Atlanta At Indiana
When: 1:00 PM ET, Sunday, April 21, 2013
Where: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
TV: 1 p.m. ET, TNT
PREDICTION: Pacers 98, Hawks 95

Atlanta did not exactly finish with a flurry, either, losing five of their final seven to erase any chance of homecourt advantage in the first round. The Hawks went 19-22 on the road and dropped four of their final six away from Atlanta during the regular season, including a 100-94 setback at Indiana on March 25. Smith scored 20 points but the Hawks were outrebounded 49-38 in the loss. Smith played sparingly over the final weeks while fighting off a knee injury but looked strong when he was in the lineup and shot 55 percent from the field in the final month. Atlanta is counting on the point guard combo of Jeff Teague and Devin Harris to give it an advantage on the perimeter. Teague averaged nine assists in April and cut his turnovers to 2.3 – the lowest of any month.

Indiana looked like a lock for the No. 2 seed in the East before its slump coincided with the New York Knicks’ surge. Either way, the Pacers will have to make it to the Eastern Conference finals if the want to get another crack at the Heat. Indiana led the NBA in rebounding average behind Hibbert and West and was second in points allowed despite the letup on that end late in the season. The biggest difference between this spring and last is the increase role of shooting guard Lance Stephenson, who has given the team a tenacious perimeter defender and a solid shooting option on the wing. Stephenson missed the last meeting with the Hawks but collected 14 points and six rebounds in a 114-103 win over them on Feb. 5.

Stats and Records

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The Stars had been talking to Jagr’s camp for three weeks about a possible extension but over the past few days had second thoughts with the team fading in the standings.

Dallas received forwards Lane MacDermid and Cody Payne, along with a conditional second-round pick in the 2013 draft.

The pick will become a first-round selection if Boston advances to the Eastern Conference finals in this year’s playoffs.

“Jaromir Jagr produced as a consistent scorer for our team all year and we would like to thank him for his contributions to our hockey club,” Stars general manager Joe Nieuwendyk said. “With our eye to the future, we have acquired some valuable assets that we believe strengthen our organization.”

Boston Bruins forward David Krejci said he was trying not to think about the possibilities for Boston as the team heads into a matchup against the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night at TD Garden.

“He was the best for a long time, and he’s still one of the best right now,” said Krejci, who was just 4 years old when Jagr made his NHL debut with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1990. “It’s good to see him still do well at his age. I had posters of him when I was a kid. He was obviously my hockey idol.”

Jagr will wear No. 68 for the Bruins and is scheduled to join the team Wednesday.

He has 14 goals and 12 assists for 26 points in 34 games this season with the Stars. That would put him fourth on the Bruins in scoring, behind Patrice Bergeron (31 points), Brad Marchand (28) and David Krejci (28).

“He wants to win,” Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli said of Jagr. “His game is still a strong power game. He was leading [Dallas] in scoring and you watch him play and you see a lot of what you used to see in him, so I’m confident Jaromir will accept any role he’s given and he knows he’s coming to a strong group and he’ll help us out.”

Bruins team president Cam Neely said Jagr likely won’t be on the team’s top line.

“I would assume that he may start on a different line than [the top line],” Neely said in a radio interview, “but you never know how things will shake out. We’ll have 13 games after tonight, and we’ll see what makes the best fit and gives us the best chance to get production from all three lines.”

Bruins coach Claude Julien could insert Jagr onto the team’s third line along with Rich Peverley and Jordan Caron right now. Once Chris Kelly — who’s out with a broken left tibia — returns, a possible line of Jagr, Kelly and Peverley could be a strong combination for the Bruins, with speed and playmaking ability.

“We’ll have to see where he fits in,” Chiarelli said. “Obviously, there’s a need on the third line, but he’s got a higher-line pedigree. What I said to Jaromir was: ‘We pride ourselves on four strong lines and he’s an important part, but not the part to success.’ So he could be on the third line. There’s been times when our fourth line has been our third line, and vice versa, so it depends on who’s going. We’ll try to even it out and he seemed very receptive to that”

One place Jagr should help is on the Bruins’ power play. Boston is ranked 24th in the NHL in power-play percentage at 15.2 percent (14 for 92). Jagr has scored six power play goals this season with the Stars.

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“They’re both great players, and they’re both great in their eras,” Thomas said on “The Waddle & Silvy Show” on ESPN 1000. “In my era, we hadn’t seen an athlete quite like Michael Jordan. He jumped higher than everyone else. He was a little faster than everyone else and he was just the best athlete.

“LeBron James is the best athlete of today, and he’s probably a better athlete than Michael Jordan was. He’s bigger, he’s faster, he’s stronger.”

As far as who would win head to head, Thomas said it depends.

“Now when you put them out on the floor to compete against each other in different eras, it depends on which rules you’re playing with and which coach you’re being coached by,” Thomas said. “So there’s a lot that really goes into it.

