Rumors, moves, injuries and newsmakers...

Kidd and Baron face off Wednesday in a crucial West clash; Dirk day-to-day; Stackhouse to return Wednesday?; Bogut back for Bucks; Redd rounding out his game?; A Bobby Simmons sighting; Key Pistons rest; and more...

POINTS OF ORDER 
With only two weeks of action left in the NBA's regular sked, the Western conference remains chaotic, to say the least. How chaotic? The ninth-place team is within 6.5 games of the conference lead. So what - - or who - - will clear up the chaos? Probably the point guards.

With the exception of maybe the Lakers, all nine of the teams still in the thick of the West's playoff race feature dominant point guards, and two of the best are Dallas' Jason Kidd and Golden State's Baron Davis. Kidd has had some adjustment pains since being acquired from New Jersey at the trade deadline, but lately he is playing some of his best ball of the season. And Davis is having arguably his finest overall campaign as a pro, averaging 22.2 points, 7.7 assists, and 2.4 steals per game.

With the No.7 Mavericks clinging to a one-game lead over the No.9 Warriors, Wednesday's matchup in Big D is huge for both teams. It will also provide a great test for Kidd's leadership of the Mavs, since he was brought aboard to help the team get past fellow superstars such as Davis, who led last year's epic upset of Dallas in Round 1 of the playoffs. Which point will bring order to his team's chaotic playoff situation Wednesday night?

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DIRK IMPROVES TO DAY-TO-DAY 
The Associated Press reports star power forward Dirk Nowitzki has improved to day-to-day status for the Mavericks. Nowitzki suffered mild sprains of his knee and ankle Mar.23 against the Spurs and was expected to miss several weeks. INTEL: This is obviously great news for the Mavs, who face the Warriors Wednesday in a crucial game with major playoff implications. When Big Dirk gets back into the lineup, look for Malik Allen to head to the bench and for Josh Howard, Jason Terry, Erick Dampier, and Jason Kidd to see fewer shots going forward.

STACKHOUSE BACK WEDNESDAY? 
Mavericks' swingman Jerry Stackhouse is hoping to return to the lineup Wednesday, according to DallasMavericks.com. Stackhouse has been out since Mar.27 because of a strained right groin. INTEL: Stackhouse had a chance to put up some big scoring performances with Dirk Nowitzki out recently, but his own injury has nipped that opportunity in the bud. When healthy Stackhouse is still an above-average shooting guard, but at his age (33) it is reasonable to expect him to be slowed down a bit by this injury. It will also be interesting to see if he wins back the starting job he won in early March from Jason Terry.

BOGUT BACK FOR BUCKS 
Bucks' center Andrew Bogut returned Tuesday from a two-game absence (caused by a broken nose) to tally 24 points and 13 baords against the Knicks in Milwaukee's 119-115 win. INTEL: Good news for the Bucks and for their fast-improving franchise center. Despite some bumps and bruises of late, Bogut has been maturing as a player and is becoming a consistent dominator in the paint. The Bucks aren't likely to surge to a playoff berth this season, but at least they have a promising cornerstone in the Aussie 7-footer. His return means less time for the workmanlike Michael Ruffin.

SIMMONS STEPS UP 
Bucks' swingman Bobby Simmons scored a season-high 24 points Tuesday playing against the Knicks, adding six boards in 29 minutes off the bench. INTEL: The Bucks have known Simmons is capable of this type of performance, but he hasn't had nearly enough of them for the struggling team since signing on before the 2005-06 season. Injuries have been the major culprit robbing Simmons of his production, so maybe this will inspire him to bounce back to his 2004-05 level of play (when he was named the NBA's Most Improved Player, with the Clippers). For now, he will continue to fight for minutes with Charlie Villanueva and Yi Jianlian.

REDD ROUNDING OUT HIS GAME? 
With 36 points Tuesday in a 119-115 win over the Knicks, Michael Redd posted his second straight contest with over 30 points. He had 33 Mar.29 versus the Bulls. Redd also had 15 assists over the two outings. INTEL: Even more impressive than his scoring outburst is that Redd is passing the rock. His career assists average of 2.2 is dismal, but maybe he finally seems to be understanding that he has to round out his game to take the Bucks to the level. The knock against his game has always been that he's a bit one-dimensional (as just a scorer), so maybe at the age of 28 he's still growing as a player.

BILLUPS, RIP, RASHEED REST 
The Pistons rested usual starters Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, and Rasheed Wallace Tuesday night against the Timberwolves. INTEL: Several media reports out of Detroit say the team is simply keeping their starters fresh down the stretch. MLive.com reports the team decided Tuesday's game was a perfect time for the trio to rest, since there are two days off before Detroit's next game. That suggests Billups, Hamilton, and Wallace will be back before the end of the season. Whatever the case, look for point guard Rodney Stuckey, shooting guard Jarvis Hayes, and center Theo Ratliff to see more minutes, with the rest of the bench also seeing added minutes.

STUCKEY STRONG FOR PISTONS 
On Tuesday Pistons' rookie combo guard Rodney Stuckey dropped a career-high 27 points on the Timberwolves. He started at the point for veteran Chauncey Billups, who was resting because the Pistons have already locked up a playoff spot. INTEL: Stuckey is a very talented young player who may eventually be a star. The most promising part of his performance was that he hit 12 fouls shots (out of 13 tries), a testament to his ability to get to the hoop. Young guards often suffer from hanging out on the perimeter, but Stuckey seems to know the value in getting to the rack and getting to the line. He also added three assists in the 94-90 win.

NASH NEARING PAUL FOR HELPER LEAD? 
With 18 assists Tuesday against the Nuggets, Steve Nash pulled his season assists average up to 11.2 per game. That pulls him closer to Hornets' point guard Chris Paul, who leads the NBA at 11.4 per game. Nash has led the NBA in assists-per-game for the past three seasons in a row. INTEL: Nash has seven games left this season to catch Paul, but he has his work cut out for him if he's going to win his fourth consecutive assists title. Paul himself had 12 helpers on Tuesday (against the Magic).