legend." Now it's no big deal.

But perhaps we have been ignoring a real problem. Minnesota Timberwolves forward Mickael Gelabale, now back in the NBA after four seasons in Europe, sported dreadlocks as a member of the Seattle SuperSonics from 2006 to 2008. Now his locks are shorn.

It wasn't an aesthetic choice, though, because the hair apparently threatened Gelabale's health. From a cleaned-up Google translation of the Spanish sports publication Marca (via TBJ):

Hi, there. (Joe Murphy/NBA/Getty Images)

A look around the league and the Web that covers it. It's also important to note that the rotation order and starting nods aren't always listed in order of importance. That's for you, dear reader, to figure out.

C: MORE RUDY TALK, Y'ALL! By now, you've probably already read what our guys Kelly Dwyer and Adrian Wojnarowski thought about Wednesday night's deal that landed Rudy Gay with the Toronto Raptors, Jose Calderon with the Detroit Pistons, and the trio of Tayshaun Prince, Ed Davis and Austin Daye with the Memphis Grizzlies. Now, some other perspectives:

At SB Nation, Mike Prada says Memphis "made out like bandits," and Tom Ziller thinks the Raptors' decision was laughably nonsensical. At CBSSports.com, Zach Harper argues the Raptors made a smart "sell high, buy low" move.

At A Substitute for War, Julian Rodger calls it a clear win for the Pistons and a failure for the now "indisputably easier to guard" Grizzlies. At Hardwood Paroxysm, Toronto fan Kyle Soppe explains why "no team improved from this trade (now or down the road) as much as the Raptors." At The Point Forward, Rob Mahoney argues that this move merely continues the unchecked momentum of a string of moves that probably should have cost Bryan Colangelo his job a while ago.

And, for some balance, at Grantland and The Basketball Jones, Zach Lowe and Mark Deeks argue that nobody really won or lost the deal last night, loathe as the definitive-take-happy among us might be to admit it.

The beast pauses as he senses a predator approaching. (Barry Gossage/NBA/Getty Images)

Plenty of things were surprising about the Phoenix Suns' come-from-behind 92-86 home win over the Los Angeles Lakers in the late game of ESPN's Wednesday night double-header — that the Lakers offense sputtered after three straight strong games helmed by point G.O.A.T. and leader Kobe Bryant, that Steve Nash and Earl Clark both played quietly in their returns to Phoenix, and that after allowing L.A. to shoot 65 percent from the floor in a 32-point third quarter that pushed the Laker lead to 13, the Suns tightened up defensively enough to influence Bryant and company into a dismal 4 for 21 mark from the floor (19 percent) in a 13-point finish that wound up costing L.A. its burgeoning winning streak.

But none of that was as surprising as the performance of Michael Beasley, noted millstone and gremlin-seer, who exploded off the Phoenix bench for a game-high 27 points on surprisingly (there's that word again) efficient 12 for 20 shooting and added six rebounds and five steals in 34 minutes. He was the Suns' go-to option down the stretch, hitting 5 of 6 for 10 points in the fourth, including a scrambling, mad-dash-to-the-rim layup with 43.8 seconds left and the shot clock winding down that gave Phoenix the lead for good.

Considering Beasley's most recent notable action had been "shoveling handfuls of [...] greasy [French fries]" into his mouth before a game, this was kind of a shift in the storyline. So what gives? As Beasley told reporters, including Bob Baum of The Associated Press, after the game, it was just doing what comes naturally:

"I'm just playing aggressive," Beasley said. "I'm trying to turn over a new leaf. No more nonchalant Beas. I'm back to the Beast."

Judging by his hairstyle last night, the Beast is either a unicorn or some kind of exotic fictional bird of prey — perhaps a literate osprey that really liked "Watchmen."

Kevin Garnett does his best Alex Jones impersonation (Getty Images)

Future Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett and talent-laden Kings big man DeMarcus Cousins are two of the NBA’s more, um, “talkative” players. So of course the big men are both going to talk quite a bit about a subject that we didn’t even deign to talk about here at Ball Don’t Lie – the NBA’s selections for February’s Rookie/Sophomore contest, to be held on All-Star weekend. DeMarcus was rightfully ticked that diminutive Sacramento point guard Isaiah Thomas wasn’t selected for the sophomore side.

[Also: Rudy Gay trade a sign to LeBron that Super Team era ending]

Kevin Garnett? He busted out his tinfoil hat as a way defending teammate (and bro for life) Jared Sullinger, who was passed over for a spot on the rookie squad. From WEEI:

“Really? I’m actually shocked,” Garnett said.

Then he expanded upon those thoughts.

“It doesn’t surprise me,” he said. “This league has, I guess, an agenda in what they want. And Jared’s not in that agenda. I hope it creates a monster within him. I hope it does everything [to] encourage him.”

Such hard choices. (Getty Images)

There were 12 games on the NBA schedule on Wednesday night. That's 576 minutes of basketball (because none of them went into overtime, duh) and, as you might expect, a lot of stuff can happen in nearly 10 hours of NBA play. There was something weird about this particular Wednesday, though — in multiple games across the league, things took place that seemed to mirror each other, occurring in pairs, seeming to invite direct comparison. And so, I will compare them.

After the jump, let's play a little game of This or That? — we'll take a look at a pair of clips tied together by a thematic thread, I'll pick one I like better, and then you can go to the comments to tell me why I'm wrong, which I won't take to heart because at least we all will have just gotten to watch a bunch of stuff worth watching.

Sound good? Great. Let's hit it:

Most analysis of Wednesday night's trades sending Rudy Gay to the Toronto Raptors, Ed Davis, Tayshaun Prince and Austin Daye to the Memphis Grizzlies, and Jose Calderon to the Detroit Pistons has focused on what the swaps meant for the Raps' future or the Grizzlies' present. But the trade also meant something to the Pistons' past — by parting with veteran holdover Prince, the team had finally severed ties with the glory days of the 2000s and (Pistons fans hope) at long last begun focusing primarily on creating some new postseason memories in the years to come.

[Related: Grizzlies trade Rudy Gay to Raptors in three-team deal]

Still, when a guy's played his entire 11-year career in the home red, white and blue, it's only natural for fans to feel somewhat emotional about his departure ... especially when they only learn about it while sitting in the stands, wearing his jersey and waiting with bated breath for him to emerge from the tunnel, as this Pistons fan did prior to Wednesday night's loss to the Indiana Pacers:

Dwane Casey can't get no satisfaction from the judge (Getty Images)

If it seems like a well-worn rant, it’s because you’ve been well warned in advance: The Toronto Raptors are complaining about the hand that’s been dealt to them, this time in the form of yet another terrible call down the stretch of a game they should have won both by their own merits, or through the whistle of a referee that should have done what’s right.

For the third time this season the NBA will probably have to admit a blunder in the closing seconds of a Raptors loss, following the team’s Wednesday night defeat at the hands of the Atlanta Hawks. As was the case earlier this month and in November, the refs screwed up down the stretch of yet another close Raptors game, somehow looking away as DeMar DeRozan was hit while attempting a follow-up finish in the closing seconds.

[Related: Grizzlies trade Rudy Gay to Raptors in three-team deal]

Dwane Casey, the flustered Raptors coach that just lost his starting point guard and promising big man in a terrible trade, vented to reporters following the misstep. From the Associated Press:

“I’m tired of this,” Casey said. “I’m tired of losing games because of missed calls at the end of the game. I know the league’s going to come down on me for this, but I don’t care. Guys have fought their hearts out, played their hearts out and at the end of the game we get cracked, apology, go back to Canada.”