Jerry Zgoda's short takes: March 22

By JERRY ZGODA, Star Tribune

Last update: March 21, 2009 - 2:38 PM

Boston coach Doc Rivers has conceded the Eastern Conference race to Cleveland, an admission resulting from his team's string of recent injuries. The Celtics haven't been the same defensively without Kevin Garnett, who will return this weekend after missing a month because of an injured knee. "We're not gonna catch Cleveland," he said.

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Phoenix veteran Grant Hill is headed toward playing all 82 games for the first time. This is the same guy who missed an average of 49 games during his six seasons in Orlando. Suns coach Alvin Gentry's daughter, Alexis, has nicknamed the 36-year-old Hill "Benjamin Button."

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New Orleans played on without Tyson Chandler and Peja Stojakovic Wednesday against the Wolves, but they still had superstar Chris Paul, who isn't receiving the same MVP hype this season because his team isn't fighting for the Western Conference lead.

"Nobody's talking about him," coach Byron Scott said, "but there's no way in the world he shouldn't be mentioned."

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Prospective juror Kobe Bryant was quizzed Wednesday to serve on a misdemeanor case but was not chosen for the 12-person jury after he spent hours in a Santa Ana, Calif., courtroom listening to the selection process.

He told attorneys he had good common sense and thought he could be fair. "I'm a good listener," said Bryant, who knows something about the legal process.

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Charismatic New York Knicks guard Nate Robinson stands just 5-9, but he's 80 feet tall on a new billboard just outside Madison Square Garden, the same one on which LeBron James loomed over 34th Street and Seventh Avenue. The pitch: His Nike "KryptoNate" sneakers, of course.

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