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Kobe Bryant finished this reverse dunk against the Blazers last night, and in the process helped his team to pass the Boston Celtics in the league-wide standings.

Thanks to a bizarro night in the Association -- one where the Celtics fell to the Knicks, and LeBron's crab dribble couldn't save the Cavs from losing a close one in Washington -- the Lakers now own the NBA's best record with a 27-5 mark through the team's first 32 games.

Of course, it's not like they're running away with it or anything; the Celtics have actually played three more games, and have won two of them. The Lakers have the advantage by mere percentage points (.844 to .829), and are just a half a game ahead of Cleveland, with the same amount of wins but one fewer loss.

It may be a bit early to start talking about home court advantage throughout the playoffs, but it's worth noting that the top of the East is shaping up to be tougher than the top of the West. The Celtics lead the Cavs by just a single game in the East, and lead the Magic by just two and a half games (again, percentage points). L.A. has it a bit easier out West at the moment, with a slightly more comfortable five and a half game lead over their closest competition, the Spurs and the Nuggets.

Blazers small forward Martell Webster returned from his broken foot Sunday in Toronto. He played five minutes in the first half, but ended his stint at halftime with some soreness. Now The Oregonian reports Webster is back in a walking boot and will be out another four weeks.

By itself, this is not a serious problem for Portland, which ripped through a tough November with rookie Nicolas Batum filling Webster's starting spot ably enough (especially on defense). More specifically, Portland's offense has been better than anyone expected; Webster is a shooter foremost, but the team hasn't really missed his jumper. It's hard to imagine the team being a whole lot better if Webster had been healthy.

Where this hurts is in Kevin Pritchard's private trade machine. Travis Outlaw remains to be one of the few Blazers mentioned in rumors. Portland does have a few other assets: Raef LaFrentz's expiring, self-sustained contract, Sergio Rodriguez. But Outlaw's the man teams seem to want. And through all Steve Blake's success, the talk that the Blazers want a veteran point guard keeps up.

With Webster on the shelf, can Portland afford to lose Outlaw? Small forward is the one position in which Portland lacks remarkable depth. Rudy Fernandez and Brandon Roy prefer the two-guard, and Channing Frye really isn't quick enough to go down a weight class. If Pritchard moves Outlaw before Webster's ready, there's the risk of putting way too much pressure on Batum and messing up the guard rotation.

Danny Granger wasn't the only last-minute class of '05 extension: Martell Webster got paid, too. Webster, a lesser forward with less future responsibility, earned himself a four-year, $20 million contract, one which will come to fruition next season. Currently, Webster is out with a broken foot while Travis Outlaw and Nicolas Batum fill the gap.

Outlaw signed a three-year, $12 million deal last summer which locks him up through '09-10; rumors have placed Outlaw in trade talks since last spring, when his name came up in ploys for Jason Kidd or Devin Harris. The other factor in his continued Portland employment has been his thirst to play a bigger role in the offense than his current status allows; while Webster seemingly relishes the role of spot-up shooter, Outlaw would prefer to be a featured weapon. (This isn't to say Webster has no higher aims or that Outlaw is selfish; this is just an assessment of what each has said publicly.)

Webster's deal does a few other things, besides affecting Outlaw's situation. First, it closes one matter expected to rule Portland's 2009 summer, where several major players are eligible for extensions or free agency. Second, it makes Sacramento's extension of Francisco Garcia (at five years, $29 million) look a little worse by comparison. The market is relative; Kevin Pritchard and Joe Dumars (with the $20 million over four years for Jason Maxiell) are setting a high standard.

When Martell Webster broke his foot, I imagined a world in which perhaps Rudy Fernandez ascended to Portland's starting line-up. It was all a bit tongue-in-cheek, as Travis Outlaw seemed the clear favorite for the small forward job. Outlaw, of course, is a tenured pillar of PDX, a sparky bundle of basketball exuberance who seeks a greater stake in the team's future. Outlaw is the no-brainer here, Fernandez the fanciful daydream.

... and like a bat out of les Catacombes, here comes Nicolas Batum, the teenaged Francais who slipped to No. 25 in the '08 draft after years of lottery projection. Batum will not only stick in the States this year, he's looking to keep Webster's spot warm. From The Oregonian via Blazers Edge:

"I mean, at first it was one day. Then it was two days. And now it's three days. And it's still Nic," [Brandon] Roy said, pointing out that Batum has worked exclusively with the first unit the past three practices.

