NBA Links: Reggie Jackson returning to OKC and much more

Pistons' Jackson expects boos vs. OKC -- Detroit Free Press

But it's not about proving his worth to the Thunder (10-6). Jackson said he is trying to prove something every night.

"I'm excited to show the league every night what I can do as a player, not just one group of people," he said. "It's going to be another test for us. It's going to be a hostile environment and I look forward to going and playing."

A warm Reggie reunion is unlikely -- Welcome to Loud City

The four-man lineup of Jackson, Drummond, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Marcus Morris (who is suddenly the better of the Morri) has been pretty great all season, with some big drop-offs when bench pieces like the raw Stanley Johnson or very ripe Steve Blake feature very heavily.

Raw? I wouldn't call it that -- Stanley has hardly been a drop-off, let alone a 'big" drop-off.

But, yes, Steve Blake.

Injury Report: Brandon Jennings (Out), Spencer Dinwiddie (DTD), Danny Granger (DTD)

And no Danny Granger here.

This Week in Basketball -- The Cauldron (SI.com)

The more pertinent question than the "what" (the East appears to be much better than years past through the early part of the season), though, is the "why." And that's a little tricker.

Certainly, one can point to the improved squads like the Knicks, Heat, Hornets, Celtics, Pistons, and Magic and come up with surface-level answers:

--The return of injured stars (Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, Al Jefferson, to use a few examples)

--The production of rookies (Kristaps Porzingis, Justise Winslow)

-- Offseason roster moves paying dividends (Robin Lopez, Arron Afflalo, Nicolas Batum, Jeremy Lin)

--Young players emerging (Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Reggie Jackson)

At a certain point, the 76ers' 'process' is going to become toxic -- USA Today Sports

If it isn't already toxic.

Who knows? But at a certain point, losing stops becoming part of the process and takes over the process. Philadelphia fans have been extraordinarily patient with their GM Sam Hinkie. Beyond patient. They should be commended for it. But I don't know if trusting the process is right anymore. At some point, you can't just have assets and work ethic. At some point, these players have to know what it feels like to win, or they're all going to leave as soon as possible.

Well, it's probably good that most of the 76ers players leave, because they're fringe NBA guys at best and are essentially being used for ulterior motives anyway. In the end everybody wins.

Thanks to Jahlil (and a jerky Boston fan) more negative news for the 76ers.

The Fundamentals: Celtics push back against roster's core limitations -- SI.com

If you're curious about how the Celtics are getting by (8-7) with their unsexy roster, check out the SI article.

Side note: Our old friend Jonas Jerebko has appeared in every single Celtics game (15) so far, although his shooting has suffered with a 1 for his last 16 mark recently.

One can see in that inherent difficulty, however, an emblem for what ails the Celtics. Boston is nothing if not outmatched. Brad Stevens has a wealth of options to choose from in constructing his lineups but none so impressive as to measure favorably against other starting-caliber units.

It's Friday and hopefully the Pistons will all be gettin' down and will all check their time so they know it's ALSO GAME DAY.