Trevor Winter played a total five minutes in the NBA, during which time he managed to commit five fouls, per coach Flip Saunders’ instructions. Anthony Webb tells the tale on Asylum.com : Guarding the most dominating player of an entire generation was a daunting task. “When I checked in,” says Winter, “[Shaquille O'Neal] looked me up and down, knowing I was a rookie and that he was going to come right at me.” On Winter’s first defensive possession, the Lakers predictably went right to O’Neal, who spun baseline on Winter for a dunk and “tried to take the rim down on me,” as Winter puts it.

On the radio yesterday, Jazz broadcaster David Locke asked me to tell him which eight teams would make the playoffs in the West, and in what order. It was a total ambush.

Yeah, good luck with that, coach: “Kobe Bryant has ignored his ever-thickening medical file, playing through a broken finger, strained elbow, back spasms and, most recently, a sprained left ankle. But it might be time for him to sit a game or two, a thought that crossed Phil Jackson’s mind while the Lakers’ coach watched him hobble around the court Wednesday against the Charlotte Bobcats

By John Hollinger PORTLAND — All Tony Parker could do was sit and watch. Marooned at the scorer’s table while he waited for a whistle to get him back in the game, he saw the clock tick inside 4 minutes …