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We don't need a straw poll, secret ballots or any other of clandestine method to determine the hardest working man in basketball.

It's Gerald Wallace, the Bobcats small forward that rebounds like a power forward, blocks shots like a center, handles the ball as well as most guards and defends like his next paycheck depends on him shutting you down.

If you haven't seen Wallace or the Bobcats in action this season you are missing out on a real treat. Not only is Wallace playing at an All-star level, the Bobcats are winning games against the likes of the Cavaliers (twice) and smoking people on their home floor (12-4).

Outsiders love to pound on the NBA for everything from the baggy shorts to tattoos, but I challenge a basketball lover anywhere to watch Wallace and not fall in love with his non-stop motor on the floor.

I guarantee you Bobcats coach Larry Brown has never had give Wallace the business about "playing the right way."

Wallace isn't even having a career scoring year (that came three years ago when he averaged 19.4 points). But he's rebounding with the very best players in the league this season, snagging 11.8 boards a night to go along with his 18.3 points. Only Dwight Howard and Joakim Noah are rebounding at a higher clip than Wallace right now.

The additions of both Stephen Jackson and Flip Murray have boosted the Bobcats stock this season, as they help form (with Wallace) arguably the toughest trio of NBA players on the same team since the Bad Boys (Pistons) era.

Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer is my first witness on Jackson: "It's not often during an interview that I ask an NBA player to repeat himself. But this was the kind of quote where you take no chance you didn't really hear what you heard.

It was Sunday night in Cleveland and I'd just asked Charlotte Bobcat Stephen Jackson what he was thinking as he stepped to the foul line with 21/2 seconds left, the game in his hands. I thought I heard him say, "I make love to pressure."

Mind repeating that?

"I-make-love-to-pressure," Jackson repeated, knowing he sounded glib and provocative, but also accurate.

I later heard that Jackson used that line before as a Golden State Warrior. It fits him. Jackson is a character. But he also has character. He and, to a lesser extent, Flip Murray have added swagger to the Bobcats. That's an ingredient they very much needed.

To me, swagger is a way of saying, "Don't mess with me. I can back it up." That's different from bravado, which is pretentious - faux confidence.

Think of it this way: Carolina Panthers receiver Steve Smith is a pain in the butt. The Panthers put up with his volatility and his diva act because he backs it up on the field.

Jackson loses his temper on the court and gets distracted by referees, but the utter calm with which he made those two free throws Sunday showed he can back it up. I can't think of anything the Bobcats needed more than that kind of closer."

And Murray: "The score was tied and Cleveland - the NBA's best defensive team - wasn't giving up anything inside. So Murray pulls up for a 3-pointer that, borrowing Flip's own description, sucked the air out of Quicken Loans Arena.

If you'd asked me weeks ago which Bobcats had the mental makeup to hit that tie-breaking 3 or sink those late free throws, I would have said Jackson and Murray. They've both demonstrated over long NBA careers that they're at peace with the consequences of winning or losing a game with a single shot.

They won't make them every time, but missing in one game won't undermine their confidence in the next. Even among elite athletes, that quality is rare. Particularly so on an expansion team full of nice guys/complementary players."

Since they traded for Jackson the Bobcats are 12-12 (compared to a 3-9 start) and allowing the second-fewest points per game in the  league behind Boston's 92.75.

The hardest working man in basketball on the toughest team in basketball... what more do you want?

Big Roy's big night

If I didn't see it myself, I'd have laughed if someone told me Pacers center Roy Hibbert outscored Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis and Jameer Nelson by his lonesome.

But I'm not laughing. And neither is anyone in Orlando after Hibbert used and abused Howard and the Magic in a stunning win for the Pacers Tuesday night at Conseco Fieldhouse.

Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star: "Who said the Indiana Pacers can't succeed playing through center Roy Hibbert? Orlando Magic All-Star center Dwight Howard got a taste of what Hibbert can do when he was thoroughly outplayed by the second-year center in the Pacers' 97-90 victory at Conseco Fieldhouse on Tuesday.Hibbert scored a career-high 26 points and the Pacers dug in defensively in the fourth quarter to help remove thoughts of their 43-point loss to the New York Knicks two nights earlier.

The victory was the Pacers' first against a team with a winning record since they beat Boston on Nov. 14. "It's a great victory for the Indiana Pacers," Pacers coach Jim O'Brien said. "I'm proud of our young men for a great bounce-back victory. (Hibbert) just played a really terrific basketball game at both ends."

The Pacers have been searching for a low-post presence since Jermaine O'Neal was in his prime. Hibbert said he wants that responsibility so they don't have to rely primarily on 3-point shooting. Hibbert has scored at least 21 points in three of the past four games.