That leaves Roy with no other conclusion than [Nate] McMillan is very serious about starting Batum at small forward in the season opener against the Los Angeles Lakers, which his a mere 11 days away.

Since then, McMillan has said Batum will start in Portland's next preseason game (Monday at Sacramento). This is a stunning turn of events, even by Trail Blazer standards. Here we have this universally beloved roster filled with award winners and top picks and breakouts waiting to happen ... and a mostly anonymous French kid almost no one has seen in professional game action swoops in and gets a starting job. Has a team ever managed to be a consensus heartthrob of 60-year-old pundits and a cult favorite at the same time? This is some '72-73 Virginia Squires stuff here.

NBA Essentials ranks our six favorite stories of the day.

1. The Painted Area. Tim Hardaway told SLAM an unnamed NBA player came out to his teammates last year, and things were cool. This is good news ... but why hasn't it made the news?

2. New York Times. Memo to the friends and enemies of Nate Robinson: it seems Chris Duhon is having trouble grasping the D'Antoni offense.

3. Ball Don't Lie. If you aren't reading BDL's team previews, you're really missing out.

4. Rocky Mountain News. Anthony Carter's outdoor hoops experience goes back to playing five-on-five for drug money in Atlanta so that his family could eat. I'm guessing Saturday at Indian Wells will be slightly different.

5. Blazers Edge. Martell Webster, a young promising starter, goes down with the most serious injury in Portland since Oden's microfracture ... and no one misses a beat. Why?

6. Jones on the NBA. A video and text history of the 1990-91 NBA season.

Portland's Tuesday night glee spun to Wednesday morning's trepidation (followed by more Wednesday night trepidation) as news spread that starting small forward Martell Webster suffered a fracture in his foot during the preseason-opening win over Sacramento. In Wednesday's match with the Warriors, Rudy Fernandez went down with an ankle sprain which looks less gnarly but still temporarily worrisome. Webster will be out until at least December, putting about a quarter of the season in play for Portland's second-tier wings.

Common courtesy and coach Nate McMillan give Travis Outlaw the first crack, which makes sense: Outlaw has spent training camp competing for the job. He has been a spot starter over the last three seasons, and he broke out as a decent scorer last season. Outlaw's an able NBA starter, and this is a good situation for everyone.

But might there be some value in bringing Fernandez into the first unit? Outlaw aims for starter status, but looked real comfortable as sixth man in '07-08. Fernandez would appear to be the superior offensive player, however -- he is, at the very least, a better shooter. With LaMarcus Aldridge and Greg Oden up front, should Portland prefer an explosive defender and good scorer like Outlaw, or a great playmaker and efficient scorer like Fernandez?

Of course, there are other considerations ... like the starting point guard job. If Sergio Rodriguez is the back-up PG, as it would appear to be, Fernandez might be best matched with him: they know each other well, as the Kings -- who saw a brilliant Sergio-to-Rudy alley-oop Tuesday -- can testify to. So Outlaw likely rings through as the right choice here. But if he gets off to a slow start, don't be surprised if fans start chanting Rudy's name.

Despite falling in defeat once last week, the Blazers insist they are still smokin' hot. Utah found that out once again, getting bludgeoned by a third-quarter onslaught by Martell Webster which led to a 103-89 Portland victory. Here's a taste of Martell's explosion.



The man can shoot. The high lottery pick of Webster was almost universally panned -- the running joke is that Portland, attempting to escape the 'Jailblazers' moniker, picked the nicest kid they could find. But he's turning out alright. Clearly, his specialty is shooting... which is a need (and should be a need) for this team going forward. I'm inclined to admit he's a good fit.

Portland's got all four annual games against Utah in since December 11. The Blazers went 3-1. That isn't helping Utah make a stronger dent on the 3.5 games in the standings separating the teams. How many more wins before we begin to honestly assess Portland's playoff chances?

B-Ball, B-Fast is a week daily look at last night's NBA action from a fantasy perspective. Bookmark it and visit often.

Cup of Coffee
Joe Smith simply won't go away. Not that we necessarily want him to ... it's just that he doesn't seem to every become totally irrelevant. 12 years in the L after being a first overall pick and once the single handed destruction of the Minnesota T-wolve franchise, Smith has been getting kinda warm again. For December he had 10 double digit scoring games and averaged over 10 points a game and in 2008 he's over 20 per game. Granted it's only two outings, but hey, it does not make it untrue. Don't think it's going to last that long -- regardless of who is running the Bulls rotation and offensive schemes you can expect Tyrus Thomas to emerge sooner than later as the starting power forward -- so Smith is a prime sell high right now. Just make sure the commissioner knows about it.

