Rumors, moves, injuries and newsmakers...

On the regular season's final night, the West is still wild; Carmelo says sorry; Alston sidelined at least a week; Sasha gone for Round 1; Rose readies for NBA; Big Al gives T-Wolves hope; and more...

NO REST FOR WEST 
Usually by this time, most of the NBA's playoff qualifiers are resting up their stars in preparation for the postseason. Not this year. At least, not in the NBA's Western conference.

As the NBA's regular season ends Wednesday night, seven of the West's eight playoff qualifiers are playing, and six of them have much to gain--and just as much to lose. The six (San Antonio, Utah, Houston, Phoenix, Dallas, and Denver) are still in a tight seedings race that could see each of them either rise or drop by the end of the night. And since that rise or drop will ultimately decide who their first-round playoff opponent is, an awful lot is still at stake.

In sharp contrast is the Eastern conference, where Wednesday's games will have no bearing on the playoff seedings. All eight qualifiers (Boston, Detroit, Orlando, Cleveland, Washington, Toronto, Philadelphia, and Atlanta) are locked into their seeds (and in that order). So fantasy poolies: it might be wise to be wary of East stars sitting Wednesday. But with the West still up in the air, which of its best will step up Wednesday?

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CARMELO SAYS SORRY 
On Tuesday, Nuggets' star Carmelo Anthony publicly apologized for his Monday arrest on charges of DUI. The team did not comment on whether he would play in Wednesday's season finale at home versus the Grizzlies. INTEL: Unless something drastic happens, it would appear Anthony should be ready to suit up Wednesday night. The Nuggets are in desperate need of a win, and if they pull it off (and the Mavericks lose) then Denver might be able to avoid having to play against the No. 1 seed in the playoffs.

WITH WEST WON, IS KOBE MVP? 
With 20 points and five assists Tuesday night, Lakers' superstar Kobe Bryant helped lead his team to the Western conference's No. 1 playoff seed, thanks to a 124-101 win over Sacramento. INTEL: It wasn't an exceptional scoring night for Bryant, but he only played 29 minutes in this blowout and the key point is that his Lakers finish best in the West. That fact may be the final push Bryant needs to cop his first NBA MVP award. His chief competitors for the honor are Boston power forward Kevin Garnett and New Orleans point guard Chris Paul, but with Garnett's stats not quite as impressive and Paul still a relative NBA newcomer (in just his third season), Bryant may be emerging as the favorite.

ALSTON SIDELINED AT LEAST A WEEK 
The Houston Chronicle is reporting that Rockets' starting point guard Rafer Alston will miss at least one week because of a pulled right hamstring, and that it will keep him out of the start of the playoffs. INTEL: With the playoffs beginning on the weekend, Alston may conceivably be out for the first two or three games. While this would be a blow to Houston's playoff chances, it's notable that Houston has a lot of depth at point guard, with veteran Bobby Jackson, the sweet-shooting Luther Head and rookie Aaron Brooks.

SASHA GONE FOR ROUND 1 
The Cavaliers have announced that shooting guard Aleksandar Pavlovic will miss two to three weeks because of badly sprained left ankle. That will effectively keep Sasha out of all of Cleveland's first-round playoff series against Washington. INTEL: With Pavlovic out, the Cavs will need to turn to Daniel Gibson at shooting guard, which is probably okay with them considering 'Boobie' had a superb playoff performance during last year's postseason. Devin Brown and Wally Szczerbiak are also in the mix, as is Damon Jones.

ROSE READIES FOR NBA 
According to several media sources, University of Memphis point guard Derrick Rose is indeed going to enter this year's NBA Draft. The freshman point guard led his Memphis Tigers to the NCAA title game this year, where they lost a close game to Kansas. INTEL: It's not really a shocker that Rose is taking his game to the pro court. He is widely seen as a potential No. 1 overall pick (along with Kansas State freshman forward Michael Beasley). During his only college campaign, Rose averaged 14.9 points, 4.7 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game.

BIG AL GIVES T-WOLVES HOPE 
His team didn't make the playoffs and he won't likely be mentioned in a lot of the NBA's big award talk, but Al Jefferson of the Timberwolves continues to quietly make Minny fans excited about next season. On Tuesday night he posted an impressive 30 points and nine boards in his team's 115-103 loss to the Pistons. INTEL: Jefferson is finishing strongly, averaging 22.6 points and 8.6 rebounds per game in April. This season he has established himself as the Timberwolves' franchise cornerstone, and at just 23 years old he may be a superstar for the next decade.

WOODSON WILL GO BALD 
After his Hawks recently clinched their spot in the playoffs (as the East's No.8 seed), head coach Mike Woodson has agreed to shave his head for the postseason, according to the Associated Press. He reportedly promised his team he would do it last year, as a motivation tactic. INTEL: While this might seem a little silly, it's notable that this sort of thing really helps a team bond. It's nice to see Woodson show his lighter side, and it may just help keep the young Hawks loose as they face a tough, tough test in the veteran Celtics in Round 1.

KINGS' Q NETS 32 
Playing in the Kings' final game of the season, second-year guard Quincy Douby came off the bench and dropped a career-high 32 points in Sacramento's 124-101 loss to the Lakers. INTEL: A very solid outing for Douby, who has a lot of talent as a pure scorer. The Kings have really focused in recent years on drafting wiry, athletic perimeter scorers like him (including Kevin Martin and Francisco Garcia). This performance may not garner Douby a bigger role for next season, but it certainly shows that he can put the biscuit in the basket.

KNICKS' CHANDLER DONE FOR THE SEASON 
The New York post reports Knicks' rookie forward Wilson Chandler has a sprained left knee. He will reportedly be on crutches for the next couple of weeks, then start to rehabilitate it. Chandler will obviously miss the Knicks' season finale Wednesday versus the Pacers in Indiana. INTEL: A tough end to a very promising season for the athletic combo forward. Chandler really took off once the Knicks started giving him regular playing time (which began at the start of March). Over the final month-and-a-half he was very impressive, and during April Chandler averaged 12 points and 5.6 boards over 28.3 minutes per game. His future appears bright, even with obvious roster changes coming in the Big Apple.