"He's a load down there," swingman Mike Dunleavy said. "If you're going to play behind him, I don't care who you are, he's 7-2, he's going to score. He's really got his confidence up and he's got his moves down. With the personnel we have right now, a lot of our guys out, he's a great option and it's working for us, so we're going to keep going to him."

Grizzlies pushing the limits

Hang Time's Grizzlies are at it again, thanks to another wicked night from Zach Randolph in a win over Portland.

Don't look now, but the home team has crept up over the .500 mark -- which is cause for a mad celebration after such a tough start to this season.

Trail Blazers coach Nate McMillan is the latest convert to our movement on the Grizzlies, detailed here by my man Ronald Tillery of the Commercial Appeal: "A day after Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins received the NBA's Western Conference Coach of the Month honor for December, one of his peers said the choice was a no-brainer. "They're the hottest team in the NBA right now," Portland Trail Blazers coach Nate McMillan said of the Grizzlies, who entered the Rose Garden Tuesday night winners of three games in a row and six of their past seven.

McMillan oversaw Portland's rebuilding phase and turned that team into a playoff contender. He's impressed with the foundation Hollins is laying with the Grizzlies. "He's done a great job of giving those guys a direction," McMillan said. "He has a system in place, and he's done a great job of developing their talent and allowing that team to play. That's the most important thing when you're rebuilding."

Hollins led the Grizzlies to a 9-4 record last month, marking the highest winning percentage ever in the month of December (.692) and the sixth-best record in the franchise's 15-year history for any month. Among the team's 13 opponents were eight with a winning record. Memphis beat three division leaders (Dec. 4 vs. Dallas, Dec. 8 vs. Cleveland and Dec. 20 vs. Denver).

The 21-year coaching veteran helped the NBA's youngest team overcome a 1-8 start to win 15 of their last 23 games. "He deserves it for the way he pulled us together," guard Mike Conley said. "We're a team. Everyone feels like any individual player or coach honor is a team thing."

Lakers doing just fine with Bynum (and without Gasol)

Pau Gasol isn't available, which means the inside game for the Lakers runs through Andrew Bynum. And that's been a good thing for the Lakers this season.

The Lakers are far from a one (Kobe Bryant) or two man (Gasol) team. The Rockets got the message loud and clear after Bynum, Lamar Odom and Ron Artest burned them Tuesday night.

Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times: "It has been a fun few days for the Lakers. Lamar Odom hung out at a doctor's office for a while. Ron Artest was tailed by a neurologist. Pau Gasol got reacquainted with an MRI machine. Good times, all around.

Strange thing, though, they were able to beat the Houston Rockets in a game that was somehow uglier than the final score, 88-79, Tuesday at Staples Center. Andrew Bynum had 24 points, Kobe Bryant had 22 and the Lakers improved to 28-6, the same record they held a year ago through 34 games.

Odom had 17 points, 19 rebounds and nine assists after battling intestinal flu-like symptoms most of Monday. Artest had only seven points after sitting out five games because of a concussion, but the Lakers won without Gasol, sidelined because of a strained left hamstring.

Both teams could have used a shot doctor, the Lakers leading after the third quarter, 59-55, a score that would have made infinitely more sense had it been halftime. But things continued to click for Bynum, who has been solid since Gasol left early in Sunday's game against Dallas.

Perhaps it's as easy as the thick paperback he has been carrying around, "The 48 Laws of Power" a look at the history of power around the world, with references to Machiavelli, Sun Tzu, Queen Elizabeth I and Henry Kissinger. More likely, it's the fact that the lane is less clogged without Gasol."

Make the last possession count

The Nuggets' J.R. Smith made the most of what his team had to work with Tuesday night, which wasn't much with All-Stars Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups sitting out alongside energetic reserve big man Chris Andersen.

Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post: "It came down to a final Denver possession, with 1.4 seconds left, and guard J.R. Smith was fouled by Monta Ellis while attempting a 3-pointer. Down 122-121, Smith made the first two free throws, and missed the third, which the Warriors recovered. Golden State called timeout with 0.1 seconds left and had a desperation inbounds play, but Kenyon Martin swatted it out of the air to end the night.

The win was just Denver's third in nine games.

On a night playing without Carmelo Anthony, Chauncey Billups and Chris Andersen, and Ty Lawson was injured and left the game in the fourth quarter, Kenyon Martin finished with a season-high 27 points, including 10 in the third quarter.

"Kenyon has been great seven, eight games in a row now," Denver coach George Karl said before the game. "He's been consistent rebounding and, of course, his quarterbacking of our defense has been prime time. Offensively, he has a knack of getting a double-digit night almost every night."

Lawson again played well before leaving, scoring 21 points and showed brilliant body control, even in midair. During one third-quarter drive, he made a layup over 7-footer Andris Biedrins."