Mike Brown would prefer to reduce the minutes of Kobe Bryant, but he will not be able to as the Lakers vie for playoff positioning. 

"All of our guys, if I can get any of our guys rest of any given day or any given night, I would love to do that," Brown said. "But right now, we can't afford to do that."

Brown believes Bryant is capable of logging heavy minutes.

"His body's in great condition," Brown said. "But he's kind of a freak of nature. When he's 52, his body might be in peak condition."

The Spurs won four titles between 1999 and 2007 behind the strength of their defense. With the team aging, they are no longer as dominant defensively and will try to win a title with the strength of their offense.

“We spend more time working on offense these days, because our defense won’t be as good as it used to be in the past,” Gregg Popovich said. “It just won’t.”

“You have to score a lot more points now,” Tim Duncan said. “I don’t think it’s the league of old, where you can score in the 80s and defend your butt off and still win championships.”

“It’s good we can do it both ways,” Manu Ginobili said. “I think we’re trying to be more the other (defensive) kind of team, the way we won championships. The last few years, we’ve scored more but we haven’t won it.”

With Andre Iguodala missing time due to patellar tendinitis in his left knee, an opportunity is opening up for the recently acquired Sam Young.

"It comes now to a five-man rotation [off the bench]," Doug Collins said. "He and Lou [Williams] now become the two guys off the bench on the perimeter. A lot of it is the matchups on a night-to-night basis, who's playing particularly well at that point in time.

"He's a guy who, when we were watching tape, he's been speaking up and talking. He's a guy who started for a playoff team. He knows what being in the playoffs and preparation is all about. He's tough and he just wants to win, and so I'm really happy that he's on our team."

Carmelo Anthony is averaging a career-low 20 points per game on 39.9 percent shooting.

“I wish I had an answer,” said Anthony, after scoring 15 points on 5-of-12 shooting in the Knicks’ 101-79 win over the Pistons. “I’ve been around this game for a long time. It happens. I’m not too concerned about it at this point.”

Mike Woodson drew up a few plays to get Anthony on track.

“I opened up the second half with two plays to get Carmelo closer to the bucket, and he delivered both times,” Woodson said. “As a coach, I have to help him. That’s my job. I’m willing to continue to work with him and try to put him in the best position possible to be successful to help us win.”

Anthony is shooting just 21.7 percent from beyond the arc over his last seven games.

“I can’t help him make shots, but I’ve got to put him in the right position to be successful,” Woodson said.

The Hornets were hoping Xavier Henry's D-League stint would make him more aggressive offensively, seeking to attack the defense off the dribble.

“Playing with those guys made me realize that, OK, I’ve just got to be aggressive,’’ Henry said. “When I came back, I wanted to be confident so I could really show my game instead of sitting back and letting the game come to me. I just had to go out there and push the issue.’’

Henry has scored more than 10 points in his past two games, the first time accomplishing the feat this season.

Kobe Bryant has welcomed the addition of Ramon Sessions, a point guard capable of making plays for himself and others.

"I've been extremely impressed," Bryant said. "He takes a lot of pressure off of me. I can be a legitimate 2-guard now. Know what I mean? He can play-make for others. Before, I had to score and play-make for others, as well. I don't have to do that. I can be on the receiving end of those plays."

Mike Woodson is attempting to make the Knicks more consistent, something NBA scouts and observers have noted as a problem with the team.

“Some nights they look like world beaters and other nights they’re just terrible and they look like they can’t beat anybody," said one scout. "Nothing they’ve done this year has been done with any consistency.”

The scout is a friend of Woodson.

“He’s different from D’Antoni," the scout said. “He’ll push for certain things. D’Antoni is not real confrontational. I definitely think Mike will stand up to Carmelo Anthony. Now you’re not going to control anybody if they’re not of a mind to do what you’re asking them to do. But Mike is a good leader. He’ll be resourceful and creative. But he won’t back down.”

Kevin Seraphin has received more minutes following the trade of JaVale McGee while Nene remains in limbo.

Seraphin has averaged 11.3 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game over the past three starts. Those numbers are similar to McGee and he has also managed to score within the flow of the offense.

“Kevin is doing a good job,” Randy Wittman said. “He’s getting more and more comfortable and he’s got to continue doing what he does: rebound, finding things around the basket, making himself big and a presence defensively. He’s done a nice job of that.”

Scott Brooks spoke very highly of Kaleb Canales, who was promoted to interim head coach of the Blazers last week.

Canales and Brooks spent time getting to know each other at the summer camp of Tim Grgurich.

"He works out guys and develops players as well I've seen," Brooks said of Canales. "He's just a friendly spirit. He always wants to learn and get better. He's always in the gym, he's always the first coach in the gym, he's last to leave, he's picking everybody's brain. You knew that he would get an opportunity to keep moving up and he has. He's on his way to being a permanent head coach."

Canales joined the staff of the Blazers in 2004 as a video intern.

"Coach Brooks means a lot to me, sitting down at those camps," Canales said of Brooks. "He's always been so good. He takes out the time, talks to me, give me advice. Obviously the way he and Mr. (Thunder general manager Sam) Presti have led this organization is something to be proud of. I have a special relationship with Coach Brooks. I really admire how he's done it, how he's come up and obviously I can relate to a lot of that. He's done it the hard, old-fashioned way. His teams are so well-prepared and they play hard every single night."

Keith Smart has challenged Tyeke Evans to become stronger defensively as part of the third-year player’s transition from point guard to small forward.

"I'm looking at Tyreke as a rookie in this role," Smart said. "I told him, 'You are still going to handle the ball and initiate plays. You will still have a chance to drive and to shoot. The only thing that will change is that you are out there with a point guard (Isaiah Thomas). And also, you have to be our best defensive player.' "

For his part, Evans doesn’t sound like a man who has been too happy with his performance this season.

"I'm trying to figure it out," said Evans, who is shooting 42 percent from the floor. "I don't know if I like it (the three spot). I am so used to having the ball in my hands. But I want to be out there playing, so I'm working on it. I'm working on my shot, too."