On paper, if it actually all works out, the reclamation of Michael Beasley would be just another brilliant brushstroke by Pat Riley in an ever-growing mural of managerial greatness. But here’s something important to consider before projecting Beasley into the Heat’s second rotation:

Who loses minutes?

One possible answer is Shane Battier, and that would be strangely ironic considering Battier’s steady demeanor, his attention to detail on defense and his importance to the Heat’s back-to-back championships. Battier was benched deep into the 2013 playoffs, sure, but he also redeemed himself in Game 7 and was a mainstay during Miami’s near-record winning streak of 27 games during the regular season.

Reported by Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald

The initial court appearance for Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer on his DUI charge has been moved to Thursday. The initial appearance, part of the discovery process, was originally scheduled for Tuesday.

Budenholzer, represented by Michael Hawkins, does not need to attend the hearing. The Hawks open the home portion of their exhibition schedule Thursday night against the Spurs.

Budenholzer was arrested Aug. 28 while driving on 10th Street at Crescent Avenue in Midtown.

Reported by Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal Constitution

The goal in every NBA preseason game is to escape without a player sustaining an injury.

Even in a setting on Sunday when the Indiana Pacers finished their Global Games with an exhibition in Taipei, Taiwan – while entertaining a voracious crowd ranked high for the basketball ambassadors, knees and ankles still mattered more.

During the Pacers’ 107-98 loss to the Houston Rockets at the Taipei Arena, point guard George Hill collided with Roy Hibbert during a third quarter play and grabbed at his ankle. Head coach Frank Vogel described Hill’s injury as a mild ankle sprain.

Paul George led the Pacers with 19 points while backup forward Danny Granger, recovering from knee surgery, scored 15 points and grabbed a team-best nine rebounds in his most productive preseason performance.

Reported by Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star

The Mavs signed Blair to a one-year, $884,293 free-agent contract in August to help bolster their front line. Although he has to defend much taller centers, Blair adds some much-needed muscle and physicality the Mavs were lacking when they lost Elton Brand to the Atlanta Hawks via free agency over the summer.

“I just try to use more of what I have than what I don’t have,” the 6-foot-7, 270-pound Blair said. “I know I don’t have height, but I’ve got a lot of power and strength.

“I’m pretty strong, so it evens out. It’s nothing to me. I’ve been playing [center] all my life against seven-footers.’’

With center/power forward Brandan Wright out indefinitely with a small nondisplaced fracture of his left shoulder, Blair will likely see his playing time increased.

“He has a very good feel for the game for a big guy,” coach Rick Carlisle said.

Reported by Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram

“It was a tough season last year,” Miller said. “In the regular season, we kind of burned ourselves out. Going into the playoffs, we just didn’t have the legs to play like we played for 82 games. That’s tough to do. I can’t worry about the trade rumors. I do my job every day. Regardless, I show up to work, practice. I’ve never missed a game as a Nugget. I couldn’t care less what people say as far as my preparation and what I do on the court.”

His preparation in the summer was simple. He rested. He’s aiming to play until he’s 40 — and that requires two more seasons beyond this one.

To do that, he’ll have to show the new coaching staff he has the staying power. Teammates believe he can do it.

“He has youthful legs,” guard Ty Lawson said. “You can see when people are getting old. With Dre, you can’t see that.”

Reported by Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post

In three seasons with San Antonio and Houston, Anderson appeared in 116 games, with six starts, and averaged 3.7 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 11.1 minutes played.

But he has been one of the Sixers’ best players since coming to Philadelphia.

Anderson is averaging 12.3 points through three exhibition games and shooting 50 percent (6 of 12) on three-pointers.

“This is definitely a great opportunity for me,” he said of being a Sixer. “I feel like this is the best one I have so far.

“I definitely want to take advantage of it.”

Reported by Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer

The Lakers went to the Great Wall on Sunday afternoon, a two-hour trek on a charter bus that started on the bustling streets of China’s capital, continued along a narrow two-way road near a quaint Chinese village with farmers pushing wheelbarrows, and ended at the Mutianyu portion of the Wall.

Two days before their exhibition game here, the Lakers didn’t go to the more popular Badaling or Juyongguan sections of the historic site, eschewing the crowds and amusement park-like environments for more solitude. Or so they thought.

Crowds immediately formed as they disembarked from their shuttle buses. Players were shepherded along by a dozen guards wearing black hats, white gloves and “RISK CONTROL” on their shirt sleeves.

