Davis and Bledsoe Key Down the Stretch

The Memphis Grizzlies and the Los Angeles Clippers are separated by a mere half game in the standings. All that's on the line is home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs in which they would be pitted against each other in a thrilling rematch of last year's opening round. Here are two players that will play a huge role in which squad helps his team take that home court advantage.

Kyrie Irving: Not Franchise Worth-It?

Many consider Kyrie Irving of the Cleveland Cavaliers to be the NBA’s next best point guard.

A 6-3 Chris Paul with a silky-smooth jumper.

His seemingly supernatural abilities remain in such rarified air, that he certainly has the potential to one day be the best lead guard in the NBA.

But, as his latest injury has shown, maybe, just maybe, he’s got a little too much Uncle Drew in him…

Steve Nash the Shooting Guard

Gone is the free-spirited, cowboy with the long hair whipping to and fro as he weaved his way around the court looking to make everyone around him better. In his place, a company man gussied up with a Gatsby-esque Hollywood hairstyle and a stand-in-the-corner until your number is called upon role.

When Nash came to Los Angeles there wasn’t any doubt that he would have to sacrifice a part of his game. In fact, with Mike Brown as the coach and Kobe Bryant as his teammate, Nash understood that he would not be handling the ball anywhere near as much as he had while running the show in Phoenix.

This new reality was clearly evident as the Lakers attempted to run the Princeton offense, which often designated Nash as an off ball screener.

But when Brown was fired two weeks into the season and Mike D’Antoni brought in to replace him, it was the natural thinking of everyone that Nash would once again pick up the mantle of being the main offensive catalyst.

A lot has happened since, but four truths have been revealed as to why the Lakers now focus their offensive attack through Bryant.

Be Wary of Falling in Love with Rockets

Heading out of the All-Star break and following their trades of their two most prolific power forwards at the deadline, talk focused around the Houston Rockets falling out of the playoff picture and being overtaken by a suddenly (and at times miraculously) hot Lakers team that has been led by Kobe Bryant, a man clearly on a mission.

But with a win against Golden State on Friday night, the Rockets are instead pushing their way towards the front of the pack, now only a game behind overtaking the Warriors for the sixth seed.

The two teams meet up again next weekend, but face vastly different competition over the next nine days. The Rox will only play three times, two games against the lottery-bound Phoenix Suns and a game against the injury-depleted Minnesota Timberwolves. The Warriors, on the other hand, face a surging Milwaukee Bucks squad that has won four of its last five games, a struggling but still tough New York Knicks team, a winnable game against Detroit, and a very tough matchup against the Chicago Bulls.

By the time the squads meet back up, it’s very possible that the Rockets will have already overtaken the Dubs.