One common denominator amongst NBA champions is a collection of high lottery picks, something Utah Jazz general manager Dennis Lindsey has identified.

“If you study the history of the league, you really have to respect what we call the scouting curves opinion,’’ he said. “In football and baseball you can get all-time greats in later rounds. But in basketball, the talented prodigies, like LeBron James — most times they turn into the best players in the league.’’

The Miami Heat had five top-six selections last season, while the Dallas Mavericks of 2011 had seven lottery picks.

While five teams have more total lottery picks on their rosters, the Jazz have the most under 25 in Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors, Alec Burks and Enes Kanter.

“We’re not a finished product,’’ Lindsey said. “But we want everybody to understand that we know we’re playoff competitive but not championship competitive yet. And we aspire to put ourselves inside the championship competitive group, even if we need to take a real patient approach.’’

The NBA has announced the reserves for the 2013 All-Star Game in Houston.

Western Conference Reserves
Tony Parker
James Harden
LaMarcus Aldridge 
David Lee
Zach Randolph
Tim Duncan 
Russell Westbrook 

Eastern Conference Reserves
Paul George
Jrue Holiday 
Tyson Chandler 
Chris Bosh 
Joakim Noah 
Luol Deng
Kyrie Irving 

Fifteen teams have at least one All-Star (Knicks, Heat, Celtics, Bulls, Pacers, 76ers, Blazers, Spurs, Rockets, Warriors and Grizzlies), while 15 teams do not have a representative (Hawks, Nets, Bobcats, Mavericks, Nuggets, Pistons, Bucks, Wolves, Hornets, Magic, Suns, Kings, Raptors, Jazz and Wizards).

The 76ers and Cavaliers each sent a Coaches Vote All-Star despite a losing record, while the Lakers and Celtics have two starters despite a sub-.500 record.

The Nets, Hawks, Bucks, Nuggets and Jazz all have a record over .500 and no All-Stars. 

The All-Star starters are LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Garnett, Dwyane Wade, Rajon Rondo, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin, Dwight Howard and Chris Paul.

With nearly half of the 12-13 NBA season, analysts have a fairly clear idea of which teams are playoff contenders and which are firmly in the lottery.

The change in popularity of teams based on ticket prices on the secondary market based on data from VividSeats.com is also revealing.

The Brooklyn Nets have the largest increase in price from last season, with a 105 percent jump from their final season in New Jersey.

The Chicago Bulls have the NBA's largest decrease at 27 percent, undoubtedly related to the injury to Derrick Rose.

Despite the departure of Dwight Howard, the Orlando Magic have only had a decrease of four percent. Also noteworthy is that the Houston Rockets have a four percent decrease even though the team seemingly improved their markability with the acquisitions of James Harden and Jeremy Lin.

Atlanta Hawks: 4% Increase
Boston Celtics: 7% Decrease
Brooklyn Nets: 105% Increase
Charlotte Bobcats: 41% Increase
Chicago Bulls: 27% Decrease
Cleveland Cavaliers: 59% Increase
Dallas Mavericks: 7% Decrease
Denver Nuggets: 1% Decrease
Detroit Pistons: 17% Decrease
Golden State Warriors: 8% Increase
Houston Rockets: 4% Decrease
Indiana Pacers: 25% Decrease
Los Angeles Clippers: 16% Increase
Los Angeles Lakers: 21% Increase
Memphis Grizzlies: 1% Increase
Miami Heat: 6% Increase
Milwaukee Bucks: 22% Decrease
Minnesota Timberwolves: 1% Increase
New Orleans Hornets: 99% Increase
New York Knicks: 9% Decrease
Oklanhoma City Thunder: 1% Increase
Orlando Magic: 4% Decrease
Philadelphia 76ers: 7% Decrease
Phoenix Suns: 7% Decrease
Portland Trail Blazers: 13% Increase
Sacramento Kings: 7% Decrease
San Antonio Spurs: 9% Decrease
Toronto Raptors: 12% Decrease
Utah Jazz: 7% Decrease
Washington Wizards: 4% Increase

The Utah Jazz have recalled rookie Kevin Murphy from the Reno Bighorns, Utah’s NBA Development League affiliate.

In 14 games (12 starts) with the Bighorns, Murphy averaged 13.2 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 28.6 minutes. He began his assignment with Reno on November 26.

Mo Williams underwent successful surgery on his injured right thumb Friday.

"Not all surgeries are successful," coach Tyrone Corbin said. "I’m glad they said his was successful. …

"From what I understand, everything was what we thought in the beginning. They fixed what they had to fix."

Williams, who'll wear a splint on his thumb, will be re-evaluated in six seeks. His physical activity is limited to restricted weight lifting and conditioning during that span.

Mo Williams will undergo surgery on his right thumb.

Williams will be reevaluated in six weeks.