Scott Agness of VigilantSports.com: And for the life of me (and NBA minds much, much smarter than I am), I still can’t process why Stephenson signed a deal with a team option in year three. He’s betting on himself taking a shorter deal than the five-year, $44 million the Pacers offered, but with the new TV deal kicking in after two seasons, should he stay on course mentally he’ll be vastly underpaid. (He left for a different of hundreds of thousands of dollars, not millions.) “I be getting money ’til I fall out!” Stephenson rapped in his freestyle hit over the summer. As the Pacers and Hornets square off Thursday night, again, there’s no real intrigue. As the battered Pacers take the floor with just one usual starter (Roy Hibbert) due to injuries, all they can think about is getting guys healthy so they can continue to work. They have a ways to go getting comfortable playing together, finding lineups and combinations that work, and most of all, putting their best players on the floor. Paul George will be out for a while, we know that. (He did show an encouraging sign this week by putting shots up.) David West’s suffered a bad sprain that’ll likely keep him out for weeks; George Hill’s left knee has swelled up considerably after he bumped knees in Tuesday’s game at Minnesota; C.J. Watson has a sore foot, as does Rodney Stuckey.

Richard Walker of the Gaston Gazette: In Thursday’s preseason finale, that effort and sharpness was lacking in a big way for much of the game before a late rally made the score look respectable in an 88-79 loss to Indiana. The result ended the Hornets’ preseason with a 3-5 record and gives Clifford and his team almost a week to work out of their struggles before next Wednesday’s 7 p.m. regular season opener against Milwaukee. “We’ve had an up and down preseason,” Clifford said. “Some of that is due to injuries, but that right there, that’s an unacceptable effort by most of the guys. If we’re going to play like that, it’s going to be a struggle.” Certainly, having starting point guard Kemba Walker (left foot), starting off-guard Lance Stephenson (right groin) out of action in addition to projected top reserve Gerald Henderson (hamstring) and top rookie draft pick Noah Vonleh (right ankle) didn’t help matters.

Terry Foster of The Detroit News: Pistons practices are long. Including film study and meetings, they last approximately three hours. One in Orlando lasted 3:40. "Practices are really, really, really long," rookie Spencer Dinwiddie said, laughing. "But (coach Stan Van Gundy) has a track record of winning, so with that in mind, how can you really argue about it?" Van Gundy swears practices under Pat Riley were just as long — and tougher. But he's trying to make an impact with his work ethic and expectations. And he wants to see who stands up to the challenges. We got a final look at the Pistons on Thursday night against the Philadelphia 76ers at The Palace before they begin the regular season next Wednesday at Denver. The Pistons beat the Sixers 109-103 when Josh Smith (17 points and 10 rebounds) broke a late tie with a 3-pointer and free throw. D.J Augustin finished with a double-double (11 points and 11 assists), Kyle Singler added 19 points, Caron Butler 18 and Cartier Martin 17. NBA analysts Reggie Miller and Charles Barkley said the Pistons are talented and should make the playoffs. But Van Gundy's brother, ESPN analyst Jeff Van Gundy, said they are a work in progress. That seems to be the case.

Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer: The 76ers now have tough decisions to make. Do they keep Casper Ware as the third point guard? Have Malcolm Lee and Chris Johnson shown enough to make the roster? And will Brandon Davies' status as a great locker-room guy outweigh his on-court limitations for the second straight season? The deadline to trim NBA rosters from 20 players to 15 is Monday at 5 p.m. Coach Brett Brown had said the Sixers would release players after their final preseason game. That came Thursday night in a 109-103 loss to the Detroit Pistons at the Palace of Auburn Hills. So who's getting released? "We will review it all tomorrow morning and maybe even Saturday," Brown said Thursday morning. "None of these decisions are preconceived. There's isn't in my mind definite things going on." ... You have to assume that the team will release Ronald Roberts and Lee. The same for Ware, if the Yahoo Sports report about the Sixers' being in talks with the Brooklyn Nets for reserve guard Marquis Teague is true. ... Meanwhile, Davies, JaKarr Sampson, Drew Gordon, Alexey Shved, Johnson, and Jason Richardson appear to be on the bubble.

Tyler Moody for The Advocate: A now-healthy Ryan Anderson gives the second unit an elite 3-point-shooting talent it lacked while he was injured. Anderson used the final preseason game to find his stroke and knock down a pair of 3s in his 23 minutes. New Orleans has more depth with the key additions of Omer Asik and John Salmons. Monty Williams said Salmons will be key off the bench. “John gives us some steadiness in the second unit because he is an older guy and kind of calms that group down a little bit,” he said. “His veteran leadership is a big key with the young players around him.” There is little doubt the Pelicans have enough offensive firepower. Defense is where New Orleans must assert itself to make a run at the playoffs. New Orleans had one of the worst plus-minus ratios in the league defensively a season ago with Tyreke Evans on the floor.

Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News: After sitting all of his starters and top two reserves Thursday in a 88-85 loss to New Orleans on Thursday, Rick Carlisle will be hoping for a full dress rehearsal Friday in Orlando against the Magic. What leading character Dirk Nowitzki is looking for is a sign that the Mavericks’ defense is ready for prime time. If they have one glaring weakness – and as far as Nowitzki is concerned, they do – it will be a major focus in the preseason finale. “This team’s challenge is defensive rebounding,” Nowitzki said before Thursday’s game. “If we’re solid enough there to get stops and get rebounds, then I think we can play with anybody. If we keep hitting the boards, we have a good shot of winning, even on the road.” It won’t be as easy as it sounds, even though center Tyson Chandler can be a rebound machine at times, Nowitzki knows the Mavericks aren’t an intimidating team when it comes to establishing an inside presence. In short, this team lacks bulk.

Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic: It is hard to fathom Steve Nash going through the work he has put in over the past two years again. That dedication earned him the chance to play 15 games last season and none this season. With $147 million in career earnings, no team would approach the $9.7 million he is making this season, and it probably would have to be the Lakers or Clippers for him to do it anyway. Nash has set roots in Manhattan Beach, Calif., for him and his three kids for his post-NBA life, which includes being Canada Basketball's general manager. Nash's influence still will be evident each night this season in the NBA, where the prevalent pick-and-roll, drive-and-kick styles are a tip of the hat to what Nash and Mike D'Antoni created in Phoenix with major help from Stoudemire and Shawn Marion. Beyond that, Nash was arguably the NBA's best all-around shooter for years, an ideal captain who made teammates better and a gentlemanly face of the franchise. Nash's next basketball stop likely will be the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. He is one of seven players in NBA history to win consecutive MVP awards and used his Lakers time to creep into third place on the all-time assists list with 10,335. He only trails former Suns teammate Jason Kidd (12,091) and John Stockton (15,806).