Danny Ferry is pleased with the direction of the Atlanta Hawks, who have fallen to 32-41 after standing at 25-21 on Feb. 1.

Ferry is happy about the roster's progress and the job of Mike Budenholzer. The Hawks have sustained serious injuries to Al Horford, John Jenkins and Gustavo Ayon. Paul Millsap and Kyle Korver have also missed time.

"Throughout the year, I felt we've been on a good path," Ferry said. "When healthy, we've been a very good team. I like the way we play. It's system-based. I like our players. There's some substance to them. With the way we're set-up from a salary cap standpoint and a roster standpoint that good things can continue to unfold.

"We're not focused on trying to be the eighth seed in the playoffs because that's not our goal. We're trying to build something that's good, sustainable and the components are in place for us to do so."

The Hawks remain ahead of the New York Knicks for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference.

The NBA has seen possessions per game increase by a rate of two percent, from an average of 92 per game in 12-13 to 94 this season.

Twenty-eight of 30 teams have increased their pace in 13-14, with only the Houston Rockets and Milwaukee Bucks getting slower.

The Philadelphia 76ers have seen the biggest increase with its pace increasing by nine percent year-over-year.

Eleven of the 14 teams with new head coaches for this season are in the top half in year-over-year pace increase.

The Milwaukee Bucks (14-59) are ahead of the Philadelphia 76ers (16-57) for the worst record in the NBA and the most lottery balls to receive the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft.

Larry Drew discussed his approach to try to win despite an injury-depleted lineup down the stretch, without Larry Sanders, Ersan Ilyasova, O.J. Mayo, Nate Wolters and Carlos Delfino.

"With all sincerity, I don't (react to that)," Drew said. "I go out and coach these games to try to win. I don't look at where we are or what our season is about right now. My job is to get these gentlemen ready to play every single night and to play hard. Given what our situation is, it's easy to play the season out.

"But we're not going to do that. We're going to try to step out on the floor and be competitive the whole time we're out there. Wherever we end up, that's where we end up. But we are not under any circumstance going to go out there and fold the tent.

"I know people are looking at the future, as far as the draft is concerned. They've already got their eyes pinpointed on players of the future. And that's normal. I don't fault them at all for that. But I just let it be known I don't pay too much attention to that. I just go out and try to coach this team, and wherever we end up, that's where we are."

The NBA is currently undergoing a transition in which advanced analytics are being more heavily involved in decision-making, but most agree that it can't replace the human element of actual scouting.

“Sometimes with the analytics and all the other information that’s out there, it sometimes leads to shortcuts that coaches can’t do,” Ainge said. “Coaches need to watch their teams, watch the film, communicate with their players, get the players to play fundamentally sound.

“I think sometimes numbers lead to shortcuts. We’re trying to make sure that that doesn’t happen.”

Brad Stevens is noted for having an analytical approach, but he believes in the importance of watching film. 

“The biggest thing is more what you can pick up on the film,” said Stevens.

Rajon Rondo appreciates Ainge's approach.

“I think that’s why Danny is one of the best GMs around,” Rondo said. “He’s a player that played the game. It’s not just about business aspect — well, then again, it is — but you still have to have a feel for the game, have a feel for players, know personnel.

“You just can’t look at a number and say, ‘OK, this guy is shooting 50 percent from the field, 90 percent from the free throw line, put him on this team and have a great season.’ It doesn’t work like that.

“You’ve got to know personalities. I think you’ve got to know the locker room. I think that’s why [Heat president] Pat Riley has done a great job. I don’t know who the GM is for the Spurs, but [him, too].”

The Toronto Raptors are 34-19 since trading Rudy Gay to the Sacramento Kings on Dec. 9.

“The move was a good situation for both of us,” DeMar DeRozan said of Gay. “We always hate to see our close friends get traded. I think he’s definitely going to help the Sacramento Kings out a lot, and we’re moving in the right direction, as well. I think it was a win-win situation. You can’t dwell on it too much. I know he’s happy to be in a new situation and get his career restarted. I’m happy for him.”

DeRozan said Gay encouraged him to take more responsibility for the team’s fate after the trade.

“The last four years here, I’ve always been under somebody and I had to learn from them,” DeRozan said. “And the player he is, I just learned from him. He just took me under his wing and I just always listened to Rudy and got a lot of insight. When he got traded, the first thing he told me, ‘This is your time and it’s time to take advantage.’ That meant a lot, just coming from somebody like that.”

While Jason Kidd seemed overmatched in his first few months as head coach, he figured it out shortly after the new year.

