ORLANDO -- If the state of Texas is planning on any commercials during NBA games over the next week, officials might want to hold off. Cleveland's Daniel Gibson will be a walking advertisement.
Just in time for Wednesday's big nationally televised game at Orlando, the guard has shaved onto the left side of his head a big map of Texas with a star on it. While it is the Lone Star State, Gibson, who is from Houston and a big baseball fan, calls it an "Astros star.''
"I'm the first one,'' Gibson claimed about being the initial NBA player with a state shaved onto his head for a game.
We all know Stephen Jackson is a short timer in Golden State. And now, with the Warriors off to a troubling 2-4 start, it looks as if Jackson will be gone sooner rather than later.
When Jackson first said he was "looking to leave" the Warriors, he listed Cleveland, New York or one of the Texas teams as desired destinations. Since then, a few other teams have supposedly expressed interest.
Charlotte, Miami and even Philadelphia are said to have emerged. However, there remains little doubt that the Cavaliers remain Jackson's most likely end-up spot. The reason: compatibility.
Before he was named head coach of the Cavaliers in 2005, Mike Brown twice had the honor of coaching Stephen Jackson: once as an assistant with the Pacers, and before that, as an assistant with the Spurs.
Jackson's time in Indiana wasn't exactly that of a model citizen, but he was fine in San Antonio, and even got himself a ring as a contributor to the Spurs' championship in 2003.
Maybe Brown, based on this past experience, sees something in Jackson that at this point, most of the rest of us do not. That has to be the reason that Cleveland is interested in trading for Jackson, and freeing him from the unpleasant situation that he's created for himself in Golden State.
CLEVELAND -- Zydrunas Ilgauskas was beginning to make Bill Walton look like an iron horse.
Through the 2000-01 season, Cleveland's big center missed 268 of his first 378 possible career NBA games. He'd had five surgeries on both of his feet in a half decade.
His final surgery was in February 2001, and it was pretty much all or nothing. If the complicated procedure to insert three screws and reconfigure his left foot wasn't successful, many believed Ilgauskas would retire.
Remarkably, it did work. Ilgauskas' career was saved, and he went on to play in All-Star Games in 2003 and 2005.
But Ilgauskas, 34, is getting close to the end of the line. His contract expires at the end of this season, and he told FanHouse he might retire next summer.
This is not good for forward Michael Beasley. And it's REALLY not good if you're the Miami Heat trying to convince Dwyane Wade that they are serious about building a championship team around him.
No, this is real bad.
Beasley, who checked himself into a rehab clinic last week because of depression and substance-abuse issues, suddenly looks like the elephant in the franchise room as Wade ponders where his future will be.
Rasheed Wallace is one of the last major free agent names to make a commitment, and if the reports turn out to be true (thanks to Hedo Turkoglu, you can never be too sure), he'll be suiting up to start the 2009 season as a member of the Celtics.
Our own Matt Steinmetz thinks that makes Boston the favorite to take home the title next year. But to me, that seems -- to put it as politely as possible -- a bit overly-optimistic.
The Orlando Magic already finished two rounds of playoffs on the road, clinching the first in Philadelphia and the second in Boston.
They better do this one at home.
The Magic take a 3-2 lead into Game 6 of the Eastern Conference final Saturday night at Amway Arena against the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers, well aware that they might be pushing their road luck if they are forced into a return to Cleveland for Game 7.
"We don't want to go back and play in their arena again,'' said Magic forward Rashard Lewis. "They feed off that crowd there.''
The Cleveland Cavaliers worked all season to develop a home-court dominance that they expected to carry them all the way to the NBA Finals. But after having that homecourt aura abruptly stripped away in Game 1 by Orlando, it puts them into a high-pressure, must-win, situation tonight in Game 2. Another loss would be crushing, like digging their own playoff grave.
Through the first two rounds of the playoffs, the Cavs never played from behind, which can cause panic to even the most seasoned veteran. Conversely, desperation can be a wonderful motivational tool. After the jump are five questions for Game 2 of the East finals.
For all of the Cavaliers' success this year -- both posting the league's best record and winning their first eight games of the playoffs -- the Magic have actually held their own in head-to-head matchups, winning two of three games in the regular season and seven of 10 the last three years.
Much like your 401k, though, past results do not guarantee future performance, but at least the Magic won't come into this series questioning whether they have what it takes to win a single game against the vaunted Cavs, which was exactly the situation the dysfunctional Pistons and the injury-depleted Hawks faced in the first and second rounds, respectively.
ORLANDO -- If the state of Texas is planning on any commercials during NBA games over the next week, officials might want to hold off. Cleveland's Daniel Gibson will be a walking advertisement.
We all know 
FanHouse 
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The Cleveland Cavaliers worked all season to develop a home-court dominance that they expected to carry them all the way to the NBA Finals. But after having that homecourt aura abruptly stripped away in Game 1 by Orlando, it puts them into a high-pressure, must-win, situation tonight in Game 2. Another loss would be crushing, like digging their own playoff grave.
FanHouse previews 
