Each weekday morning afternoon, BDL serves up a handful of NBA-related stories to digest with your breakfast lunch. (Sorry, I've had a number of hiccups today.)

Jason Quick, The Oregonian: "These days, when Greg Oden seeks solace, he usually heads to a restaurant and looks for a table with a view and a seat for only himself. He finds it relaxing, he says, just looking out the window and eating. During these moments, usually right after Trail Blazers practice, he can escape the pressures of being himself. 'I can just eat, relax and be by myself,' Oden says. Truth be told, he would rather scream, because he is fed up with it all. Fed up with the injuries, which prevent him from playing the game he insists he loves. Fed up with the media, which have portrayed him as injury-prone and a bust. And to a degree, he is fed up with himself and his performance on the court this season. In Greg Oden's world, everything, and everyone, is seemingly against him."

Jeff Schultz, AJC: "Sixty-two games into the season, Mike Woodson and Josh Smith got into another spat the other night. We have watched this for five years. If their relationship were any more dysfunctional, they would be in the ownership group. This is March, not November. The playoffs start in six weeks. This is when NBA coaches are supposed to be finalizing rotations and good teams should be coming together. This generally is not when a head coach spontaneously combusts at halftime and benches one of his best, even if impetuous, players for the next two quarters. They both arrived here in 2004. It hasn’t been a marriage. It’s been a pie fight. One of two things happened Friday night in Charlotte: Either Smith committed a violation so egregious late in the first half that Woodson felt the player had undercut his authority and was ripping the team apart. Or Woodson overreacted to something, anything, a noise in the ventilation shaft. I lean toward the latter."

Ira Winderman, South Florida Sun-Sentinel: "To say the Heat's rotation at small forward has been muddled since the Feb. 13 trade that sent Shawn Marion to Toronto would be an understatement. Yet what is clear, at least according to the approach of coach Erik Spoelstra, is that first-round pick Michael Beasley is not an alternative at the position, no matter how available the minutes might be. 'I don't like that,' Spoelstra said of casting 6-foot-9 Beasley at small forward. 'And I know probably a lot of people would love to see that. We're seeing a lot of progress in Mike at the position of four, and I think if anybody has been watching closely, if I've been playing him at any other position, it's been at the five. It's an easier transition.' In the Heat's system, power forward and center are far more similar than power forward and small forward."

Ronald Tillery, Memphis Commercial Appeal: "Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley met with some of the team's most loyal fans Saturday night, and reiterated his commitment to a three-year plan and keeping ticket prices in line with the product. The Grizzlies, 16-44 entering their game Saturday night against Philadelphia, are ranked among the NBA's worst in the standings and attendance. Heisley has taken a more active role in basketball decisions over the past two seasons. [...] On possibly moving the Grizzlies: 'There's nothing in my mind about leaving. It's just speculation. ... We have obligations and we intend to meet those obligations. We intend to remain an important part of this city.'"

Steve Bulpett, Boston Herald: "A little more than an hour before yesterday’s game, Kevin Garnett walked through the Celtics dressing room in civilian clothing and declined an opportunity to chat with reporters. 'Nothing to talk about,' Garnett said. 'I’m hurt.' Garnett eventually changed into workout gear and did more rehab on his strained right knee, but isn’t healthy enough to play after suffering the injury at Utah. This weekend was the two-week mark on a prognosis that had him out 2-3 weeks. And it may end up being longer than three. 'I’m going to still say no earlier than next Sunday,' coach Doc Rivers said."

Mike Monroe, SA Express-News: "Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said the wait for Manu Ginobili's return from a right ankle injury may last another two weeks. When Ginobili was diagnosed with a stress reaction in his right ankle on Feb. 16, the team's medical staff said he would miss two to three weeks. Popovich said team doctors took another look at the ankle recently and determined his recovery period will extend beyond the three weeks. 'Another week to two weeks,' Popovich said. 'When he's ready, he will play.'"

Brian Windhorst, Cleveland Plain-Dealer: "In the fall and winter of 2007, Cavaliers General Manager Danny Ferry had a pretty big problem on his hands. But it was something clearly defined in his head: He needed a roster makeover. The team had been to the NBA Finals the season before, but they were decimated in that series by the San Antonio Spurs and proved they were still short of their goal. [...] In less than 13 months, Ferry was able to put a plan into place to remake the supporting cast around LeBron James as he heads toward free agency in 2010. Two complex trades and a series of free-agent moves later, the Cavs have a 49-13 record and are serious contenders for an NBA title. 'The success of the roster changes made over the last year have come from a team effort,' Ferry said. '[Owner] Dan Gilbert has allowed [assistant GMs] Chris Grant, Lance Blanks and I to make some dramatic changes. Mike Brown and his coaching staff have done a tremendous job in putting all of it together.'"

Roderick Boone, New York Newsday: "[Chris] Duhon's lack of durability down the stretch could serve as evidence that he's more of a reserve guard than a starter, which might make the Knicks look long and hard at other point guards this offseason. Jason Kidd will be a free agent and the 76ers have to decide what to do with Andre Miller. There's also Steve Nash, who has a $13-million team option that might not be picked up. But D'Antoni isn't ready to say that Duhon's declining production is the reason the Knicks are going belly up. 'Any point guard has the team kind of in his hands,' D'Antoni said. 'When the point guard is not 100 percent sharp, you're going to falter a little bit. Having said that, I'm not going to put all the blame on him. We need to find other ways, and there are other ways to do it collectively that overcome it.'"

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