Sunday Morning NBA Link Dump

A little warmup for tonight's Suns Vs. Nuggets matchup:

Gani Lawal Not Setting the D Leagues on Fire: From Ridiculous Upside

Gani Lawal has been on assignment from the Phoenix Suns to the Iowa Energy since the D-League season began and, while he's never looked particularly impressive in my eyes during his Development League stint, he may have had the worst game any NBA-assigned player has ever had in Friday night's game against the Tulsa 66ers.

Dragic Not Blaming Coach Gentry but Certainly Sounds Frustrated:  Paul Coro

"I didn't find the rhythm, didn't lead the team, and I was on the bench," Dragic said of Wednesday's game. "That was a coaching decision. It was the right decision, because I didn't lead the team. I just to have to focus on my game and try to do my stuff.

Suns Could Move Warrick to Starting Lineup Vs. Nuggets:  Paul Coro

The case to supplant Turkoglu has been bolstered by the play of his backup, Warrick, who logged starter's minutes (36 and 37) in the past two games and recorded his first consecutive 20-point outings since March 2008. Warrick scored 21 points in a recent win against the Denver Nuggets, who the Suns play Sunday.

Heat Hold Players Only Meeting:  Yahoo News

Having apparently tired of their mediocrity, the Heat held a lengthy players-only meeting following a disheartening 106-98 loss to the Dallas Mavericks. The Heat are now 9-8, far below their expectations for a season that began with LeBron James(notes), Dwyane Wade(notes) and Chris Bosh(notes) vowing to chase history.

Bedge Media Row Report: Blazersesdge.com

It was a pathetic non-effort, 12 minutes of occasional excitement followed by 36 excruciating minutes of some of the worst basketball this team has played at home over the last three seasons. A sluggish 15 point second quarter, followed by a stalled 17 point third quarter, followed by a hopeless 13 point fourth quarter.

Making Another Point The Case to Sit Chauncey Billups: Denverstiffs.com

As much as it pains me to write this, the time may be at hand to bench Chauncey Billups. Or at the very least drastically cut his minutes. Over the course of this season, Chauncey's shooting percentage is 34.4%, including a very bad 31.6% at the three point arc and a paltry 4.7 assists a game.

Terence Williams was Demoted to the D-Leagues bu Avery Johnson: Ball Don't Lie

...A few months later, he was upsetting the new-New Jersey coaching staff during the summer leagues by gunning during exhibition play. And in the month of November, repeated tardy violations earned Williams a two game suspension. Further violations, following the suspension, upset Nets coach Avery Johnson so much that he sent the second-year forward to the D-League as punishment.