Michael Jordan, during the 1996 NBA Finals (Getty Images)

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: Complex. Because it’s super-pertinent (but also very cool to look at), here’s a slideshow of the various sneakers that Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls wore during their championship runs.
PF: Game Time at the Garden of Good and Evil. A worrying note from the New York Knicks’ Game 1 performance – the shots tended to be taken by the same three dudes.
SF: Valley of the Suns. If you think Lance Blanks had his head on straight as Phoenix Suns general manager, then you should probably give a second look to these hilarious quotes from his tenure.
SG: Denver Post. Kenneth Faried seems like a total “go” for Game 2 of Denver’s second round series against Golden State.
PG: The Painted Area. We’re a little late on this, but here are some smarter takes on the NBA’s end of season awards.

Right here waiting, LeBron (Getty Images)

The Cleveland Cavaliers are well on their way toward rehiring former Cavs coach Mike Brown. Because Mike Brown’s previous two NBA head coaching stints worked out exceedingly well, in Cavalier eyes.

Brown coached the Cavs from 2005 to 2010 after coming over from Gregg Popovich’s San Antonio Spurs bench. He also coached the Los Angeles Lakers for all of the truncated 2011-12 season and the first couple of weeks of the 2012-13 season. He also has presided over some of the most underachieving playoff teams in recent NBA history, including the 2009 and 2010 Cavaliers, and the 2011 Los Angeles Lakers. As was the case in 2005, Brown will be charged with handling the emerging career of a 21-year old championship-level player, with Kyrie Irving replacing LeBron James as a franchise talent.

[Also: Pacers swingman Paul George wins Most Improved Player award]

Pray for that talent.

The Battier family enjoys something other than Bud Light (Getty Images)

The Miami Heat have made a sound choice in keeping the team’s 2012-13 focus on the month of June, instead of stressing over the eight NBA months that come before it. From the slowish start to the season to the perfect perspective in the midst of the team’s 27-game winning streak to the rest for its superstars late in the regular season to the professional way they’re downing the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round, the Heat are showing the sort of character needed to be at their best in June after a potential 100-plus games of pre-Finals ball.

[Also: Lakers' Steve Nash in a world of hurt]

For Shane Battier, his dedication to Bud Light as his after-work adult beverage served two purposes. For one, the low-calorie beer helped keep him in fighting trim. And secondly, because he is a professional athlete, it served as a go-to superstition libation during Miami’s massive streak. Battier admitted as much to NBA.com’s Steve Aschburner last month:

As forward Shane Battier said late Wednesday night in Cleveland, “Athletes are all superstitious and even if they don’t admit it, there’s a routine and just a cadence to our days. Especially when things go well, you can see us try to replicate it.”

Exactly. Just what we suspected. And yours are …

“Nope,” Battier said. “Well, I try to drink the same beer – Bud Light – but that’s about it. You never know. I don’t want to chance luck and switch up brands, so I’m staying loyal to Bud Light.”

Paul George accepts his award on Tuesday (Getty Images)

It’s not surprising that Paul George won the Most Improved Player award, because the Indiana Pacers swingman saw his per game averages shoot up by over five points per game, with a 3.7 per game uptick in combined assists/rebounds in 2012-13. All of this work, and all of the MIP voting, came before Sunday’s fantastic triple-double effort in Indiana’s win over the Atlanta Hawks in the first game of the Pacers’ postseason. On top of that, George has remained a stalwart and at times dominant defender in Indiana’s league-leading defensive attack – Paul led the NBA with 6.3 Defensive Win Shares this season, a statistic that weighs heavily on minutes per game (explaining teammate Roy Hibbert’s fifth-place ranking).

What is surprising is the near unanimity in which George was chosen. The man received a shocking (to me, at least) 52 first place votes, exactly as many as the second through fifth-place MIP contenders (in order: Greivis Vasquez, Larry Sanders, Nikola Vucevic, Jrue Holiday) received.

We’re not bashing George’s numbers in the wake of increased minutes and increased responsibility – it’s just fine that his shooting percentages went down this year in the wake from Danny Granger’s absence, and his defensive acumen made him a deserved All-Star – we’re just questioning the Most Improved Player vote. And, worse, the one-sidedness of what should have been a very close contest with George possibly rounding out the top five.

Joakim Noah left everything on the court in Game 2 (Getty Images)

Chicago 90, Brooklyn 82; series tied, 1-1

In his column from Brooklyn on Tuesday, Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski called Chicago Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau “the rarest commodity in the NBA: an indisputable difference-maker on the bench.” That description absolutely cannot be countered by any rational NBA follower, and those who have read me for the last few seasons are no doubt familiar with my biggest gripe about someone who might be the best coach in the NBA — that he is symptomatic of a Chicago Bulls culture that takes advantage of players who want to play when they shouldn’t.

Thibodeau, seen as intractable in this regard for years, seems to be learning from this. He’s showed genuine concern for Joakim Noah over the last few weeks, keeping him away from live action after Noah looked pained and out of step (despite good stats) during an attempted comeback with a week and a half left in the season. And though Noah was given a minute restriction in Game 1, he was on the court far too long in Chicago’s blowout loss, obviously hurt.

Heading into Game 2, Thibodeau promised a 20- to 25-minute cap for Noah. Not only did Thibodeau deliver on his word, he constructed a masterful performance from a Bulls team that refused to take a single possession off on either end of the ball. Yes, even the ones Nate Robinson used up.

Bernie Bickerstaff and Mark Jackson and disparate fortunes (Getty Images)

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: Denver Stiffs. Jeffrey Morton with a fantastic look at how spectacularly then-Denver Nuggets coach/GM Bernie Bickerstaff screwed up his last year with the Nuggies, and how well former Nuggets point guard (and current Golden State opposing coach) Mark Jackson fared in hitting Antonio McDyess for lob after lob, and LaPhonso Ellis for the spot-up three-pointer.
PF: The Classical. A look at the upcoming ‘In the Paint Boston’ basketball-themed art exhibit, which is set to open April 26 in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
SF: Peachtree Hoops. On Larry Drew’s pointless and Larry Brown-esque benching of Al Horford in Game 1 of the Hawks’ first round series against Indiana.
SG: The Washington Post. It’s been out for a few days, but Kent Babb’s sad and fascinating portrayal of Allen Iverson’s post-NBA life is a must-read.
PG: Wall St. Journal. Chris Herring details how Jason Kidd’s quick hands are dealing with the onset of age.

Eric Bledsoe and Chris Paul get it in, now (Getty Images)

Los Angeles Clippers guard Eric Bledsoe is an offensively potent, ever-improving defensive wunderkind. The 6-foot-3 hybrid guard caused major havoc during last year’s Clippers playoff series with the Memphis Grizzlies, he’s dominated Grizzlies guard Mike Conley through each of their regular-season showings, and he was masterful in the fourth quarter of Los Angeles’ Game 1 win on Saturday — scoring 13 points on 6 for 6 shooting, with six rebounds and four assists to zero turnovers during the quarter. Conley played fewer than four minutes in that quarter as Los Angeles romped.

To hear Clipper All-Star point guard Chris Paul tell it, performances like these are why Bledsoe won’t be long for Los Angeles. Paul said as much on Sunday while hinting toward his own status as a future Clipper, in an interview with Arash Markazi of ESPN Los Angeles:

"Bled is one of the best guards in our league," Paul said after practice Sunday. "I've said it all season long. I'm enjoying playing with him right now because there's no way he can be here next year because we probably won't have enough money to pay him. He should be a starting point guard in this league next year."

Samuel Dalembert asks the referee if he hears any free agent scuttle (Getty Images)

Milwaukee Bucks reserve center Samuel Dalembert is not some team-killing cancer, musing openly about his future beyond 2012-13 on full record with reporters. He’s just an open, candid, honest guy when it comes to discussing the life of a moderately priced journeyman NBA reserve.

Still, we don’t recall too many instances where one of those reserves has gone record to discuss signing with an opponent while he plays that opponent in the first round of a playoff series. This is exactly where Samuel went before Sunday evening’s Game 1 showdown between the Bucks and Miami Heat, as FOX Sports’ Chris Tommasson talked to Sam about his very specific thoughts on his upcoming free agency:

"The Heat will be definitely an option," Dalembert told FOX Sports Florida before his Bucks lost to the Heat 110-87 in Game 1 of an Eastern Conference first-round series Sunday night at AmericanAirlines Arena. "It’s up to them and seeing what’s going to be out there. But at this point you want to be with a contending team. You don’t want to go backwards, so you want to chase that promised land."