|  | | Steve Nash's Mavs own the NBA's best road record. |
On-court violence is up. Road victories are down. Is there a correlation? Nope, but it's still a mystery why teams can't make themselves at home away from home. Not even the Mavericks, the NBA's best road warriors the past two seasons, have an explanation, writes Marc Stein in his weekly report.Chat wrap: Senior NBA writer Marc SteinMy All-Star selections | Advice for LeBron
| COAST TO COAST |
The trading deadline is 17 days away, so we know what you want to see. Trades. Problem is, almost everyone in the league is trying to do the same thing these days -- stockpile expiring contracts largely for the purpose of amassing salary-cap room or (the real reason) dropping below the luxury-tax threshold. As Hawks general manager Pete Babcock told our own David Aldridge recently, both teams in a trade can't end up with expiring contacts. "Somebody," Babcock noted, "has to take the larger contracts back." It's yet another obstacle in modern NBA business that will give the Players Association plenty to discuss during its annual gathering at All-Star Weekend. Luxury-tax fears have severely curtailed free-agent spending and are now impacting teams' willingness to make trades. Player movement, as a result, has grown increasingly more restrictive, which leaves Billy Hunter and his union with seemingly only one option. ... Click for more on why Zydrunas Ilgauskas isn't untouchable and whose names are being mentioned in trade rumors.
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Marc Stein is the senior NBA writer for ESPN.com. To e-mail him, click here. Also, send Stein a question for possible use on ESPNEWS.
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| STEIN SIDELINES |
MALE OF THE WEEK
 Kobe Bryant
The Lakers limp into a crunch stretch of five rough games before the All-Star break. Bryant responds with 40, 38 and 42 points to get L.A. off to a 3-0 start, in wins at Phoenix and Sacramento and at home to Utah.
E-MAIL OF THE WEEK
Simple question: Who is the best center in the East?
Mike Reynz
Indianapolis, Ind. STEIN: It's not a simple question, Mike. Alonzo Mourning is indefinitely disabled by his kidney ailment. Even the Pistons admit Ben Wallace is really a power forward.  That leaves Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Brad Miller, and both were chosen as All-Star reserves because East coaches decided they'd have no hope of matching up with Shaquille O'Neal unless they had all three.
Send Stein a question
SPEAK OF THE WEEK
 "He's not getting me off the hook. He's taking the only claim to fame I've got."
— Bill Fitch, a championship coach in Boston and one of the game's all-time quipmeisters, on Lenny Wilkens needing just 17 more losses to, uh, best Fitch's record of 1,106 defeats.
STAT OF THE WEEK
10
Ten of Milwaukee's past 12 opponents have been held under 100 points. Which helps explain why the Bucks are 10-2 in those games. The streak started when Milwaukee held the first four opponents under 90.
STAT OF THE WEAK
9
That's how many suspensions the league has issued for conduct violations this season, for a total of 29 games after Isiah Thomas got a two-gamer. There have only been seven suspensions for what the league deems on-court violence -- most notably fighting -- for a total of 15 games.
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