Rumors, moves, injuries and newsmakers...

Jazz head to Houston in Western tilt; Rasho still rolling for Raptors; Gasol and Odom help put Lakers in first; Ginobili still sitting; Cavs' Big Z dominates inside; Battier not ready to return yet; Nocioni comes up big for Bulls; Watson and Sonics stun Dallas; and more...

WHEN TO SAY WHEN 
With a long NBA season coming to a conclusion, several playoff bound teams face a tough question: should they continue playing all out in the hopes grabbing a higher seed and remaining focused as a team, or is it time to start letting their aching players rest up?
Take the Houston Rockets and the Utah Jazz, who meet Monday night in what could be a first-round preview. Houston's superstar swingman Tracy McGrady always seem to be a little worse for wear, and already sat out a game last week battling a shoulder injury. In Utah, point guard Deron Williams could use a break after being the victim of a scary-looking flagrant foul in a Saturday's game against Denver.

Both players were around last season when the Jazz defeated the Rockets in a seven game series that saw the home team win six times, so they know the importance of home-court advantage. And both plan to be in the starting lineup on Monday. Which beat-up star will be able to log enough minutes to lead his team to victory?

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NESTEROVIC STILL SHOWING HIS STUFF 
Despite another pair of outstanding frontcourt performances from power forward Chris Bosh (30 points, 10 rebounds, four assists) and center Rasho Nesterovic (18 points and seven rebounds), the Toronto Raptors fell 91-84 to the Detroit Pistons on Sunday. INTEL: Bosh has been great all season, but Nesterovic has unexpectedly become a threat as of late, having now posted double-digit scoring lines in 16 straight games. The 10 year veteran, averaging 18 points and 7.5 rebounds in April, is playing perhaps the best basketball of his entire career

PISTONS GOING TO THE MAX(IELL) 
Playing 23 minutes on Sunday, forward Jason Maxiell shot 7-of-10 from the field and snagged four rebounds in the Pistons' win over Toronto. INTEL: He hasn't been viewed as much of a scoring threat this season, but Maxiell has responded well in extra playing time created by the extra rest given lately to center Rasheed Wallace and forward Antonio McDyess. In his past five games he's posted 13.2 points and seven rebounds a game, and remains a key cog in the Pistons engine heading to the playoffs.

GASOL AND ODOM TOO MUCH FOR SPURS 
Center Pau Gasol (14 points, 11 rebounds) and forward Lamar Odom (17 points, 14 rebounds) both had double-doubles on Sunday afternoon in the Lakers' 106-85 win over the San Antonio Spurs. INTEL: Odom had a few games like this when Gasol missed time with his ankle injury, but hit a bit of a dry spell after that. His last three, however, have seen him average 14.7 points and a hefty 14.3 rebounds. Gasol meanwhile, has been solid since his return, scoring in double-figures every game. He appears to be fully healthy heading into the postseason.

MANU STILL M.I.A. 
The San Antonio Spurs were again without the services of shooting guard Manu Ginobili (groin) in Sunday's loss to the Lakers. Forward Ime Udoka once again saw some extra minutes off the bench in Manu's absence, finishing with decent if unspectacular numbers of 14 points (including a pair of three-pointers), three rebounds, two assists and a block. INTEL: Spurs' coach Gregg Popovich and the rest of the front office still aren't saying much about the extent of the injury. However, if Ginobili couldn't play in a game as big as this one he should definitely be considered doubtful for Monday's contest at Sacramento.

BIG GAME FROM BIG Z  
With center Zydrunas Ilgauskas leading the way with a double-double, the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Miami Heat 84-76 on Sunday. Ilgauskas shot just 6-of-18 for 14 points, but added 14 rebounds (including six on the offensive glass) and a blocked shot. INTEL: Big Z has scored in double-digits every game in April, but this was only his second double-double in six games. Rebounding totals throughout his career have always been a bit low given his 7-3 frame, but his 9.4 per game this year should set a new career high.

HOWARD POWER 
Orlando's all-star center Dwight Howard had 19 points, five rebounds and a block in the team's Sunday night win over the Bulls, 104-84. Despite having only four field goals attempts, Howard succeeded in going 13-of-17 at the free throw line. INTEL: Dwight's foul shooting has been his (and thus perhaps the Magic's) Achilles Heel this season, and prior to this performance it had dipped to a season low 46.2 per cent in April. This was a very encouraging bounce-back as he prepares for the playoffs, and makes up for his rebounds being single-digit for the first time in nearly two months.

NOC' NOTCHES 22 
Seeing his most court time (28 minutes) in a month in Chicago's loss to Orlando, forward Andres Nocioni answered with 22 points and five rebounds. The scoring outburst also included four triples, which helped him to his best scoring mark since Feb.12 against New Orleans. INTEL: Noc' started out well enough this season, but has seemingly been lost in the shuffle recently as the Bulls have entered a rebuilding mode. As the ink is still fairly fresh on the five-year contract he got last summer, he should be more of a fixture in Chicago next year.

HOWARD POWER, PART TWO 
After sitting out Saturday's game in Portland with a bruised knee, Mavericks forward Josh Howard returned to Dallas' starting lineup on Sunday. He finished with 16 points and seven rebounds in 28 minutes as Dallas lost 99-95 to Seattle. INTEL: The knee may have still been bothering his shot at he went 4-of-13 from the field, though he did make two from deep and all six of his foul shots. The injury isn't considered overly problematic, and his night off against the Blazers was likely the result of this being a back-to-back situation for Dallas.

THE EARL OF SEATTLE 
Point guard Earl Watson lead the way as Seattle scored an upset win over Dallas on Sunday night. He nearly reached a triple-double by recording 21 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds. INTEL: Watson will never be confused with an all-star, but he's a solid NBA veteran at the point. Sunday's game finished a nice week for him, averaging 19 points and 7.3 assists over four games.

BATTIER NOT BETTER 
Rockets' forward Shane Battier sat out again on Sunday night as the Rockets lost 111-94 to Denver. INTEL: His foot injury was originally thought to only cost him the one game (Friday vs. Phoenix), but with this apparent setback his status is up in the air for Monday's tilt against the Jazz. Guard Luther Head got the start again and scored 19 points in 28 minutes, also adding two three-pointers, three rebounds, two steals and two assists in the process.

A-I KEEPING BUSY 
Nuggets' superstar guard Allen Iverson filled up the box score from left to right on Sunday in Denver's victory. On 13-for-20 shooting, Iverson finished with 33 points, seven assists, seven rebounds, four steals and a block, helping Denver reclaim sole possession of the West's final playoff spot. INTEL: His only blemish was five missed free throws on 11 attempts. Fantasy owners have come to expect this kind of point, assist and steal production from the Answer every time out; at least the rebounds were a bonus.