Orlando could use another big effort from Jameer Nelson

"We're approaching it that the 13 (healthy) guys we have now are who we're going to have the rest of the season and in the playoffs," Van Gundy said.

The Magic suffered another blow when reserve Glen Davis, filling in for Howard, exited Sunday's win with a sprained right knee. He'll undergo further examination, but there's no timetable for a return.

"He hyperextended his knee, so my guess would be that he'd not play," Van Gundy said. "I haven't been told anything officially, though."

With the injuries piling up, Orlando could use another big effort from Jameer Nelson, who had 21 points and nine assists against the Cavaliers after making just 4 of 14 field goals and finishing with nine points and four assists in a 109-81 loss to the Hawks two days prior.

The Cardinal could only get within six the rest of the game

The Cardinal could only get within six the rest of the game despite Nnemkadi Ogwumike's best efforts. The senior led the Cardinal with 22 points and nine rebounds. Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer took her out with about 30 seconds left and gave her a long embrace.
"No one feels good after a loss, especially if it's in the Final Four," Ogwumike said.
The 6-2 forward, who most likely will be the top pick in the WNBA draft on April 16, did all she could to keep the Cardinal in the game, but got little help. Her younger sister, Chiney, who had such a strong sophomore season, was ineffective. She fouled out midway through the second half with just four points.

susanstoretk: The Crimson did what they had to do

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zurabstoretk: The Quakers obviously felt they could have defeate...

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wc9999tk: Jeff Carter had three goals

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James and Wade don't need a point guard on the floor with them

In the aftermath of another hideous performance by the Heat on the road, it remained impossible to explain why basketball sometimes is so hard for them. The answer, in part, is that they're making it hard on themselves.

The Celtics, who pounded Miami 91-72 Sunday without Ray Allen, deserve credit for resurrecting their season and climbing back into the Atlantic Division lead. With regular rest and practice time, they will be hard to deal with in the playoffs. But they don't have to be this hard to deal with for the Heat.

Same goes for the Bulls, and for anyone else in the Eastern Conference. Same goes for the Thunder, Spurs and Lakers out West.

The Heat, 1-7 on the road against playoff teams since the All-Star break, continue to do this to themselves. They are killing themselves with convention, with a refusal to understand that a unique collection of talent requires what some would consider to be an unconventional way of playing.

I started riffing away on this theme in November 2010, when Miami's newly formed Big Three were having trouble figuring out how to play. They eventually got it right -- right enough to lose to Dallas in the NBA Finals, anyway -- and made some tweaks this season that were a step in the right direction.

The simple way to describe the unconventional approach Miami needs is to say that LeBron James should play point guard on this team. Or at the very least, James and Dwyane Wade -- two of the most unguardable open-floor players ever to step onto an NBA court -- need to share the initiation role in the Heat's offense. When you have two players who are that unstoppable with the ball in their hands -- and a player of LeBron's otherworldly gifts for passing -- there's no need for Mario Chalmers or Norris Cole to be in 29 of your 30 most frequently used lineups this season.

I could've kept going as I scrolled through the handy-dandy advanced metrics tools at NBA.com/stats, but I grew tired of finding their names.

James and Wade don't need a point guard on the floor with them. They certainly didn't need one Sunday, when Chalmers (1-for-5, two points) and Cole (2-for-11, seven points) were utterly dominated by Rajon Rondo (16 points, 14 assists). James, one of the top two or three pure passers I have seen come into the NBA since I have been watching it, had zero assists in 35 minutes.