Key Arena, in 2008 (Getty Images)

This is not a Ball Don’t Lie endorsement of the Sacramento Kings’ move to Seattle, an idea that we’re all sick of even though it’s clear a properly run NBA team should be thriving in Seattle. The Maloof brothers deserve severe condemnation for their work in working against the NBA and especially the city of Sacramento to refuse any attempts at deals to create a workable new arena for the team, or finding local buyers.

What is likely, though, is a move to Seattle for the Kings in time for the 2013-14 season. There are still many things to overcome — including a Sacramento-led drive to find local ownership that could very well be in place by the NBA-enforced March 1 deadline to file for relocation — but currently all significant signs are pointing toward a completed sale, a filing before the beginning of March, and the NBA approving a move at its Board of Governors meeting on April 18.

A move that would see the Kings become the Seattle SuperSonics (please don’t become just the “Sonics”) and play for two seasons at Key Arena while the city and all manner of public funding puts together a massive new stadium in time for the 2015-16 season. A new stadium with updates on Key Arena’s quaint and outmoded notions of “deafening home-crowd cheering” and “intimacy” and “lack of luxury boxes.”

The Boston Celtics won six of seven games after guard Avery Bradley returned to the lineup on Jan. 2, igniting hopes that the all-around demon would create the sort of spark that teams featuring a series of go-to players in their 30s (and one that acts like he’s in his 40s, in Rajon Rondo) typically need. Since that rush, though, the Celtics have dropped four straight – including what could be characterized as an embarrassing loss in Cleveland to the Cavaliers on Tuesday night.

The lone highlight for Boston, and it was a startling one, was Bradley’s block on Cavs rookie Dion Waiters. Watch, if you dare:

I suppose, for Waiters, this could also be characterized as “embarrassing.”

It looked a bit like Tayshaun Prince’s famous block on Reggie Miller from the 2004 Eastern conference finals. Like Prince, though, Bradley isn’t much of a shot-blocker overall — this rejection was his fifth on the season, and he’s tallied 17 in 105 career games. Still, it was a something for the team that doesn’t have anything but a likely playoff berth in a bad Eastern conference.

And, according to Paul Pierce, among the many things the Celtics are lacking this season is mental toughness, along with the 28 or so wins that usually accompany the C’s to this time of the NBA year. From Gary Washburn at the Boston Globe:

Such tight bros. (Photo via the Bobcats' Instagram)

Two titans of basketball and popular culture finally crossed paths in Charlotte on Tuesday night, as 2011 NBA All-Star Celebrity Game MVP Justin Bieber, in town for the Charlotte stop on his "Believe" tour at Time Warner Cable Arena, met "Pro Stars" principal Michael Jordan, owner of the building's primary tenant, the Charlotte Bobcats. If you felt a slight tremor beneath your feet last night, it's only natural; this is what happens when mega-powers collide, which is word to Hulk and Macho.

After the encounter, Biebdawgs took to Twitter — duh — to share his giddiness with his fans:

i would like to repeat. I met MICHAEL JORDAN tonight! #SWAG

— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) January 23, 2013

one more time.. Michael Jordan. that happened @alfredoflores . — Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) January 23, 2013

This just confirms one of my long-held suspicions — meeting Michael Jordan in the bowels of an arena in Charlotte is more exciting than sitting front row at a Los Angeles Lakers game. Glad I stuck to the scientific method to find definitive proof to support my theorem.

It does still seem weird, though, that Bieber didn't have the same kind of reaction to meeting Sam Perkins. I mean, that's "Big Smooth," man. Still, shouts out to Biebs for completing the rare "Nov. 28, 1983 Sports Illustrated cover" two-fer. Man, this kid's good.

Photo via the Charlotte Bobcats' Instagram account, duh. Hat-tip to Seth Rosenthal at SB Nation.

Things seemed to be going well for the Los Angeles Clippers in the early going of their Tuesday night matchup with the Oklahoma City Thunder. I mean, not perfectly — All-World point guard and leader Chris Paul wasn't in the lineup, which, even if you love Eric Bledsoe (and we do), you can fairly call suboptimal — but their defense came out turned up, holding OKC's best-in-the-league offense to just four points on 2 for 9 shooting through the game's first six minutes. And while Clippers star Blake Griffin looked both attacking Serge Ibaka in the post and orchestrating the L.A. offense in the early going, Oklahoma City's main man didn't seem nearly as steady, as the combination of Caron Butler's on-ball defense and the expansive threat of active L.A. help held Kevin Durant to a quiet 1 for 3 mark in the opening quarter.

Later, though, he got loud.

