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• Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News: As Cornbread Maxwell noted after Boston destroyed the Lakers in Game 1 of the 1985 Finals, basketball isn’t backgammon. You don’t get extra credit for margin of victory. But the Spurs might have grounds to petition the NBA for a policy change after Game 3 of the Finals, in which they set a series record with 16 3-pointers en route to the third-largest rout in NBA championship history. At a certain point, it was almost comical. LeBron James, harassed by Kawhi Leonard into another legacy-staining disappearance. Danny Green and Gary Neal, playing better than they ever dreamed while slumming it overseas. And the best part – Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker, the cornerstones of San Antonio’s championship success, sitting on the bench and enjoying the show as, for once, others did the heavy lifting. “You don’t expect it to go the way it did,” Duncan said. “But (I’m) loving our home court after getting blown out (in Game 2) to have that kind of…energy in the building, and to feed off that and our team to respond the right way. Hopefully we can respond even better to this win.” … History bodes well for the Spurs after Tuesday’s victory: Winners of Game 3 are 12-1 in the Finals since the 2-3-2 format was implemented in 1985, and 30-5 overall. Tuesday also marked Miami’s first loss while trailing or tied in the playoffs over the past two seasons, snapping a streak of 11 straight victories.
• Greg Cote of The Miami Herald: Where have you gone, LeBron James, and when are you coming back? Where is the offensive dominance that makes defenders and rims quake? Where is the greatest player in the NBA and one of its most prolific scorers when the Heat needs him the most, which is right now? When will the league’s Most Valuable Player start being that on his own team again? Forget “remember the Alamo.” Heat fans today are trying to remember the LeBron James who makes the highlight reels not for a pass or a rebound or a block – but for a dunk-festooned game of 35 or 40 points. Only James could accomplish something last done in the NBA Finals by Celtics goateed great Bill Russell in flower-power 1969 and still leave the impression that he is underperforming, that he has somehow been a disappointment. Welcome to LeBron’s world. For him, sometimes even great isn’t good enough, so you know THIS isn’t. For him, sometimes when the brain tries to tell you he is doing enough, the gut knows better: He must do more.
• Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel: For every botched possession, for every missed rotation, the Spurs made them pay Tuesday, championship-tested, fueled by the 2-3-2 format that could have them in position to close this out on their floor on Sunday night. "They played with more force, more focus," Spoelstra said. Odds are, the Heat will look far different in Thursday's Game 4, because that's who they are, who they have been. Odds are every Chris Bosh blocked shot won't turn into aDanny Green 3-pointer. But it's a game that's getting somewhat old and getting somewhat dangerous. "The only thing that matters," Spoelstra said, "is we're down 2-1 and we did not bring anywhere near our best game tonight. I did not recognize the team that was out there." Yes, there have not been consecutive losses since Jan. 8 and Jan. 10. We get that. But even that might not be enough. … Now the question is whether the Heat can make it back to South Florida with a season still in progress. We've learned by now to never doubt LeBron. But what he is facing this series is something far more maniacal than what Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau has thrown at him in recent postseasons, more than the Pacers' Frank Vogel conjured in the previous round.
• Chris Herrington of the Memphis Flyer: Jason Levien needs to shore up his public diplomacy: I have little doubt that Levien ran this move by players, minority owners, and others around the organization and knew a coaching change would not cause a revolt. But the Grizzlies are at once private enterprise and public trust, and the community needs a fuller and more personal explanation than the brief, antiseptic press release the team put out Monday night. Levien needs to explain this decision, in direct but polite terms. For better or worse — and I think it's some of both — this is a “speak to the Rotary Club, hobnob at the college football game, banter on the radio shows” kind of market. Incumbent general manager Chris Wallace, in addition to being a quality basketball man, had mastered this public role, one reason I always thought the new regime would have been wise to incorporate him more fully in the decision-making process and try to keep him around. Levien is a bright man undertaking a big job, but he needs work in this area. … This is about the future: This coaching change won't alter the Grizzlies' projection for next season in the minds of most who follow the NBA closely. Coaches matter, but rosters matter much more. What fans need to understand is that the Grizzlies were heading into a period of transition even without a coaching change. How the new ownership and front office manages this transition — not just this offseason but in the next couple as well — will determine their ultimate success or failure.
• John Smallwood of the Philadelphia Daily News: Sports agents should be afraid, very afraid. If reports are true and NBA superstar Kevin Durant, of the Oklahoma City Thunder, is about to the sign with Roc Nation Sports, a new playa has entered the field of sports representation, and he might be the best hustler of them all. … Apparently, Roc Nation didn't have to show its mettle before a legitimate superstar decided to climb on board. Durant is an NBA megastar. Besides LeBron James and Kobe Bryant, perhaps no NBA player has a higher global profile than the charismatic Durant. This could be a game-changer for Roc Nation Sports. Think about it. … The threat that Roc Nation Sports presents to the sports representation hierarchy is why I believe the NFL Players Association has accused Jay-Z, who is not yet licensed to be an agent, of acting in the role of a runner in the recruitment of Smith. NBA agents should be just as leery. After the 2013-14 season, superstar players such as James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, Paul George, Kyrie Irving, Dwyane Wade and John Wall will be in some sort of renegotiation position. Those players will be paying attention to what Roc Nation does to raise Durant's profile and fatten his bank account. If they like what they see, a lot of agents could have more than 99 problems as they watch clients jump ship for Jay-Z.
• Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald: While so much uncertainty dribbling around the Celtics these days — uh, heard any good Doc Rivers rumors lately? — the club is fully expecting to be improved in at least one position next season. Not only will they be better at point guard when Rajon Rondo returns from ACL surgery, but Danny Ainge believes this version of Rondo, when healthy, will be a notch above the one voted an Eastern Conference All-Star starter. The Celtics president of basketball operations knows that Rondo was paying attention when he was out, seeing how the team did better at first when not relying so heavily on one ballhandler and then noting how much he was missed during the postseason. “I think Rondo is a smart guy, and he got to see the strengths and weaknesses of our team and the players,” said Ainge. “I think he actually started to see it even before he was out, but when you’re out, you can see things in your team and your teammates that maybe you didn’t see before. You see players that are capable of doing some things that maybe you weren’t sure they could do. I think that’s always helpful. Doc and I have both talked to Rajon about what he can do to get better and what he needs to do. And Rondo’s a smart kid on his own. He doesn’t listen to everything you say, but he’s got his own ideas of what he can do to get better, as well. He’s very observant, very street-smart and very basketball-smart, too.”
• Doug Smith of the Toronto Star: Haven’t heard precisely why from anyone on the record but a planned free agent camp in Toronto this coming weekend has been cancelled. It wasn’t all that big a deal, a lot of projects in to see if the HOTH could find some summer league fodder – and perhaps some diamond in the rough – but it would have been the first chance for Dwane (Casey)and his staff to do any coaching under Masai’s general managership and now that’s not going to happen. It had been scheduled for weeks and I would think maybe Masai looked at the roster that’d been assembled, saw where he was in his own evaluation process and figured it wasn’t worth the hassle, or the cost, to get it done. And with the waves of uncertainty still washing over the franchise, I can see that making sense. Masai and Dwane still have to sit down and have some more heart-to-heart discussions (and that’s what Masai said would happen the day he was introduced), the coaching staff remains very much in limbo with less than three weeks until the contracts of all the assistants run out, and the front office and scouting staff still has to be assembled. One thing has to happen this week, I’d say. While I fully expect Dwane to stick around and that’s pretty much what Masai said that day in Toronto, I think some public pronouncement about the head coach and his staff is in order. There was just enough uncertainty out of that original news conference that no clear message was delivered; now that everyone’s in and settled, it’s time to clear everything up.
• Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times: The NBA wants to stop teams from tampering with soon-to-be free agents. Three franchises were nailed Monday, including the Atlanta Hawks and Houston Rockets for making it known that Dwight Howard and Chris Paul were on their offseason wish list. But several Bulls players wished the league luck trying to stop it. Taj Gibson said that Miami Heat star LeBron Jamestried to recruit him last offseason before Gibson and the Bulls agreed on an extension. Nazr Mohammed said recruiting is “happening everywhere with the players.’’ That’s what the NBA fears. The league can punish teams if it’s coming from the front office, but if it’s the players recruiting each other, good luck. “I know [the league office] doesn’t like to hear this, but ultimately it’s good for the league,’’ Mohammed said. “You got guys that like each other, want to play with each other. Why not? The collective-bargaining agreement is going to settle some of it, but guys are going to take huge paycuts to play with their friends.’’ Further evidence that Derrick Rose needs to start recruiting if he wants help.
• David Mayo of MLive.com: Dear Maurice Cheeks: Welcome to Detroit. Kind of. You've been in the NBA long enough to know the Detroit Pistons don't really play in Detroit. Not even in the same county as Detroit. Heck of a limo ride from the airport to the arena, isn't it? On the bright side, the team charter is housed in Pontiac, so there's that. Then, there's the job as Pistons head coach, which you accepted Monday. You get the same core time that Lawrence Frank got before you, three years with a team option for a fourth, neither of which he quite made. That's how it's been done around here for a while. The Pistons treat coaches the way their coaches should treat housing decisions: They rent, don't buy. You walk into a pretty good mess here but you also know there's some potential, if your bosses can talk some good players into taking all this money they have to spend. … The only way to sell it is to start winning. Except after years of losing culture, that isn't easy to do. I know it's a process, you know it's a process. But on the Pistons coaching plan, the process gets rewired every two years. Here's hoping you get more time. Best of luck, coach. It won't be easy. But nothing worth doing is, right?
• Dwight Jaynes of CSNNW.com: When I heard that Maurice Cheeks had landed another job as a head coach in the NBA, my instant reaction, quite honestly, was: "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" Followed by, "HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" Yes, really. This time it was the Detroit Pistons who were casual or naive enough in their job search to hire the man whom I consider, hands down, to be the worst coach in Trail Blazer history and probably one of the worst I've ever seen in the NBA. And while it's possible that no quality coach would accept that Detroit job, the Pistons could have done so much better. What's wrong with Cheeks, you say? Well, I've covered the NBA since the days when Jack Ramsay was roaming the Blazer sidelines in paisley pants. And I don't think since that time I've seen a coach as poorly informed, as casual about his duties and as lazy as Cheeks. NBA head coach? He should have been charged with identity theft. … There's a chance this franchise is on the upswing. Maybe Cheeks, in his tenure as an assistant at Oklahoma City, has learned some lessons. We shall see. So good luck, Detroit. I'll be watching. And trying to keep from giggling.
• Mac Engel of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Since Mark Cuban bought the Mavs no one in the NBA has leaned on the league for a better product, from the fan experience to the refs to now - no flopping. Refs in the NBA have sucked for years, they still do, because it's an impossible job and the only good ref is the one you don't notice. It's odd - when the Mavs won the NBA title in 2011, the refs were incredible. Probably just a coincidence. Now Cuban is working on the widespread epidemic of NBA flopping by granting $100K to SMU to solve this massive crisis. Only there is no solution, even the best player Cuban agrees this is a fruitless exercise. "I think we're trying; you're never going to get rid of it but you have to limit it," Dirk Nowitzki told a small group of reporters on Monday at a Dallas YMCA. "I think it's also part of sports. In any sports, it's a part. It's part of winning. Some people are smart; some people do a little extra thing to sell a call. To me, that's part of sports. You don't want to be obvious; the really, really bad ones you'd love to get rid of those. But if someone does get shoved or hit a little bit, just to sell it to the referees gives the call, I don't have a problem with that. That's part of the game. But the really obvious when there is nothing happening, and he doesn't get hit and he falls down, we do need to eliminate those." Even with the NBA issuing stiffer fines against the floppers, nothing has really stopped guys who are getting grazed turning the ensuing reaction into a cannon shot to the face. Because, as Dirk says, it's part of sports.
• Mary Schmitt Boyer of The Plain Dealer: Kentucky center Nerlens Noel will visit the Cavaliers on June 20, a source confirmed to The Plain Dealer on Tuesday. The date has been rumored in various media outlets, but the Cavs do not announce their pre-draft interview schedule and would not confirm the appointment. The Cavs have the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft on June 27, and Noel has been rumored to be the likely No. 1 choice, although he tore his anterior cruciate ligament in February. Reportedly he also broke the growth plate in the same knee in high school. … Should Noel not be the No. 1 pick, other options could be Kansas' Ben McLemore, Georgetown's Otto Porter Jr., UNLV's Anthony Bennett or Indiana's Victor Oladipo. The Cavs, who have stated they intend to make the playoffs next season, also could look at trading the pick to bring in a veteran or to move down in the draft.
• Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer: David Falk, the agent for Georgetown’s Otto Porter, confirmed to the Observer by text message Tuesday that Porter will only work out for the top three teams in the draft. That means the Bobcats at No. 4 won’t get a visit from Porter. It also suggests the Washington Wizards, with the third pick, are the floor for where Porter will land in the June 27 NBA draft. The Wizards have a strong need for a small forward, and Porter’s ties to the Washington area, via Georgetown, make him a logical selection for the Wizards. If Porter is off the board before the Bobcats pick, then they will have access to at least two of four other top prospects: Nerlens Noel of Kentucky, Ben McLemore of Kansas, Anthony Bennett of Nevada-Las Vegas and Victor Oladipo of Indiana.
• John Rohde of The Oklahoman: Pittsburgh center Steven Adams posted the above video of his trip to Oklahoma City on June 2 after his physical exam with the Thunder and the day before his workout with the team. Adams planned to share a video of the Thunder’s world-class facility and any OKC players he might come across. However, All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook advised Adams not to do so. Adams complied and now knows the protective ways of the Thunder. While many organizations are more than happy to share workout information, no such luck with the Thunder, which will always be clandestine in its approach under general manager Sam Presti.

• Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News: It took the Heat the better part of seven quarters, but they finally gave the Spurs a taste of their awesome open-court power with a 33-5 run to blow Game 2 open and even the Finals at 1-1. They did so by feasting on 17 turnovers for 19 points — a huge turnaround from Game 1, in which the Spurs tied a Finals record with four turnovers leading to eight Heat points. The Heat improved to 4-0 following Game 1 losses in the LeBron James era. James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade didn’t play particularly well, coming 25 points short of their combined season scoring average. But they were better than Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, who shot 10 for 33 with more turnovers (nine) than assists (eight). Add Kawhi Leonard going 4 for 12, and the Spurs’ hot outside shooting -- they made 10 3-pointers, including five without a miss from Danny Green -- could keep them afloat for only so long. “They just ran us over,” Ginobili said. … Miami’s in-house reporter, Couper Moorhead, refers to the Heat’s turnover-fueled frenzies as “Omega Swarms.” They entered that mode late in the third quarter, flipping what had been to a 62-61 deficit into a 94-67 advantage over the course of little more than eight minutes stretching into the fourth quarter. The Spurs missed 8 of 10 shots with six turnovers during that span, while Miami went 12 for 13 to take the first double-digit lead in the series for either team. … The message was received as Duncan conceded that the Spurs no longer have momentum even as they head home for three straight. “Not after tonight,” he said. “I think they regained that. Obviously we are glad to win a game here in Game 1. We have three at home, and we’re excited about that. But if we play like we did tonight, it’s not going to matter.”
• Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel: The box score offered no delineation about a Big Three or a Chosen One. The shots were evenly distributed, as were the points, five players in double figures, two more with nine. So now the victories in this series are evenly distributed, as well. The NBA Finals are tied 1-1 heading to San Antonio for the next three. Heat 103, Spurs 84. Yet after this Sunday night performance atAmericanAirlines Arena, it could be argued that the Heat lead 1-1. In the wake of a Game 1 nail-biter, the Heat produced a Game 2 blowout. After Thursday's series opener, the question was how the Heat would solve Spurs guard Tony Parker. Now San Antonio takes flight with a wide range of concerns. Because it's not as simple as stopping LeBron James, which the Spurs did rather effectively for stretches Sunday, on what turned into his 7-of-17, 17-point night. It's accounting for Ray Allen and Mike Miller on the wing. It's stopping Dwyane Wade, and, yes, Mario Chalmers off the dribble. It's trying to keep Chris Bosh from retaining this double-double confidence. … For weeks now, we've waited for the support system to make it easier on LeBron, to ease the pain in Wade's knee, to help bolster Bosh's confidence. Then came this: When Chalmers was doing his Danny Green imitation, which, in Sunday's case, was a very good and very important thing, the duo, shockingly, their teams' leading scorers. When Miller turned into NBA Finals Mike Miller, sort of the Cadbury Easter Egg of June, available only for a limited period. When Allen answered all those questions from the earlier rounds of, "Why Ray Allen?" When Chris Andersen delivered a chorus of Birdman! Birdman!! Birdman!!!
• Ethan J. Skolnick of the Palm Beach Post: This is why he’s here. And this is why, with the Heat holding his $4 million option this summer, he’ll stick around. This is what makes him different, what makes his value impossible to measure by conventional statistics, what allows the Heat to tolerate his lapses in concentration, his consistent inconsistency. This is what Mario Chalmers does. This, at this point, is who he is. “You can’t teach that quality, that big-game guts,” coach Erik Spoelstra said after Chalmers catalyzed the Heat’s 103-84 victory in Game 2 of the NBA Finals. You can’t teach, and you don’t question. Not at this stage. Not on this stage. Not after he etched himself into Kansas history, with the shot that sent the NCAA Final to overtime. Not after he scored 18 points in Game 6 of the 2011 NBA Finals against Dallas, nearly saving the Heat after Spoelstra waited too long to re-insert him as a starter. Not after he scored 25 points in Game 4 of the 2012 NBA Finals against Oklahoma City, supplying Miami with the secondary offense to take control of the series. Not after his strong play against Indiana in the 2013 Eastern Conference finals, picking up some of the slack for the struggling Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. And certainly not after what he did Sunday night, with 19 points, no turnovers and a plus-30.
• David Mayo of MLive.com: When the Detroit Pistons officially announce Maurice Cheeks as their new head coach at a press conference early this week, the man whose third-year job referendum is a central focus of this change finally will take the stage in a public setting. Joe Dumars hasn't said much publically lately, and we're all still awaiting scheduling of the Pistons' annual postseason press conference, but the impact of this summer on his long-term restructuring plot has hit the rubber-meets-road point. The Pistons' president of basketball operations broke down a roster, through trades and expired contracts, and ultimately pushed for a coaching change with owner Tom Gores because he didn't want the Pistons' 2013-14 season -- the one on which his own job performance the last two years ultimately will be gauged -- falling to a coach whose hiring he didn't back in the first place. … It didn't go well last time and most general manager types wouldn't last long enough for a do-over all these years later. But most GM types didn't build a team that played in six consecutive conference finals. That era quickly is dwindling into a Once Upon a Time fable, but With Dumars' own fate tied so closely to next season, when his performance in the Gores era finally can be judged fairly, he earned this right to select who pulls the Pistons' game strings.
• Howard Beck of The New York Times: The Nets, in search of a coach to secure their future, are reaching into their past. Jason Kidd, whose arrival in 2001 transformed the franchise from laughingstock to contender, has placed his name in the candidate pool, according to a person briefed on the team’s coaching search. Kidd retired last week at age 40, after 19 seasons. His coaching aspirations were well known, although his decision to pursue a head coaching position so soon was a bit of a surprise. … It is unclear how seriously the Nets are considering Kidd, or how they will weigh his inexperience as a coach against his reputation as a leader and basketball savant. Kidd was known throughout his career as a highly intelligent player and a virtual coach on the court. The other top candidates include Lionel Hollins, the Memphis Grizzlies’ head coach, and Brian Shaw, the associate head coach of the Indiana Pacers.
• Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee: The Kings have been granted permission to interview Denver vice president of basketball operations Pete D'Alessandro in their search for a new leader of their basketball operations. An interview has not been scheduled, but could be as early as today. D'Alessandro worked with former Denver general manager Masai Ujiri. Ujiri won NBA Executive of the Year this season. … If D'Alessandro were to leave Denver, it would continue an offseason of upheaval. Besides Ujiri leaving, George Karl was fired last week. He was this season's Coach of the Year. D'Alessandro has spent three seasons with Denver. This season was his first as vice president after serving in an advisory role. D'Alessandro's focus was on trade and free-agent negotiations, salary cap management and collective bargaining agreement rules and regulations. Before joining the Nuggets, D'Alessandro worked for the Warriors' assistant general manager and director of basketball operations from 2004-08.
• Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald: Doc Rivers’ tie with Garnett, in particular, is as strong as any player-coach relationship in the league. Gregg Popovich has something this strong with Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan, and that example is probably the only one left in this increasingly transient league. Garnett always has policed the locker room for Rivers, whose own credibility as a leader has rested on the Hall of Famer’s clout with teammates. It really wasn’t that long ago when Rivers nursed a perpetual headache courtesy of the locker room damage done by bad chemistry guys like Ricky Davis and Mark Blount. Even Pierce wasn’t quite a unifying force before Garnett’s arrival. Rivers now has to be wondering about a locker room controlled by Rajon Rondo. The mercurial guard, to his credit, has been working the room. Avery Bradley, Jeff Green and Courtney Lee all happily follow him. But there’s a great unknown with Rondo. He’s moody, hasn’t always got along with Rivers, and has an indefatigable stubborn streak. Save for an unlikely major trade that would allow the Celtics to re-tool on the fly in exchange for the loss of Pierce and Garnett, a Rondo locker room will signal deep rebuilding.
• John Mtchell of The Philadelphia Inquirer: One by one, the recycled names that come up every year - the ones that this year the 76ers were whispered to be interested in as their next coach - have come off the board. … So, what does this mean for the Sixers? Perhaps that president of basketball operations and general manager Sam Hinkie is going to go outside of the box, by choice or by necessity, in naming the first coach he will ever hire. After all, with desirable destinations such as Brooklyn, Denver, the Los Angeles Clippers (and maybe Memphis) searching for coaches, rest assured that the Sixers, unlike the Eagles and Michael Vick, are certain where they stand on a desirability depth chart of the remaining vacancies around the league. In the limited contact local media members have had with Hinkie - surely you have noticed how scarce the Sixers have made the former Houston Rockets assistant general manager - he has established what appears to be a meticulous route to what will be a career-defining hire for him. … When Hinkie finally does make a decision, he will be completely tied to his success or failure. If it is the latter, at some point the question will be raised whether or not (and why) he waited so long to pull the trigger or whether or not he outsmarted the pack and knew exactly what he was doing.
• Bob Finnan of The News-Herald: The Cavaliers have kept their eye on Maryland 7-foot-1, 255-pound center Alex Len. They like him a lot. Do they like him enough to take him with the No. 1 pick? He won't be working out for any teams before the draft because he had surgery on a stress fracture in his left ankle, but he can meet with them. "I'm trying to be proactive and do the right things," Len said. "I want to be smart about it. I don't want to hurt it. When the doctors say I'm ready to play, then I'll play. "It's hard. You want to be out there and show scouts what you can do. It sucks to not be out there." Scouts have compared him to former Cavs center Zydrunas Ilgauskas. "I watched him while I was growing up," Len said. "He's really famous overseas. He played in Cleveland for almost 15 years. I like his style of play. He has good size. He can step out and shoot. It's similar to my game."
• Michael Lee of The Washington Post: The Wizards will finally begin to meet candidates for the third overall selection on Wednesday, when UNLV freshman forward Anthony Bennett will visit with the team for the first time at Verizon Center. … Most draft boards have the Wizards selecting Georgetown sophomore forward Otto Porter with the No. 3 pick, but the team remains split on which direction to go, according to league sources with knowledge of the situation. Porter will meet with the Wizards on Thursday and work out the next day. An Eastern Conference assistant general manager said Porter is the “safest” pick of the two but added that Bennett has a “much bigger upside” while being a “riskier” choice. “The hard thing for me is not knowing Bennett’s physical since he didn’t take one in Chicago,” the executive said. “But if it’s fine, then I would take Bennett.” A Western Conference assistant general manager disagreed, preferring Porter over Bennett. The executive argued that Bennett will be a bench player similar to Brandon Bass, Rodney Rogers or Corliss Williamson, while Porter could be a complementary, starting small forward like Tayshaun Prince or Shane Battier for a “dynamic back court” in Wall and Bradley Beal.
• Craig Grialou of ArizonaSports.com: Finding a player to draft with the fifth overall pick is not difficult -- the number of options may make it difficult, but even the most casual college basketball fan can tell you who the top players were in a given season. Now, finding a player late in the draft, say No. 30 or No. 57, picks the Suns own this year, that takes a real basketball junkie. Enter Suns GM Ryan McDonough, who is preparing for his 11th NBA Draft. "As you go later in the draft, the pool widens," he said. "It's a challenge, but I enjoy it." Good players, even star players, can be found in the back half of the draft. McDonough, celebrating his first month on the job, has had success finding those gems. He was part of a Boston Celtics front office staff that landed Kendrick Perkins in 2003 (27th overall), Delonte West and Tony Allen in 2004 (24th and 25th overall), Rajon Rondo in 2006 (21st overall) and Glen Davis in 2007 (35th overall). "The good teams hit in the 20s and the 30s every year, the playoff teams," McDonough said. "That's how San Antonio and Boston, some of those teams have sustained their level. There are good players there."
• Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times: Maybe it was merely a coincidence. Then, again, maybe it wasn’t. When the Milwaukee Bucks hired Larry Drew as their head coach last week, he may have received a boost from two of the team’s best players: power forward Ersan Ilyasova and center Larry Sanders. Both of those players are represented by Andy Miller, one of the NBA’s most powerful and influential agents. While player agents are prohibited from “representing” coaches — in an apparent attempt to avoid a conflict of interest — they can circumvent the rule by being “advisors.” Miller has served in an advisory role for Drew in the past and has a close relationship with him. Additionally, Miller’s agency represents Larry Drew II, the Bucks’ coach’s son who was UCLA’s starting point guard last season. Miller and his agency represent several other players in this year’s draft as well, including Sergey Karasev, a 6-foot-7 small forward from Russia. The Bucks have the 15th overall pick and are believed to have more than a passing interest in him.
• Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman: Tony Allen wants to rejuvenate his Oklahoma roots. Wish that meant Allen signing a cut-rate contract with the Thunder. That would be mighty fine for those of us who enjoy big-time NBA basketball. Instead, Allen is going a more humanitarian route. He's hosting a basketball camp at his old haunt of Gallagher-Iba Arena. And Allen is footing the bill for the Grit & Grind Basketball Skills Academy from July 29-31 in Stillwater. For $4,000, Allen is renting the coliseum in which he once starred. “Just looking at how I came up, pretty much started in Oklahoma,” said Allen, who went to high school at Chicago's Crane Tech, then played at two junior colleges before landing at OSU. “Great times in Stillwater,” Allen said, of making the 2004 Final Four. “Feel like jump-started my career.”