Hot Cakes
"Kid Delicious" Kevin Durant returned from a one game finger injury absence on Thursday and scored 28 points with seven boards against the Suns. Everybody breathe. Durant appears to be fine (11 of 24 certainly isn't horrible) and remains a nice buy if his owner is struggling in the field goal percentage cat and you have some room to spare.

Travis Outlaw scored 21 on a disappointing 19 shots but there's nothing boring about 38 minutes of playing time, especially when the Blazers win. Outlaw outplayed (again) Martell Webster, but it looks like Webster might continue starting, although Outlaw will continue to get the majority of the PT, with the Blazers deferring to the classic "hot hand" occasionally. Outlaw's the guy you want.

Speaking of older doods, Michael Finley kept up his recent hot streak as the Spurs toppled the Nuggets, scoring 18 points with eight boards in 38 minutes of court time. That's nine straight games in double digits and his scoring has obviously boosted with Manu Ginobili out. Ginobili's missed four games and is nearing a return, making Finley an obvious sell high. He's going to see a drop in time and scoring clearly, but he should still start, which is a crucial point to use when trying to package him as part of a deal.

If Kobe Bryant's an action movie, the Blazers are a bad movie cliche. Jason Quick of The Oregonian has a terrific tale about a vicious Blazers practice in a San Antonio gym a month ago. Joel Pryzbilla and Martell Webster insulted each other then nearly threw down. Steve Blake assaulted a chair. Brandon Roy cursed his teammates out. Jarrett Jack started jawing. The whole team combusted on each other, as Quick tells it. And it was exactly what Nate McMillan wanted.

When McMillan finally ended the practice, he huddled the team and released some of his own frustrations. He told them he liked what he saw during the practice, but he was tired of seeing this only in practice. He couldn't understand why the team would go at each other so hard, yet treat the opponent with such passivity.

The Blazers haven't lost since a defeat at the Spurs the next day -- 12 straight wins going into tonight's battle with Philadelphia. Quick unleashes a line of statistics which show the team playing tougher basketball (better shooting defense, more offensive rebounds, more fouls drawn). I'd venture to say McMillan's gambit worked.

It worked for my youth soccer team when I was 11 years old, too. Only instead of hitting rock bottom ourselves, we went to see The Mighty Ducks together. Good times.

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Cup of Coffee
I was high all pre-season on Craig Smith, ever since he closed out April of last year averaging 11.3 points and 8.2 boards per game, in just over 30 minutes. Factor in the Kevin Garnett trade, and it seemed naturally that Minnesota would slide Al Jefferson in at center, start Smith at the four and let Ryan Gomes, Corey Brewer and Rashard McCants fight for playing time at the three. Hasn't been the case, obviously, as Gomes has benefited most from the trade in terms of minutes. Production wise, he's been pretty worthless though, averaging just over nine points and four boards per game in 26 some minutes. Smith has had nearly identical stats in just under 19 minutes a game. Last night, he came off the bench to rack up 20 points and nine boards in 27 minutes while Gomes played only eight. Smith is a polished rebounder and scorer, and with the T-Wolves lacking in general talent, there's fantasy production to be had here. Grab him if you need rebounding or have bench space and we'll enjoy him taking the starting role together.

Hot Cakes
In more exciting Timberwolf (does that even work?) news, Marko Jaric returned to the floor. He played 39 minutes and flirted with a trip-dub, scoring 18 points and adding eight boards and nine assists. If he got dropped while hurt, grab him. And while we're here, it's worth mentioning that Corey Brewer started as well, and grabbed a ridiculous 18 boards, scoring six points with five dimes and four steals. If he's starting, he's worthwhile in fantasy, but he's a rookie so expect inconsistency.

Joe Johnson looked to get a little swagger back against Minny last night ... and came up "okay". He scored 21 but shot poorly again, and was again outdone by Josh Smith, who racked up this line: 28/7/2/2/7. I'm not sure there are many players I wouldn't give up for J-Smoove in a roto league right now. Johnson is a nice buy low.

Linas Kleiza scored 23 for Denver in a win, but he's still bench / low-end roster material unless Kenyon Martin gets hurt again, which certainly isn't a huge reach. Stash him if you can afford to -- he's still averaging 10 points a game.

The Travis Outlaw Watch continues, as he scored 20 points with 7 boards and two assists in 22 minutes. Same amount of time for Martell Webster. The result? Four points and one dime. Don't say I didn't tell you to grab him.