Nothing But Net, a weekly look at issues across the NBA, is posted Thursdays by noon

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NBA commissioner Adam Silver is adamant about the one major change he covets above all others as he tries to put his imprint on the league after a 30-year reign of David Stern.

Silver wants the age limit raised to 20 from 19 and he told the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference last week it would be the one thing he’d do given carte blanche by 30 owners.

Much discussion of the issue is likely to ensue, especially as attention is focused on the NCAA’s March Madness and the plethora of “one-and-done” stars that use college as a stepping stone to the NBA and its untold riches.

Silver’s reasoning is hard to debate.

He contends the NBA would be better served with older rookies whose bodies are a year more developed, who are presumably more mature as young men.

He contends the NCAA would be better served, competitively and in the area of marketing, by knowing that so-called “student-athletes” were to spend two years at university rather than one.

It’s not going to be an easy agenda to push, it will have to be collectively bargained and there is sure to be pushback from the union, whenever the players get around to finding someone to lead the organization.

But why?

At some point, wouldn’t the players’ association want to protect its current dues-paying members and want more responsible, professional grownup to join its ranks?

Lost in the discussion a little bit is this point:

Are 19-year-olds physically ready for the grind of the NBA? Don’t know of any firm and definitive studies on the issue but it seems first- and second-year players might not be physically strong or grown up enough to handle such a radical change from a 30- or 35-game season to an 82-game marathon playing against bigger, stronger men who could be a decade older.

A year between 19 and 20 might not make a consistently huge difference in physiological development of athletes but it might.

One of the great fallacies that come out whenever raising the NBA age limit comes up is that it somehow denies 18- and 19-year-olds a chance to be gainfully employed in their chosen profession.

Nothing, in fact, could be further from the truth.

There is nothing stopping an 18-year-old today from finding a job — if he’s qualified and skilled enough and that’s what getting started on a career is all about — in the D League, in Europe, in China or in South America.

What the NBA says, and it’s entirely up to them and the players’ association, is that there are parameters for working in the league, no restrictions on being a professional basketball player, just employment standards for one league.

There is every chance Silver’s No. 1 wish will never come to fruition but there are several reasons it deserves serious consideration.

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Who’s hot?

Miami Heat: A loss in Houston notwithstanding, the Heat have won eight of 10 prior to Thursday’s games, tied in the loss column with the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder for the overall best record in the league. And since that determines home court in the NBA finals and everyone saw what happened in Games 6 and 7 last year, it’s worth fighting for.

Who’s not?

Philadelphia 76ers: It’s kind of ridiculous how bad the Sixers are and how they have become a true embarrassment. They’ve lost 15 straight games and are closing in on the Milwaukee Bucks for worst overall record.

Anyone remember when they were 3-0 and a feel-good story? Didn’t think so.

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Raptors this week

Friday vs. Sacramento; Sunday at Minnesota; Monday at Brooklyn; Wednesday vs. Detroit

No games in four days one week and then four games in six days the next week? Yeah, the NBA schedule maker came up with a gem of a fortnight for the Raptors.

The return of Rudy Gay, and to a lesser extent Quincy Acy and Aaron Gray, will add some juice to the week but the big one is Monday in Brooklyn.

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Both teams will be on a back-to-back. The Raptors can clinch the season-series with a win, and that’s the first tiebreaker if Toronto and Brooklyn finish the season with the same record.

They are probably feeling like a sweep of the next four games is possible but getting three would make it a successful week.

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Around the league

Think the Oklahoma City Thunder had a ridiculously easy night thrashing the Philadelphia 76ers this week? Russell Westbrook had a triple-double in just 21 minutes, getting his 10th rebound to go with 13 points and 14 assists. It was the second-fastest triple-double ever; Jim Tucker of the Syracuse Nationals had one in 17 minutes in 1955. Oh and Kevin Durant had 42 points and didn’t play in the fourth quarter of a 125-92 win . . . How bad have the Milwaukee Bucks been this season? On the way to compiling the worst record in the league at the moment, they are the only team in the NBA not to have a two-game winning “streak” so far this year . . . Reason to love Gregg Popovich, No. 1,205,201: This from a Question and Answer item in the San Antonio Express-News: “Sometimes in timeouts I’ll say, ‘I’ve got nothing for you. What do you want me to do? We just turned it over six times. Everybody’s holding the ball. What else do you want me to do here? Figure it out.’ And I’ll get up and walk away. Because it’s true. There’s nothing else I can do for them. I can give them some bulls—, and act like I’m a coach or something, but it’s on them.” . . . Remember when Vince Carter was an astonishing dunker and athlete? Well, he’s morphed a bit and moved into eighth place on the list of NBAers in career three-pointers made. He’s got 1,765 and moved ahead of Peja Stojakovic this week . . . Joakim Noah is on a roll. The Bulls centre had his second triple-double in three games Wednesday night with 10 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists against the Pistons. But, maybe more importantly, EPSN is reporting, according to an unnamed third-person source, that Noah is or was trying to sell Carmelo Anthony on the idea of joining the Bulls somehow. Not sure how that happens but if Anthony was able to finagle his way to the Knicks from Denver, he can surely get from New York to Chicago if he puts his mind to it . . . Kyle Korver’s unimaginable streak of 127 straight games with a three-pointer made came to an end Wednesday in Portland . . . Print the tickets. Despite being in some kind of funk for the last little while, the Indiana Pacers became the first team to officially clinch a playoff spot; it happened Wednesday night when the Detroit Pistons lost. And, yes, it’s far too early and far too complicated to think about a magic number for the Raptors.

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Hey, remember when . . .

Something’s been missing the last little while on trips to Minneapolis like we’ll undertake on Saturday.

You know how there are rabid fans in most cities? Courtside seat-dwellers who try to make themselves part of the show?

Well, the guy at Target Center beat them all.

Used to be a fellow who sat in the front row right across from the visiting team bench who would “coach” the game.

He’d be up, rolled up program in his hand, pacing in front of his seat or kneeling on the court, smacking the floor when things when wrong, so totally into the game you’d think he was on the staff.

Always well-dressed like a coach, it was hilarious to watch him work a game.

Alas, seasons of constant losing forced him to give up his seats, and obviously his dreams of one day running a team on his own.

The place isn’t the same without him.

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CanCon

In the CIS, the incredibly successful Carleton Ravens had their streak of 55 straight wins over domestic competition broken last week when they lost the Wilson Cup at the buzzer to the Ottawa Gee-Gees.

But another streak, equally incredible, lives on as guard Philip Scrubb won his third straight national player of the year award, a Canadian basketball first.

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