“Had Michael Jordan not met Phil Jackson, would Michael Jordan be Michael Jordan today had he stayed with (Stan) Albeck and Doug Collins, and they were great coaches, but I think Jackson had a lot to do with his success. LeBron right now seems to be in the right situation with the right coach with the right players and his talent is being exposed and is flourishing.”

Magic Johnson recently gave his take on who would win a game of one-on-one between Jordan and James.

“Easy answer MJ all day, every day!” Johnson tweeted, before adding: “If MJ and LeBron played 1-on-1 10 times, MJ would win all 10. MJ is the ultimate 1-on-1 player!”

Johnson did give James credit as the best player in the game today.

Jordan and Thomas have some history as fierce competitors. Thomas and several Detroit Pistons teammates left the court before shaking hands with Jordan’s Bulls after Chicago won the 1991 Eastern Conference finals. That reportedly played a role in keeping Thomas off the 1992 Olympic “Dream Team.” Scottie Pippen said he didn’t want Thomas on the team and former NBA deputy commissioner Russ Granik admitted Thomas’ behavior after that series was part of the reason Thomas was left off the team.

During the celebration of Jordan’s 50th birthday on Sunday, Antawn Jamison said if Jordan played today, “he could get you about 10 or 11 points, come in and play 15-20 minutes.” Thomas wasn’t as sure when asked Tuesday if Jordan could average 10.

“If he played 40 minutes,” Thomas said. “It’s all about minutes and shots, always. The question is, yeah, he can score 10, but could he guard the other guy? Could he get back in transition?

“It’s a lot that goes into playing an NBA game and it’s a lot that goes into training to be an NBA player. You can be in great health-club shape, but to be a pro athlete and be in that type of physical condition, training condition and mindset, that’s a different type of person you’re talking about.”

Although he joked about playing at the age of 50 when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame, Jordan has since put that thought to rest, even though Charlotte Bobcats rookie Michael Kidd-Gilchrist said he recently lost to Jordan in a game of one-on-one.

Asked whether he could average 10 at the age of 50, Thomas didn’t hesitate.

“Absolutely not, the athletes and players I think today are too good,” he said. “I think we all have nostalgic great imaginations, and to say that you could do that is just a total disrespect to the players who are playing today.”

Thomas was in Chicago to partner with Mayor Rahm Emanuel in announcing a basketball program aimed at helping at-risk youth.

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King told Ian O’Connor during an interview on ESPN New York 98.7 FM on Sunday morning that the team “supports” interim coach P.J. Carlesimo and will “re-evaluate” things moving forward, while deflecting questions about Jackson by repeatedly saying “P.J.’s our coach.”

“We’ve put our support behind (P.J.) and then we’ll look at things and evaluate it later,” King said. “I know people have been throwing lists together and things like that, but we have not contacted anybody. … We’ve made the move and now we’re going to let P.J. coach.”

While King didn’t want to put a timetable on anything, he did suggest that Carlesimo could conceivably finish out the season, calling it “a great opportunity” for Johnson’s former assistant, who has several years of NBA head coaching experience under his belt with three other franchises.

Sources had told ESPN.com that the Nets have made Jackson, an 11-time NBA coaching champion, their top target to replace Johnson on a permanent basis. But when King was asked about when he was going to contact Jackson, he replied, “I don’t know how many times I can say it or Mikhail can say it. P.J.’s our coach. We’re gonna let him coach and then re-evaluate things. I know Mikhail said it about 10 times when he was asked, and I’ve been saying it, and I think people just keep dismissing what we say.”

Prokhorov spent $330 million to improve the Nets’ roster in the offseason and said a successful first season in Brooklyn would be defined by a trip to the Eastern Conference finals. Given those high expectations — the Nets are in the third-year of Prokhorov’s five-year championship plan — it seems reasonable the Nets would contact the biggest names on the market.

Carlesimo, who is 2-0 since taking over for Johnson with wins over the Charlotte Bobcats and Cleveland Cavaliers, said Saturday he believes the possibility of retaining the job for the rest of the season is “available” to him. Carlesimo had a fancy lunch meeting in New York City with Prokhorov Saturday, but declined to discuss specifics of what was said about his future.

“Sometimes you just need a different voice,” King said. “What I like about P.J. is he’s had NBA head coaching experience. I think he understands the game, he’s been around it.”

King believes this is a good time to give Carlesimo an opportunity to lead the team.

“More than anything, you just need to calm the waters and let guys breathe as a group and try to gel,” King said. “Because if we’re in the middle of a search, the turmoil just continues. We need our guys to just focus on the now and San Antonio (on Monday).”

Van Gundy is held in high regard by the Nets, but a league source said he needs to learn more about the organization before determining his level of interest in the job. He also would prefer taking over after the season, not during it, the source said.

“I would never comment on a job that was filled,” Van Gundy told Yahoo! Sports, which first reported his preference to wait until after the season. “I was an interim coach. I hope P.J. has great success there. He’s someone I respect greatly.”

Kelvin Sampson, Nate McMillan and Mike Dunleavy have been other names mentioned to take over for the Nets.

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