After a weekend of Shaqs and giggles in Phoenix, it's time for the NBA to get serious again.

The Suns made that clear Monday when they fired coach Terry Porter, unofficially opening the second half of the season on a no-nonsense note.

Porter's ouster doesn't figure to stay in headlines long as the annual NBA swap meet opens for business this week in advance of Thursday's trade deadline. Some teams are looking for flea-market bargains, while others are prepared to bid away like an eBay addict on Red Bull.

Suns forward Amare Stoudemire and Nets guard Vince Carter are among the big names who could be on the move. Marcus Camby, Tyson Chandler and Andre Miller are in the next tier of impact players who soon could find themselves playing for new teams.

"Who's going to do something to get into that upper echelon?" said former Nuggets guard Jon Barry, in his third season as an analyst for ESPN.

Regardless of what happens this week, some things will not change.

Boston, Cleveland, San Antonio and the Los Angeles Lakers are the favorites to be standing when the conference finals start in late May.

Everyone else, including the Nuggets, will try to prove they also are worthy contenders.

"I'm just looking for everybody to come out and be competitive, make it a close race like in the West last year when everybody needed 50 wins to get into the playoffs," said nine-time All-Star guard Gary Payton, an analyst for TNT and NBA TV.

"In the East, I know it's going to be a three-team race and I'm looking forward to the lower teams try to make a run."

The next nine weeks will be defined by playoff pushes, player movement, emerging contenders and exposed pretenders.

Here are some stats, story lines, facts and figures to keep in mind as the NBA stretch run begins:

The odd couple

Can the San Antonio Spurs win another NBA title in 2009? For those who believe in talent and numerology, the answer is as simple as "Game, set and match."

The Spurs captured the championship in 2003, 2005 and 2007, the same years tennis player Serena Williams won the Australian Open.

Who won the women's title Down Under two weeks ago? None other than Serena Williams.

After a slow start to the season without injured guards Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, the Spurs once again are in position to make a title run.

"Can San Antonio hang on as the season gets longer?" Barry said. "I don't know if their age will catch up with them."

Life imitates art

The 2009 summer movie season gets rolling in May, about the time elite teams are building playoff momentum. Here are a few actual film titles that could apply to the NBA:

* Public Enemies

Tagline for a Celtics-Lakers rematch in the NBA Finals. The teams nearly came to blows in their final regular-season meeting Feb. 5.

* Nowhereland

Location for the Los Angeles Clippers, Golden State Warriors, Memphis Grizzlies and Charlotte Bobcats to hold their annual meeting in April.

* Fast and Furious

Description of a potential one-on-one conversation between New York Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni and exiled guard Stephon Marbury, right.

* Land of the Lost

Nickname for the Oklahoma City franchise until the team formerly known as the Seattle SuperSonics started playing better under former Nuggets assistant Scott Brooks.

Sonic boom in Denver?

Payton doesn't have to squint to see similarities between these Nuggets and the Seattle SuperSonics team that advanced to the 1996 NBA Finals.

George Karl was on the Seattle bench and Payton and young superstar Shawn Kemp were the centerpieces of the best team in SuperSonics history.

Thirteen years later, Karl is coaching the Nuggets, while Chauncey Billups and Carmelo Anthony lead a team on pace to finish with the best in franchise history.

"This is a (Nuggets) team that reminds me of that (SuperSonics team)," Payton said. "They can make a move if they stay healthy."

The Nuggets are percentage points behind San Antonio for the second-best record in the Western Conference, yet their five straight first-round flameouts leave critics skeptical about their chances this season.

"Obviously, they haven't been past the first round in a long time," Barry said. "I don't think people are buying into the fact they're that good. . . . They're a quality team."

Payton agrees, saying he believes the pieces are in place for a breakthrough in Denver.

"Everybody always talks about how they get beat in the first round," Payton said. "I don't think that happens this year."

TNT to get its bark back

Suspended by TNT after his Dec. 31 arrest on drunken-driving charges, Hall of Fame forward Charles Barkley could return to his job as a studio analyst as early as Thursday.

The outspoken Barkley has established himself as one of the top analysts in the NBA, and TNT's Thursday night ratings dropped significantly during his absence.

His poor judgment does beg the question: Do you think the erstwhile T-Mobile pitchman now has a designated driver listed in his Fav Five?

3 you don't want to miss

* March 3: Denver at Detroit. Four months after being traded by the Pistons, Nuggets guard Chauncey Billups returns to the Palace for the first time.

* March 12: Lakers at San Antonio. After splitting their first two meetings, the West's top teams square off for the final time in the regular season.

* April 12: Boston at Cleveland. Separated by only two games at the break, this game could determine the East's top seed.

Sacks not just a football stat

The NBA contributed to the nation's rising unemployment rate as eight teams fired coaches in the season's first three-plus months - with the latest coming Monday when Phoenix canned Terry Porter.

The record for most pink slips in a single season was nine in 2004-05.

First-year Detroit Pistons coach Michael Curry could be on the hot seat if the Allen Iverson experiment continues to fizzle. Chicago Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro, another first-year guy, also could be in trouble. BetUS.com puts Del Negro's odds of survival at 7-to-5.

Mike Dunleavy, the Clippers' coach/general manager, would be a logical lead candidate to be fired, but cost-conscious team owner Donald Sterling reportedly does not want to spend the money to replace him on the bench and in the front office.

I'd like a 'T' please, Mr. Sajak

Nuggets players tend to grumble if they believe Karl is not standing up for them when calls aren't going their way. That hasn't been the case this season, though, as Karl has been hit with nine technical fouls, second only to the Clippers' Dunleavy (12).

"Tell them (my players) I lead the league," Karl quipped during the All-Star break.

Karl might not want to move too far past Dunleavy. Players and coaches receive a one-game suspension when they reach 16 technicals.

The five players leading the chase for an NBA-mandated timeout:

Player	Team	Techs	Comment
Stephen Jackson	Golden State	14	Rarely holds his tongue - on the court or with the media.
Rasheed Wallace	Detroit	14	After being T'd up a modest 12 times last season, 'Sheed is living up to his cantankerous reputation.
James Posey	New Orleans	10	The most surprising entry among the leaders, Posey drew only three techs in 2007-09.
Amare Stoudemire	Phoenix	10	Becoming the central figure in trade talks would make anyone grumpy.
Dwight Howard	Orlando	9	Superman apparently lashes out when he feels defenders are tugging at his cape.

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