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The 10-man rotation, starring the setting Suns

Jeff Hornacek looks upstairs for an answer. (Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports)
Jeff Hornacek looks upstairs for an answer. (Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports)

A look around the league and the Web that covers it. It's also important to note that the rotation order and starting nods aren't always listed in order of importance. That's for you, dear reader, to figure out.

C: The Arizona Republic. Strong words from Paul Coro ("It is difficult for the Suns to even look at the standings any longer when they have to take such a long, hard look at themselves") and head coach Jeff Hornacek ("We have to find out who on this team is going to be tough") after the Phoenix Suns got blown out again on Monday, this time by the Miami Heat in a physical affair that Erik Spoelstra's club won going away.

PF: South Florida Sun Sentinel. Things were a bit lighter-hearted in the winning locker room, where Heat center Hassan Whiteside offered his side of the altercation with Suns sophomore Alex Len that led to both big men getting ejected in the third quarter: "It was the fourth or fifth time I dunked on him and I could tell he was frustrated."

SF: The Starters. Trey Kerby, America's greatest visual mathematician, presents his greatest achievement to date: The "NBA Coaches as Dads Matrix." Where does your favorite team's coach rate on the grumpy/chill and hip/out-of-touch axes?

SG: The New York Times. Andrew Keh on blood clots, which have unfortunately become a major topic of interest in the NBA after season-ending diagnoses for Mirza Teletovic and Chris Bosh and the untimely death of Jerome Kersey. (One positive postscript: Teletovic was at Barclays Center for the Brooklyn Nets' Monday night win over the Golden State Warriors, he's reportedly feeling fine, and he was even putting up shots with his teammates at practice on Tuesday.)

PG: The Washington Post. Geoff Edgers with a neat look at Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's evolution into a pretty prominent and wide-ranging cultural critic: "Kareem has something to say, has found a way to say it, and it’s not what you would expect him to say. He’s a new kind of public intellectual.”

6th: Salt City Hoops. Ben Dowsett digs into the NBA's recently released Synergy Sports-powered play-type data to take the temperature of the Utah Jazz, finding some encouraging signs to keep an eye on down the stretch, especially related to the play of emerging defensive centerpiece Rudy Gobert and the team's improving ability to stifle opponents in the pick-and-roll.

7th: GQ. A handful of your favorite hoops writers wax poetic about the ABCs of NBA style.

8th: The Hook. Noted mad scientist Tom Ziller presents a plan to end "one-and-done" forever, make the D-League a real viable minor league and add a round onto the NBA draft. Yes, please.

9th: The New York Times, New York Post, Posting and Toasting, The Triangle and Deadspin. Harvey Araton, Mike Vaccaro, Matt Miranda, Jason Concepcion and Albert Burneko say goodbye to the late Anthony Mason.

10th: The Nation. Dave Zirin considers Mason and two other sporting legends lost this week — trail-blazers Earl Lloyd and Minnie Minoso — as "people who reached outside their respective communities while never forgetting the soil that nurtured them."

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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at devine@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!

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