The Miami Heat have made a five-point year-over-year improvement in points per 100 possessions relative to the NBA's general scoring output.

The Heat ranked eighth last season, which put them two points over the league's overall average. This season, the Heat rank first and are a full seven points over the NBA's league average.

Only 51 teams since the 53-54 season have made that big of a jump, with most of them were very bad in Year 1 with a big improvement in Year 2.

Four other teams have made a five-point jump after being above average in the previous season, with the 71-72 Lakers, 95-96 Bulls, 97-98 Lakers and 03-04 Kings comprising the list.

The Utah Jazz have eight impending free agents this offseason, which has made Tyrone Corbin's job of finding minutes for everyone even more difficult.

"With this group, I like to say that they've been tremendous all year," Corbin said. "Right from the beginning of training camp, we talked about the number of free agents we had. Everybody keeps mentioning it. We tried to get the guys — as much as they could — to not worry about it as much, but it's been there."

Upcoming free agents include regulars Paul Millsap, Al Jefferson, Mo Williams, Randy Foye, DeMarre Carroll, Jamaal Tinsley and Earl Watson.

Corbin contends that it hasn't been an issue on the whole.

"You have so many guys on the same mode it affects your overall play a little bit," Corbin said. "To these guys' credit, I think for the most part all year long they've been focused on trying to control what they can control, and that's how they're playing right now."

Mike D'Antoni is in favor of Dwight Howard practicing his jumper.

"We want to just expand his game all over," D'Antoni said on Monday. "If he’s going to dominate the league – which he’s young enough and he can – you can’t play within a four-foot box. You got to play. And he’s doing that. He’s getting more confidence. I think that will help him on his foul shooting and it will help his overall game. He shoots the ball well and we want to keep developing that and keep getting better."

The Los Angeles Clippers have fallen from sixth in defensive efficiency before the All Star break to 17th after, with Vinny Del Negro and Blake Griffin divided about whether a lack of urgency or inconsistent strategy is to blame for the slide.

"Our bigs are getting stretched out a little bit," Del Negro said. "They have to have a little sense of urgency in closing out. Some guys can make that adjustment, and some guys are struggling with that but we drilled it again today. That's obviously an area of concern."

Griffin disagreed with Del Negro.

"It depends on our defensive strategy and our defensive principles for that game," Griffin said. "We switch them every single game. I don't see that, no, but I'm biased.

"We want our identity to be a defensive team," Griffin continued. "We don't want to have to make adjustments for every single team and switch things up but to make teams adjust to us and the way we play."

Kevin Durant has committed a turnover in 16.3 percent of his possessions this month, which is the second worst mark of his career.

“He's trying to make the right pass. It's just that we have to be able to execute it much better,” Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. “He's going to find his way through it. I just like the fact that he's trying to make those passes and trying to help his teammates score. But we have to definitely do a better job of not turning the ball over. We don't want to do that as a team and guys don't want to do it individually.”

Durant has taken on more of a facilitator role this year in the wake of James Harden's trade to Houston.

“The high turnover guys in the league are some of the best players,” Brooks said “because you have the ball in your hands a lot. And we need the ball in his hands a lot.”

The San Antonio Spurs improved their defense by using statistics as a basis for evidence-based decision making.

“This summer, we looked at our defensive efficiency, which for years had been very high. And last year, we went in the 10-15 range,” Spurs general manager R.C. Buford said. “And I think we were valuing some things that weren’t nearly as important as the data showed us. We learned from the Celtics.

“While they were really high in defensive efficiency, they weren’t very high in defensive rebounding. And that was a big part of where our emphasis was, and it made us question is that really where we should be paying attention. And those were discussions that were then brought to Pop from our coaches and from our analytics team. And some great discussions came from that, that ended up having us reevaluate what was important to us.”

The Spurs have fallen from 1st to sixth in defensive rebounding percentage, in part, because they’ve put in a revised defense designed to better contest shots and force more turnovers.

As a result, the Spurs improved from 11th in defensive efficiency last season to third this year.

Mike D’Antoni believes the pairing of Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol will hinge on spacing.

"Being able to get the rhythm down of not everybody just running to the post," D'Antoni said. "Being able to keep their spacing and understand, when Kobe has the ball, one gets to the baseline and one gets to the mid-post. I think we can do that."

Gasol is expected to make his return to the Lakers starting lineup on Friday.

D'Antoni insists Howard and Gasol previously struggled to co-exist because they were not healthy, and since Steve Nash also wasn't healthy, they were exposed on defense and underutilized on offense.

"A lot of decisions were made when Steve wasn't on the floor and Dwight wasn't 100 percent and Pau wasn't playing real well or 100 percent," D'Antoni said. "So you think, 'That's not working, this isn't working,' but when they're all 100 percent it can work."

Jeff Green had 43 points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots in the Boston Celtics' 105-103 loss to the Miami Heat on Monday.

"That's sports, that's the nature of the game. Jeff Green is not a LeBron James, not Kevin Durant, not Larry Bird. He's a really good player for us, and a very important player for us. And I think he's getting better for us every time.

"We don't expect Jeff to go out there and get 30, or even 25, every night."

Ainge was asked if he expects Green to be the next Paul Pierce.

"I don't think it's fair to expect from Jeff what we got from Paul, because Paul is arguably the best offensive player we've ever had in their amazing history. So I think it's unfair to put the expectations of being Paul Pierce on him.

"But as an heir apparent, as our starting small forward at some point when Paul no longer plays, I think that's a fair expectation."

Mike Dunlap was hired by the Charlotte Bobcats to improve their player development.

With Gerald Henderson and Kemba Walker playing well of late, his impact has been tangible.

“I was brought in to develop players,” Dunlap said when asked about the improved play of Henderson. “His development is not deniable. So is Kemba’s.”

In their 113-102 win over the Sacramento Kings on Sunday, the Los Angeles Lakers had six players in double figures and 28 assists as a team. Antawn Jamison and Metta World Peace scored 27 and 22 points each, while Steve Nash and Steve Blake combined for 20 assists.

All of that transpired without Kobe Bryant, who is out indefinitely due to a severe ankle sprain.

Mike D'Antoni believes the Lakers should not have to be reliant on Bryant to play one-on-one basketball when he returns, because they have proven to be much more balanced playing together and sharing the ball.

"We don't have to be one-player dominant," D'Antoni said. "The ball has to move, and when it does, we're really good."