* One of my favorite writers, Bob Kravitz, wrote a fantastic article on why the Pacers should relieve Jim O’Brien of his coaching duties. While dealing with O’Brien earlier this season he was grumpy and bristled at when I asked him about giving more minutes to his younger players (A.J. Price, Roy Hibbert and Brandon Rush).

* It was great to see The Basketball Jones make their debut on The Score earlier this week.

* Kelly Dwyer does a fantastic job of calling out Michael Jordan. Seriously, why is Jordan sitting on the Bobcats’ bench when that is the exact thing that he ripped Jerry Krause for doing? Bush. League.

* Is Charles Garcia NBA material? It’s an interesting question raised by Tom Ziller and is one I’ll be tracking closely during pre-draft workouts in Toronto and Washington. I’ve had Garcia in my Mock Draft at different points this year, so yes, at this point I think he’s in the mix. However, my opinion could change once I see him against other prospects in live pre-draft workouts. Rashad will be keeping tabs if he attends a Wizards pre-draft workout and I’ll be sure to head to the ACC for his pre-draft workout.

* Speaking of the NBA Draft, two years ago I had Robin Lopez pegged as a legit big man in the NBA. During his pre-draft workout in Toronto he was head and shoulders above anyone else on the court (sorry for the bad pun) and I have to admit I was shocked to see his career look horrible during his first season and a half in Phoenix. Here’s a great article by Rob Mahoney talking about how Lopez has breathed life into his NBA career this season.

* Kudos to Jamal Crawford for earning his first trip to the NBA Playoffs.

* Interesting read by Mike Ganter about DeMar DeRozan and how he is more confident than he was the last time Toronto had a West Coast road trip. I hate to be pessimistic… but… I’m just not seeing this confidence and growth from the rookie that other people surrounding the team are reporting. Sorry.

* Fantastic article by Kevin Arnovitz that sheds light into Amadou Fall’s role with the NBA in Africa.

* Just in case you ever wanted to play Paper-Rock-Scissors against yourself…

* This past week Wendell Maxey wrote some gems about how teams attempt to guard Brandon Roy and how Portland flirted with the idea of drafting Adam Morrison instead of Roy.