NBA roundup: Pacers president Larry Bird calls his team soft (The SportsXchange)
(Wed, 23 May 2012 15:40:15 PDT)
The worst playoff loss in Indiana Pacers franchise history had team president Larry Bird calling out his players, according to an Indianapolis Star report.

Heat's LeBron James leads NBA all-defensive team (The Associated Press)
(Wed, 23 May 2012 15:04:39 PDT)
NEW YORK (AP) NBA Most Valuable Player LeBron James was the leading vote-getter for the league's all-defensive squad Wednesday, while Defensive Player of the Year Tyson Chandler didn't even crack the first team.

Tyson Chandler Left Off NBA All-defensive First Team, Exposing a Flaw in the System (Yahoo! Contributor Network)
(Wed, 23 May 2012 14:58:00 PDT)
Depending on who you ask, Tyson Chandler was either the best defensive player in the NBA this season, or he was the second best at his position.

Heat's James leads all-defensive team (The SportsXchange)
(Wed, 23 May 2012 13:31:38 PDT)
NBA Most Valuable Player LeBron James is the leading vote-getter for the league's all-defensive team.

Chris Paul goes off the top of the backboard for one last Clipper highlight before losing to Spurs (VIDEO) (Ball Don't Lie)
(Mon, 21 May 2012 06:35:10 PDT)
Chris Paul had a fairly nightmarish three-game stretch to open the Western Conference semifinals against the San Antonio Spurs. He scored just 9.3 points per game on a paltry 30.8 percent shooting, earned just seven trips to the line (and, stunningly, made just two of his tries), and gave up a turnover for every 1.63 assists he dished, a cough-up rate more than 60 percent worse than the stellar 4.38-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio he managed during the regular season. Having a tough time with the Spurs isn't necessarily remarkable in and of itself; most players have had problems with the Spurs this year, which is they're 58-16 since the ball went up on Christmas Day. But Chris Paul isn't most players, a fact of which he reminded us late in the fourth quarter Sunday, when he entered the lane, encountered three San Antonio defenders, absorbed the contact and flipped up some nonsense ... that took a couple of gentle bounces on the very top of the backboard (which is still in play) before bouncing back down through the hoop. It's a shot the most practiced H-O-R-S-E wizard wouldn't bet a nickel on, and it's something Chris Paul made to tie an elimination playoff game with 2 1/2 minutes left, before hitting the and-one freebie to give the Clips the lead. Of course, it was an elimination game that the Clippers went on to lose . After scoring L.A.'s final seven points, Paul couldn't bring the Clips across the finish line by himself against a Spurs side that seems Marianas deep. The 102-99 loss sends San Antonio on to the Western Conference finals and Paul and his mates home after two rounds. Luckily for us, though, Game 4 also sent NBA fans off with a couple of other things.

Clippers' future depends on Blake Griffin's growth
(Sat, 19 May 2012 21:34:18 PDT)
The Spurs' 24-point comeback against the Clippers gives Blake Griffin another much-needed lesson.

Spurs-Clippers Preview (The Associated Press)
(Fri, 18 May 2012 17:20:11 PDT)
LOS ANGELES (AP) Down 2-0 against the San Antonio Spurs, the Los Angeles Clippers face the tough task of needing two victories at home to keep pace with the NBA's hottest team. Making things worse are injuries to Chris Paul and Blake Griffin that have robbed the superstars of their effectiveness.

Clippers try to dig out of 2-0 hole against Spurs (The Associated Press)
(Fri, 18 May 2012 17:19:34 PDT)
LOS ANGELES (AP) Down 2-0 against the San Antonio Spurs, the Los Angeles Clippers face the tough task of needing two victories at home to keep pace with the NBA's hottest team. Making things worse are injuries to Chris Paul and Blake Griffin that have robbed the superstars of their effectiveness.

Lakers' Gasol wins award as NBA's top citizen (The Associated Press)
(Fri, 18 May 2012 16:12:17 PDT)
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) Pau Gasol probably would have been a doctor if he hadn't grown up to be 7 feet tall and awfully good at basketball.