The Heat get all kinds of strong emotions going, that's for sure. To some that means asserting that they are chronically flawed and need to make changes if they don't win a title every year. To others it means saying the Heat are bad for the league because nobody else can compete.

Well, how has this Superfriends roster done? Addressing either assertion comes down to that.

Playoff wins over the past three years

To make it as simple as possible, I just looked up the playoff win totals for the whole NBA over the past three years, as of today, the day after the conference finals. Yes, that time frame will make the Heat look good. But that's the roster we're trying to assess, right? And postseason wins are a key measure; 16 of them in the same year is a championship. Here's where we stand:

• Heat: 42
• Thunder: 27
• Spurs: 24
• Grizzlies: 18
• Pacers: 18
• Celtics: 18
• Mavericks: 16
• Bulls: 16
• Hawks: 10
• Lakers: 9
• Sixers: 8
• Knicks: 7
• Warriors: 6
• Nuggets: 6
• Clippers: 6
• Nets: 3
• Rockets: 2
• Hornets: 2
• Blazers: 2

At 42-18 the Heat have won 70 percent of the postseason games they have played. (Amazingly, the 24-10 Spurs have a slightly better postseason winning percentage -- thanks to the weird combination of two deep playoff runs, and one first-round exit that reduced their opportunities to drag their average down with 4-3 and 4-2 series wins.)

Is 42 wins a good number?
You'd have to have insanely high expectations to have pictured them doing any better. Indeed, they've lost just one playoff series, the 2011 Finals to the Mavericks. The Heat also have about 17 percent of the whole NBA's postseason wins. Think about that. If some team won a playoff game over past three years, it's a one in six chance that team was the Heat. Over time you'd expect a team to have a 30th of the league's wins. They have about five times their fair share in this period.

Could they be better?
No team is perfect, so I assume the answer is yes. Clearly they have missed many times in trying to find the optimal players to put around LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. I'd be interested to know how often in NBA history any team has won 10 of 11 series. Of course it has happened -- even in recent years the Bulls and Lakers have won three straight titles. But it's not common.

Who else is contending these days?
Looks to me like you could draw a line under the Bulls. Every team above that belongs in the conversation.

Is anybody else doing it better?
These days? Not even close. That's the thing about this super simple analysis. Of course, it misses a lot of nuance. But when the results hit you over the head like this, there simply isn't room for nuance to change the conversation much when the Heat have nearly double the wins of the second-best franchise. Not even an injury to Russell Westbrook can account for that.

If the Heat lose to the Spurs, should they break up the team?
That seems crazy.

• Bob Kravitz of The Indianapolis Star: The Pacers season lives. The Pacers season lives because Roy Hibbert has become a dominant center in this league, having grown exponentially into a star in this postseason. With the game on the line, Hibbert was 10-feet tall, grabbing every offensive rebound, scoring at the basket, finishing with 23 points and 12 rebounds in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals. The Pacers season lives because Lance Stephenson is bloodless, because he has a sense of the moment, hitting big shots whenever the Pacers desperately needed one. A corner 3 at the buzzer at half. A crossover pull-up late. A runner late in the final minutes. The Pacers season lives because something very odd happened: LeBron James fouled out with 56 seconds left, just the second time he’s fouled out in 128 post-season games. “It was a couple of calls that I didn’t feel like were fouls, personal fouls on me,” James said. This will put a dent in all the small-market conspiracy theories. Either that, or the officials didn’t get the memo. The Pacers season lives because Indiana rediscovered its defensive and rebounding identity, and just in time.
• Dave Hyde of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel: And then LeBron James fouled out. This was new. This was unexpected in the final minute. This summed up how strange this strange end to Game 4 went for the Heat when LeBron made the long way to the bench with 56 seconds left for the first time in nearly a year. And then Dwyane Wade traveled. That was new, too. That was unexpected, too. And that call with 26 seconds left, also summed up how this final minute — how these final five minutes, really — went for the Heat. They scored three points in that final five-minute stretch. Three. That's it. That's how the Heat lost a three-point lead with five minutes left. That's how they lost an iron grip on this series, as it evened up at two games apiece in Indiana's 99-92 win. … For all the numbers thrown out of Game 4, the most interesting one might be 62 days. That's the last time the Heat lost on the road. It was in Chicago on March 27 that ended the Heat's 27-game win streak and, well, began a different one. Already, San Antonio is waiting for a dance partner. It will be a long wait until the Finals' June 6 start. So they'll be rested, ready, maybe a bit rusty and certainly rarin' to go with a lineup of proven champs. The Heat should join them. But it won't be Thursday in Game 5. Tuesday told us that much. This series goes on. Five dismal Heat minutes at the end decided that much.
• Mark Bradley of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Ask Danny Ferry about his plans to rebuild the Atlanta Hawks, and he'll speak one sentence three times in the course of a 10-minute conversation: "We want to get the basketball right." … By hiring Mike Budenholzer as coach, Ferry and the Hawks have taken a major step toward credibility. Over the past 15 years, which franchise has most consistently gotten the basketball right? The San Antonio Spurs, where Ferry played and worked. Where has Budenholzer been working as a lead assistant and de facto coach-in-waiting? With the San Antonio Spurs. He'll be introduced Wednesday at Philips Arena as the Hawks' new coach, and then he'll work with the Spurs through the NBA finals. Generally speaking, it's a good sign if you hire a coach away from a team that is playing for championships. … I've never met Mike Budenholzer, but I like this hire a lot. He worked under the best general manager (R.C. Buford) and the best coach (Gregg Popovich) in the business. If he was good enough for them, he'll be great for the Hawks. Ferry got this part of the basketball right. Now for free agency.
• Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel: Larry Drew's tenure as coach of the Atlanta Hawks officially ended Tuesday, when the team named San Antonio Spurs assistant Mike Budenholzer to replace Drew. That removes any obstacles the Milwaukee Bucks may face should they choose to hire Drew, the Hawks coach for the past three seasons. The 55-year-old Drew had remained under contract with Atlanta while being allowed to pursue other jobs, and he had an initial interview with the Bucks on May 20. Drew and Houston Rockets lead assistant Kelvin Sampson are finalists for the Bucks job and will have second interviews with Bucks officials on Wednesday. It's possible the Bucks will have a new coach in place this week, although team officials have not established a timetable for the hiring.
• Tim Bontemps of the New York Post: If the Nets want to speak to Lionel Hollins about their head coaching vacancy, they might have to wait a while. Speaking to reporters yesterday — a day after Memphis’ season ended with a four-game sweep at the hands of the Spurs in the Western Conference finals — Hollins said he doesn’t expect to be granted permission to speak to other teams before his contract expires on June 30. Hollins, who led the Grizzlies to a franchise record 56 wins this season and playoff series wins over the Clippers and Thunder, is considered the hottest coaching candidate on the market, with the Nets and Clippers — far and away the two best available jobs at the moment — expected to want to interview him. That would mean, however, Hollins would have to leave Memphis to take one of those jobs, something he said yesterday he would prefer not to do. “Hopefully, I’ll be here,” Hollins told the media. “I think they understand that I want to be back.”
• Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer: Former Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy was Steve Clifford’s boss for six years. He praises the Charlotte Bobcats’ next coach in all the predictable ways: Organized, detail-oriented, tactically innovative … Then you ask Van Gundy what is distinctive about Clifford’s profile. “What sets him apart is he can walk the line,” Van Gundy told the Observer Tuesday. “He’s a demanding guy, but he’s very, very good with people. He has an engaging personality.” The Bobcats are expected to formally announce Clifford as their sixth head coach Wednesday. People skills would be valuable to coaching any of the NBA’s 30 teams, but perhaps especially so to the roster Clifford will inherit. His predecessor, Mike Dunlap, was fired after a single season in the job. For all of Dunlap’s technical skill, his approach to personalities doomed him. His coarse personality often alienated some of his players. Clifford has to strike a balance between fixing a team with numerous deficiencies and tending to the morale of players who’ve gone 28-120 the past two seasons, worst in the NBA. Van Gundy, who worked with him from 2007 through 2012, says Clifford can pull that off.
• Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee: With the NBA Board of Governors unanimously approving the controlling share of the Kings to the new ownership group, the process of establishing a new era in Kings basketball figures to take shape quickly. The sale of the Kings to Vivek Ranadive's ownership group is expected to close by the end of the week. Ranadive might have figured out who he wants to run his team by the time the sale closes. There are several names being discussed to replace Geoff Petrie. Two prominent names have ties to the Golden State Warriors. Travis Schlenk is the Warriors assistant general manager/director of player personnel. Ranadive was a minority owner with the Warriors and would be familiar with Schlenk, who has the backing of the Warriors, including Jerry West and general manager Bob Myers. … Another name being pushed by some close to Ranadive is former Warriors star player and executive Chris Mullin. Mullin might bring name recognition to the position as a Hall of Fame player. It also wouldn't hurt that one of Ranadive's minority investors is Mullin's former teammate, Mitch Richmond.
• Mac Engel of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Mark Cuban’s plan is now a two-year plan, which means it originally was a four-year plan, which, when you break down all of the campaign hyperbole, it’s nothing more than a giant waste. If Cuban’s plan was pitched on his hit Friday night TV show, Shark Tank, the Sharks would banish him to Celebrity Apprentice. Sorry, Dirk. You deserved better. On Tuesday, Cuban appeared on the Mavericks flagship radio station — ESPN/103.3 FM — where he safely stated: “We want to be a championship team. We’ve never said we have to be a championship team this year.” Sure glad he cleared that up: Who wants to be a championship team this year? Apparently Cuban graduated from the DeLoss Dodds’ School of Lowered Expectations so we’ll appreciate the good times. The two years since the Mavs won their championship have successfully made us appreciate the good times, like the playoffs, relevance and a capable starting center (sorry, I can’t let that one go). They also have reinforced something that simply should never be taken for granted in the NBA — their superstar. Since Cuban entered the league, he had Dirk Nowitzki, a player so good he alone made the Mavs competitive. Few teams ever have a player of this caliber, and now Nowitzki’s final years are anchored by the notion his boss is smarter than everyone else. Sure hope he is right.
• Nick Groke of The Denver Post: Word leaked Tuesday that Denver Nuggets general manager Masai Ujiri said he was leaving for a new job with the Toronto Raptors. Only, it wasn’t actually Ujiri who said it, it was @MasaiUjiriGM — a fake Twitter account that since has been suspended. No big deal — it’s not the first fake Twitter account. Except, this time, the fake quote from the fake account spurred real NBC to post a real story that the real Ujiri was really leaving. The story — since taken down from NBC’s Pro Basketball Talk but cached here (for now) — still shows up high in a Google search. The reality is, Ujiri is not likely to make a decision — or announce his decision — until at least Wednesday. Josh Kroenke, Ujiri’s boss, doesn’t want to step on the toes of the Avalanche’s announcement Tuesday of Patrick Roy’s hiring, among other reasons.
• Darnell Mayberry, John Rohde and Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman: Do you think Martin will return next season? If not, why not? Mayberry: No. He's still capable of being one of the best scorers in the league, and some team could really use his services. Use them much more than the Thunder, which is not going to break the bank to keep a sixth man that was a forced fit. The Thunder has Reggie Jackson and Jeremy Lamb waiting in line, two players whose combined salaries are less than it likely would take to bring K-Mart back. And for all we know they both might be better suited for K-Mart's role than K-Mart was. Even if they're not ready today, Lamb and Jackson are in the early stages of their development. They're getting better while K-Mart's best days are behind him. Rohde: If Martin is on next year's roster, every Thunder fan should kiss his feet because he would be forfeiting multi-multi-millions. Other veterans have accepted minimum wage and it's expected to happen more frequently because of the severe tax penalties of the new CBA, but don't expect it to happen here. Tramel: I think Martin would like to return, and I think OKC would like him to return, but unless Martin is willing to play for a fraction of his worth – and even then, only with a one-year contract – then there's no way.
• Dave Dulberg of ArizonaSports.com: New general manager Ryan McDonough certainly answered Jared Dudley's wishes with the hire of Jeff Hornaceck, a consummate professional during both his 14-year NBA career and two-plus seasons on Tyrone Corbin's staff with the Utah Jazz. And for a player who will now be going on his third coach (Alvin Gentry, Lindsey Hunter and Hornacek) in under a year, Dudley didn't hold back his excitement. "We all remember Jeff as a player, how he was a great player and a hard-working player," Dudley said Tuesday. "Most of us that are my age, know him from [his days in] Utah. He was probably just as good a player in his prime when he was in Phoenix, but obviously in Utah he played against Jordan and had all those highlights. But he was an ex-player with the Suns, so it kind of brings that back full circle. It kind of creates a little bit more good buzz. Players like myself are excited, because we needed a little change... We're trying to build for the future." … In Dudley's eyes, hiring Hornacek infuses the franchise with new energy, but also reaffirms a need to get back to team-first basketball. "I definitely believe [this hire is good for me]," said Dudley.
• Bill Oram of The Salt Lake Tribune: It's well known that Jeff Hornacek didn't dunk. He made a point of saying so Tuesday. The point was that he made it in the NBA as unassuming, hard-working, not-particularly-showy pro. But that doesn't mean he didn't try. Hornacek told the story of the one-time attempted a dunk in an NBA game, and it's a doozie. First of all, Hornacek claimed he could dunk, a fact he tried to demonstrate early in his career in Phoenix. Here's his account: "We had this one game, I think we were playing Washington and I think we were up by about 30. When I played here, we were high flying. We happened to go down on a fast break and Kevin [Johnson] had the ball. Tom Chambers was on one wing and I was on the other and I go, 'I feel great tonight.' I said if Kevin throws me this ball I'm going to dunk it. He threw it to Tom and Tom dunked So we're running down the floor and I told Kevin, 'If you'd given it to me I was going to dunk it. It just happened to be there was no break in the action and we ran up and down the court about six times and then I stripped the guy and go in. Now after about six straight sprints, I go up and bang it off the back of the rim. The bench is on the ground laughing, the ball bounces up, we get the ball back, I slid out to the 3-point line and made the 3-point shot. So I always say, 'Oh, I just wanted the extra point.'" It's somehow perfect that Hornacek's only career dunk was also a 3-pointer.
• John N. Mitchell of The Philadelphia Inquirer: It's been three weeks since the 76ers hired Sam Hinkie as president of basketball operations and general manager, and things have been unusually quiet for a team that has yet to hire a coach with less than one month remaining before the NBA draft. The Sixers are one of six teams looking for a coach, the other vacancies being in Brooklyn, Milwaukee, Sacramento, Detroit, and Los Angeles (the Clippers). … Coaches in whom the Sixers were believed to be interested have been hired in Cleveland (Mike Brown), Atlanta (Mike Budenholzer), and Phoenix (Jeff Hornacek). Sixers associate head coach Michael Curry, who has been endorsed by players Jrue Holiday and Evan Turner, has emerged as a candidate in Milwaukee, where it was recently reported that he had an interview. Curry has yet to interview for the Sixers, who, according to sources, have yet to interview a candidate for the job. Despite the activity of other teams and the approaching June 27 draft, Hinkie, who according to sources spent the Memorial Day weekend in Houston with his family, spent much of last week continuing the process of familiarizing himself with team personnel.

Of all the things coaches hate, globally televised boneheaded mistakes surely top the list.

They happen.

Not even the most veteran are immune. Derek Fisher inbounded a crunch-time ball to the other team in these playoffs. Manu Ginobili shot an early-clock covered long 3-pointer that almost cost the San Antonio Spurs a game.

But, by and large, the spectacularly mindless moments, the ones that get Shaquille O'Neal mocking you in custom video from an Atlanta studio, are the province of the young.

Think JaVale McGee.

That's why so many teams keep young players stapled to the bench in big moments.

But there's an oddity: Those very same McGees tend to have valuable things like superactivity and bodies from basketball heaven.

In the final analysis, who's better for your team: an active and mistake-prone dude, or a fundamentally but athletically compromised guy?

The old guys keep everyone from looking stupid. But sophisticated numbers suggest that even with all their missed rotations and biting-on-fakes, the youngsters like McGee are very often better at, you know, winning.

Remember Zach Lowe's insight into the Toronto Raptors from Grantland earlier this season? The Raptors have their own young, mistake-prone guy, Jonas Valanciunas:

Valanciunas, like most rookies, misses rotations, overhelps, and commits other sins of positioning on defense. Coaches hate that stuff, and they've often nailed Valanciunas to the bench in crunch time in favor of Aaron Gray -- a fundamentally sound player who lacks NBA athleticism.

The numbers in large part disagree with that tactic, at least as it relates to Valanciunas's defense. The Raptors' defense has been better with Valanciunas on the floor. More importantly, the visualization data shows that Valanciunas is active and athletic enough to make up for all his defensive mistakes, Rucker and his team say.

"With Jonas -- yeah, he's making mistakes," Boyarsky says. "But who cares?"

Casey said he hasn't had deep discussions with the analytics team about Valanciunas, but Sterner has, and he agreed it's sometimes a thorny issue of valuing culture over results. "You want your defense to be sound," Sterner says. "Even though the production might be better, you still want [Valanciunas] doing the right thing.

This is a trend

Coaches are playing "correct" Grays over "still learning" Valanciunases all over the league. It satisfies a coach's sense of order and control. Every coach wants his team to play the right way -- which is not so different from following coach's orders. Without that, what's the point of having a coach?

Meanwhile, the guy who plays the "wrong" way often helps his team more, thanks to the many advantages of youth.

It's a dilemma that trips up many NBA head men. But not Gregg Popovich.

The story is that the Spurs' front office keeps feeding Popovich NBA-ready role players, and by the time his team's in the Western Conference finals, he can confidently trot out Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green, Tiago Splitter, Gary Neal, Cory Joseph and the like, who are all both young enough to be in their athletic primes and schooled and experienced enough to do things the right way.

Nice. Decisive, even. Lucky.

Young Spurs play, produce

Only it's not luck at all!

Popovich gets the same unproven players every team gets -- in fact, he gets worse ones. The Spurs haven't had a lottery pick since Tim Duncan in 1997. Nevertheless, he plays young players relentlessly and aggressively all season long. He plays young unproven players when his team is ahead. He plays them when his team is behind. He plays them when his team is in first place and when they're in last. He plays them in all four quarters and in overtime. And, most importantly, he does it season after season.

Splitter was once the Spurs' Valanciunas, if you will -- only the kind you draft 28th overall instead of fifth. Splitter has started 66 games for an elite team and has played close to 4,000 NBA minutes. Popovich has had plenty of time to make clear what he wants from his big man. By crunch time of a conference finals elimination game, coach and player had built so much trust that Splitter was not just on the court, but was the linchpin of the Spurs' successful campaign to thwart the pound-it-into-Zach Randolph Memphis Grizzlies.

Splitter was much bigger and gave Randolph fits.

"The irony of Zach," David Thorpe, ESPN.com NBA analyst and executive director of the Pro Training Center in Clearwater, Fla., said, "is that while he's not athletic, he is better against very athletic defenders. He's all fakes, feel, pins. Get him against an athlete like Blake Griffin, and he'll murder him. Really long guys like Splitter, though, who don't have to jump … Randolph can't counter that. And his impulse was to take Splitter closer to the hoop, but that close Splitter's length becomes even more useful, and there was help almost every time. Zach just had a little tiny bit of space to operate. It was a huge factor in deciding the series."

That's the kind of advantage Popovich develops for himself, and this is hardly a one-off.

In 2001-02, the Spurs were a 58-win contender with an unconventional 19-year-old rookie French point guard who couldn't really shoot, didn't rack up a lot of assists, was undersized and didn't play great defense. Any coach would have benched Tony Parker while he was learning, and it's no secret why. I'm not sure I can recall a coach more openly exasperated with Parker than Popovich was that season.

But you know what Popovich did? He played Parker more minutes that season than Parker played this season -- when he was an MVP candidate -- saying all along that he wanted to see if Parker could develop into the kind of player he knew he could become.

If you believe Thorpe's talk of "royal jelly," Popovich's minutes and belief played starring roles in the development of all the Spurs' talented young players. In other words, it's likely Parker would not have turned out as fantastic now without all that learning on the job back then.

This season, Green led the Spurs in minutes played. Splitter, Leonard and Neal all logged more minutes than Ginobili. It's about keeping the stars fresh, which is crucial. And it's about developing the young corps. The right way to distribute minutes is up and down the roster. When you get it right, you can end up with fresh veterans and trusted young players, both of whom can work wonders.

Grizzlies timid with young role players

Memphis coach Lionel Hollins, meanwhile, does things like most NBA coaches and has come to trust few of the Grizzlies youngsters. Darrell Arthur and Quincy Pondexter have developed into rotation players on the job. Ed Davis, Donte Greene, Austin Daye, Tony Wroten, Jon Leuer and Company, however, well, we'll never know if they could have helped against the Spurs.

When they got to play together, the Grizzlies starters with Davis in place of Randolph comprised one of the most effective units in the NBA, by plus/minus. Davis is long and athletic and offers help defense and rim protection that Randolph does not. Although the Grizzlies weren't good in Davis' almost 11 minutes in the conference finals, to the naked eye, Davis is far better than Randolph at containing Parker in the pick-and-roll, which turned out to be a key Randolph shortcoming in the series. Davis also has a track record, born in Toronto, where he played regularly, of finishing around the rim at an even more efficient rate than Randolph.

That doesn't make him a better player, but it does make it a shame Hollins couldn't deploy him confidently to mix things up as the series fell apart. Different looks were precisely what the Grizzlies needed. Hollins only had Davis for 36 games after he arrived via the Rudy Gay trade, however, and he only played him an average of about 15 minutes per game. When push came to shove, Hollins didn't know what to expect.

And the conference finals is no time to experiment. Although … Did you happen to catch Leuer in Game 3? It was like seeing an antelope wander onto a Hollywood movie set. Where did he come from? He plays for the Grizzlies, by the way. Or, more accurately, he has been on the Grizzlies roster since January. Does 96 minutes over 41 regular-season games -- or 11 minutes over 15 playoff games -- count as "playing?" That's a tad south of two minutes per contest, all told. The Grizzlies got him to shoot 3s -- something he didn't play long enough to do in these playoffs.

Hollins just coached the Grizzlies to the best season in team history. His team was well prepared for every game and, in an important measure of any coaching staff, has played gritty defense every minute of every game for years. Nothing is broken in Memphis.

But when it comes to the fine art of turning prospects into producers, Popovich's aggressive youth-friendly approach is the standard. Popovich has missed with some young players, but he has also hit the bull's-eye more than once, and it's made all the difference.

Ethan Sherwood Strauss and Graydon Gordian on what the Spurs got right, and what's next for the Grizzlies.

• Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News: It began as a pact between the two longest-tenured Spurs, on one of the darker nights in franchise history. The Spurs had just lost Game 6 of the Western Conference finals against Oklahoma City last June, completing a collapse from up 2-0. The sweat and tears were still wet when Tony Parker pulled Tim Duncan aside and made a promise. “I promised him we're going to go back to the Finals,” Parker said, “and have an opportunity to win the whole thing.” Monday night at Memphis' FedExForum, site of another now-forgotten Spurs playoff pratfall, Parker delivered on his vow. His season-high 37 points propelled the Spurs to a 93-86 victory over the Grizzlies in Game 4 of this year's conference finals, finishing an unexpected sweep and ticketing Duncan for a return to NBA's championship stage six years after he last exited it. It will mark the Spurs' fifth trip to the Finals, all with Gregg Popovich as coach and Duncan as centerpiece, and their first since 2007. The previous four have ended in championships, a success rate the Spurs would like to maintain when this year's Finals open June 6 against either Miami or Indiana. “It feels like it's been forever since we've been to this point. We've been on the verge of getting here,” said the 37-year-old Duncan. … Along with center Tiago Splitter, Duncan again served as the foundation for a Spurs defensive effort that flummoxed Zach Randolph, the Grizzlies' All-Star forward, into a 4-of-13 shooting night. It was essentially the story of the series for Randolph, who ended the closeout game with 13 points and eight rebounds. The Spurs limited the Grizzlies to 37.2-percent shooting and outscored them by 20 points in the paint.
• Ronald Tillery of The Commercial-Appeal: Center Marc Gasol walked toward the Grizzlies’ bench midway through the third quarter and used an open right hand to smack the scorer’s table with the force and precision of an uncontested tomahawk score. The show of frustration was about the only thing that resembled a slam dunk for the Griz throughout the entire Western Conference Finals. Memphis found it as difficult to score Monday night in a 93-86 Game 4 loss to the San Antonio Spurs as it had all series. The Griz, who struggled to make point-range baskets and free throws, shot just 37 percent as the Spurs completed a 4-0 sweep in the best-of-seven series. “They came out, they had a game plan and they stuck to it through the whole series,” Griz coach Lionel Hollins said. “They didn’t let us come up for air at all. We had a couple of chances in the two overtime games. We had a chance tonight. But they earned the win. They deserved to move on.” San Antonio now awaits the winner of the Eastern Conference Finals between Miami and Indiana.
• Greg Cote of The Miami Herald: Even noted basketball expert Sarah Palin, attending Miami’s Game 3 win here Sunday, likely spoke for many outside Miami watching this series in saying, “The Pacers have this tenacious, scrappy, underdog persona that everybody’s going to root for.” The old misperceptions are pushed away, though, a little at a time, replaced by elbows and sweat. Gradually, increasingly, the Heat should be seen as a team of great adaptability. “Whatever it takes,” as coach Erik Spoelstra reminded again Monday. Miami is still and foremost the top-heavy team with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh as a starting point, but here is what must be debilitating to opponents. While you cannot out-talent or out-skill the Heat, you cannot outwork or out-want them, either. (Ever notice that Heat and Heart are very close to the same word?) You cannot out-blue collar this team. Just when you think of Miami as represented by a spectacular alley-oop dunk, it is diving for a loose ball to remind that the franchise culture is rooted in defense first. The Heat does not do underdog, no, but Miami concedes nothing in the arena of tenacious and scrappy. This thoroughbred can be a mudder when needed.
• Mike Wells of The Indianapolis Star: The Indiana Pacers spent most of the regular season at the top of the defensive rankings. They made things miserable for their opposition. Inside or out, it didn’t matter. Their physicality made it tough for teams to score in the paint, and their wing defenders were good enough to contest shots from behind the 3-point line. But the Pacers have run into a different kind of offensive machine in the Eastern Conference finals; one that has made them look like an ordinary defensive team in two of the first three games in the series. The Miami Heat don’t have a center they dump the ball to in the post; their best low-post presence is the small forward. The Heat space the court with five players on the perimeter. And in their two victories in the series, the Heat haven’t had a difficult time scoring in the paint despite Pacers 7-2 center Roy Hibbert anchoring the middle. It’s up to the Pacers coaching staff to come up with a way to slow down a Miami offense that put on a clinic in its Game 3 victory on Sunday. “It’s probably the most difficult offense to prepare for in the NBA,” Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. “That’s the challenge we have ahead of us. I have great confidence in our ability to make up for the areas we were lacking in (Sunday).”
• Staff of the Chicago Tribune: John Paxson says Derrick Rose received unfair criticism for not returning to action this season and believes the Chicago Bulls star will benefit from the work he did on his body during his time away. Paxson, the Bulls' executive vice president of basketball operations, told WSCR-AM 670 on Sunday that Rose "took a lot of unfair shots" from critics who felt he should have returned late in the regular season or during the playoffs. "It's the way of the world now, the social media, everything that goes on," Paxson said. "Everybody wants to point a finger and blame and accuse and that kind of stuff. And the reality is, Derrick and us, we were all on the same page from the beginning. If he was ready to play mentally and physically, he was going to play. It didn't happen this year." Paxson said Rose will continue his rehab work during the offseason and will be an even better player when he returns as a result.
• Mike Ganter of the Toronto Sun: And now we wait. We wait to see whether the challenge of turning around a Raptors franchise, not to mention a pay hike that is a once in a lifetime thing for only the most unique among us, is enough to offset whatever loyalty or sense of unfinished business is presumably pulling at Masai Ujiri to stay in Denver. By all accounts MLSE's Tim Leiweke has made his best pitch to the Nigerian-born Ujiri. Denver too has come in with its best pitch. Now it’s up to Ujiri. Stay with the team that gave him not just one, but two huge career breaks or return to Toronto where he earned his first management role going from head of international scouting to assistant general manager. Denver was the first NBA team to actually pay him for his basketball expertise. He was a non-paid scout for Orlando when Denver brought him into the fold. Four years later it was off to Toronto where he began as director of global scouting before being promoted to Bryan Colangelo’s assistant general manager.
• Kurt Kragthorpe of The Salt Lake Tribune: In leaving the Jazz’s coaching staff to take over the Suns, Hornacek is returning to the organization that he helped climb out of depths in the 1980s, and is downtrodden again. So this is where it gets interesting: Hornacek and Tyrone Corbin are in fairly similar positions — or soon will be. The Suns are bad; the Jazz are doomed to get worse before they get better. So we’ll find out who’s the better builder. … Watching him work in Phoenix will be fascinating. Jazz fans can only hope his success does not come at great expense to their team - as measured by how the Suns compete against the Jazz in the West and by how much his absence is noticed in Utah.
• Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic: Experience is no precursor for a coach’s capability to lift a franchise. The Charlotte Observer studied a decade of NBA coaching replacements for teams coming off losing seasons. It found that coaches with no prior head-coaching experience had more appreciable success (11 of 20) than coaches with prior head-coaching experience (10 of 24). Those who know Hornacek well do not doubt that he is ready. Teams who have interviewed Hornacek about coaching vacancies would not have bothered had they not believed he could do it. Charlotte seemed poised to offer its job late last week to Hornacek, prompting the Suns’ swift movement to lock him up in the job he preferred. Detractors might wish that the Suns had held out for hot names like Indiana assistant Brian Shaw or San Antonio assistant Mike Budenholzer, but there is no telling when their teams will be done in the playoffs and whether they would be interested in the Suns over jobs available in Los Angeles, Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Detroit, Milwaukee and possibly Atlanta, Sacramento and Toronto, too. With Hornacek, they know they have a coach who wants to be in his hometown, who is immediately available to be part of draft planning and who will not leave for greener grass in a few years.
• Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer: NBA head coach-turned television analyst Jeff Van Gundy knows new Charlotte Bobcats coach Steve Clifford well. So when Van Gundy compared Clifford to now-Chicago Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau, that carried plenty of weight. "Steve Clifford is a no-brainer just like Thibs was" Van Gundy said a while back. "Clifford has been overlooked. It’s just like Thibs, who took forever to get noticed. "But I’ve always said: Some GM is going to make a lot of money off Clifford because he is going to get the maximum level output from his team, and the organization will benefit greatly from that." Clifford, an NBA assistant coach the past 13 years, has been hired as the Bobcats’ sixth coach, a source close to Clifford confirmed Monday. Clifford will be the Bobcats’ third coach in as many seasons, replacing Mike Dunlap, who was fired in April. Clifford is expected to sign a three-year contract, the third year at the Bobcats’ option. He was one of at least six candidates for the job. Former Suns coach (and Shelby native) Alvin Gentry was among those interviewed.
• Bill Dwyre of the Los Angeles Times: But clearly the player had all the leverage over the coach. Clippers owner Donald Sterling did everything but confirm that scenario when he told The Times' T.J. Simers that "you have to keep the players happy." Say all you want about Sterling — and many people have for many years — but his responses to those questions were refreshingly lacking in the usual public relations spin and drivel. The prevailing theory for years is that Sterling didn't know what was going on. Suddenly, he's the one telling it like it is. And it is, in the NBA, a league where the inmates run the asylum. There has seldom been a bigger Exhibit A than the firing of Del Negro. For the last half of the season, as the Clippers ran off to a franchise-record 56-26 mark, swept the Lakers and took the Pacific Division, the internal discussion was about how to keep Paul. Del Negro was an afterthought, a sacrificial lamb, if needed. Obviously, the Clippers think they needed. … The NBA is a marvel of marketing and branding and getting the public all in a tizzy over its product. TV, all that matters today in sports, dotes on it and it dotes back. The NBA is so busy pursuing its popularity, and the cash flow that it provides, that it hasn't taken time to create a culture, especially in situations such as the Del Negro firing, of doing the right thing. Chris Paul is a great player and a good person. The league should have protected him from himself.
• Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman: By almost every measure, this year was the worst season of Perk's career. And nobody seems to have an answer as to why. Is it the rash of injuries and mounting surgeries? … Is the Thunder so talented that it couldn't use a steady stream of points, rebounds and blocked shots from Perk? … But why can't Perkins be a stat sheet stuffer? Why can't he provide the most basic plays from his position next season? Because we now know Perkins will in fact be back next season. Thunder general manager Sam Presti recently put to rest any and all doubts over whether Perkins will be waived under the league's amnesty clause. So that ship — at least for this summer — has sailed. At this point it's more productive to focus on how Perk can come back better. The Thunder is on the hook for two more seasons of a contract with Perkins that once seemed like a sweetheart deal. He's owed roughly $19 million over the next two years and appears entrenched as the starter; partly because that's such a sizable salary, partly because the Thunder doesn't have a better option, partly because Brooks is hesitant to change a lineup that has had so much success and partly because Perk does indeed still make a positive impact. Another year of dwindling production, however, and Perk's good might no longer outweigh his bad. Brooks already has become more judicious with Perk's minutes, decreasing his average playing time in each of the past three postseasons.
• Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: Matt Guokas isn’t discussing in detail the Orlando Magic’s decision not to renew his contract as the team’s local TV color commentator. But, he released the following statement to the Orlando Sentinel, which broke the story Friday, and to at least one other local media outlet. In that statement, Guokas said: “While the organization has decided to go in another direction, I appreciate the opportunity that the DeVos family has given me over the years. I want to thank the fans at the games, arena workers and people that I come across around town. I am grateful for their support.” Magic fans and national media have expressed their displeasure at the team's decision.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Memphis Grizzlies guard Tony Allen feeds off his emotions while he’s defending the ball, something he does as well as any player in the game. But those emotions consumed him as he contemplated the thought of playing anywhere other than Memphis next season.

“I don’t want to cry, but, I just ...” Allen said after the Grizzlies’ 93-86 elimination loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night.

Allen’s eyes welled up as he collected himself before continuing to reflect on what the Grizzlies accomplished in 2012-13.

“It was just a great season, man, and I love the fight in all my guys,” Allen said.

Although he isn’t the Grizzlies’ most talented player, Allen’s idiosyncrasies -- an awkward shooting stroke, two wonky knees, nervous energy -- made him a civic icon. He coined “All heart, grit ‘n’ grind,” the war cry that rallied a rugged city around a flawed team. He’s also a first-team all-NBA defender who was essential to the Grizzlies’ success as the league’s second-ranked defense.

Allen becomes an unrestricted free agent on July 1, and his return is no certainty for a team that has close to $60 million committed in salaries next season, and is determined to establish payroll flexibility going forward.

Grizzlies power forward Zach Randolph accounts for more than a quarter of the Grizzlies’ balance sheet next season when he’s due to earn $17.8 million. Randolph’s brawny style is every bit as synonymous to the Grizzlies’ collective character as Allen’s odd brand of competitiveness. It’s not all lovable girth, either, because Z-Bo also delivers the goods on a nightly basis.

But a team with the Grizzlies’ limitations under the salary cap would be wise to at least explore the marketplace for a player of Randolph’s caliber and paycheck, a reality Randolph understands.

“I would like to retire a Grizzly and be here,” Randolph said. Asked if he could imagine playing elsewhere, Randolph laughed.

“Nah! Not really!” he said. “I’ll take my fan base with me from Memphis, though!”

Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins is a free agent, and his availability has stoked the interest of a couple of teams. Grizzlies management appreciates that the team’s current core has improved each year under Hollins. He might occasionally be stubborn, but his leadership has been crucial to the team’s culture.

How do you quantify culture? That’s one of the inordinately difficult questions facing the Grizzlies this offseason. Because it’s impossible for even the most unsentimental observer to spend time on the ground in Memphis without sensing there’s something authentic about the relationship between the city and its team. Other teams talk about identity absently, just another cliché from the podium after a win. Sales and marketing departments around the league erect billboards with canned slogans and sanitized images.

The Grizzlies didn’t have to do any of that in Memphis. Their identity wasn’t the product of a campaign fueled by focus groups or marketing professionals. Their persona has been entirely self-constructed. This is a team that embraces its imperfection, much the way Memphians make a go of it in an old river city whose economy and offerings have trouble matching up against more dynamic (but less soulful) big, shiny new cities like Atlanta and Dallas that lie a few hundred miles away in either direction.

Typically, these identities are more important to fans and media, who need reference points and storylines to maintain interest, than it is to the players themselves, but in Memphis, again, that’s not the case.

“No doubt, that’s who we are,” Grizzlies center Marc Gasol said, when asked if this stuff matters behind closed doors. “That comes [about] for a reason. We scratch, we claw, we fight. It doesn’t always have to be pretty, but we always get it done -- well, not always. Of course not always, but we always try as hard as we can.”

In an era when brands are manufactured so self-consciously, the Griz sculpted something organic, the sum of which almost made Allen cry on Monday night when he thought about the prospect of losing it. And there are thousands of locals who feel the same way.

But what if finding more proficiency from long range requires a different course? What if keeping both Allen and Randolph means that the 2013-14 Grizzlies will encounter the same spacing issues that plague the Grizzlies’ offense, problems that could potentially cost them a chance to contend? Do you cling to an identity even if getting better means abandoning a little bit of grit and grind in exchange for some stretch and shoot?

The brainy new management group in Memphis brings certain principles to its work, and one of the goals is to diminish the role of emotions in the decision-making process. They’re absolutely right to pursue this strategy, because rational thought produces better results over time, but that idea won’t be an easy sell to a fan base in love with this team.

The Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Clippers have not yet formally requested permission to interview Memphis Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins for their respective coaching vacancies.

But it will happen shortly.

Possibly as early as Tuesday.

The Grizzlies’ stunning four-game elimination from the Western Conference finals means Hollins’ uncertain future is finally going to be resolved, with the Nets and Clippers -- especially Brooklyn -- known to have serious interest in the 59-year-old coach. A big-money offer from Nets billionaire owner Mikhail Prokhorov, according to industry sources, is seen in Memphis as the worst-case scenario that would prevent the Grizzlies from keeping their occasionally cantankerous coach.

ESPN.com reported as far back as early April that Grizzlies management does indeed want to retain Hollins, even after Hollins’ initially angry reaction to the late January trade of Rudy Gay to Toronto. Yet it remains to be seen how much Memphis is willing to spend to keep him.

Doubts about Hollins’ willingness to work for new Grizzlies owner Robert Pera and CEO Jason Levien have likewise been in circulation since the coach’s multiple critiques of the Gay deal in the immediate aftermath of the trade. Sources told ESPN.com that Hollins’ relationship with star forward Zach Randolph has been strained at times throughout the season as well.

The Grizzlies have Hollins under contract through June 30 and, according to sources, will now try to strike a deal with him that keeps him off the open market. But sources add that assistant coach Dave Joerger would receive strong consideration to take over if Hollins departs after four full seasons in charge and by far the best single season in franchise history.

The future of Randolph in Memphis is another question mark after the Grizzlies’ struggles, and Randolph’s in particular, in their four straight defeats to San Antonio. Randolph drew interest from other teams before the Feb. 21 trade deadline, and, with more than $34 million left on his contract over the next two seasons, could well find himself in play to help Memphis build a more balanced team by addressing its ongoing lack of floor-spacers on the perimeter and rotation depth.

All-Star center Marc Gasol and point guard Mike Conley -- who, according to USA Basketball sources, has been invited to Team USA’s minicamp in July in Las Vegas -- have been widely considered by rival executives as Memphis’ only two roster untouchables ever since Pera took them to dinner in January without Randolph, Gay or Hollins in attendance.

“I think it’s too early now to talk about [any of] that,” Gasol said Monday night at his postgame news conference.

Said Conley earlier in the playoffs in an interview with ESPN.com’s Ramona Shelburne: “I'm involved a lot, obviously, with the direction of the team, personnel, our coaching staff. Whenever I get a chance to talk to people in management, I try to stress that we've built this from the ground up and we've got a good thing going. [So] if there's a way we can keep it together, try your best to do that.

“Obviously with Lionel and what he's done, all the rumors with Zach. ... Zach is a part of this city, [free agent-to-be] Tony [Allen] is a part of this city, it just wouldn't be the same if they weren't here.”

“I've seen both ways,” Conley continued. “We were terrible, and the support was pretty bad. And now it's at an all-time high. I don't want to go back to what it was before. I think it would be huge if we can stabilize what we have and just keep moving forward.”

Expounding on his hope that Hollins is retained, Conley said: "I know that he's fought for me in every situation that he's had to. I can't even put enough words in the sentences to say how much it means to me.

"Now I'm trying to go to bat for him, try and keep him here.”

In just seven months, the Memphis Grizzlies have packed enough intrigue for a season of an Emmy-award-winning TV series.

A 70-something owner who made a fortune in industrial tube cleaners and sewage equipment sells his team to a then 34-year-old tech savant.

An entrepreneurial former agent who helped broker the deal steps in as the franchise’s new CEO.

As one of his first hires, the executive brings on a journalist who is at the forefront of the analytics movement, but someone who arouses suspicion among basketball lifers.

When the new owner and CEO entertain two of the team’s bright young talents for dinner in San Francisco, but don’t extend invitations to other key players or the head coach, tension brews.

If all this happened to an NBA team in New York or Los Angeles, the plot would absorb fans and media like a prestige cable drama -- palace intrigue, layered characters, symbolism and a battle of ideas. But Memphis resides in a place called “the Mid-South,” a region that lies between the richer New South, the dynamic megapolises of Texas, and the old Midwest.

Chances are you might just be tuning in, so we’d like to introduce you to the cast of "Memphis Grizzlies: The Cable Drama."

Soon after the dinner episode, the new regime trades away the team’s leading scorer and ships off two key bench contributors. The transactions are both financially motivated and, in the case of the highly paid player, an expression of the new group’s efficiency-based philosophy.

The process incenses the head coach, who feels his solid track record and steady management of the roster warrant more consultation. The coach, who isn’t under contract for next season, goes public with his gripes, and much of the fan base agrees. After the team drops a couple of games, the team’s rotund power forward sounds off about the offense.

Meanwhile, speculation swirls about the fate of the incumbent general manager, who has assembled many of the key pieces and compiled a ton of institutional knowledge, but seems increasingly like a third wheel.

Just as the debate over the trades peaks, the coach bows to his better judgment. The team wins 14 out of 15, but in its first two playoff games, it gets pushed around by the same opponent it lost tragically to last season.

But the team comes home and to the surprise of even some inside the organization, rallies around its identity as a squad every bit as unvarnished as its city to win the series and exact revenge. It sustains its momentum and dismantles its next opponent, the West's top seed. Now one loss from elimination against the team it upset two years ago, the moment when it first established self-belief, it must rally.

