NBA Ends Regular Season on Different Notes

Cavs: LeBron James and Shaquille O'Neal will make their next appearance together in the playoffs. Both James and O'Neal were sitting out Cleveland's regular-season finale against the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night, coach Mike Brown announced after the teams' morning shootaround. While Brown worried about a lack of chemistry heading into the playoffs, he was more concerned about the top-seeded Cavaliers sustaining a needless injury to one of their key players. The regular-season finale means nothing to either team. The Cavaliers have already locked up the No. 1 spot in the East and home-court advantage throughout the playoffs, while Atlanta has clinched the No. 3 seed in the conference.

Bulls; As if there wasn't enough drama already, the Chicago Bulls' season took another weird twist and this one involves coach Vinny Del Negro and executive vice president John Paxson. It also overshadowed a crucial victory. On a night when the Bulls boosted their playoff hopes by beating the Boston Celtics 101-93 behind Derrick Rose's career-high 39 points, the attention centered on a report that their top executive pushed their coach during a confrontation following a game last month. They lead Toronto by a game in the Eastern Conference, thanks to Rose's big effort and Kirk Hinrich's season-high 30 points, and will reach the postseason with a win at Charlotte on Wednesday or a loss by the Raptors to New York.

Suns: The overachieving Phoenix Suns have home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The Suns, considered a borderline playoff contender when the season began, used the dominating power of Amare Stoudemire, the virtuoso playmaking of Steve Nash and an array of long-range shooters to rout the Denver Nuggets 123-101 on Tuesday night. The victory locked up the No. 4 seed in the West for Phoenix. The Suns will be No. 3 if they can win at Utah on Wednesday night. Stoudemire scored 26 points and Nash had 18 points and 10 assists before sitting out the fourth quarter while the reserves mopped up the Suns' 11th consecutive victory against the Nuggets in Phoenix. That’s big time dominance!

Lakers: Andrew Bynum says he's on track to return to the Los Angeles Lakers in time for their first playoff game this weekend. Bynum missed his 12th straight game Tuesday with a strained left Achilles' tendon, but the 7-foot center says his rehabilitation is progressing well. After running on an anti-gravity treadmill Monday, he was scheduled to run on a regular treadmill Tuesday night.  Coach Phil Jackson thinks Bynum will be able to practice with the top-seeded Lakers on Friday and Saturday before they open the playoffs Sunday against eighth-seeded Oklahoma City. Bynum is averaging 15 points and 8.3 rebounds this season while making 57 percent of his shots and blocking 94 shots. Lamar Odom has replaced him in the Lakers' starting lineup. These Lakers had better not take this OK Thunder team lightly, they are the real deal with Kevin Durant averaging 30+ points a game.

Blazers: The night after Brandon Roy felt something in his knee go wrong he couldn't sleep, thoughts of 'what if?' tumbling though his mind. Maybe it wasn't so bad. But the next afternoon he got the news, and it wasn't good. He had torn the meniscus in his right knee -- just as the playoffs loomed for the Portland Trail Blazers. Roy injured his knee in Portland's 91-88 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday. The tear was discovered on Monday and that night he sat out of Portland's 103-95 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder. He'll also miss the regular-season finale against the Warriors on Wednesday night. Roy will rest and ice his knee for the next several days. He'll be reevaluated on Friday for his availability during the playoffs.

Jazz: The Utah Jazz are heading into their most important game of the season possibly without their best player. Home-court advantage could be on the line. Mehmet Okur had 23 points and seven rebounds, Paul Millsap grabbed a career-high 24 rebounds and the Jazz swept the three-game season series against Golden State with a 103-94 victory against the Warriors on Tuesday night despite losing leading scorer Carlos Boozer to an early injury. Utah and Phoenix are tied for third place in the Western Conference at 53-28 heading into their season-ending matchup Wednesday night at Salt Lake City, so the result will determine both teams' playoff seedings. If the Jazz win and Dallas loses its season finale at home against San Antonio, Utah would earn the No. 2 seed. Coach Jerry Sloan gave no indication of Boozer's status for Wednesday's game. Utah, riding a 10-game home winning streak, could be as high as the No. 2 seed or fall to fifth.

Rookie of the Year: The NBA has taken away Charlotte Bobcats broadcaster Dell Curry's rookie of the year vote because his son is among the leading candidates for the award. Curry's son, Stephen Curry, is averaging 17.2 points and 5.9 assists per game for Golden State. He and Kings guard Tyreke Evans, who is averaging 20.3 points and 5.8 assists, are considered the front-runners to be top rookie.  "Oh, he's voting for Tyreke," Stephen Curry joked after his team's 103-94 loss to the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night. "That's good for me then. ... Just to be in that conversation is great for me." NBA spokesman Tim Frank says Dell Curry will be allowed to vote for all the other postseason awards, but the league did not want to put him in an awkward position with the rookie award. The New York Times first reported the NBA's decision regarding Curry's vote. Curry played 16 seasons in the NBA with five teams. Franks says the league will replace Curry with another voter who covers the Bobcats, but has not picked a replacement yet.

Real Possibilities: The Lakers had better wake up and wake up fast. They have never ended a season on such a down note. Bynum’s return is key as well as Kobe’s finger issue. Of course they are favorites to eliminate the OK Thunder in first round but if Lakers don’t put up over 110 a game they could be OUT in round one! The Suns and Mavs are playing with renewed confidence that has not been seen in years. If and when they meet it will be a treat for NBA fans. The West is the Best is again the battle cry as only the Cavs and Magic pose any real threat to got to Finals whereas in the West the Lakers, Mavs, Suns, Jazz and Nuggets could go deep into playoff picture. Even the upstart bunch in OK City could cause a lasting impression in this years playoffs.