Then the Lakers went up a thin pock-marked path that wound through a hundred kiosks and overzealous vendors. Scores of passers-by thrust out scraps of paper and begged players to take photos.

An elderly vendor yelled “Paulo, Paulo,” and proclaimed, “Big, big size” as he held out an extra-large T-shirt to Pau Gasol that said, “I climbed the Great Wall.”

Reported by Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times

The following is a medical update on Utah Jazz rookie point guard Trey Burke:

X-rays revealed that Burke suffered a fractured right index finger during the first half of Saturday’s game vs. the Los Angeles Clippers.

He will be re-evaluated on Monday at which point an update on his status will be provided.

Deron Williams was cutting on the court, stepping back on his jumper and elevating. For about 20 minutes Saturday night at the Barclays Center, everything seemed normal with Williams’ game, as if that left ankle wasn’t an ongoing issue.

Then the preseason home opener tipped off with Williams again on the inactive list, reduced to 48 minutes in warmup gear while the Nets put forth a sloppy, defensively challenged effort in a 99-88 defeat to the Pistons.

About five weeks after he suffered a sprain and bone bruise to his left ankle, Williams still hasn’t practiced or played a game with his new teammates. Officially, he is day-to-day but has been ruled out of the next two games — Monday at Philadelphia and Tuesday at home against the Celtics.

The stated goal has always been to have Williams ready for the season opener on Oct. 30 at Cleveland. That hasn’t changed. But Jason Kidd added Saturday that the Nets would be “comfortable” if Williams skipped the remaining five preseason games, while raising the possibility of his point guard missing the opener.

Reported by Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News

When asked what was next on his to-do list, Irving never hesitated.

“To be the best player in this league,” he said. “That’s it.”

It’s an awfully high expectation, and one he’ll be unlikely to reach this season. Before he can become the best player in the NBA, Irving must first become the best at his position. That’s always a subjective conversation, but he’ll certainly get stiff competition from Chris Paul and guys like Rajon Rondo, Russell Westbrook and Derrick Rose, if they’re healthy.

That’s part of the irony in all of this. For once, the list of elite point guards either hurt or coming off significant injuries doesn’t include Irving. And if he wants the Cavs to offer him the full five-year, $80 million max contract he is eligible to receive next summer, Irving must manage to stay healthy all season for the first time in his career.

Reported by Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal

Celtics shooting guard Keith Bogans is out indefinitely with a sprained right thumb, coach Brad Stevens announced Saturday before the Celtics played the New York Knicks in a preseason game at the Verizon Wireless Arena here.

An MRI confirmed Bogans’s sprain, which he suffered in the Celtics’ 97-85 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers in a preseason game Friday in Newark, Del. Bogans is scheduled to be re-evaluated Monday at New England Baptist Hospital, so a timeline for return is unclear.

Reported by Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe

Relatively good news for the Charlotte Bobcats: An injury to center Al Jefferson that looked like it had potential for seriousness turned out to be fairly minor.

Jefferson suffered a sprained right ankle in the second half of last night’s preseason game vs. Miami. X-rays taken at the arena proved to be normal.

As a precaution, Jefferson is expected to be in a walking boot for several days in an effort to contain the swelling and not put any pressure on the joint. Once out of the walking boot, he will be re-evaluated and will begin the rehab process.

[As] Jones prepares to enter Year 2, the buzz around his potential has quieted. And, still stuck behind a frontcourt logjam of Kevin Durant, Serge Ibaka and Nick Collison, Jones has become somewhat of a forgotten man.

Will he ever crack the rotation? Does the Thunder even expect or need him to?

“Perry is in a tough position,” coach Scott Brooks said. “This is not a league where everybody shares minutes. It’s a league where you have to be patient if you aren’t getting minutes and if you get minutes, you have to continue to earn those minutes. We won a lot of games, and there are a lot of guys ahead of him.”

But regardless of how deep he’s buried on the depth chart, Jones’ rare physical tools will always make him intriguing.

At a legit 6-foot-11, he’s taller than the Thunder’s entire starting lineup and a handful of NBA centers, listed as the tallest small forward in the league, tied with Washington’s Jan Vesely.

Reported by Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman

It has been nine years since the Heat had a winning preseason, dating to their 4-3 record in 2004-05. Of course the Heat also have won three NBA titles in the interim.

