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New York Knicks: Don't tell Isiah Thomas that he has one of the toughest jobs in sports. "Everybody thinks that you can't fix the cap situation, but I'm used to going against the crowd," said Thomas in the New York Times. "I was a guy who came into the league at 6-foot-1 and everybody told me that I was crazy when I stood up on the first day of training camp and said that the Detroit Pistons would win a championship. I'm the same guy who was told that I was crazy for going to Toronto. I'm the same guy who was crazy for going to Indiana because it was a team that was totally dismantled. Each one of those places has turned out to be very successful and I'm more than confident that I can get the job done here."

Detroit Pistons: Where have we heard this before? "I believe if you defend and rebound better, you get better opportunities to score," Piston head coach Larry Brown told the Detroit News. "We do have to be smart offensively to justify playing both of those guys. You just hope what Darvin [Ham] brings in terms of his defense, rebounding and energy will make it a little easier." Brown is in the midst of changing his rotation once again, taking Tayshaun Prince and Mehmet Okur out of the starting lineup and turning to a more defensive oriented team employed by former coach Rick Carlisle. "Tayshaun is playing so many minutes and I think it is hurting him," Brown said. "We have been talking about using Darvin in the same way they used Michael Curry last year. We will have to be careful who we put around him, but you hope Darvin can give you the energy and defense, and give Ben (Wallace) some support at the start of the game."

Houston Rockets: Lately, Jeff Van Gundy has been inviting Steve Francis to the movies and those movies have always starred the same guy: Steve Francis. "I think I'm seeing the court more," Francis said in the Houston Chronicle. "Coach and I have been trying to dissect film more, and percentages and stats. I think we've been connecting a lot to where I'm recognizing situations to where it's a good time for me to shoot or a good time for me to pass. It's better if you see it on film instead of just talking about it. He's been doing an excellent job of bringing me in and making me watch every single shot that I take, every single pass. The little things have been helping me go a long way. It's a good session. It's definitely needed."

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