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Let’s get right to it:
Dwight Howard says Lakers should win their last eight games; may have to do it without Steve Nash.
According to ESPN LA’s Dave McMenamin, after practice yesterday, Dwight Howard told reporters, “We just got to come out and play with the right intensity, the right effort for 48 minutes and we should win all these games.” 
Although the quote came on April Fools Day and despite the Lakers not having a win streak longer than five games all season, Howard said his statement with a completely straight face. In reality, though, Howard is probably being overly optimistic about his team. Five of the Lakers’ eight remaining games come against Western Conference foes who are ahead of them in the standings (including games against San Antonio, the Clippers, and Memphis.) Steve Nash has been ruled out for tonight’s pivotal game against the Mavericks as he suffers from both a strained right hip and an ailing right hamstring. Mike D’Antoni expects Nash to return to action on Friday.
Suns sign Lon Babby to a two-year contract extension through 2013-2014.
The Phoenix Suns have extended President of Basketball Operations Lon Babby’s contract through 2013-2014. Babby, a former high-profile player agent who represented the likes of Tim Duncan, Ray Allen, and Grant Hill, was hired to be the Suns’ President of Basketball Operations in the summer of 2010. 
Babby’s first two seasons in Phoenix have faced largely mixed reviews. While Babby has been commended for shrewd acquisitions such as Marcin Gortat, Wesley Johnson, and PJ Tucker, he has also been responsible for the ill-fated Michael Beasley contract. He committed $34 million to point guard Goran Dragic just weeks after spending his team’s lottery pick on point guard Kendall Marshall in the draft. The timing of this extension seems curious. Why the rush to re-sign Babby. It is unlikely that he would have been a highly pursued executive on the open market. I would have liked to see Phoenix wait until the season’s end to make a final assessment of Babby’s track record.
John Wall supports Derrick Rose’s decision to sit out.
Add John Wall to the list of supporters who believe Derrick Rose would be better off sitting out the entire season as he still recovers from his torn ACL injury. From ESPN Chicago’s Nick Friedell, Wall told reporters, “I feel like [if] I were in the situation I wouldn’t really [come back this year] because you don’t have enough time to get into a rhythm. Then you get to the playoffs, D-Rose wouldn’t be good for that team just playing 20 minutes a game. They’re already a good team and good defensively, but to be even better he would have to play more minutes.” 
Wall, who like Rose was coached by John Calipari in college, also faced similar pressure from fans to return prematurely from a knee injury in January. “It took me until March to really find my rhythm of getting into game shape.”
While it would be exciting to see Rose return in time for a possible playoff showdown with Miami, the reality of the matter is that Rose is still only 24-years-old and means a lot more to Chicago’s future than its present. Rushing Rose back to the court before he is ready makes little sense. With Luol Deng and Joakim Noah just entering the primes of their careers, the Bulls figure to have a large window of opportunity for championship contention in the years to come.
