Rumors, moves, injuries and newsmakers...

The star-studded Suns face Boston's Big Three; Brand back soon?; Webber retiring?; More back woes for Big Ben; Dampier dominates; Hedo's hurting; Jameer out with a sore jaw; and more...

ALL-STAR WEDNESDAY 
Since the year 2000, just six players have won the NBA's Most Valuable Player award. On Wednesday, three of the six will meet on the court in Boston.

That's when former MVPs Steve Nash (2005 and 2006) and Shaquille O'Neal (2000) of the Suns visit Kevin Garnett (2004) of the Celtics in a battle of league powerhouses. With fellow superstars Amare Stoudemire, Grant Hill, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen also playing in the game, Wednesday's showdown is almost like a midweek All-Star Game in March. But it's also a matchup of two potential NBA Finalists this year, and could be a preview of the league's championship series this year.

For Phoenix, however, the game is much more important than for Boston. Despite having a superb 47-33 record, the Suns are in a tough fight for a playoff spot in the super-competitive Western conference. Can they steal a road win in Beantown Wednesday, or will the Celts continue their dominance of the West?

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BRAND BACK SOON? 
The Los Angeles Times reports superstar power forward Elton Brand participated Monday in his first full-court scrimmage since rupturing his Achilles last summer. The Times also says head coach Mike Dunleavy hopes Brand can be back with the team for their final five or six games of this season. INTEL: Brand hasn't played yet this season, and it's tough to say how much he might play in those final five or six games. If he can make it back for six games, that would make Apr.6 at home to the Rockets his first game of the season. Rookie Al Thornton and veteran Tim Thomas have filled in all season at power forward, but again, it's unsure how much Brand might play on his return. He is a superstar when healthy, but might be more than rusty in just five or six outings.

WEBBER RETIRING? 
According to ESPN, veteran big-man Chris Webber is ending his brief return to the NBA and is retiring. He has been bothered by a sore left knee in recent weeks, and played in just nine games during his comeback. He averaged just 3.9 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. INTEL: Now 35, Webber looks like he is done. After 35 there are very few players who continue on in the NBA without major decline, and Webber had a hard time keeping up with the up-tempo Warriors. That said, he was probably a bad fit for Golden State's style from the get-go, since his game these days is much better suited to a half-court set-up. No word yet on whether this is his final comeback attempt. His retirement isn't likely to change the Warriors' lineup at this point.

MORE BACK WOES FOR BIG BEN 
The Associated Press is reporting that Cavaliers' power forward Ben Wallace is likely to miss Wednesday's contest against the Hornets because of recurring back spasms. INTEL: Big Ben just hasn't been the same old dominator in the paint this season as he once was, and he has been mostly ineffective playing with the back spasms in March. He is averaging just 3.5 points and 7.7 rebounds this month, and appears to be day-to-day. Anderson Varejao and Joe Smith will likely split time at the 4-spot until Wallace can return to health.

DAMPIER DOMINATES 
With Dirk Nowitzki out Tuesday, Mavericks' center Erick Dampier stepped up and dropped 19 points and 17 boards on the Clippers in Dallas' 103-90 win. INTEL: Dampier has always been capable of this time of outburst, but he has lacked consistency through much of his career. The Mavs are obviously looking to him to be more of a scorer with Big Dirk out the next few weeks nursing knee and ankle injuries. Malik Allen started at power forward Tuesday, producing nine rebounds but only six points in 27 minutes.

HEDO HURTING 
Magic forward Hedo Turkoglu left Orlando's 107-97 Tuesday loss to the Spurs because of a sprained right wrist. For now he is day-to-day. INTEL: Turkoglu played just 10 minutes in the game. Combo guard Keyon Dooling wound up playing 34 minutes, with usual starting 2-guard Maurice Evans moving to small forward for the duration of the contest. Keith Bogans saw 25 minutes, and there may be a committee approach as long as Turkoglu is sidelined with the problem.

JAMEER OUT WITH SORE JAW 
Orlando point guard Jameer Nelson was limited to only seven minutes in Tuesday's 107-97 loss to San Antonio, after suffering a bruised jaw early in the game. He appears to be day-to-day. INTEL: Not a serious-looking injury at this point, but Nelson has been relatively fragile during his NBA career so far. With him out, Carlos Arroyo played 28 minutes for the Magic and Keyon Dooling also saw some time at the point. Arroyo has already shown this season he can put up good numbers if given the chance, and he may get that chance for the next little while.

GOODEN LOOKING GREAT 
The impressive recent play of Bulls' power forward Drew Gooden continued Tuesday, as he went off for a season-high 31 points to go with 16 rebounds to lead Chicago to a 103-94 win over the Hawks. INTEL: Gooden has been one of the few positives for the Bulls lately and has really stepped up since being acquired from Cleveland at the trade deadline. He is averaging 16.4 points and 9.7 rebounds per game in March. Andres Nocioni, who has seen his minutes decline since Gooden's arrival (which may have contributed to Nocioni's recent blow-up at coach Jim Boylan) played just 13 minutes.

GERALD FELLING BETTER 
Bobcats' forward Gerald Wallace recently told the Charlotte Observer he is finally feeling that "things are coming around, slowly but surely" a month after he was knocked out of action with a concussion. He has had four concussions since entering the NBA. INTEL: Wallace got back to playing on Mar.12, but is averaging only 28.7 minutes per outing since then. The Bobs are obviously taking a cautious approach with him, which is smart because four concussions are approaching a dangerous number for any pro athlete. He will continue to start and get the lion's share of minutes at small forward, but look for Nazr Mohammed, Jared Dudley, and Matt Carroll to continue getting a boost in minutes.

MIHM MAKING PROGRESS 
The Los Angeles Times says Lakers' center Chris Mihm will begin practicing this week after he has no pain in his surgically-repaired right foot. Mihm has appeared in just 19 games this season and started only five. He may return before the end of the season. INTEL: For now Mihm isn't really one to watch for, even if he gets fully healthy. That said, he could help provide the Lakers with one of the NBA's most talented big-man rotations in the playoffs. With Andrew Bynum (knee) and Pau Gasol (ankle) also working their ways back, the one-time small-ball Lake Show is now one of the biggest teams in the West, especially with established behemoths Lamar Odom and Ronny Turiaf playing well already.