In a world filled with salacious sexual harassment scandals and bogus trade rumors, here's your speed read on, you know, basketball stuff that's going on in your favorite 5-on-5 association:
* Elton Brand is back at practice. Will that be good or bad for the 76ers? I guess we'll find out how good a coach Tony DiLeo is once EB returns to the lineup.
* Where did Brook Lopez come from with this? The rook dominated the paint against the flimsy Thunder with 31 points and 13 boards Monday night.
* The Celtics manned up for a 115-109 overtime victory over the Raptors. To me, though, the news was Paul Pierce scoring 39 points in 49 minutes on a bad knee. The injury bug is feastinng on the defending champs.
* Some solid links at Breakin Down The Game from D-Miz, who can't hide his anger at Gilbert Arenas. Agent Zero is indeed a zero in the eyes of the Breakin One for replying thusly when asked if he was going to come back from a knee injury this season: "I don't know. I mean, seven wins. Would you?"
* Latest from the rumor mill: Mike Conley from Memphis to Milwaukee for Joe Alexander and Ramon Sessions. A person familiar with the situation confirmed that the deal has been discussed, but said it's too early to predict whether it'll happen. Stay tuned.
* Word that Tracy McGrady will sit out two weeks to get his conditioning back and rest his left knee made perfect sense to one team executive who told me T-Mac has looked a step slow to him all season.
