Monday Practice Notes

- Coach McMillan is on the mend. After injuring his achilles tendon in December, Nate was walking without a boot for the first time.

- Although Brandon Roy will not play in the All Star game, NBA policy dictates that he must attend the weekend of festivities. It seems a bit counter-intuititve when the Blazer star is hoping to rest his balky hamstring (he’s shut down ALL basketball-related activities). Although it’s not the best prescription, Roy said he is still excited to travel to Dallas and spend some time with guys like Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant, and even his former teammate Zach Randolph.

- The media has been lobbying for Nic Batum’s return to the starting lineup ever since that first game he played since returning from shoulder surgery. It seems as if their wish may finally come true. Coach McMillan wouldn’t say concretely, but he did offer a few hints, admitting that he considered starting Batum Saturday against the Lakers. Not exactly Smooth Jimmy’s Lock of the Week, but it certainly could happen.

- During practice Travis Outlaw was wanting to go harder but was held back a bit. After the media were let in, Travis was working up quite a sweat, going heavy full court one-on-one with coach Monty Williams. Travis said he feels fine, and now it’s just a matter of working his endurance back into shape. He’s still shooting for a return one week after the All Star break.

- Los Angeles Clipper Chris Kaman was selected as an All Star alternate to play in Brandon Roy’s place. Talk about a downgrade…

- And just in case you missed it, here’s some video from a Laker celebration at the Rose Garden Saturday that’s become a pretty testy exchange in the youtube.com comments: