By John Hollinger ATLANTA – As far as hits go, this one was a big miss. Prior to Friday’s Hawks-Celtics game, Boston center Kendrick Perkins said his team “put a hit out” on Hawks guard Jamal Crawford, who had burned the Celtics for 18, 18, and 17 points off the bench in winning the teams’ first three meetings.

Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images Close your eyes. I took four pages of notes during last night’s Celtics loss to the Magic. Mostly it’s really boring stuff.

If you make smart estimates of Kobe Bryant’s upcoming years, he’ll obliterate Magic Johnson in the Laker record book .

Celtics forward Glen Davis is looking to erase his troubled past this season and hopes to start by first dropping his nickname.

The Spurs have been opting for a lot of small-ball lineups this season, to mixed results. Timothy Varner of 48 Minutes of Hell is “surprised to see that small ball treats San Antonio well, and more often than people want to admit,” but also wonders whether the decision to put four perimeter players on the floor doesn’t compromise the Spurs defensively: “It’s hard to funnel the guards into shot-blockers when they’re sitting on the bench…” The people have spoken on LeBron-Kobe . Kevin Durant describes Derrick Rose’s dunk in Phoenix last night as “NBA live 2004-ish.” Kevin Garnett returned to the floor for Boston last night.

The Spurs have been opting for a lot of small-ball lineups this season, to mixed results.

The Spurs have been opting for a lot of small-ball lineups this season, to mixed results.

The Detroit Pistons will be without three key players against the Boston Celtics.

With Chris Duhon mired in a slump and Larry Hughes in Mike D’Antoni’s doghouse, Nate Robinson is the best playmaker the Knicks have these days.

AP Photo Boston Celtics Big Three member Kevin Garnett exhibits the emotion that is a signature of his intensity whenever he takes the court. WALTHAM — The familiar voice kept echoing through the gym where the Boston Celtics were running a scrimmage.