Rumors, moves, injuries and newsmakers...

The East's top two teams square off again Tuesday; Artest gets fined; Kirilenko hurts his hip; Grizzlies' Miller may be back soon; Livingston makes strides for the Clips; Randolph sits again; Arenas starts practicing; and more...
RIVALRY REDUX 
From 1981 to 1990, the Boston Celtics and Detroit Pistons appeared in the NBA Finals eight times. Over that decade those two dynasties combined for five NBA titles, so it's obvious a pretty intense rivalry arose back then. It got bad enough in the East's 1987 playoffs that legend Larry Bird threw the ball at Pistons' pivot Bill Laimbeer, who had knocked Bird down in the lane. Celts' center Robert Parish responded by punching Laimbeer, earning a one-game suspension.

These days the Pistons-Celtics rivalry isn't quite as intense - - but it might be getting there. With 46-12 Boston having restocked with superstar talent, and with 43-16 Detroit still a powerhouse, the teams own the top two records in the Eastern conference. They split the first two regular-season contests, with each team winning one on the road during hard-fought, low-scoring affairs decided late in the fourth quarter.

As the Celts and Pistons renew their rivalry for the rubber match on Tuesday in Boston, which of these East beasts will win bragging rights heading down the stretch?

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CLIPPERS 
Will Shaun Livingston make it back before the end of this season? Probably, reports the Los Angeles Times. The lanky and talented point guard has a history of injuries and last season sustained a truly devastating one, wherein he blew out the lateral meniscus in his knee, along with his ACL, PCL, and MCL. That said, even if Livingston does return this campaign, don't expect the team to give him major minutes. Even with veteran point guard Sam Cassell gone, the team is likely to be ultra-cautious with Livingston.

GRIZZLIES 
He didn't get traded as expected at the recent NBA swap deadline, and now Mike Miller may be ready to return to action soon for the Grizz. The Memphis Commercial-Appeal reports the versatile, sweet-shooting vet was on the practice court Monday, after sitting out for two weeks with a sore back. He may be back in action Wednesday for the Grizz versus New Jersey, which will likely mean lesser roles in the offense for Juan Carlos Navarro and perhaps Hakim Warrick.

HEAT 
For stretches this season, Dorell Wright had the look of a future star. That may still happen, but not for the rest of the 2007-08 campaign. On Monday the athletic swingman had surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee, ending his season. Wright started most of the games he appeared in this season, averaging a solid eight points, five boards, and almost a block per contest. Even though he's out, keep Wright in mind for next season, as he is a very solid breakout candidate for 2008-09.

HORNETS 
This season David West was named an All-Star for the first time in his career, to the surprise of some. The surprise is only because, while he was a first-round draft pick back in 2003 (18th overall), he was projected by many scouts and observers back then as more of a role player. But West has worked hard on his game since then, and more than almost any other NBA player in recent years, has continued to add to it. In his third year he added better free-throw shooting, and last year he started hitting threes. This season, he's suddenly becoming a shot-blocker. On Monday against the Knicks, West rejected four New York offerings in New Orleans' 100-88 win. He's averaging 1.3 blocks per game this season.

JAZZ 
Andrei Kirilenko is one of the NBA's best defenders, in part because of his unusual physical build: a super-lanky frame with long, thin arms and legs. That skinny frame makes him nimble and gives him great reach, but in recent years has also been pretty injury-prone; he hasn't played in over 70 games since 2004. So it's not a huge shocker that Kirilenko had to leave Monday's game against Dallas after being leveled by a flagrant foul by beefy Dirk Nowitzki. Kirilenko sat on the court wincing in pain, and reportedly has a hip injury. Don't be surprised if he's day-to-day for awhile. If he is, look for Kyle Korver and Ronnie Brewer to play more minutes than usual.

KINGS 
Is Ron Artest on the verge of one of his patented meltdowns? Not exactly, but a $5,000 fine from head coach Reggie Theus certainly makes things more interesting in Sacto. The Sacramento Bee reports the volatile small forward was levied the cash penalty after he publicly criticized Theus' tactics and his head coach's desire to get the team into the playoffs. Artest has the right to opt out of his contract this summer, so this recent development obviously doesn't bode well for his decision to hang around with the Kings.

KNICKS 
It looks like Zach Randolph's foot might need more time to heal up. On Monday the star power forward missed his second straight contest due to the problem, although it is reportedly only a bruise. It's also no shocker that with Randolph out, Eddy Curry got more shots in the post (as has been the case all season). Curry posted a solid 19-point, eight-board performance in the 100-88 loss to the Hornets, a bit of an oasis in his dry stretch of late.

MAVERICKS 
Has Jason Kidd suddenly decided to become a bigger scorer? Not likely at this point, but it's notable that the superstar point guard has been more of a shooter since joining the Mavericks. On Monday night Kidd dropped 19 points on the Jazz, a performance which follows a 15-point outing against the Lakers and a 21-point outburst versus the Kings the game before that. Kidd has also averaged 10 assists per game over those three, so don't look for him to become the second coming of Kobe Bryant; but do look for him to become a more clutch scorer for Dallas down the stretch.

ROCKETS 
As expected, Yao Ming had surgery on his broken left foot on Monday. While the Rockets' massive center is not expected to be back for the rest of the season (or for the playoffs) the operation does give him a chance to represent his home country in the upcoming China Olympics. With Yao out for the rest of the NBA season, look for Dikembe Mutombo to fill in with a few blocks per game and for first-years Carl Landry and Luis Scola to pick up some of the scoring slack in the paint.

WIZARDS 
Will Gilbert Arenas be back in the Wizards' lineup soon? We may get a better idea on Tuesday. That's when the superstar combo guard will reportedly practice with his teammates, according to the Associated Press. The high-scoring, charismatic playmaker recently eased up on his projections of an early March return, but if his surgically-repaired knee responds well, he could be back sooner rather than later. Arenas was averaging 22.4 points, 5.9 assists, and 2.1 steals per game when he went down in mid-November.