Paul Pierce News

The biggest cop-out when discussing this era of the Boston Celtics is saying you can't win a title with Rajon Rondo as your best player.

Before the season, the 36-year-old said he joined the Nets to be a "glorified role player," a major break from the alpha dog persona he developed in his first 15 seasons in Boston.

Here is our regular look around the NBA - links to stories worth reading and notes to check out - done in bullet point form.

Jared Sullinger was at a loss to explain how his Boston Celtics could win while committing a season-high 28 turnovers.

Paul Pierce netted 17 of his 29 points in the third quarter and the Nets topped the Heat, 96-95, on Wednesday night.

That's what the league's new boss said Wednesday when asked whether the NBA needed to do more to discourage teams from pinning their hopes on the draft lottery.

Surprise, surprise the Brooklyn Nets are the best team in the Eastern Conference in 2014 going 22-9 since the turn of the year.

Larry Bird is still watching. Not as much as he used to, now that he's back in charge of the Pacers, but he's still aware of what the Celtics are up to.

On a February evening in which the Brooklyn Nets lost by 44 points to the Portland Trail Blazers , the fourth-worst defeat in franchise history, there were two distinctly different reactions in the Nets locker room after the game.

He staggered the final few steps to the free-throw line, looking like Jimmy Brown from back in the day after four or five Giants piled on him.

When the Nets shipped Reggie Evans to the Sacramento Kings in a deal for Marcus Thornton last month before the trade deadline, they were really dealing the final remnant of their failed 2012-13 strategy.

There's some bad news for tankers: the Celtics are getting better and it's starting with the play between Rajon Rondo and Jeff Green.

Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo dished out 18 assists in Sunday night's win over the Detroit Pistons, pushing him further up the Celtics' all-time list and past one of the team's all-time greats.

Tyshawn Taylor began the year as a teammate of Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett. This was to be his second season in the NBA, a backup point guard for the Brooklyn Nets.

Paul Pierce left the Brooklyn Nets' game against the Sacramento Kings on Sunday night after suffering a sore right shoulder in the opening minutes and was ruled out for the rest of the game.

In the aftermath of a loss to the Boston Celtics , Brooklyn Nets ' Paul Pierce , and former Celtic, was asked about an eventual return to Boston in the future.

The Kings opened the trip with a win at Milwaukee, then dropped a 99-87 decision to Toronto Friday night.

Successful NBA rebuilds require luck, timing, shrewd decisions and patience. They're done with a long-term plan in mind, gradual motion toward a championship.

Rajon Rondo "knows what a pro should be," Doc Rivers said. "He knows what a pro looks like and he knows how a leader acts."

B randon Bass should be the envy of his teammates. While Rajon Rondo , Avery Bradley , Gerald Wallace , Jared Sullinger and Vitor Faverani have been sidelined with injuries, Bass keeps on playing.