2/11: Josh Smiff, Lebron, etc.

Greetings! We have a ton to get to this morning despite being low on time, so let's get straight to it!

• ESPN's Chris Broussard is reporting that the Brooklyn Nets are trying to move heaven and earth to acquire... Josh Smith! I'll save every single joke I have about a Josh/Joe reunion, and simply say that I don't think Brooklyn has the assets to grab Smith without moving Brook Lopez (and they won't do that). The reported deal would center around Kris Humphries and Marshon Brooks.... and that's not nearly enough, especially when Humphries makes equivalent money to Smith (i.e. way too much for Kris Humphries). It's nice to have options, though, and Danny Ferry seems to be acquiring them on a daily basis.
• Lebron James is not from this planet. The King has now made 49 of his last 65 shots (an absurd 75% clip) over the past handful of games, and the performance has basically sent the blogosphere into a frenzy. He's been absolutely insane, and even though Kevin Durant has taken a step forward, I think it's possible that Lebron has even widened the gap on him just through shear dominance. The Heat got a 107-97 win over the struggling Lakers yesterday, but LBJ is the story.
• Elsewhere in the Association, the Clippers beat New York in MSG by a 102-88 tally, and they did so despite allowing 42 points to Carmelo Anthony. These two things seem to be mutually exclusive, but Chris Paul (25 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds, 4 steals) and Jamal Crawford (27 points) were tremendous in the win for LAC. Boston survived a 3-OT thriller with a 118-114 win over the Nuggets. Jason Terry had the best game of his Boston career with 26 points on 10-22 shooting, but Paul Pierce was the key factor, as he put up a massive 27-14-14 triple-double for the C's. What a performance. Orlando beat Portland 110-104 to stop a 12-game losing streak. Congrats to them! Finally, San Antonio went into Brooklyn without the services of Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili... and still beat the Nets by 25 points. Tony Parker's 29 points and 11 assists were the impetus for the Spurs, but they shot 59% from the floor and 63% from three as a team, and wouldn't be denied.
• On Sunday in college hoops, #1 Indiana held serve with a rare top-flight road win as the Hoosiers defeated #10 Ohio State 81-68 behind a career-high 26 points from Victor Oladipo. He's a monster. #4 Duke escaped Chestnut Hill with a 62-61 nail-biter win over BC. They just haven't been the same team without Ryan Kelly, but the Devils are still a legit threat to win the whole thing. There were also two home-court upsets, as #7 Arizona fell on their home floor to Cal by a 77-69 score, and #18 Minnesota fell to a suddenly rejuvenated Illinois team by a 57-53 final. 
• No, I don't want to talk about the 40-foot game-tying heave by Wisconsin on Saturday. With that said, there was a 5-OT game on Saturday night, and that's worth talking about (even on Monday). Notre Dame defeated Louisville 104-101 after 65 grueling minutes of game time that saw ND's entire front-line foul out... before they won anyway. It was a riveting game that seemed to be a giant conspiracy to end up tied. Awesome stuff. 
• King Felix and the Seattle Mariners have reportedly hit a snag concerning his elbow. This is huge news as it indicates that the deal isn't final yet, and that their could be trouble in his future health-wise. Stay tuned.

What to watch for on Monday...

• 7:00 - NCAAB - #24 Marquette @ #20 Georgetown (ESPN) - Big Monday! These certainly aren't the marquee teams in the Big East this year, but both are tourney-bound, and this will be a battle.
• 8:00 - NBA - Spurs @ Bulls (NBATV) - Really nice match-up here. San Antonio is still without Tim Duncan, but against Chicago, that excuse won't play. Both teams will battle, and we know that.
• 8:30 - NBA - Hawks @ Mavs (SportSouth) - Dallas is struggling pretty badly, but road games are what they are in this league. Nothing comes easy. 
• 9:00 - NCAAB - #13 Kansas St. @ #5 Kansas (ESPN) - By the time this game tips off, Kansas will definitely not be ranked #5 anymore. They've lost three straight games, and their arch-rivals arrive in Lawrence ready to make it 4 straight. I actually like KU in the game, but it'll be a war.

Enjoy!