“I think some of the young guys have developed and the biggest thing with Jason is we have a system and identity,” Billy King said. “So now putting a team together, I know which players to add. That’s something we’ve been searching for for a while, is getting an identity so now in the offseason, Jason and I have already talked about the type of players he wants and have a feel for.

“That’s the key, you have a system. A lot of the credit, the players have played well, but Jason has been amazing. That one scout that took a shot at him early in the year, I wish he’d speak up now because it’s easy to criticize somebody when you have injuries, you have a new team, and you’re trying to put it together. Now, nobody’s saying how great of a job he’s done.

“A lot of success that we’re having is directly related to him.”

Kidd refuses to accept credit for the success.

“It’s a marathon and that’s the nice thing about the NBA season,” Kidd said. “You can be judged on the first game, but the ones who know best, you’re not judged until the end, and that’s when you look at our team. We’re a veteran ball club and no one in that locker room panicked. We kept playing. No one used any excuses. We kept getting to know one another from coaches to players, and we all felt that it could turn.

“We just had to keep working the process and that’s what guys did, and I don’t think we would like it any other way. I know it was tough there early on, but we understand what it feels like when things go bad so we can always reflect, and I think in the last couple of games, we’ve reflected and hopefully we’ve improved from those mistakes that we’ve made.”

Kobe Bryant was asked about the potential of either Jabari Parker or Andrew Wiggins being drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in June.

"both have great potential. Id mentor either one," Bryant replied on his verified Twitter account.

Wiggins and Parker have been expected to declare for the draft but neither has made a final decision.

Danny Ainge earlier this week addressed Rajon Rondo's growth into the Boston Celtics' leader, acknowledging his strides and room for improvement.

“Rondo has incrementally grown from the time he’s been here in his leadership,” Ainge said. “I still think he has a ways to go to becoming the leader that we want him to be or that I think he will be when he’s in his 30s. But he’s taking that seriously and he’s trying to grow as a leader.”

Ainge added he does not like to name any player -- including Rondo -- as "the face of the franchise."

“Because that puts a lot of pressure on one person to be something they might not be,” Ainge said. “Rondo has always been a face of the franchise. I think he’s probably the most popular Celtic since Larry Bird . . . maybe [Kevin Garnett] for a short period, but I think Rondo sort of won over that in the last few years as being the best player on our team.

“But I look at every player as a leader. They’re either leading a guy to be a more positive player, [have] a more positive work ethic, or they’re leading in a negative way. Rondo has been one of our leaders. He has been one of our captains, whether he had the C on his jersey or not. Like Paul [Pierce] did, he has been the coach on the floor for us for the last four or five years as we were trying to win championships. 

“I think there’s so much put on him. Right now, there’s no Paul, KG, and Ray Allen, so it’s putting more on him because we don’t have the players with the same magnitude and the same perception in the media.”

Chris Broussard of ESPN wrote a piece with quotes from former NBA players expressing concern about a divide between "stat guys" and "basketball lifers".

"Basketball guys who participated in the game through years of rigorous training and practice, decades of observation work through film and field participation work feel under-utilized and under-appreciated and are quite insulted because their PhDs in basketball have been downgraded," said the former executive to Broussard.

"The [analytics] narrative is hurting basketball PhD thinkers right now," the ex-player said. "However, if numbers never lie, the basketball PhD thinkers have won more championships by far than the uneducated analytics guy."

While there has been a move away from hiring former NBA players as general manager, the recent hires have strong basketball background.

Rob Hennigan played college basketball for Division III Emerson College and is the school's all-time leading scorer.

Sam Presti's first job out of college was as an intern for the San Antoino Spurs.

Pete D'Alessandro was a video coordinator for Lou Carnesecca before working as an agent and as Chris Mullin's righthand man with the Golden State Warriors.

Masai Ujiri played two years in college and six in Europe before getting into scouting and then advanced metrics.

Bob Myers played four seasons at UCLA before becoming an agent.

Ryan McDonough spent his entire professional career working for the Boston Celtics before being hired as GM of the Suns.

"Hybrids -- double-majors in Basketball and Math, not full-on quants -- are the real future of the NBA GM position," writes Ziller.

Phil Jackson was in attendance for the New York Knicks' 127-96 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday.

The Knicks allowed 51 points in the third quarter to a Lakers' team playing without Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant.

“Fifty-one points,” Jackson said. “When it’s 35 points you start to get worried. When it’s a 51-point quarter, that’s really awful.”

Jackson said he's in assessment mode.

“We’re in a talent hunt,” Jackson said. “We have to bring in talent.”