NBA 24 second clock

It will be a rematch of last season's finals with Kobe Bryant and crew trying to make things different this time around. The Celtics, after a rough stretch, are playing at a championship level again. The Lakers, meanwhile, are clearly the best team in the Western Conference once again this season.

24 Second Clock

Minnesota Timberwolves big man Kevin Love has bounced back after struggling through the first two months of his debut season. In December, he felt as though he had already hit the rookie wall.

In the first 13 games in January, Love averaged 12.5 points, 10.1 rebounds and 24 minutes and shot 53.7 percent from the field. The month before, he averaged 6.6 points and shot 38.1 percent over 16 games.

"My teammates are happy with my play, my coaches are happy with my play, and I feel a lot more confident," Love said. "Just got to keep heading down the right road. There's going to be some more bumps this rookie season, even probably into next season a little bit, but I'm just looking forward to keep getting better and keep being productive." ...

The New Orleans Hornets surprised the league by earning the second seed in the Western Conference playoffs and falling one victory shy of reaching the conference finals last spring. They hoped they'd only get better.

When they hit the halfway mark of their season with a 101-86 victory over Philadelphia last week, they were 27-14, two games worse than at the same point last year.

Coach Byron Scott said injuries — and the fact that New Orleans isn't sneaking up on anyone — have a lot to do with his club's slight drop-off.

"I'm very pleased with where we are now," Scott said. "Last season everything — the planets, the stars, everything — aligned in a good way. With the injuries we've had and the heightened expectations, to be just a couple of games behind is pretty good." ...

Kobe Bryant once again owns the most popular jersey in the NBA.

The Los Angeles Lakers star regained the top spot from the Boston Celtics' Kevin Garnett, though Garnett's team prevailed in last year's NBA finals.

The rankings are based on sales at the NBA Store in New York and NBAStore.com since the start of the current season.

Lakers merchandise is also the most popular in the league among teams, and Bryant's teammate Pau Gasol, traded to L.A. last season, moved up to No. 6 from No. 15 on the jersey list.