Rumors, moves, injuries and newsmakers...

Down and out Bulls head to Cleveland; Nowitzki, Arenas, make surprise returns Wednesday; Bogut and Villanueva impress; Stackhouse on the shelf longer than expected; Kaman's season finished?; and more...

LOOKING FOR LARRY 
Where has Larry Hughes gone? Well, Hughes the struggling shooting guard is playing for the Chicago Bulls these days. But Hughes the rising star has been much less visible in recent seasons. And for fans in Cleveland and Chicago, the question is less where, than why.

Why did Hughes go from a near-All Star in Washington in the 2004-05 season, to a player who was jettisoned in February by Cleveland in a deadline deal swap? The answer isn't simple, but injuries have played a major part. Now 29 years old, Hughes hasn't appeared in more than 70 games in a regular season since 2001-02 (when he was with Golden State). But after being named to the NBA's First All-Defensive Team in 2004-05, he signed a big contract with the Cavaliers and appeared to be set to help LeBron James win a title. But then he got injured again several times, and hasn't averaged more than 15.5 points per game in a season since.

Despite seeming healthy, Hughes has seen his struggles follow him to Chicago. He managed just 12.1 points and 3.3 assists per game in March, much to the disappointment of Bulls fans and fantasy poolies. That said, the last game in which he reached the 20-point mark was Mar.2, when he returned to Cleveland. With his Bulls facing the Cavs in Cleveland again Thursday, can Hughes show fans from both franchises that he's still a top-tier talent?

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BIG BOOST: NOWITZKI BACK ALREADY 
Despite early reports out of Dallas that he would sit out completely, Maverick Dirk Nowitzki started Wednesday night as the Mavericks defeated the Warriors. In 27 minutes he scored 18 points in the easy 111-86 win. INTEL: Dirk was a bit rusty, but Dallas was able to ease him back in with the game in hand by fourth quarter. His return pushes Malik Allen back to a customary bench spot. It also means Josh Howard can be expected to slow down offensively, although Wednesday he did sting the Warriors for 28 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

GILBERT A GO FOR WIZ, FINALLY 
Gilbert Arenas also found his way back to the court Wednesday after four-and-a-half months off due to knee surgery. Coming off the bench for the Wizards in a 110-109 loss to Milwaukee, he played 20 minutes and scored 17 points. INTEL: Agent Zero also made it to the charity stripe seven times (hitting on five), which led the team. It's certainly good news that his time off did not result in a lack of aggressiveness. Arenas played during crunch time, and should return to the starting lineup when Washington faces Miami on Friday. The Wiz are finally getting healthy, as star small forward Caron Butler (hamstring) also played Wednesday, following a one-game absence.

PAU POWERS BACK UP 
Lakers' center Pau Gasol started at center Wednesday and played 32 minutes in his first game since spraining his ankle Mar.14. He posted 10 points, seven assists, and six rebounds in the Lakers' 104-91 win over the Trail Blazers. INTEL: A great sight for Lakers fans, who expect to get another elite big-man back soon in Andrew Bynum. Gasol wasn't dominant but his all-round game is still there, so there isn't much rust from the nine-game absence. Ronny Turiaf headed back to the bench and saw just 15 minutes of action in this one.

BRAND BACK FOR CLIPPERS 
Playing in his first game of the season, on Wednesday superstar power forward Elton Brand came off the bench to play 26 minutes and contribute 19 points, five rebounds, three assists, and a blocked shot in the Clips' 102-84 victory over the SuperSonics. INTEL: Obviously Brand's torn Achilles wasn't affecting him much. The fact he is making it for the final few games of this season is encouraging for him and the team, although it won't help the team make the playoffs. With Brand back in the mix, expect Josh Powell and Al Thornton to possibly play a little less than usual.

KAMAN LIKELY SHUT DOWN 
In his fourth game since returning from a back injury, Clippers center Chris Kaman suffered a nasty-looking ankle sprain Monday against the Mavericks. Asked if he expects Kaman to be out for the remainder of the year Los Angeles coach Mike Dunleavy conceded to the Los Angeles Times that it "looks that way." INTEL:: Tough luck for Kaman, who has played great at times this season and was coming back strong from the earlier injury. Josh Powell, who impressed in early March as Kaman's replacement, has proven to be a very good option in the pivot. That said, Powell's minutes could be decreased by superstar Elton Brand, who returned Wednesday.

FORD DOUBLES UP 
Raptors point guard T.J. Ford notched 23 points and 13 assists on Wednesday night in a 127-120 overtime defeat to the Hawks. It marked Ford's first double-double since the Raptors season opener on Halloween. INTEL: Ford struggled to find his game coming off the bench for the majority of March, but has played well since he returned to his starting role. He has scored in double-figures in all five games since recaliming the starting role, and is averaging 8.8 assists per game during the same span. Just be aware that his minutes will be somewhat limited because of his injury history, and because Jose Calderon (who had 10 helpers Wednesday) is arguably the best backup in the league.

VAREJAO BITES BOBCATS 
Energetic Brazilian power forward-center Anderson Varejao scored a season-best 17 points Wednesday, accompanied by 12 rebounds, as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Charlotte Bobcats 118-114. INTEL: Varejao has very little going for him offensively but for one major exception: he plays beside LeBron James. Thus he gets enough easy scoring chances to put up lines like this once in awhile, though fantasy owners count on him for solid rebounding totals until Ben Wallace returns from a sore back.

CRITTENTON ON 
Playing 31 minutes off the bench Wednesday, Javaris Crittenton had the best night of his freshman campaign in the Grizzlies' mauling of the Knicks. The talented guard set a career high with 23 points, while his four assists and nine rebounds both equaled his best totals of the season. INTEL: Crittenton, selected 19th overall in the 2007 NBA Draft, is a top prospect and was the key piece Memphis received from L.A. in the early February trade of Pau Gasol. It's too late this season for him to make a large impact, but he may be a breakout candidate for 2008-09, depending on what the team decides to do with Kyle Lowry, Mike Conley and Juan Carlos Navarro.

YI SPRAINS KNEE 
In a Wednesday game that saw center Yi Jianlian leave with a knee sprain, Milwaukee got a pair of great performances from forward Charlie Villanueva and center Andrew Bogut. Charlie V dropped 24 points (including two makes from deep) with 12 rebounds, while Bogut put up 20 and 10. INTEL: Villanueva saw extra minutes with Yi out of the picture, and Bogut is simply continuing his excellent improvement shown during the second half of the season. The Bucks' twin towers may rack up similar numbers if Yi doesn't return this season.

STACK NOT BACK SOON 
The injury news in Dallas was not all positive on Wednesday: coach Avery Johnson told the Associated Press that Jerry Stackhouse will miss at least another week following the results of an MRI on his strained groin. INTEL: This would put Stack's return date at Apr.10 against Utah, at the earliest. For fantasy purposes he shouldn't be counted on to contribute much more this year. Jason Terry remains very valuable as long as he starts, and veteran swingman Eddie Jones may chip in a little more than usual as long as Stackhouse is sidelined.