Pau Gasol wins the 2011-2012 J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award (Ball Don't Lie)
(Fri, 18 May 2012 16:07:02 PDT)
In most seasons, the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award is a minor NBA honor given out by Professional Basketball Writers Association in a pretty low-key ceremony. That changed last season, when Ron Artest (the artist currently known as Metta World Peace) earned the award for his charitable activities in supporting mental health awareness. It was an impressive and noteworthy turnaround for a man who once seemed like a force of destruction. Then, of course, he elbowed James Harden of the Oklahoma City Thunder in the head and saw his reputation take a terrible hit. Perhaps sensing the danger of becoming the butt of jokes, the PBWA went with a safer pick this season. In doing so, they didn't leave the Lakers locker room, choosing big man and concerned citizen of the world Pau Gasol. From Mark Medina for the Los Angeles Times (via SLAM ):

NBA appoints new Competition Committee (The Associated Press)
(Wed, 16 May 2012 17:34:24 PDT)
NEW YORK (AP) Coaches Doc Rivers of Boston, Rick Carlisle of Dallas and Lionel Hollins of Memphis have been named to the NBA's Competition Committee.

Coaches, owners have new voice in suggesting changes
(Wed, 16 May 2012 16:56:03 PDT)
Rick Carlisle, coach of the reigning champion Dallas Mavericks, and Dan Gilbert, the club owner spurned by LeBron James, are among 10 people named on Wednesday to the NBA's new competition committee.

Clippers-Spurs Preview (The Associated Press)
(Wed, 16 May 2012 16:52:23 PDT)
SAN ANTONIO (AP) Hours before turning 30 years old, Tony Parker grinned Wednesday as though his lowest-scoring playoff game since his early twenties was an early birthday gift from the Los Angeles Clippers.

Parker vs. Paul no All-Star showdown so far (The Associated Press)
(Wed, 16 May 2012 16:51:20 PDT)
SAN ANTONIO (AP) Hours before turning 30 years old, Tony Parker grinned Wednesday as though his lowest-scoring playoff game since his early twenties was an early birthday gift from the Los Angeles Clippers.

Report: Bobcats to interview Ewing (The SportsXchange)
(Wed, 16 May 2012 13:50:07 PDT)
Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing will interview Thursday for the Charlotte Bobcats' coaching vacancy, according to an ESPN.com report.

Duncan dominates as Spurs win game one
(Wed, 16 May 2012 06:52:09 PDT)
Tim Duncan finished with 26 points and 10 rebounds as San Antonio cruised past the Los Angeles Clippers 108-92 in game one of the Western Conference semi-finals on Tuesday, extending the Spurs' win streak to 15 games.

Rested Spurs win Game 1 over weary Clippers 108-92 (The Associated Press)
(Tue, 15 May 2012 21:56:15 PDT)
SAN ANTONIO (AP) Tim Duncan had 26 points and 10 rebounds and the San Antonio Spurs, recharged after a weeklong layoff, wore down the busy Los Angeles Clippers to win Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinals series, 108-92 on Tuesday night.

‘Deep Thoughts’ and Cheap Thoughts: San Antonio Spurs vs. Los Angeles Clippers (Ball Don't Lie)
(Tue, 15 May 2012 13:45:07 PDT)
For every postseason matchup, Ball Don't Lie's resident dummy will offer a topically appropriate entry from the best-selling series of "Deep Thoughts" books written by legendary humorist Jack Handey, plus some of his own original thoughts on the playoff series. The combination will cost you literally nothing; we suggest you use the savings to purchase one of Mr. Handey's life-changing books . No. 1 San Antonio Spurs vs. No. 5 Los Angeles Clippers

