With Fred VanVleet potentially hitting free agency this offseason, the Rockets could have interest in a new contract.

This, then, is a rather important development when evaluating the Western Conference landscape: League sources tell The Stein Line that Houston and Fred VanVleet have mutual interest in prolonging

Bronny James, the 20-year-old son of 40-year-old LeBron, entered the game for Los Angeles to start the fourth quarter and played the final 12 minutes. He finished with a career-high five points. Rui Hachimura added 22 points, while Shake Milton chipped in 21 points off the bench as the Lakers won their fifth game in six tries.

It’s Tuesday, January 28. We have four games on the NBA slate, including a nationally televised doubleheader on TNT. The Los Angeles Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers meet at 7:30 p.m. ET in the front end of the televised double dip, while the Milwaukee Bucks and Portland Trail Blazers play at 10 p.m. ET on TNT, truTV and Max.

Houston (29-14, No. 2 in West) is the only team with wins this season over both the Thunder and Cavaliers, who are tied for the NBA’s best record.

DALLAS — Jayson Tatum scored 24 points, Derrick White added 23, including Boston’s first 11 of the third quarter, and the Celtics beat the Dallas Mavericks 122-107 on Saturday night in the first meeting between the teams since the NBA Finals.

The Western Conference is as competitive as it has been in seasons. The Oklahoma City Thunder is the clear leader in front of the pack, but the rest of the West

Let’s have fun by starting with trading De’Aaron Fox.

Meanwhile, Spurs centre Victor Wembanyama has been chosen for his first NBA All-Star Game as one of seven reserves from the Western Conference. Read more at straitstimes.com.

That is supported by Yahoo’s Kevin O’Connor, who wrote that the Heat have “lowered their asking price for Butler because they’re tired of his act”. “And they’d like to get something in return instead of letting him walk in free agency for nothing,” he added.

Joe Mazzulla can only blame himself for the overthinking as the Celtics blundered on defense in their loss to the Rockets.

As Rockets guard Fred VanVleet fired and missed a 3-pointer while leading by one point with 15 seconds remaining, Grizzlies guard Jaylen Wells grabbed a rebound and was off to the races looking for a go-ahead basket before an inadvertent whistle stopped the play.