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Well, sort of: “Erik Spoelstra said after consulting with assistant coach Ron Rothstein and then meeting with Beasley before Saturday’s victory over the Washington Wizards, it was decided to maintain Beasley’s role as a sixth man…’The bench has been playing well, and we didn’t want to make two changes,’ Spoelstra said after Monday’s practice at AmericanAirlines Arena.

Sometimes, you just gotta have faith: “The record isn’t close to anything Larry Bird and Jim O’Brien desired. The playoffs? They’re not going to happen for these Indiana Pacers. They may be mathematically alive — barely — but coach O’Brien has been conceding for weeks now that the playoffs are a pipe dream beyond rational consideration. And yet … It has been a good season. A productive season. A season of significant growth. Seriously. What?

With operating losses for the year at close to $30 million, it’s not a pretty picture: “In a sign that the recession has already eaten away at the bottom line in sports, revenue for the New Jersey Nets’ operating company dipped sharply in fiscal 2009, the last five months of which coincided with the economy’s contraction.

That’s the plan, anyway: “After today’s practice went well, Andrew Bynum said he plans to play Sunday against the Memphis Grizzlies and April 14 against the Utah Jazz. Those are the Lakers’ final regular-season games.

Naturally: “Everybody knows that President Obama is a hoops fan. He references Hedo Turkoglu and Mehmet Okur in his speech today to the Turkish Parliament. ‘The ties among our people have deepened as well, and more and more Americans of Turkish origin live and work and succeed within our borders,’ NBC First Read reports.

Tim sure thinks so: “With Alonzo Mourning’s Heat number retired, Tim Hardaway said, ‘I deserve to be up there’ too. Hardaway attributes his inability to get an NBA job to his 2007 ‘I don’t like gay people’ comment — despite his apologies. ‘I thought we were supposed to forgive and forget but it’s not happening.’”

Sorry Illinois fans, at least the winters will be nicer for MJ Jr. at UCF: “He made his decision based on two criteria,” said Tyrone Slaughter, Jordan’s coach at Whitney Young High in the Chicago area. “One was the ability to go in and make an immediate impact. He wanted to go in and have an opportunity to play right away at the collegiate level.

Then again, everyone looks good when you score 81 points by halftime. From the Morning News blog: “He’s playing with a lot of emotion. A little too much emotion after what he thought should have been an and one, getting T’d up for showing up the ref. But you can’t complain about Josh Howard’s game today.

Talk about a change of heart. The former Xavier head coach allegedly accepted a seven-year deal worth about $18 million with a $1 million dollar signing bonus. Why the Wildcats targeted USC coach Tim Floyd before Miller doesn’t make sense, but ‘Zona got the best possible hire in the end.

It’s hard to image the selection committee arguing over the five to be inducted this year: “[Michael] Jordan was elected to the class of 2009 Monday with David Robinson, John Stockton, Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan and Rutgers women’s coach C. Vivian Stringer. The announcement was made in Detroit, site of the men’s Final Four. Induction is Sept.