IN THE LANE

MOVING ON: While Rudy Gobert likely will be back from his leg bruise by the time the Utah Jazz have their rematch against the Heat on Jan. 7 at AmericanAirlines Arena, the return apparently won’t come with a grudge against Dion Waiters for the collision that sidelined him. “I don’t like the way that happened,” Gobert told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski about Waiters’ somewhat reckless pursuit of a loose ball during the Heat’s victory a week ago Friday in Salt Lake City. Gobert has grown resigned to the setback. “It could be way worse,” he told the Deseret News. The Jazz reportedly sent the play to the NBA office for further review, with no resulting sanctions against Waiters, although the Salt Lake Tribune reported that the NBA acknowledged a foul should have been called on Waiters on the play. NAPIER LIVES!: Ah, the irony, that during the same week LeBron James chooses to discuss the NBA draft in terms of point guards, Shabazz Napier has a breakout game. To those late to the discussion, it was James, on the eve of his 2014 free agency, who made it known that he viewed then-UConn guard Shabazz Napier as that draft’s top point guard. The Heat then traded up, bypassing their preferred selection of Clint Capela, to select Napier. James nonetheless left the Heat a month later. Then, this past week, James took one of his frequent jabs at the New York Knicks, saying they blew it by bypassing current Dallas Mavericks point guard Dennis Smith in June’s draft. Against that backdrop, Napier, who already has been passed along from the Heat to the Orlando Magic to the Portland Trail Blazers, loaded up with five 3-pointers in a 19-point performance in Portland’s Wednesday victory over Orlando. “He took advantage of his opportunity,” Magic center Nikola Vucevic told the Orlando Sentinel. “He can shoot the ball. We all know that.” It appears that Napier finally has found his NBA home. “Shabazz can hoop,” Blazers guard C.J. McCollum said. “I’m surprised he landed on our team, honestly.” REMEMBER HIM?: Apparently, Shannon Brown still is a thing. Cut by the Heat early in the 2014-15 season, Brown has resurfaced in the G League, where he will play for the Milwaukee Bucks’ developmental-league affiliate, the Wisconsin Heard, alongside his younger brother, Bucks rookie Sterling Brown. For all Shannon Brown has been through in the NBA — including stints with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Chicago Bulls, Charlotte Bobcats, Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns, San Antonio Spurs, New York Knicks and Heat — it is somewhat remarkable that he is only 31. Brown is best known in Heat lore for the player who replaced him on the team’s roster on Nov. 24, 2014 — Whiteside. NOBODY DOES IT: Whiteside is fond of pointing out that when it comes to his unique triple-doubles, “nobody does it with blocks.” That, in turn, led to somewhat of an acknowledgment from nemesis/rival/tormentor Embiid after the 76ers center closed with 46 points, 15 rebounds, seven assists and seven blocked shots against the Los Angeles Lakers. “I wish I could have had a quadruple-double with blocks,” Embiid said, then adding, “Shout out — Hassan Whiteside.”