Milwaukee at Oklahoma City

Tonight's game features two squads that genuinely seem to enjoy playing these days, teams that enjoy each other's company, teams that really seem to want to work hard for their respective coaches. Don't slough that off. Important stuff, mate.

The Bucks just got Michael Redd(notes) back, and while he can't make up for the loss of Andrew Bogut's(notes) defensive presence, he can still put the roundie into the pincushion, if you know what I mean, and I know you don't, because I don't even know what I mean. Great scorer, though, who is still seeking to find a way in Scott Skiles' semi-Brandon Jennings(notes)-centric offense.

The Thunder are still above .500, still one of the better defensive clubs in the league (as are the Bucks), and the team just enjoyed three days "off" (practice and team gatherings still took place, but you know where I'm at, here), Scott Brooks likes his team's attitude, and I like the fact that ESPN decided to give Jennings and Kevin Durant(notes) a national TV presence on a Friday night.

12 games tonight, plenty to talk about, so comment away down below.

Milwaukee Bucks: 8-5, 94.2 possessions per game (11^th-most in the NBA), 104.1 points scored per 100 possessions (21^st), 100.7 points allowed per 100 possessions (fifth).

Oklahoma City Thunder: 8-7, 92.2 possessions per game (17^th), 103.8 points scored per 100 possessions (23^rd), 101.4 points allowed per 100 possessions (sixth).

All statistics courtesy basketball-reference.com.

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: YouTube. Jazz pull off CollegeHumor-like $1 million half-court shot prank on unsuspecting Lakers fan.
PF: L.A. Times. Lakers' small guys ("fairies") pummel big guys ("goons") in "Turkey Trot" scrimmage.
SF: TrueHoop. Three losses that could've been wins for the 0-15 Nets.
SG: A Stern Warning. As I said on Twitter, this Mbenga pic made me laugh way more than it should have.
PG: CelticsBlog. Eddie House(notes) is getting his groove back, Stella.
6th: GMTR. I, too, am a little surprised that Brad Miller(notes) is still owned in 51% of fantasy leagues.
7th: Associated Press. "Larry Brown has a message for Allen Iverson(notes): don't give up."
8th: Pippen Ain't Easy. Chicago Bulls fans are none too thankful right now.
9th: Durant's Blog. Durantula wants to know: Who do you think is playing well so far this season?
10th: Forum Blue & Gold. "With basically the same personnel, [the Lakers] have transformed from an outstanding offensive team that played very good defense to a mediocre offensive team that plays outstanding defense."

Got a tip or link for Ball Don't Lie? Hit me up at jeskeets [at] yahoo.ca or follow me on Twitter.

Magic men Dwight Howard and Anthony "Dad" Johnson talk to TNT's Craig Sager after defeating the Hawks in Atlanta on Thanksgiving. Best caption/imaginary conversation wins a Sager Bomb. Bottoms up!

After the jump, Dahntay tries to rip the ball away from Baron Davis' beard.

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Trey Kerby of The Blowtorch searches high and low across the Internet for NBA-related goods you never knew you needed. You know, phenomenal swag. Email Ball Don't Lie any relevant products you find here.

You were excited to get a new jacket for the winter because your old one smells like a cat. You kept telling all your friends about how you were waking up at 4am to stand outside the local mall to get the Black Friday savings on the finest leather goods in the world. But your friends were like, "You're crazy for getting up that early." At first you blew them off, but then you realized that you can probably get the same deals online, so you went to eBay to find your new coat.

This is your new coat.

You love the NBA so much that you are going to spend about $200 on a super fresh leather jacket with all the NBA teams embroidered on it. To you, $200 is a steal for a product of this quality. And you know your vintage clothing. You know that the Seattle SuperSonics patch makes this worth way more than an Oklahoma City Thunder patch would. You know that this jacket isn't just a jacket. It's also an investment piece.

Congratulations on your ballin' new jacket.

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If you're at work today, I'm sorry about that. I really am. So, to make your Black Friday go a little bit smoother — and a whole lot faster — here's a 10-minute highlight reel of Lakers guard Shannon Brown(notes) blocking and dunking on absolutely everyone in sight. Yes, even that fat guy at Walmart. Enjoy.

Cheers, Oh Me Oh My, The Jello's Jigglin'!

Each weekday morning, BDL serves up a handful of NBA-related stories to digest with your leftover turkey.

Kate Fagan, Philadelphia Inquirer: "76ers point guard Lou Williams underwent surgery Thursday morning to wire together his upper and lower jaws. Williams will miss eight weeks. Early in the first quarter of Tuesday night's loss to the Washington Wizards, Williams suffered the injury in a collision with Washington forward Antawn Jamison. [...] 'I was spitting out blood every timeout, but I thought it was my tooth so I didn't think it was as serious as it was,' said Williams, who was averaging 17.4 points and 5.1 assists per game. 'I just continued to play, and there wasn't a lot of pain involved because I was playing on adrenaline obviously. But I knew something was wrong, just not to this magnitude.' After a sleepless, painful night in Boston, an X-ray taken of Williams' jaw initially revealed that fracture. 'What I wanted was something to numb the pain, something to help with the pain and continue to fight through,' Williams said of approaching the trainers on Wednesday morning. 'But you go through the protocol, the X-rays and this and that. And it came back, and there was a big line in my jaw, and that set the alarms off right there.'"

AP: "Shaquille O'Neal paid for the funeral of a 5-year-old North Carolina girl after being moved by national news coverage of the case of Shaniya Davis, who police say was kidnapped and killed.  The Cleveland Cavaliers player was touched by the stories he saw and got in touch with the family to see what he could do to help, a spokeswoman for O'Neal said Thursday. More than 2,000 people attended the girl's funeral Sunday. Her body was found Nov. 16 beside a rural road. Her mother, Antionette Davis, who had reported the child missing six days earlier, is charged with human trafficking and child abuse involving prostitution. Mario McNeill is charged with murder, rape and kidnapping in the case. 'I was sitting at home watching it on the news and the story brought a tear to my eye,' O'Neal told The Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper."

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Orlando 93, Atlanta 76

Precious memories. I'll never forget where I was on the night that the Orlando Magic started playing defense again, and if you weren't around to see it, the rebirth was quite the show.

After allowing the Hawks to score 51 points in the first half, every member of the Orlando rotation put on a defensive clinic in that second half, overcoming a 12-point deficit to Atlanta on its way toward thrashing the Hawks by 17 overall.

Dwight Howard was fantastic (22 points, 17 rebounds, three assists, five turnovers, four blocks and a steal), moving his feet and protecting the rim (showing, actual blocks, good closeouts, smart contact with arms fully raised), but this was a true team effort.

Everyone dug in, and the Hawks didn't have an answer. Sure, some of the jumpers that fell in that first half dried up, but every screen and roll was met with menace, any bit of penetration was quickly made up for by the Magic D, and the result was a 25-point second half. 25 points. And these are the Hawks we're talking about.

With all those stops in hand, and an iffy offensive rebounding night for the Hawks, the Magic offense was able to ease into its own in the second half. Going through Dwight Howard helped, and though Jason Williams didn't score in almost 27 minutes (a night after going off for 25 points against the Heat), Anthony Johnson came through with a knockout 17 points off the pine. In 21 minutes, with no turnovers. Spread the floor with long range shooting, and drove. Anthony Johnson. Didn't see that coming.

Or, I did, actually. It was just really, really slow.

Not sure what the Hawks could have done better. There's a lot to love about this team, but the Magic are really this good. Even without Jameer Nelson.

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Tonight, the Atlanta Hawks take on the Orlando Magic in a nationally televised game that, if I'm allowed comment, is quite compelling.

The Hawks have completely and utterly turned things around. They have the best record in their conference, the fifth-best point differential in the NBA, and the team seems light years removed from the dull, jump-shooty mess that put us to sleep in the playoffs last spring. Sure, they got off to a hot start last year (winning six in a row to start 2008-09), but that felt like smoke and mirrors.

This feels ... different.

And the Hawks are playing the Magic. The team that made it to the Finals last year, and decided to replace all sorts of rotation parts with all sorts of compelling, intriguing, new parts. The team that employs Stan Van Gundy. The team that employs a center that can dunk on a 12 and a half-foot goal. The team that employs a center just a few years removed from getting his braces off.

Tell me you're not loving this. Then tell me that you don't know where this is going. You should know by now.

The "what I'm thankful for" column is the third-biggest gimmick of the calendar year for us, just behind "what I'll give _____ for Christmas" and "New Year's resolutions for _____." It even carries over, past the sports page. It's a cheap trick.

But if you're not thankful for the era you're living in, the time and space you're spiraling through, and you're an NBA fan? There's something wrong with you.

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May your turkey be moist, your relatives bearable and your Thursday night NBA action amazing.

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: Golden State of Mind. The Warriors will don the above retro garments five times this season. You like?
PF: Eight Points, Nine Seconds. If you gonna read one NBA/Thanksgiving post today, make it this.
SF: Silver Screen & Roll. "The Lakers, we should probably just admit, are stuck with a subpar bench."
SG: From Deep. Michael Grange: "Allen Iverson played for himself."
PG: Magic Basketblog. Rashard Lewis(notes) is still searching for his shooting touch.
6th: TSN. Tim Chisholm: How do you solve a problem like DeMar DeRozan(notes)?
7th: Associated Press. Touched by NC girl's death, Shaq pays for funeral costs.
8th: FOX Sports. Nets, Wolves could challenge the record for fewest wins in a season: nine.
9th: The Press-Enterprise. Ron Artest's(notes) sister is being investigated in a housing probe.
10th: NBA FanHouse. Tom Ziller: "We hear quite a bit about how well Kobe Bryant(notes) and LeBron James(notes) play at Madison Square Garden, the so-called Mecca of basketball. But Sunday's action reminded us that Paul Pierce(notes) belongs in that discussion, too."

Got a tip or link for Ball Don't Lie? Hit me up at jeskeets [at] yahoo.ca or follow me on Twitter.