A method, an apparatus, and a computer program product for wireless communication are provided. The apparatus may perform one or more process that enable smart processing of resource elements from interfering base stations in order to improve cell decoding. The method includes prioritizing resource elements in order to reduce complexity of processing of the interfering resource elements. Some resource elements may be excluded from processing if priority is set to a null value or to a sufficiently low value. Resource elements in a subframe received from an interfering transmitter are grouped into one or more target regions and paired with serving and interfering cells. Each pairing is prioritized and processed in an order based on the priorities assigned to the pairings.