It is at this point not enough to refer to Washington Wizards center JaVale McGee as scatterbrained or inattentive. In this season alone, he's been responsible for several of the most absentminded plays in league history, including his recent hook-and-dash during a Wiz possession. Intentionally or not, JaVale has reached a higher level of greatness, one we usually reserve for the best players around. Except, in his case, he makes such legendary mistakes that they can't possibly be forgotten. Maybe they'll even make sense centuries from now, sort of like when great artists only find fame after death.

On Wednesday night, McGee added another masterpiece to his catalogue. Early in the second half of Washington's 115-107 home loss to the Sacramento Kings, wing Francisco Garcia drove to the hole and put up a teardrop runner. JaVale, camped out under the basket, waited for the ball to fall far past its apex, at which point he for some reason chose to swat it about five rows deep behind his

Patrick Patterson and Matt Bonner move away from a wet spot on the court (Bill Baptist/Getty).

At this point, most of the NBA is on Twitter. It's a wild world of training updates, questions as to which movies they should go see, and explanations of their Call of Duty prowess. Every so often, though, you also get a picture into the more interesting aspects of NBA life. This feature is your window into that world.

Chris Kaman: I know! Not even a Qdoba in NOLA?! @GW34: @ChrisKaman@ChipotleTweets Yo Mr. Kaman I bet you miss Chipotle!!!! Mmmmm Mmmmm Good!!!

Dan Gadzuric: Man, this ice cream taste great. pic.twitter.com/HRk8hsu6

Isaiah Thomas: I respect @KingJames so much more now playin against him! Best OVERALL talent n the league. U aint gotta block my shot like that tho lol

Patrick Patterson: Wish the #nba would tell us night before bout drug test therefore wouldnt have to sit around for hours waitin tryna pee. #stupid

Roy Hibbert: Lo Scandalo may be one of the best Archer episodes ever.

You can also follow Eric Freeman on Twitter at @freemaneric.

When the NBA announced its fearsome foursome of dunk contest participants a week ago, most people reacted with indifference. It was hard to get too excited about a list with maybe one player who'd be a solid contestant in a good year (Paul George); the primary draws, at least for casual viewers, were the prospects of watching Jeremy Lin and Ricky Rubio as passers for Iman Shumpert and Derrick Williams, respectively. Shumpert is now out with left patella tendonitis, and so the NBA had to choose a replacement.

They picked Jeremy Evans of the Utah Jazz. If you're not familiar with his work, that's probably not your fault: Evans has played a total of 89 minutes this season and averages a mere 1.7 points and 0.9 rebounds per game. On the other hand, it was an inspired choice by the league, because Evans has dunking abilities few other players (famous or not) can match. At 6-9, he has the athleticism of a wing or guard.

If you don't believe me, check out the highlight mix above created

Jeremy Lin ponders Wednesday's dinner options. When he settles, we'll report it (Getty Images)

For a spell, while he was wondering if the New York Knicks were going to be the third NBA team to cut him in a nine-week span, Jeremy Lin was famously dividing time between teammate Landry Fields' apartment and his brother's couch. Last week we found out that the Knicks star is renting former Knick David Lee's old place near his team's practice quarters. Wednesday, via the definitely-not-bugging-our-phones chaps at the New York Post, we've learned that Lin has rented out a place closer to the heart of the city.

Though Lin is making less than a million dollars this year with his second-year salary, he's due for a solid pay increase this summer with the Knicks, in a nice confluence of need and New York's own collectively bargained rights to match any contract offer. As a result, he likely feels more than easy in taking on a second apartment downtown. From the Post:

The two-bedroom W suite comes outfitted with $30,000 to $35,000 worth of Tui Lifestyle furniture.

Rents there range from $3,600 to $8,900 a month, according to Streeteasy.com. The owner of Lin's unit had put the two-bed, two-bath apartment up for sale for $2.315 million before renting it out.

From Stephon Marbury to 2010 Most Improved Player Aaron Brooks to seemingly half of the 2010-11 Denver Nuggets, the Chinese Basketball Association has become a viable option for NBA veterans unhappy with their lack of stateside contract offers. It's a guard's league and, as this video shows, we're pretty certain that both Marbury and Brooks (and their fruitless passes) are definitely unhappy with their lack of competent finishers on the break.

Remember, this is from an All-Star game:

(Perhaps it was from the fits of laughter after spying this Tuesday night, but we don't recall who on Twitter first pointed us to this video. Apologies for the original poster, but thanks to Kurt Helin from Pro Basketball Talk for the pinch-hit hat-tip.)

You can point to New York's cupcake schedule in the days following Jeremy Lin's ascension into the Knicks rotation on Feb. 4. You can point to the minutes he plays in New York's frantic pace, as Jason Terry did on Sunday, and all the possessions he gets to dominate. That's what Player Efficiency Rating -- which adjusts for pace, minutes, and takes into consideration all those turnovers and all those possessions used up -- is for. And, 2 1/2 weeks into his star turn, Jeremy Lin has gone from D-League refugee to eighth in the NBA in PER. And, as the biggest story in sports at the moment, he's more than deserved his two straight Sports Illustrated covers. Here's this week's:

(Courtesy Sports Illustrated)

The last time Dwight Howard faced the New Jersey Nets, Nets All-Star Deron Williams missed 10 of 12 shots, the Nets limped to a 16-point loss and Howard combined for 40 points and rebounds. On Wednesday night, with the biggest catch of the 2012 free-agent market in town, the Nets are pulling out all the stops in hopes of impressing the Magic's disgruntled center.

Yes, according to the Bergen Record's Andy Vasquez, the Nets are goin' pyro with their pregame introductions, in hopes that Dwight will like the pretty lights and take to the soon-to-be Brooklyn Nets this summer. Here's a peak, as snapped by Vasquez:

New Jersey's fireworks stash (courtesy twitter.com/Andy_Vasquez)

TNT's new iteration of "Inside the NBA" is still a work in progress, with Shaquille O'Neal proving to be an uneasy fit with the lived-in chemistry of Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith (plus Chris Webber when he drops by). That said, the show's at its best these days, or at least most fascinating, when Shaq and Barkley subtly undermine each other and act as antagonists. It adds drama that was previously just a place for people who like basketball to hang out. "Inside the NBA" is different, but it can still be valuable.

The show's producers seem to have realized they have something when these two bicker, and they've increasingly set them against each other in planned segments. But there are limits to the amount of antagonism an audience can handle.