Kyrie Irving wins the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award (Ball Don't Lie)
(Tue, 15 May 2012 08:55:10 PDT)
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving has won the Rookie of the Year award. News of his honor broke on Monday, and on Tuesday he was handed the hardware in a press conference so early in the day that admitted coffee non-user and Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert was seen drinking a caffeinated product from a company that is owned by the man who sold the Seattle SuperSonics out of Seattle. That's not a shot at Gilbert, who opened a casino on Monday night and was presumably out late, but a gratuitous shot at Howard Schultz . In other news, Twitter is full of gratuitous shots at the Rookie of the Year voting. Not because Irving took the award — he was far and away the best rookie in basketball, and he should have earned unanimous first-place voting — but because lesser lights like Josh Selby (who played for Memphis, if you somehow were not aware) received a third-place vote, and New York's Iman Shumpert received a first-place vote. Ridiculous picks, to anyone who was paying attention. And because everything happens in real time in social media, whenever the award voting (which used to disappear without a trace in your local paper's transaction page) is released, NBA fans and writers take to Twitter to complain about some of the stranger votes, while calling for writers to publicly disclose their personal picks. And then other NBA fans and writers respond by taking light shots at those that are bordering on getting haughty at votes gone wrong. And nobody leaves happy, even though everyone is correct in their take. Except for whoever the hell gave Josh Selby a third-place vote.

The Memphis Grizzlies? Gone till November (Ball Don't Lie)
(Mon, 14 May 2012 12:45:55 PDT)
If it sounds like excuse-making, it's because we're actually making excuses. The Memphis Grizzlies' were hit by two body blows early in the season when it lost Darrell Arthur for the season, and Zach Randolph for the bulk of the campaign soon after. Randolph came back to the active roster following his MCL tear, but he failed to consistently bring the sort of sturdy low-post presence that he provided in spades for this group in 2010-11. As a result, the team couldn't rely on its horse as much in Sunday's Game 7, and the Grizzlies lost to a limping Clippers team at home. That's going to sting until the fall, but Grizzlies fans have to be realistic about what to expect from this group. Everything centers around Randolph, and though Marc Gasol is one of the best pivots in the NBA and Mike Conley had a fabulous postseason until Game 7, scoring is scoring and scoring is important and the Grizz win when Zach puts it in. And because he never could get into basketball shape or strength (not his fault, rehabbing that injury takes time), the Grizz couldn't unleash their game changer at full capacity. Perhaps we're being too optimistic, but this is still a team to fear entering 2012-13. Arthur's presence was exactly what the Grizzlies needed in Game 7, as the Clippers bench ran roughshod all over Memphis' pine, and Randolph will hopefully be at full strength (he's been known to go a bit pear-shaped over the summer) by the time training camp sparks up. Before then the team's front office can settle in for some tough decisions. Very tough.

Grizzlies disappointed after early playoff exit (The Associated Press)
(Mon, 14 May 2012 12:17:18 PDT)
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) The Memphis Grizzlies have learned a very hard lesson about the postseason. Putting together a magical run deep into the playoffs isn't as easy as they made it look a year ago.

The Clippers celebrate with a giant Chris Paul head, dressed like a baby, following their Game 7 win (Ball Don't Lie)
(Mon, 14 May 2012 12:00:50 PDT)
Throughout the team's opening-round series with the Memphis Grizzlies, the Los Angeles Clippers were introduced to the sporting nation via national airwaves as a team that likes to, ahem, enhance the foul-taking experience. The team gets hit a lot, but it also flops a lot. It flops when it gets hit, and it flops when there is no hit. And between Reggie Evans, Blake Griffin, and to a lesser extent Chris Paul, the team turned off fans of both the Grizzlies, and fans that had no dog in the fight with both the floppin' and the cussin' and the cryin' to the referees. So it makes sense that a Grizzlies fan would adorn a giant Chris Paul poster with a baby bonnet and pacifier, and take it to a Clippers/Grizzlies game. And it makes sense that, following the Grizzlies' loss in Game 7 to the Clippers on Sunday , he would chuck the poster onto the court. And it makes even more sense that that Clippers would pick it up and party with the giant baby head in the locker room following the contest. Via the team's Twitter account , here's a picture of the par-tay:

Clippers advance, knock out Grizzlies 82-72 (The Associated Press)
(Mon, 14 May 2012 02:39:09 PDT)
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) Chris Paul played with an aching right hip and Blake Griffin's sprained left knee stiffened up during the game. If the Clippers were truly a two-man team, then they would have been in trouble facing elimination by the Memphis Grizzlies.