SH Blog: Anthony says he and Phil Jackson are on the same page right now, Woodson says he can teach Triangle offense

• Steve Nash is apparently not ready to call it quits this season just yet, from Dave McMenamin of ESPN LA: ” Los Angeles Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni opened the door for the chance that Steve Nash could return at some point this season after the veteran guard supposedly shut it down last week because of nerve root irritation in his back and hamstrings. “It’s still a possibility,” D’Antoni said Wednesday when asked if Nash could play at some point in the Lakers’ final 15 games. “We have to see where he is physically. … We’ll have to see some practices and see how it goes.” The Lakers are down to one healthy point guard in Kendall Marshall, with Jordan Farmar out for a minimum of two weeks because of a strained right groin. The 40-year-old Nash told Time Warner Cable SportsNet on Tuesday, “I feel pretty good. I feel as though I could play now at a good level. The question is could I sustain it?”… “We’ll have to see,” D’Antoni said. “Again, we’re just trying to get him totally healthy. You just don’t want to send him out there and play him when he’s not healthy. The last time we tried, if you remember, he didn’t make it through a game. We can’t have him start the game and then at halftime not be able to come out. We got to look and see and maybe try it in a couple practices and see if he can get 100 percent healthy, but right now he’s not there.”

• Local teams lead to higher ticket prices in early rounds of the NCAA Tournament, from CBS Loca: “With an average price of $300.20, the 3rd session in Buffalo is the 2nd highest priced session across all NCAA Tournament tickets during the first two rounds. Given that a number of fairly local teams are likely to be involved, it’s no surprise that demand has been quite strong since the brackets came out. In the South Region, it seems fairly likely that Syracuse will move on to participate in Buffalo’s 3rd session, while the winner of Connecticut/St. Joseph’s will likely take on Villanova over in the East. Although Syracuse and Connecticut are no longer in the Big East conference, their northeast fan bases have served as a boon to ticket prices for the Buffalo games. With average ticket prices of $188.65 and $185.70 on the secondary market, even Sessions 1 and 2 check in well above the 2nd Round tourney-wide average of $170.25 at a premium of roughly 10%. But the Session 3 premium in Buffalo is still substantially higher, 48.6% over the tourney-wide 3rd round average.”

• Mark Cuban wonders if the Lakers will ever be dominant as they once were without Jerry Buss, from Dwain Price of Star-Telegram: “Jerry Buss was the Lakers, so I don’t know if the Lakers will ever be the Lakers,” Cuban said prior to the Mavs’ 94-89 win over Boston on Monday. “I don’t think there was a smarter owner in the history of the NBA than Jerry Buss, so that’s tough to replace. “I don’t think people realize just how good of an owner Jerry was. I looked up to him a lot. Absolutely. So I don’t know if the Lakers will ever be the Lakers.”… “He just understood fans, entertainment, players, how to balance all of it together, how to deal with the NBA, when to listen to (ex-NBA commissioner) David (Stern) and when to ignore him and when to tell him what to do,” Cuban said. “He had that breath of skills that every time I spoke to him — usually I’m used to doing to the talking, just force of habit. “But he’s one of the few people that when we sat down I did all the listening. So I don’t think there’s any question he’s by far the best owner in the history of the NBA. No exception.”

• Kyrie Irving is relieved that no surgery is necessary on his injured bicep, from Jason Lloyd of Beacon Journal: “Kyrie Irving said he was relieved Monday’s MRI revealed just a strained tendon in his left biceps and no tear. Irving will be shut down for two weeks and re-evaluated, leaving the real possibility he has played his last game of the season. But if he can avoid surgery, that’s at least a minor victory. Irving didn’t rule out the possibility of eventually needing a procedure, but that seems highly unlikely since he has been diagnosed with a strain and not a tear. “If you could take a positive from the situation, obviously that would be one, that at this point, I don’t have to get surgery, which is tremendous,” he said. “One of those freak plays against a strong individual in Blake.” Irving was injured Sunday when he tried poking the ball away from the Clippers’ Blake Griffin, adding to his already lengthy injury list. Irving has battled injuries to nearly every region of his body dating back to a toe injury in college.”

• Speaking of the Cavaliers, this goofy fan got kicked out of Quicken Loans Arena before he ever got to do anything crazy like running onto the court, thanks to the warnings he provided on twitter. They (Cavs) also need to find someone who can actually spell to take control of their scoreboard.
• Andrew Bynum is concerned about his latest knee situation, from Scott Agness of Pacers.com: “The knees are still swollen so he’s going to stay behind to get some work in here and some treatment here,” Pacers coach Frank Vogel said following Tuesday’s practice. “We’ll see where he’s at when we get back.” Bynum, who was in practice gear but didn’t participate on Tuesday, admitted there’s some concern for his recent setback. After scoring 15 points and grabbing nine rebounds in exactly 20 minutes of work Saturday night in Detroit, Bynum has experienced significant swelling in his right knee to the point where he underwent an MRI and had it drained Monday afternoon. “This one is a little concerning for me because it caused a lot more fluid,” he said. “I haven’t had that much fluid in there since like the (2010) Boston Finals in L.A.” That was almost four years ago. “It’s not fun,” Bynum added. “It is what it is at this point.”
• Phil Jackson says Isiah Thomas had a hand in convincing him to join the Knicks, from Begley of ESPN NY: “Back in 2004, Thomas, then the Knicks’ president, reached out to Jackson about possibly coaching the team. Jackson then asked Thomas about his relationship with Dolan because the coach had heard so many negative stories about the owner. “He was enthusiastic about the basketball program and he was enthusiastic about the owner,” Jackson said Wednesday. “I checked that against the other things you hear in the press and the naysayers that talk a little bit about the Knicks. … So I went in [to his recent negotiations with Dolan] with an open mind.” Dolan assured Jackson that he would have full autonomy over basketball decisions, and convinced him over a lengthy courtship to take the job as Knicks president.”

James Park is the chief blogger of Sheridan Hoops. You can find him on twitter @SheridanBlog.