We've given this some deep thought -- during a timeout in the third quarter, actually -- and we have decided this is the first thing Byron Scott should do when the team hits Texas on June 3: He should chain-lock the doors to the team's hotel.

No wives, no kids, no friends allowed. The players stay together, mingle only among themselves, and their hotel is off limits to everyone else, unless one of them has an overwhelming desire to invite all beat writers over for free food.
   
Pat Riley did this in L.A., and he even dedicated his first book to the Lakers' wives, whom he thanked for being so understanding when he kicked them out to the curb. But he was convinced it was the appropriate thing to do, and he was proved right. If you're Scott, you take a page from your mentor, and tell everyone that it's time to get ruthless, and it's time to get serious.