Jerry Stackhouse celebrates another successful cyber-serving. (Jemal Countess/Getty Images)

Jerry Stackhouse has had a pretty rough start to the 2013 NBA playoffs. He's just 1 for 10 in 24 minutes of playing time through the first three games of his Brooklyn Nets' best-of-seven series with the Chicago Bulls, and he's missed all seven of his 3-point attempts, which is especially damaging considering his primary role this year has been to spot up from the short corners to help provide spacing in a Brooklyn offense that has been dreadful for two straight games. It's been established that Player Efficiency Rating isn't a perfect encapsulation of a player's overall contribution during his time on the court, but in Stackhouse's case, his placement on the PER charts this postseason — -9.6, nearly 25 points below the league average of 15, dead last among 150 qualifying players — sounds about right.

And it's not just that he's missing shots — it's that he's missing them badly. More specifically, he's missing everything — five of his nine misses from the floor have been airballs, including one of his three tries in Thursday's 79-76 Game 3 loss. Apparently, Utah Jazz point guard Mo Williams noticed.

[Also: Bulls win ugly against Brooklyn]

Stackhouse might lead the playoffs in air balls. Smh

— Mo Williams (@mowilliams) April 26, 2013

And, apparently, Williams wasn't the only one who noticed.

Poor DeAndre Jordan. He knows that when Marc Gasol gets the ball at the top of the key, he's got so many things to worry about — a fast-fired, flat-footed midrange jumper, a surprisingly quick step toward the basket, the prospect of a cutter making his way around the Memphis Grizzlies center's hip and letting a hiccup-quick guard loose into the paint, and so on. In the split second between Gasol catching the pass and Gasol whipping a pass, the Los Angeles Clippers center forgot to watch one thing: His five-hole.

These Spaniards, man. Always through the legs.

The nutmeg dime was one of just two assists for Gasol in the game — somewhat surprising, given that he averaged four per contest during the regular season and had nine in the first two games of the series — but despite not producing many passes that led directly to baskets, he was integral in the shape and space of the Grizzlies' half-court offense. Gasol's movement at the elbows and above the free-throw line repeatedly drew one of L.A.'s frontcourt defenders out from under the basket, allowing Randolph the room and opportunity to one-on-one against his man (usually Blake Griffin), which he did very successfully on Thursday.

[Also: Magic Johnson gives up on Lakers' chances]

Pop quiz, hotshot: If I asked you which member of the Los Angeles Clippers would be most likely to commit a flagrant foul, and which member of the Memphis Grizzlies would be most likely to sincerely appreciate it, which two names would you come up? Wait — crud, their names are in the headline. Dangit. I would be a terrible high school teacher.

Anyway, at the halfway mark of the fourth quarter of Thursday's Game 3, with the Grizzlies leading the Clippers 78-71, Randolph sealed off Barnes on the right block and received an interior pass from center Marc Gasol and rose up to attempt a layup. Barnes' only chance to prevent an easy point-blank bucket was to foul Z-Bo hard, which he did, coming down with both hands on the burly power forward's shoulders, prompting a brief up-close-and-personal session between the two playoff veterans:

The refs immediately descended on the scrum to settle things down, which is totally understandable, because a collision between self-described "jackin' dude" Randolph and habitual line-stepper Barnes seems like the kind of thing you want to put a lid on as quickly as possible.

As it turned out, though, there would be no violence on the dance floor — instead, it was just two dudes who know the difference between a hard foul and a cheap shot dapping one another up (a bit awkwardly, in the case of Randolph's "friendly" headbutt), celebrating one another's respective crazy and sharing a quick hug. They were both smiling the whole time and they even shook hands after the refs got all worried. It was heartwarming, really.

This picture is worth the next 1,092 words you're about to read (Getty Images)

CHICAGO — The matchup between the Indiana Pacers and Atlanta Hawks was supposed to be this postseason’s infamous “NBA TV Series,” a combination of somewhat anonymous teams playing very ugly games to an audience that would rather watch more high-profile series on other cable stations. Instead, despite a pairing of teams from two of North America’s bigger television markets, the Chicago Bulls-Brooklyn Nets first-round series has supplanted the Pacers and Hawks’ rather enjoyable and relatively high-scoring series.

