The first-place Clippers won a franchise-record 12th straight game last night, blasting the Kings, but tonight all eyes will be on the Pacific Division's second- and third-place teams, as the Warriors play host to the Lakers, who carry a modest three-game winning streak into the contest. They may also have Steve Nash, whose return will go a long way toward deciding whether the team will trade Pau Gasol this year. I looked at Gasol's trade candidacy earlier, and now here's more from around the Pacific.
- The Kings announced that they have suspended DeMarcus Cousins for an indefinite period of time because of his "unprofessional behavior and conduct detrimental to the team." The Kings told him not to come out of the locker room for the second half last night after he engaged in a verbal altercation with coach Keith Smart. Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com responded to a question of whether the team would look to deal away the troubled center, speculating that Cousins' trade value is limited right now (Twitter link). Tom Ziller of SB Nation and TNT's David Aldridge counter that his trade value is still too high for the Kings to think about a swap (Twitter links).
- T.J. Simers of the Los Angeles Times answers recent criticism of Kobe Bryant, arguing that the 12-14 Lakers would be in even worse shape if they didn't have the league's leading scorer.
- Bakersfield Jam head coach Will Voigt shared his thoughts with Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside on some of the NBA players sent down to the team this season, including Suns rookie point guard Kendall Marshall.