The way Joe Smith has been talked about in the last few weeks, you would think Kobe Bryant was being bought out of his contract. Indications are that Smith, who was waived by Oklahoma City on Sunday, will sign with Cleveland this week, though Sacramento’s surprising decision to release former Cav Drew Gooden could complicate matters. Either addition couldn’t come at a better time. With Ben Wallace (broken leg) out 4-6 weeks, and the race for home-court advantage in the East likely to come down to the wire, Cleveland badly needs more frontcourt size.

With road losses to Denver and Phoenix, the Lakers have dropped back-to-back games for the first time since mid-January. Meanwhile, reports out of L.A. say Andrew Bynum is on schedule to return before the end of the regular season. The 7-footer has yet to start running but is able to ride a stationary bike as he recovers from a torn medial collateral ligament in his right knee.

They blew a chance to pick up some ground on the conference-leading Lakers when they split four games last week. The good news is that Tim Duncan is healthy. After missing three consecutive games with right quad tendonosis, San Antonio’s most important player returned in Sunday’s loss at Portland. With only 3½ games separating the second-seeded Spurs from the No. 8 Mavericks, Duncan’s presence in the lineup down the stretch is critical.

Stephon Marbury‘s first week in Boston began with a roar (eight points in 13 minutes in Friday’s victory against Indiana) and ended with a whimper (zero points, four fouls and two turnovers in 12 minutes in Sunday’s loss to Detroit). Marbury’s presence hasn’t seemed to faze starting point guard Rajon Rondo, who likened Marbury’s arrival to that of Sam Cassell at midseason in 2007-08. “I think it’s the same situation but I probably am more established,” Rondo told reporters. “I’m more confident — and I’m playing a little better.”

Is there any question that Stan Van Gundy is the favorite for Coach of the Year? Van Gundy has had a hand in developing the Magic’s three All-Stars (Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis and Jameer Nelson) and turned Orlando into an elite team despite starting two small forwards in the frontcourt. Also, after Nelson’s season-ending shoulder injury, Van Gundy smoothly transitioned the Magic from playing with a shoot-first point guard to a pass-first one (Rafer Alston). There isn’t another coach out there who has done a better job.