Greg Oden underwent the same Orthokine knee procedure that Kobe Bryant had last summer, according to sources.

Oden had the non-evasive procedure done in New York two weeks ago to accelerate the healing process.

"Greg had long planned to have this procedure done,'' one of the sources said. "He thought he'd wait until his knee was completely healed, but the doctor said Greg would get the greatest benefit by doing it now because it would help his recovery.''

Gilbert Arenas and Alex Rodriguez are also known to have the procedure done.

The procedure involves doctors taking the patient's own blood, spinning it in a centrifuge, making a serum and then injecting it into the knee. Doctors claim the blood then works to stop inflammation and reduce pain and cartilage damage.

Oden is not considering retirement, but no timetable for his return has been determined.

Oden's agent is in continual contact with approximately seven NBA teams that monitor his progress.

Paul George has been key to the Pacers’ 2-1 series lead over Miami because of his ability to defend Dwyane Wade largely without help.

"Paul George is one of the top five most versatile defenders in the NBA," Indiana coach Frank Vogel said. "He's doing a great job on Wade. Wade had an off night (going 2 of 13 in Game 3). When he did get free he didn't knock down shots. We can't give Paul all the credit. Wade's too good of a player to have shooting nights like he had (Thursday), but Paul is just competing, he's growing by the day and we're just happy about what his future looks like."

Wade, who is shooting 31 percent in the series, connected on just 2-of-13 attempts in Game 2.

"I wanted to come out and be aggressive on (Wade) again and force him to make jump shots, and he wasn't making them. I guess that will be my plan for the next game," George said. "We just pressured; we pressured and executed on the offensive end. They tried to take us out of a lot of our stuff, but we just made plays."

Larry Drew will return for a third season as head coach of the Hawks.

“We feel Larry’s experience, expertise and dedication to the game were a key ingredient to our success,” general manager Rick Sund said in a statement released by the team.

Drew will enter the final year of his contract next season.

“You can look at it one of two ways,” Drew said. “It is the perfect situation? No. But at this point I’ve had a lot of dialogue about the situation with my representative. At this point, we are going to move forward.”

Sam Presti is deserving of a lifetime contract as general manager of the Thunder, according to one NBA scout.

The scout credited Presti for having the foresight to select James Harden third in the 2009 draft.

“Sam Presti [VP/GM] had a lot of faith in his conviction to draft him that high [No. 3]. We all had him going No. 7, definitely not one slot ahead of Tyreke Evans.

“You and I could’ve picked Durant after the Blazers took Greg Oden No. 1,” Scout said. “Westbrook [No. 4 coming off sophomore UCLA averages of 12.7 points and 3.9 assists] and Harden were pure genius.

“Presti has earned a lifetime deal from Oklahoma City.”

Harden was voted sixth man of the year after leading all bench players in scoring this season.

“The kid is three years in the NBA and he plays like an 8-year-pro. His demeanor reminds me of Tim Duncan. He makes tough shots, takes a tough head shot, makes a great pass and commits a lousy turnover, and his expression never changes. I can’t give him higher praise.

“I’ll take Harden and Serge [Ibaka] and take my chances with six D-Leaguers.”

Suns president of basketball operations Lon Babby expects more from Markieff Morris next season.

“He’s highly skilled,” Babby said. “He’s got to turn his motor up and have a certain intensity. He gave us a toughness that we don’t get from anybody else and that’s good. He’s got to learn the pace of a NBA season and he’s got to bring it every single night with an intensity. He got tired, so that was part of it.

“He’s got to develop, obviously, from a skill standpoint and physical standpoint. All those things will happen. He’s going to be a good player. He already is pretty good. I think he’s going to be a part of this team for a long, long time.”

Morris struggled with foul trouble throughout the season, averaging 7.0 fouls per 48 minutes.

“I definitely could have done a lot better,” Morris said after the season. “I fouled too much. It just comes with getting stronger and learning the game more. I was playing with my hands too much and trying to be too aggressive on defense.”

The Sixers have struggled to contain Kevin Garnett, who is shooting 63.3 percent through the first three games series of the Eastern Conference semifinal.

“He’s playing amazing,” Brand said. “We just have to have the right guys guarding him at the right times and we’ll be fine.
“It’s his length that’s really tough. Then you put guys with length on him and he has the physicality aspect of it. He has a great mix of both being physical and being long and athletic. We just have to find the right match to guard him.”

Doug Collins believes rookie backup Lavoy Allen has the strength and athleticism to make things difficult for Garnett.

“(Against) both E.B. and Spencer, (Garnett) has a speed advantage — so therefore he’s going to get down the floor, and that’s a problem,” Collins said. “With Lavoy on the bench, Kevin Garnett is shooting almost 71 percent. With Lavoy on the floor, he’s shooting 46.”

Tim Duncan sent a complimentary text message to Roy Hibbert after the the Pacers' 94-75 victory over Miami.

Hibbert spent time with Duncan during last year's lockout.

"I had a roller coaster first three years in terms of my career," Hibbert said. "(Duncan) doesn't get too high, doesn't get too low. I model my game after him. He's somebody who looks out for me."

Hibbert scored 19 points, grabbed a career-high 18 rebounds and recorded five block in Indiana’s Game 3 win.

"Roy's been the biggest key in this series," Pacers point guard Darren Collison said. "He's been protecting the paint better than I've ever seen him. It's not just his effort. His effort is there, but also is his assertiveness. Those are the type of numbers you expect from an All-Star center."

In addition to Kentucky and North Carolina, Troy Williams is now considering Louisville, Florida, South Carolina and Georgetown.

Williams, a top-5 forward in the class of 2013, indicated the six schools are currently even.

Lawrence Frank had few concerns about entrusting the Pistons offense to rookie point guard Brandon Knight, even though Knight was just two years removed from high school.

"It was all through merit," Frank said. "Brandon came in, his work ethic -- I would say both he and Ben Wallace are consistently our two hardest workers. He just had a great aptitude and just soaked everything in. He just earned it.

"He didn't start the first six games. We started Rodney Stuckey and Ben Gordon. Rodney got hurt, and really from that point on, Brandon had the keys. He learned through trial and error but continued with his work ethic and his preparation."

Knight averaged 12.8 points and 3.8 assists over 60 games during the regular season.

Dwyane Wade yelled at Erik Spoelstra during a timeout of Miami’s 94-75 loss to the Pacers.

Late in the third quarter, Spoelstra became agitated when Wade missed a series of contested jumpers.

Wade angrily cursed Spoelstra in an ensuing timeout, with Udonis Haslem and Juwan Howard stepping into separate the two.

Wade scored 5 points on 2-for-13 shooting in the loss.