Still, Spoelstra said there is value in the 3-0 start to the eight-game preseason schedule.

“We’ve talked about our habits,” Spoelstra said. “We reveal our character every single night in different circumstances.”

Friday’s 82-75 victory in Kansas City over the Charlotte Bobcats completed a back-to-back sweep that opened with a Thursday road victory over the Detroit Pistons.

“We were a very good back-to-back team last year,” Spoelstra said.

Reported by Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel

Admittedly, Channing Frye is not good at making predictions.

He predicted he would not do much in training camp, yet he was a full participant.

He predicted he would not play in the intrasquad scrimmage, yet he logged 24 minutes.

And he predicted he would not play in any of the eight preseason games, yet there he was on the court in Portland Wednesday, scoring 14 points in 16:07 against his former team.

So, about that prediction of a regular season return in December?

“Yeah, that’s too late. We’ll cancel that,” he said with a smile Friday. “I’m a little more in shape than I thought I was. I just continue to push myself and here I am. That’s the last time I make predictions.”

Reported by Craig Grialous of Arizona Sports

After a stop-over in Anchorage, the Warriors arrived in Beijing at about 4:45 a.m. Saturday, and they were greeted by a swarm of fans. The team will play exhibition games against the Lakers that will be broadcast in the Bay Area at 4:30 a.m. Tuesday and Friday, but this trip could be about bigger things than two preseason games in the middle of training camp.

Klay Thompson and Harrison Barnes were treated like rock stars when they visited China this summer, and the entire team is about to witness the potential of the market. Many in the franchise believe that the Warriors are the natural gateway between the NBA and a growing fan base in China, and this trip will be the first step toward that goal.

Reported by the San Francisco Chronicle (Blog)

With James gradually shaking off the offseason rust to lead the way with 20 points, the Heat also got a combined 36 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists Friday off the bench from Norris Cole, Michael Beasley and Rashard Lewis. [Ray] Allen was also on the court with those three reserves during some of the more potent and cohesive moments of the game.

There was only one problem. That second unit for the Heat didn’t even include Shane Battier and Chris Andersen, who sat out Friday after playing in Thursday’s win in Detroit and will be vital members of the rotation in much the same fashion they were during last season’s championship run.

Add in the luxury of 11-year veteran Roger Mason Jr. and the possibilities that even a slightly effective Greg Oden can bring to the equation, and Spoelstra could be looking at the deepest and most challenging-to-manage rotation he’s had since Miami began its run of three straight Finals trips.

Spoelstra recounted Friday how the Heat ultimately didn’t have enough quality depth when they were eventually overwhelmed in six games by Dallas in the 2011 Finals. With James having slipped into a slump, the Heat had few reliable or healthy options beyond Wade and Bosh. That was a Miami team that relied at times during the season on the likes of Mike Bibby, Erick Dampier and Eddie House.

Reported by Michael Wallace of ESPN.com

Cavaliers center Tyler Zeller was diagnosed with acute appendicitis yesterday in Cleveland and subsequently had an appendectomy at the Cleveland Clinic.

He is now recovering at the Cleveland Clinic after the successful procedure and will undergo a period of additional recovery and re-evaluation before a timetable is established for his return to basketball activity.

His status will be updated as appropriate.

When Clippers forward Blake Griffin went down clutching his left knee in a scrimmage Wednesday night, he said he “absolutely” feared the worst because he’s had experience with knee injuries before.

But an MRI exam revealed that Griffin had a bone bruise and no structural damage. After team doctors spent time working on his knee, the Clippers’ star realized the injury was “not even really that bad,” Griffin said Friday.

The team said Griffin participated in the full practice Friday after missing practice the day before. He said he hopes to play in the Clippers’ exhibition Saturday night at Utah.

Reported by Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times

Scoring around the rim isn’t as simple as telling DeMarcus Cousins to camp out 5 feet away and bully his way to the basket.

For Cousins to work better in the post, the entire offense has to flow, which it did in the Kings’ 104-86 exhibition win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday.

Kings coach Michael Malone would like to play inside-out, with Cousins working as a facilitator for teammates in some halfcourt sets, but said it’s not only Cousins’ responsibility to post up and make something happen.

“We have to do a better job of occupying the defense when he does post up,” Malone said before Cousins collected 16 points and 12 rebounds against the Lakers. “We just can’t sit there.”

Reported by Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee