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HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS -- Whatever the NBA lacked in quantity Thursday night the pro game more than made up for in quality.

We're not suggesting that a full day of dramatic finishes and jaw-dropping performances in the NCAA Tournament was trumped by a thrilling, battle for state bragging rights in Miami.

(We're not dismissing the idea either, though.)

Sure, the Nuggets and Hornets didn't exactly play an instant classic in TNT's nightcap.

But the the Magic's hair-raising 108-102 overtime win over the Heat had everything basketball junkies need and love. And a thick Friday night slate of games (11 in al) promises to add more drama and intrigue to your weekend basketball-palooza.

So before you go crazy for the college game only this weekend, remember to keep an eye on the big boys, too.

A NEW GIG FOR BEASLEY?

If Heat forward Michael Beasley ever tires of this whole basketball thing, he could have a future in another semi-related field.

A good FOHT alerted us to Beasley's side gig at Champs Sports at the Aventura Mall in Miami.

Beasley will work a shift this afternoon (fine, it's only for one hour, from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET) at the Official NBA Shop at Champs Sports. Beasley is scheduled to work the register, do some work meeting and greeting fans and customers and serve as a personal shopper for a few lucky fans.

Fans that attend will also have the opportunity to enter raffles to win signed adidas NBA gear, Champs Sports gift cards and other prizes.

Sounds like a fantastic idea.

We might have to dispatch a correspondent to Miami for a little last-minute shopping (and it would go a little something like this) ...

BEASLEY: "Good afternoon and welcome to the Official NBA Shop at Champs Sports, may I help you?"

HT: "Hey big fella, I need to try on one of everything in the store in a 10.5."

BEASLEY: "Sure, is there anything else?"

HT: "Yeah, do me a solid and scramble me up a cafe con leche while I wait."

THE NUGGETS, TOO

Sorry. We almost forgot to include some March Madness love for the Nuggets, who continue to slug their way toward the top of the Western Conference standings (where the Lakers await).

We've spoken to several sources close to the Nuggets that are convinced that Kenyon Martin's healthy return is the key to them knocking off the Lakers and making the NBA Finals this year.

We like that sort of ambition in a contender this time of year. We're not sure if it's warranted (as they both look like the exact same teams from a year ago, when teh Lakers were simply better).

But we love the ambition.

What say you?

EVERYBODY MISSES CHRIS [PAUL]

The TNT cameras caught Hornets All-Star point guard Chris Paul on the bench several times during the second game and it was honestly good to see him.

His absence from the Hornets' lineup has been softened by the fantastic play of rookie point guard Darren Collison. Still, there's no replacing a player of Paul's elite status.

Sadly, the Hornets are so far out of the mix for a playoff spot int he Western Confernce that I fear we won't see him in uniform again this season.

So instead of CP3 in action we'll have to make due with this:

JEFF GREEN IS ON THE CLOCK

What do you bet Thunder forward Jeff Green has seen the highlight of Chris Bosh nailing that game winner over the Hawks' Al Horford from Wednesday night over and over again?

For all the good they've done this season, and they've done plenty, the Thunder are still tender in one critical spot. And that's on defense in the frontcourt, where Green and Kevin Durant are often overmatched by bigger and stronger opponents.

So, of course, they face in Bosh one of the league's toughest frontcourt performers tonight in Toronto.

My main man Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman breaks down the Thunder's defensive dilemma: "Lost in the non-stop national nitpicking of Kevin Durant’s defense is another player whose performance on the defensive end could be even more problematic for the Oklahoma City Thunder.

That player is Jeff Green, who has had more than his share of highs and lows this season. But it’s one recent four-game stretch in particular that raises the question of whether his defense could eventually pose a problem in the postseason.

In consecutive games against Denver, the Los Angeles Clippers, Sacramento and New Orleans, Green struggled to defend Carmelo Anthony, Craig Smith, Carl Landry and David West. At the time, Green’s performance could be overlooked because the Thunder went 3-1 in those games and had won 12 of 15.

But with the stakes soaring higher as the season winds to an end, it seems Green’s efforts will be the key to the Thunder’s fate from here out and into the postseason. Oklahoma City has built its season on defense, and the next chance for Green to prove he can put the clamps on a premier frontcourt player comes tonight when the Thunder takes on Toronto at 6 inside Air Canada Centre.

"Our other four guys on the floor have to help him out because you can’t guard a guy one-on-one in this league,” said Durant. "Nobody can. You might be able to do it for a couple of possessions, but you can’t do it every night, especially great players like the guys he’s guarding.”

Durant’s analysis of the situation echoes the sentiments of Thunder coach Scott Brooks, who, rather than criticizing Green, chose to condemn the team’s help.

"I tell Jeff like I tell the other guys, it’s our defense that’s getting scored on,” Brooks said. "One of the strengths of our team defensively is that when we see a problem we make the adjustment.”

Green, though, is the only one who isn’t making excuses. He knows the Thunder likely wouldn’t have gotten blown out of Denver had Anthony not scored 15 of his game-high 30 points against him in the opening quarter. Two nights later, Smith, a role-playing reserve for the Clippers, had 19 points and seven rebounds off the bench. Two nights after that, Landry dumped in 20 points on 9-for-13 shooting to go with eight rebounds for the Kings. And on March 10, the Hornets’ West started the game 6-for-6 against Green before finishing with a game-high 33 points.

"It’s just me putting myself in bad positions and not being physically ready,” said Green, refusing to concede any opposing player was stronger, bigger or better.

"You have to learn from it. You can’t look back on it too much. You have to take what happened in those games and move on and just take the positives from it.”

CALLING THE ROOKIE RACE

Barring a three or four straight 50-point games from Steph Curry, Hang Time is preared to call the Rookie of the Year race for Kings stud Tyreke Evans.

Really, outside of a string of otherworldy, virtuoso performances, how could anyone not put Evans at the top of their ballot?

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

With 11 games on the schedule we have to be selective with which games we endorse as the HT Friday Night Lights games of the night.

GAME 1--BOBCATS AT HAWKS (7:30 p.m. ET): While most of the attention in Charlotte has been on new majority owner Michael Jordan's first few days in charge, Larry Brown's team will bid to continue its recent surge against their Southeast Division rival, who are also playing well of late. Hawks captain and All-Star Joe Johnson is set to return from a two-game injury absence just in time to deal with Bobcats big-game hunter Stephen Jackson. This one has showdown written all over it (and we'll be in attendance).

GAME 2--JAZZ AT SUNS (10:00 p.m. ET): The Jazz have played a mind-boggling 13 road games in a 20-game stretch since Feb. 9, as Steve Luhm of the Salt Lake Tribune points out, making this title for playoff position one of the most critical games of the season for Jerry Sloan's team. Even better is the bad blood that's brewing after Suns center Robin Lopez stirred things up with a late-game shove on Andrei Kirilenko in a rare Jazz win in Phoenix two weeks ago. "To me, A.K. could have gotten tore up pretty nice," Carlos Boozer said at the time. "But he's an agile player." Lopez was called for a grade-1 flagrant foul, which was later upgraded to a flagrant 2 by the NBA. "I thought it was a non-basketball play, and that bothered us," said general manager Kevin O'Connor. Said Sloan: "You just don't want to see a player get hurt."

SIGHTS AND SOUNDS ANYONE?

We'll leave you with this little video treat that highlights some of the sights and sounds you might miss while watching NBA action on the regular: