Five Second Half Things To Look Out For

1.  The trading deadline.  Vince Carter to the Rockets or Spurs?  Amar'e Stoudamire to the Bulls or Cavs?  Other (obviously more interesting, duh) names that could be on the move include Tyson Chandler, Richard Jefferson, Caron Butler, David Lee, and of course, the human trading chip, Raef LaFrentz.

With the obvious exception of LaFrentz (who should be lauded for the sheer slight of hand it took to convince any team to offer him a contract), those are some pretty big names.  Problem is, as Chad Ford mentions, most teams are hesitant in this economy to pick up big contracts. 

2.  How much longer can Orlando play at a top tier level without point guard Jameer Nelson?  Out for the season with a torn right labrum, Nelson lead the team in 3PT and FT%, and was second on the team in FG%.  Some how I doubt Tyronn Lue and Anthony Johnson will be able to keep things afloat.

3.  Who will come out as the California champions?  The Lakers, or the rest of the Golden State?  I'd seen someone mention this somewhere, but I didn't believe it, so I did my own research, detailed as it may be.  Currently, the Kings/Clippers/Warriors are up 43 to 42 over the Lakers, far as wins are concerned.

4.  Speaking of the Lakers, will they even remotely take their foot off the gas to let the rest of the conference in?  Likely not.  The Spurs and Nuggets, two of the hottest teams in the league, have been unable to make up much ground over the past two weeks despite playing over .700 ball.

5. Finally, and most importantly, will the Bucks have to resort to petitioning the league to allow them to only play three or four players instead of five?  As it's going now, that may not be that far off.

BONUS THING TO LOOK OUT FOR:

K-Mart and Al Harrington have paired up (why they didn't get the real K-Mart, Kenyon, I'll never know), and the only question that remains is how many kicks will Big Al sell?