At long last, Chris Bosh's origin story can be told. (Screencap via Borscht Corp.)

Back in November, we told you about "Adventures of Christopher Bosh in the Multiverse," an animated film produced by Miami arts collective Bleeding Palm for the Borscht Film Festival. The film — which grew out of an April Fools Day joke that the Miami Heat center/forward had agreed to sponsor the festival and a website redesign that "began to depict Bosh as a character in a larger mythology with an intricate system of rules [...] sort of an MMORPG combined with NBA fan fiction," according to Borscht Corp.'s Chris Quinn — was initially kiboshed by representatives for Bosh, who sent the film festival a cease-and-desist letter on the grounds that neither the film's makers nor the festival had "been granted any right whatsoever to use the Identity of Mr. Bosh."

Now, after five months of back-and-forth involving Bleeding Palm, Borscht Corp. and lawyers from Creative Artists Agency (Bosh's representation) and the NBA, the flick is finally free to see the light of day, just in time for Tuesday's Game 2 of the opening-round playoff matchup between Bosh's Heat and the Milwaukee Bucks.

"We hope it will inspire Bosh tomorrow night," Borscht's Lucas Levya told BDL on Monday.

The short is 11-plus minutes of sensory overload that mixes traditional and digital animation with live-action elements and features an anthropomorphic wolf shaman (the Mystic Wolfman Barfar, duh) plus plenty of space lasers and a tour-de-force cameo from Bosh's Heat teammate, Mike Miller. It also includes some bits of weirdness that might not be suitable for your workplace, like a couple of instances of animated nudity, some animated violence (specifically related to last summer's "Causeway Cannibal" incident in Miami) and a not-so-nice term for an aspect of male genitalia. There's nothing SUPER objectionable in my view, but I fully understand that my taste isn't everybody's taste and that your mileage may vary. (For the record, I think this is hilarious, brilliant and delightful.)

If you're up for the mind-jarring journey, you can watch the full short after the jump.

"[...] In all my years in this, one thing has never changed: You win with serious, tough-minded players. That never changes."

— Chicago Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau, to Yahoo! Sports NBA columnist Adrian Wojnarowski, after his team's grind-it-out masterpiece of a 90-82 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Monday.

Yeah, but maybe not too serious. This is way more fun. (Also: "More like Excite-a-Bulls.")

The context:

The question:

How many push-offs did @cp3 have on that game winner - 3 or 4? Note to @nba refs using your off arm creates separation & is advantageous.

— Clarence Gaines (@ClarenceGaines2) April 23, 2013

The response:

@clarencegaines2 yeah, not only are offensive players able to push off they can use off arm to shield off defense-Heisman offensive move.—
Phil Jackson (@PhilJackson11) April 23, 2013

The reminder:

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.

For nearly 48 minutes, Game 2 between the Los Angeles Clippers and Memphis Grizzlies was the most hotly contested game of the young 2013 postseason. The two tough teams traded blows, with the Memphis Grizzlies mounting a furious comeback from a 12-point fourth-quarter deficit to tie the game at 91-91 on a Marc Gasol dunk with 13 seconds remaining.

Games like this one can come down to slight edges in singular moments. On Monday night, the difference was that the Clippers have Chris Paul and the Grizzlies do not.

[Also: Worries over KKK kept Earl Monroe out of Indy]

On the Clippers' final possession, Paul took Tony Allen — one of the two or three best perimeter defenders in the NBA to the rim and banked in an extremely tough runner over the outstretched arm of Darrell Arthur. With just 0.1 seconds on the clock, the Grizzlies were unable to take a shot on the game's last play, and the Clippers left with a huge 93-91 win.

From here on out, Kobe's keeping his lip buttoned, Twitter-wise. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Kobe Bryant's decision to live-tweet Game 1 of the first-round Western Conference playoff series between his Los Angeles Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday wound up being a bigger story than the game itself, which the punchless Lakers lost thanks to a poor shooting performance (41.1 percent from the floor, 3 for 15 from 3-point range) and strong play from the San Antonio backcourt tandem of Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. And apparently, that's a level of attention that neither Bryant nor the Lakers want anymore.

The injured Bryant, laid up at his home after undergoing surgery to repair his torn left Achilles tendon, chose to break down Sunday's game on his Twitter account, offering insights on the Lakers performance and interacting with fans who were also watching the game from the comfort of their own home. At times, Bryant's analysis could be construed as critical, as when he repeatedly called for the Lakers to pound the ball inside to the big-man tandem of Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol and when he derided the team's "matador defense" on Parker's penetration.

After the game, Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni was asked what he thought about Bryant's in-game analysis, some of which seemed pointed at perceived failings in the L.A. game plan. D'Antoni sarcastically dismissed it.

"It’s great to have that commentary,” he said, then rolled his eyes before saying that Bryant is "a fan right now," a comment that raised eyebrows among media members, non-first-ballot-Hall-of-Fame supporters and this particular "fan" alike.

This, of course, only drew more attention, which seemed to displease Bryant, prompting him to announce Monday that his live-tweeting career is now on hiatus:

To tweet or not to tweet.. I CHOOSE not 2. Focus should be on the team not my insight. @georgelopez voice "Can't DO nothin!"#vinospeare

— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) April 22, 2013

Many NBA fans who came of age during the 1980s and earlier tend to complain about the state of today's league, for various reasons both sensible and petty. One complaint, true in observation if not on the merits, is that players don't play with the same level of distaste for their opponents as they once did. The growth of AAU tournaments and the breakdown of traditional collegiate regionalism have changed circumstances. Players know each other well and become friends as young kids. I don't know why we should want everyone to dislike their potential future teammates, but there has been an apparent shift in culture.

Nevertheless, players do sometimes come to dislike each other in this era. It's just that, when it does happen, they come off as incredibly awkward and uncertain of how to proceed.

Take Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert and Golden State Warriors power forward David Lee. Back in late February, the two were involved in a fight that saw both players suspended for one game. On Saturday, Lee sustained a torn hip flexor that will keep him out for the remainder of the playoffs.

Ever the kind young man, Hibbert wished Lee well on his recovery. He also made his distaste for Lee known:

Earl Monroe shoots a free throw for the Knicks (Getty Images).

This current generation of NBA stars has taken unprecedented control over deciding which teams they play for. In recent years, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Chris Paul, and others have all taken their impending free agency as an opportunity to force a move to a desirable franchise in a major market and build their brands. At its core, the development is about the best players in the world using their position to ensure they end up in the most comfortable situation possible.

Truth be told, the game's stars have been trying to do the same thing for many decades. Yet, while contemporary players essentially choose between several good options, the issues facing the best players in the '70s were a little more immediate and pressing. Like, say, worrying about the Ku Klux Klan.

That's not an exaggeration. As Earl Monroe explains in his new book "Earl the Pearl: My Story," the Indiana Pacers, then an ABA franchise, had expressed interest in acquiring him from the NBA's Washington Baltimore Bullets in October 1971. Looking for a new team as the Bullets waffled on trading him, Monroe was intrigued by the offer and visited Indianapolis to get a sense of the franchise and the environment. That's when he learned it might not be a great fit.

[Also: Adrian Wojnarowski: LeBron going back to Cleveland is only a fantasy]

From an excerpt published Monday at Deadspin (via PBT):