FanHouse BlakeAhearn

Every now and again there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the L. Doing Lines lets you know which one tops the list.

Remember how people once wondered how Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony would manage to play on the same team? It seems like so long ago.

On Thursday, they proved once again that they're managing quite well, thank you. Anthony shot 11-20 to finish with 32 points, 10 boards and eight assists, while AI shot 11-21 to finish with 31 points and five assists. The duo helped spark the Nuggets over the Mavs to move into the eighth and final playoff seed.

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Blake Ahearn: The D-League refugee opened his NBA career by going 0-for-9 in his first three games, but he exploded for 13 points in the first half alone against the Pistons. Unfortunately, that was about as much fun as he'd have the rest of the night: he scored just two more points the rest of the way as the Heat combined to score just 24 points after the break. Ahearn finished 3 for 10 from the field but converted 8 of 9 from the charity stripe.

An interesting sequence of events the last two days, if you're into following two of the league's worst teams. The Clippers recently signed Smush Parker for the rest of the season. Coach Mike Dunleavy explained the rationale.

"You got a choice between Smush Parker or the NBDL," Dunleavy said. "Smush Parker or the NBDL? Which way are you going to go?"

Pat Riley, obviously, holds the fundamentally opposite opinion. The Heat cut Smush loose last week; thanks to Jason Williams's recent injury and one of the ugliest performances in memory last night against Toronto, Riley turned to... the NBDL. He signed point guard (and potential future Steve Nash*) Blake Ahearn of the Dakota Wizards.

For the clubs, it does not really matter. For Smush -- who gets the opportunity to show he's not a chronic problem -- it matters. For Ahearn -- who gets to show he's better than Chris Quinn -- it matters. That Dunleavy thinks his move was brilliant is funny.

* Probably not.

Hardwood Paroxysm has a tremendous interview with D-League stud Blake Ahearn, a small two-guard who is trying to reinvent himself in the mold of his basketball hero, Steve Nash. It got me thinking. Will we ever see another Nash?

If you'll remember, it took Nash a few seasons to get to starter-level, and a few more to get to star status. But he did it, by working his tail off. Then, you turn around and he's a two-time MVP. It is among the most improbable rises to stardom in recent NBA history, maybe on the level of Gilbert Arenas' quick ascension.

Ahearn is using the NBDL to develop his point guard skills. Theoretically, this is the place to do it -- not during practice and garbage time with an NBA club, or as the back-up on a European team where winning trumps player development without question. David Stern catches flak for harping on his babies, but it's tough to argue that the D-League isn't a tremendous success in this way: Young players are getting better. That's the point.

So will we see another Nash? Maybe. If so, perhaps the D-League will play a role in the player's development.