Coming off of a 79-76 win that put his Bulls up 2-1 over the Nets, it’s probably fair to assume that Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau prefers it this way. Away from the prying eyes, he’s put together 96 minutes of killer Bulls basketball and lineups for his players to perk their ears toward over Game 2 and Game 3, and despite Brooklyn’s veteran pedigree, the Nets just don’t seem to have any answers thus far.

Once again, Bulls forward Carlos Boozer led the way with a solid 22-point performance in the win, nailing nine of 15 shots while anchoring (yes, this is the same Carlos Boozer) Chicago’s defense with a series of needed defensive rebounds. Boozer managed 15 of those, and 16 overall as Chicago held Brooklyn to 35 percent shooting. Luol Deng helped spearhead a quick Bulls start to begin the second half, scoring 12 of his 21 points in a four-minute stretch at the outset of the third quarter, as Chicago managed to cling to the lead in spite of a late Brooklyn comeback.

[Also: Magic Johnson gives up on Lakers' chances]

Miami Heat shooting guard holds or has held virtually every major NBA record for 3-pointers made. He's the all-time record-holder for 3s made in a career, held the record for 3-pointers made in a single season until Stephen Curry broke it last week, and entered this postseason on the cusp of breaking Reggie Miller's record for most postseason 3-pointers in history. While there are arguments to be made for other players, Allen has a stellar case for being the best shooter in the history of the sport.

[Also: Bulls win ugly against Brooklyn]

On Thursday night, in the fourth quarter of Game 3 of the Heat's opening-round playoff series against the Milwaukee Bucks, Allen added to his resume. With 8:37 left in regulation, Allen took a pass from Norris Cole and drained his 3 three-pointer of the night and the 321st of his playoff career, putting him one ahead of Miller for the all-time postseason record.

Watch the video above, which includes both the record-breaking and record-tying shots, and join us after the jump for more information on the record and a few notes on the Heat's 104-91 win.

In Game 1 of the 2011 Eastern Conference finals, Chicago Bulls reserve forward/center Taj Gibson threw down a dunk so hard over Miami Heat superstar Dwyane Wade (the clip can be found here) that it was eventually immortalized in cake form — the highest compliment some Western nations can give.

In honor of Kris Humphries’ recent legal emancipation from the Kardashian clan, Gibson decided to throw down his own sort of tribute in the face of the Brooklyn Nets reserve forward. During the second quarter of Thursday night’s Game 3 between the Bulls and Nets, this unfortunate event took place:

(As someone who is perched at the United Center as I write this, I should point out that the Bulls crowd was going gaga over the replay some 10 to 15 minutes — and several timeouts — later. And if you think I'm being a little too hard on Humphries, understand that his first move upon entering the game tonight was to leer at the Chicago Bulls cheerleaders while "stretching" on his team's net.)

[Also: Magic Johnson gives up on Lakers' chances]

Center Chris "Birdman" Andersen has only bolstered the Miami Heat's status as presumptive NBA favorites since joining the club in late January. The heavily tattooed, mohawked big man has added an extra dimension to the defending champs, providing a high-level rim-protector who also has the mobility and athleticism to function well in the Heat's high-tempo, position-switching lineup. He's been an excellent fit, and in their current series against the Milwaukee Bucks, he's sparked several big runs that have put games out of reach.

Andersen has received attention throughout his career for his colorful personality and body art, but he stands to reach a new audience due to his role with the Heat. He's planning accordingly, too, and intends to trademark his name and image to ward off those who would profit off his likeness. From Chris Tomasson for FoxSportsFlorida.com:

Professional athletes are often unreasonably confident, making bold claims that sound like utter nonsense to anyone with a shred of objectivity. While that self-belief is an important part of being a success on the court, it can also occasionally verge into something a little more delusional.

When Milwaukee Bucks point guard Brandon Jennings predicted that his team would defeat the heavily favored Miami Heat in six games in their first-round playoff series, he ended up somewhere between a normal level of confidence and pure insanity. No self-respecting athlete can expect to lose, no matter the matchup, but most observers would consider it an accomplishment for the Bucks to win one game, let alone four. It's no surprise that Dwyane Wade dismissed Jennings's prediction about as casually as an opponent possibly could.

As expected the Heat have dominated the first two games of the series, winning by an average margin of 17.5 points. The Bucks have little hope of following through on Jennings's pre-series prediction. Nevertheless, he's sticking to it. In the video above (via SLAM), Jennings tells TNT's Craig Sager that he still believes the Bucks will win the series in six games.