... and it quieted down a packed-out Staples Center. (Well, everyone but Matt Barnes, who seemed to pretty loudly wonder where the [expletive] his help defenders were.) As we've discussed, KD's been doing that kind of a lot lately.

Near the end of the second quarter of the Los Angeles Clippers' Tuesday night matchup with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Clippers swingman Caron Butler played some wonderful late-possession help defense on Thunder big man Serge Ibaka. Well, it was wonderful for Clippers fans, at least, but not so much for referee Derek Richardson:

The dodgeball-style doink sent Richardson to the deck; Clippers star Blake Griffin checked on the official, who, thankfully, popped back up and seemed none the worse for wear after the surprise swat careened off his melon. (I wouldn't expect Butler to receive too many friendly calls in the second half, though.)

Video via Daily Thunder's Royce Young.

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson speaks while surrounded by investors, public officials and fans. (AP/Rich Pedroncelli)

One day after the NBA announced that the Maloof family had reached an agreement to sell the Sacramento Kings to a Seattle-based ownership group led by hedge fund manager Chris Hansen and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer — an agreement that seems to make the team's exit from Sacramento and the return of the Seattle SuperSonics all but a done deal — Sacramento Mayor and 12-year NBA veteran Kevin Johnson held a press conference Tuesday afternoon to introduce a four-part plan aimed at keeping the Kings in Northern California.

"Does [the Maloofs-Seattle deal] mean it’s over? Absolutely not," Johnson said at the City Hall press conference. "Our game plan has not changed."

For Seattle-area fans eager to see Sonics basketball once again, Johnson said: "Don't celebrate too early."

[Related: Seattle's Key Arena needs work to host an NBA team]

The first step in the so-called "Playing to Win" plan, as laid out by Think Big Sacramento, includes identifying area stakeholders willing to become part of a local investment group. After that comes identifying major equity partners (whom Johnson called "the whales") to provide the bulk of the capital necessary to present a bid competitive with the Seattle group's estimated $341 million offer to purchase a 65 percent interest in the Kings, based on a total valuation of $525 million. Once the money's lined up, Johnson's task will be to demonstrate to the NBA's Board of Governors both that Sacramento has a legitimate commitment to build a new downtown arena to house the Kings, and that Sacramento remains a viable market vibrant enough to support an NBA franchise.

"We're going to do everything we can to put forth a competitive offer," Johnson said.

Dwight Howard doesn't see himself as he is right now. (Harry How/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: Orange County Register. Kevin Ding, who called out Dwight Howard's largely uninspired play just after Christmas, revisits the topic in a scathing postmortem following the center's inglorious performance on Monday night — both on the court in L.A.'s 12-point loss to the Chicago Bulls and off it in his griping for shots. Money quote: "But Howard hasn't been that good — and hasn't updated his self-image to reflect the current state of his game or figure out how to help the team win."

(Another Laker piece worth the time, from NBA.com's John Schuhmann: For all the talk about how Howard and Pau Gasol can't play together, the numbers say it might just be that the two frontcourt stars can't play together the way Mike D'Antoni is playing them. Hmm. That sounds familiar.)

PF: Roundball Mining Company. Last year, George Karl and the Denver Nuggets made quite a bit of hay in crunch-time by running out an offense-first, playmaking-heavy lineup anchored by the backcourt duo of Ty Lawson and Andre Miller. He continues to favor that pairing late in games, even though it drives some Nuggets fans batty. Jeremy Wagner digs into the team's lineup data — most commonly used five-man units, most beneficial three-man groups, etc. — in search of evidence as to whether or not Denver is playing better this season with its two triggermen sharing the floor.

SF: Portland Roundball Society. Halfway through the regular season, the Portland Trail Blazers are one game under .500 and one game out of the eighth and final playoff seed in the Western Conference; this is not something we expected. Still, though, Sean Highkin doesn't have high hopes for the team's bid for a playoff berth: "[...] the fact that three of the Blazers’ five starters are averaging at least 38 minutes per game is going to catch up to them, be it in the form of an injury or just general burnout. And when it does, things will get ugly, because they have arguably the worst bench in the NBA."

Over 11 NBA seasons, journeyman forward Brian Scalabrine cultivated an image of a regular guy who just happened to play basketball. Eventually, many fans came to believe that Scalabrine was an Average Joe, not an elite athlete (as all NBA players are), and figured that he probably wasn't that great at the profession that earned him tens of millions of dollars. This summer, Scalabrine said that he resented this suggestion (even if he also heartily embraced the regular guy image), and in December he challenged any Boston-area amateur basketball players to games of one-on-one.

On Monday, Scalabrine faced four hand-picked competitors. He destroyed them all. From CBS Boston (via TBJ):