Around The Rim

The Celtics have gone out of their way to be patient with underachieving big man Vin Baker, who's averaging just 5.9 points and 3.9 rebounds. His former employers suggest Boston try a tougher approach. "Every time we got mad and confronted him, he responded with a big game," says a Sonics insider....

The downside of extending the first round of the playoffs to best-of-seven is that it will produce even fewer upsets. The NBA postseason is already the most predictable in pro sports: Over the last 23 seasons just seven franchises have won titles. Compare that with baseball, where 17 different teams have won the World Series over the same span....

Kobe Bryant wasn't in the first group of players named to the Olympic team because he's been slow to sign the standard USA Basketball marketing contract required of all Olympians. Bryant takes greater personal interest in his marketing than any player this side of Michael Jordan, and he's in the middle of negotiating a new sneaker deal. "It's going to get done," says Bryant, reaffirming his promise to spend the next two summers playing for the U.S. "I'm there."

...Power forward Danny Fortson is trying to make the best of a season spent at the end of the Warriors' bench. "You give me $5 million this year to sit, basically just a fan, front-row tickets," says Fortson. "A lot of people would love to have that job."