National Basketball Association

The last line of questioning may have been the toughest for Elgin Baylor during his news conference Thursday morning at his attorney's office in Beverly Hills. What have you been doing since October, Elgin? Have you been watching Clippers games? Do you cheer for the team? Is it tough to cheer for the team? Baylor, 74, the NBA Hall of Famer and former Clippers executive, didn't answer and appeared more emotional than at any time during the session.

The person who may have had the biggest impact on this week's UCLA dust-up against Arizona wasn't on the court at Pauley Pavilion. Instead, he sat in Section 213, Row 8, Seat 12, talking my ear off, letting off a tremendous amount of steam. "I have mixed emotions about watching this game," said Sonny Vaccaro. "I just can't watch without getting mad at the whole ridiculous system."

They are the standard-bearers of the NBA, the two teams with the most history in the league and the most championships. And perhaps because of that, the contempt the Lakers and Boston Celtics long had for the other was palpable. It started in the late '50s and stretched into the '60s and then again into the '80s, when the Lakers and Celtics met 10 times for the NBA championship.

It is the hot show among NBA players. At least that's what Gary Payton's text messages tell him. The "NBA GameTime Live" show on Tuesday nights on the NBA TV channel features Payton talking trash, stats and sometimes even cooking with studio host Ahmad Rashad and, as Payton calls him, "the good cop, Chris Webber." "Of course," Payton says, "I'm the bad cop." Payton's chuckle crackles over the phone line.

The NBA is going to announce today that it will present its All-Star Saturday night program of the slam dunk contest, three-point shooting contest and skill challenge in a three-dimensional format at 80 movie theaters around the country Feb. 14. "This is about embracing new technology and being innovative," said David Levy, president of Turner Broadcasting Sales Inc. and Turner Sports. Levy said he is not concerned that the theater showing would negatively affect television ratings on TNT.

A funny thing happened on the way to the NBA's return to its glory days when the ballyhooed Lakers-Celtics Finals turned into a dud. Actually, it was the Lakers who turned into duds, but until the series began, the revival of the Rivalry was all anybody talked about -- annoying as that was for coaches, players and fans of the other 28 teams. I've got bad news for the other 28: It looks as if Boston and the Lakers remain the best teams in their conferences, so get ready for Ballyhoo II.

The NBA and the Los Angeles sports and entertainment firm AEG announced plans Tuesday to help develop a $280-million arena and recreation center for the Shanghai World Expo in 2010 -- the first of a dozen multipurpose arenas that the new joint venture hopes to build in China.

The NBA will announce today plans for a multibillion-dollar real estate venture to design and operate a dozen multipurpose arenas in major Chinese cities for a future affiliated basketball league. The NBA is teaming with AEG, owned by billionaire Philip Anschutz, to operate arenas that will hold 17,000 spectators, with the primary funding coming from the Chinese government and Chinese banks. "We think that it's a terrific partnership," NBA Commissioner David Stern told The Times.