Three random observations ...

... about the NBA:

1. If you were watching the Cavs-Bucs ... er, pardon, Cavs-Hornets game on ESPN last night, and you got past the ABA-era throwbacks (New Orleans paid tribute to the ABA Buccaneers, the first of three pro basketball teams in the city), you saw LeBron court even more comparisons to Magic Johnson. Shorthanded Cleveland, without Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Delonte West to injuries and with Anderson Varejao in foul trouble, put out an all-small stretch-run lineup of Mo Williams, Boobie Gibson, Sasha Pavlovic, Wally Szcerbiak and LeBron, which meant the 6-foot-9 King James played center a la Magic against the Sixers in the 1980 Finals. Granted, the stakes weren't nearly as high, but the Cavs ran their record to 20-0 at home with their small forward at center against a good New Orleans team. Impressive.

2. Imagine if David Lee had any help on the Knicks. The undersized center yanked down 21 rebounds and scored 15 points on a perfect 6-for-6 from the floor and 3-for-3 from the line in a loss Friday at Washington. He'd be some running mate for LeBron in 2010, don't you think?

3. For the first time since November, Charlie Villanueva showed up in the starting lineup, and he delivered a performance that suggests he should start for the Bucks more often. He put up 25 points and 12 rebounds, and has been pouring in 17.8 points per game in January. When he gets more than 20 minutes in a game, he averages 19.7 points. Nothing against Luc-Richard Mbah A Moute, who is playing remarkably well for a second-round pick (and has a permanent starting position on the all-time name team), but maybe Charlie has earned back his spot in the lineup.