WestGSW
Huge news out of the Bay Area, where the new Golden State Warriors ownership has decided to bring the legendary Jerry West into its front office.

After years of putting up with the offense-first work of either Don Nelson or Don Nelson-styled personnel bosses (and that includes enemy combatants like Chris Mullin and Larry Riley), the Warriors are now bringing in a proper el jefe, ready to take on the Lakers, ready to bring the same sort of winner to Golden State as West did in Memphis earlier this decade.

So, look out NBA (!), correct?

Not quite.

{YSP:MORE}

West is in Golden State as an advisor, with the focus being on the team's current coaching search. I'll let Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News, the man who broke the news Thursday night, go over all the hyphens:

Jerry West, one of the most respected executives in NBA history, has agreed to join the Warriors front office in a non-decision-making, advisory role, multiple NBA sources confirmed tonight.

An announcement is

McHaletopperDue to some killer work on NBA TV every Tuesday, and his job sustaining those contributions at TNT during the playoffs, Hall of Famer Kevin McHale has enjoyed a career renaissance of late. Good thing, too, because the sporting world (myself included) really needed to stop thinking of him as the guy that drafted and/or traded for about 32 6-3 shooting guards in his later years as GM of the Minnesota Timberwolves. Or as the guy who wrote this.

Or, most damning, we needed to stop thinking of him as the biggest reason why Kevin Garnett's prime was squandered on terrible teams.

He also drafted The Kid, back in 1995. And McHale earns points for trading Garnett back onto, essentially, national TV in 2007. He also spearheaded Minnesota's rebuilding movement with the deal, as it brought in a 20 and 10 man in Al Jefferson while clearing loads of cap space. It was McHale's successor that frittered that away. And, though we wish McHale all the best, we hope NBA TV won't be looking for his

HardenG2"We were increasing the lead."

That's it, from Thunder coach Scott Brooks. Nothing more. This is why Oklahoma City guard Eric Maynor played the whole fourth quarter, and if you want to call me naïve and tell me I should be more cynical in how I approach the way I cover this game, well … actually I don't have three giant boxes of conspiracy proof and/or theories to show you, because I sold them to Richard Belzer.

(For gold, of course. The only thing we can count on when this whole society goes to pot. You watch.)

Let the TV pundits and national columnists (sneering descriptions that we're now starting to toss out with the same invective those types used to save for "bloggers and dot com'ers" some five years ago, five months ago, five days ago) pump this story up to fulfill their insecure need to turn basketball into mere fodder for that next day's cable, print, or radio lineup. The real story here, as All-Star Oklahoma Thunder guard Russell Westbrook sat for the entire fourth quarter,

Boozerrap
A look around the league and the web that covers it. It's also important to note that the rotation order and starting nods aren't always listed in order of importance. That's for you, dear reader, to figure out.

C: Fakeshore Drive. Carlos Boozer rapping. I can't put it any more succinctly -- don't listen to this.
PF: Los Angeles Times. The Lakers respond to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's prattling on.
SF: Jewish Community Voice. Omri Casspi has his own cereal because everyone should.
SG: Silver Screen and Roll. Should the Lakers stick with the triangle offense?
PG: SB Nation Chicago. The Bulls' miserable second half from Game 2.
6th: 3 Shades of Blue. Chip Crain with Part 1 and Part 2 of his Grizzlies season breakdown.
7th: Piston Powered. The Pistons have been borrowing quite a bit of money recently.
8th: SB Nation. Dirk Nowitzki's very Dirk Nowitzki-like shirt.
9th: BrewHoop. Using analytics to find out if the Bucks will find anything at 10th in the draft.
10th: Draft Express' Twitter account. I

OKCGM1
We're three games into the NBA's conference finals, and the feeling around the neighborhood is that we could also be well on our way to a competitive two weeks that features two seven-game series full of ultra-close and ultra-fab basketball.

But it's up to the teams to keep it up and not get caught on the wrong end of four quick close losses on their way toward summer vacation. Let it get to summer first, right?

So, as we prepare for Thursday night's second game between the Mavericks and Thunder, here are a few things each team needs to look out for to keep the guns blazing.

Too violent?

Here are a few things each team needs to look out for to keep the motor running.

Too hoonish?

Here are a few things each team needs to look out for to keep the basketball good. Click the jump, it'll get better.

{YSP:MORE}
1. The Dallas Mavericks cannot be in awe of Dirk Nowitzki

Check out Tyson Chandler's comments from a Wednesday radio interview about dearest Dirk:

"I think that whoever is guarding

Via Eamonn Brennan, and thanks to ESPN.com, here are Chicago's misses from the floor Wednesday night:

Bullspaint
Chicago was 3-18 from three-to-nine feet Wednesday night, and that's ... not good. Especially with perhaps the best little finisher in the game on your side (Derrick Rose missed all seven of his looks from three-to-nine feet).

Now, sure, Luol Deng made up for all those missed three-footers by hitting 60-footer, but just because you get two points on a three-footer, it doesn't mean you get 40 points for a 60-footer.

Also, ESPN? Why was this game apparently played in San Antonio?

It was mock outrage, but there was something to the conversation relayed in my tweet from Wednesday night:

UCoverhearNow I know why:

TNT analyst and Basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkley caused a stir Tuesday when he referred to the Heat as a "whiny bunch" on a Chicago radio station. Wade shot back Wednesday, referring to Barkley's comments as "bandwagon" opinions.

"We don't care what people have to say about us," Wade said. "We're coming out to win the game. And we understand what the word bandwagon means."

Actually, I don't think ya' do, mate. From Dictionary.com:

{YSP:MORE}

bandwagonNow, if Charles were suddenly jumping on your team's side following its impressive Game 2 victory, after months (literally months, Charles has been touting Chicago as his favorites in the East) of saying that Chicago would make it to the finals, that would be something. But a difference of opinion doesn't a bandwagon make, right?

Or, if at some point a "large and ornately decorated" wagon entered into this back and

KahnDavid Kahn says he's "astonished" by the reaction to comments he made following Tuesday's draft lottery, and color me un-astonished.

I don't need to go into why his comments were wrong. Eric Freeman already summed up my thoughts on the subject expertly the next morning. What I can do is replay the comments once again, and try to succinctly remind him of why they're off at best and infuriating at worst:

"This league has a habit, and I am just going to say habit, of producing some pretty incredible story lines. Last year it was Abe Pollin's widow and this year it was a 14-year-old boy and the only thing we have in common is we have both been bar mitzvahed. We were done. I told Kevin [O'Connor of Utah]: 'We're toast.' This is not happening for us and I was right."

The problem here is that Abe Pollin's widow likely didn't and doesn't see herself as a "story line."

{YSP:MORE}

She shouldn't have to. She probably thought of her presence at last year's lottery as one final public tribute, put