That should bring you up to date with the events. Now here is your cast of characters:

• Bob Kravitz of The Indianapolis Star: The 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers couldn’t have beaten them. The 1985-86 Boston Celtics couldn’t have beaten them. Nobody could have beaten the Miami Heat on Sunday night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Not the Indiana Pacers, not the San Antonio Spurs, nobody. The officials? Not an issue. … The Heat played like champions, unstoppable forces of nature. It was as if LeBron James looked at Paul George and said, “Hey, son, it’s still my world and you’re just living in it.’’ I asked Vogel after the game, “Do you look inside and think about what you did wrong, or just look at them and realize they put on a clinic?’’ “It’s both,’’ he said. “They’re one of the great teams this league has seen, defending champs, on a historic run this year. If you’re not perfect guarding them, they’ll do what they did to us tonight. Sometimes when you are perfect with your coverage, they still find ways to make baskets. We didn’t have a great defensive night. It wasn’t as horrible as the numbers looked. Have to credit Miami for playing a great basketball game.’’ Here’s the scary part: It wasn’t any of the Big Three who killed the Pacers, although LeBron James, Wade and Chris Bosh all had productive nights. The star Sunday was Haslem, who made Roy Hibbert and the Pacers pay for helping out and guarding the rim.
• Ethan J. Skolnick of the Palm Beach Post: And so, Sunday night should be remembered as his night. It should be remembered as Haslem’s night even while there was so much that merited recognition on the Heat’s side in this 114-96 victory at Indiana, from the most determined, dynamic, devastating offensive half-court half of the season, to the remarkable scarcity of turnovers, to Chris Andersen’s continuing cartoonish efficiency, to LeBron James’ clinic from the left block. It should be remembered as Haslem’s night because, as the Heat worked from the inside out from the start on their way to securing a 2-1 series lead, it was the veteran forward – of all the Heat’s accomplished stable of shooters – who most made the Pacers pay for providing space. It was Haslem who kept putting Roy Hibbert on the spot, simply by spotting up. Haslem kept settling into his sweet spot, on the left baseline roughly 17 feet from the basket, the same spot from which he connected regularly in Game 4 of the second-round series here last spring. “I tried to get down the floor early, get to my spacing, and make the big guy make a decision,” Haslem said. In Hibbert’s view, Haslem’s role was decisive. “He was the X-factor for them tonight,” Hibbert said. “He wasn’t making those shots the prior two games.” Haslem scored a total of three points in those.
• Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News: Zero for Z-Bo: Zach Randolph had been one the most productive big men in the 2013 playoffs. Then he ran into the Spurs. Tag-teamed at every turn, Randolph is shooting 30 percent (12 of 40) and had been close to a non-factor in the first three games of the conference finals. Credit for frustrating Randolph goes to the Spurs’ cast of Tiago Splitter, Matt Bonner and Boris Diaw, with a bit of Tim Duncan and guard help thrown in. If Memphis can’t figure out a way to finally free Randolph, the series could end Monday. Keep calm and carry on: The Spurs opened Game 3 by missing 15 of 19 shots and coughing up eight turnovers. The result was an early 18-point deficit, not the best script for winning a playoff game on the road. With the Grizzlies now down to their last strike, the Spurs can expect a desperate Memphis team and heightened sense of urgency from the crowd. If they can keep their wits about them — and keep from gifting the Grizzlies with points off turnovers — the Spurs have a good chance to finish the sweep. Bid bon voyage: The Grizzlies left the FedEx Forum after squandering Game 3 looking and sounding like a beaten team ready for summer vacation. The best thing the Spurs can do in Game 4 is to push them the rest of the way to Bora Bora. If the Spurs can jump on Memphis, and give Team “We Believe” a reason not to, odds are good the Grizzlies might go away quietly.
• Ronald Tillery of The Commercial-Appeal: Even the so-called free shots are costing the Grizzlies. Memphis has shot 65.6 percent from the free-throw line during the Western Conference finals, including 63.6 percent in the last two games. The Grizzlies were the 10th-best free-throw shooting team in the league during the regular season at 77.3 percent. That’s a major storyline in this series. So is Duncan’s revival. The 37-year-old big man posted 24 points and 10 rebounds in Game 3 for his 144th career postseason game with at least 10 points and 10 rebounds. Duncan passed Wilt Chamberlain for the NBA record.
• Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic: A quarter-century ago, the Suns began to emerge from three consecutive non-playoff seasons, the same predicament as this off-season. The Suns, coming off a drug scandal, cleaned house to set up a revival, with one player surviving a two-year shake-up — Jeff Hornacek. Now looking for another turnaround, the Suns again count on Hornacek. This time, Hornacek will be their head coach. Hornacek, 50, agreed to terms on a three-year contract that was expected to be signed by Monday morning. The Suns’ 16th head coach will be a well-received choice after starting his 14-year career with six Suns seasons, including two conference finals runs and an All-Star season before he was packaged in the 1992 Charles Barkley trade. … Hornacek was in demand, and the Suns expect to start individual draft workouts next week, prompting McDonough to make a decisive move before other popular candidates like Indiana’s Brian Shaw and San Antonio’s Mike Budenholzer become available after their teams’ playoff runs. Hornacek and McDonough share the same agent, Steve Kauffman. “Ryan McDonough may be young, but he is a very, very bright man who has a really good idea of what he wants and what he is looking for,” Hornacek told Bruce Cooper. “I think we are going to have a great working relationship together.”
• Dan Bickley of The Arizona Republic: In the NBA, the best coaches create the perfect blend of respect, fear and trust. Players must know their coach (a) knows what he’s talking about; (b) allocates playing time properly among the right players; and (c) will hold everyone accountable when necessary. Phil Jackson understood the need to be hard on players. So did Jerry Sloan, whom Hornacek played for. So does Gregg Popovich. The Suns’ new coach is a nice guy, an extremely smart guy. But can Hornacek be the tough guy, maybe even the bad guy? Along with some really good players, that will determine his success in Phoenix.
• Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel: Three coaching candidates will return for second interviews this week with the Milwaukee Bucks, a league source confirmed Sunday. Los Angeles Lakers assistant Steve Clifford is scheduled to interview again Tuesday, while Houston Rockets assistant Kelvin Sampson and Atlanta Hawks coach Larry Drew will return Wednesday as finalists for the Bucks head coaching position. No other candidates are currently in the running, according to the source. The Bucks also previously interviewed former Portland and Seattle coach Nate McMillan and 34-year-old Rockets assistant J.B. Bickerstaff. Bucks officials also met with former Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan.
• Terry Frei of The Denver Post: The Raptors allegedly are trying to lure Ujiri with an annual salary of about $3 million — or about half what the Nuggets' Wilson Chandler will make next season. Of course, the pro game's protocol — any pro game's protocol — involves salary precedents and slotting in front offices too. The Nuggets did give an unproven Ujiri his make-or-break chance and deserve to be given credit for that, including by Ujiri himself. So, sure, it's understandable that the Kroenkes didn't hand over a blank contract and tell him he could fill in the numbers. But Ujiri's work, in getting stunning value for Carmelo Anthony and on other fronts, albeit with Josh Kroenke's input and help, has spoken for itself. By dragging their feet, the Kroenkes undoubtedly miscalculated, as Ujiri's leverage increased, including with his recent NBA executive of the year honor. The hockey moves have reinvigorated part of the Kroenke operation. A Ujiri departure would be alarming, not just because of the loss of a bright young executive, but because it would seem that the Kroenkes don't believe they really need a proven GM on the basketball side. They hit the jackpot with the previously unproven Ujiri. They must know they can't count on that happening again.
• Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald: Doc Rivers moves easily in a world that has more and more placed value on fame. He knows Tiger Woods. Actors visit his coaching room when the Celts play in LA. When Doc texts Donald Trump, Donald Trump does not text back. Donald Trump calls. Things work well, too, when he works. Talk to C’s players and they occasionally will quibble with Rivers’ shifting rotations. But all of them will tell you how immersed he is in X’s and O’s and the intensity he pours into each night’s battle. And the fact he has gained the affection of his stars and won a championship gives Rivers instant credibility the moment he walks into a new dressing room. He does the same for the club seeking to market the change. The bottom line is that these same qualities make Doc Rivers desirable to the Celtics, who would like as much continuity as possible as change is visited upon the roster. And it’s for certain that Ainge doesn’t want to add a coaching search to his to-do list. So if Rivers hasn’t already delivered his final word, there are a few exhales on hold over in Waltham.
• John Canzano of The Oregonian: A few years ago, I saw the Blazers owner leave the arena after a game, holding his late mother's hand. Faye was battling illness and age, but was often beside her son at games, a faithful fan and loving mother. I watched the mother and son walk, and thought the scene was tender and revealing. I mentioned it in a column. People close to Allen later told me that he took it as a slap, as if I was poking fun of him. Ugh. Allen never talked to me about it. Not sure how much of that is Paul being Paul, or a billionaire being a billionaire, but I've had countless indirect conversations with Allen through his various intermediaries in the last two seasons and I'm finally ready to hear something authentic from him. It's why I'm fascinated by the news that his band, The Underthinkers, will release their debut album Aug. 6. It's called "Everywhere at Once." Allen co-wrote every song and plays guitar on every track. And when it comes to NBA ownership, this ends up the coolest thing this side of Mark Cuban. Also, I'm thinking it might be the deepest conversation any of us ever has with Allen.
• Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times: Eighty-six is a number Bulls general manager Gar Forman has thrown out several times this season, maybe as a reminder to naysayers on the outside who don’t believe the Bulls are headed in the right direction — or maybe as a reminder to himself to stay the course. Either way, 86 has a lot of meaning. That’s the Bulls’ winning percentage when Joakim Noah, Derrick Rose, Luol Deng and Carlos Boozer are on the court at the same time. Therein lies the problem the last three years — keeping those four pillars healthy and upright at the same time for a significant amount of time. The closest the Bulls came was the playoff run of 2011, when they lost to the Miami Heat in five games in the Eastern Conference finals. But even then, Boozer was hobbled and Deng was banged up. Toss in a few immovable contracts, and Forman could be handcuffed to stick with the core roster up front next season, especially forwards Deng and Boozer.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- The press release promoting the weekend’s big concert in Memphis and all the surrounding activities sat next to my computer as I typed up my story on Tim Duncan’s masterful Game 3 performance.

“Paul McCartney’s ‘Out There’ tour will feature hours of material from the most beloved catalog in popular music,” the release read, “with Paul performing songs spanning his entire career -- as a solo artist, member of Wings and of course, The Beatles.”

I couldn’t help but link it to this quote from Duncan on my screen, which described why the San Antonio Spurs have looked so comfortable and in control during the two overtime games in these Western Conference finals.

“We’ve been together for a long time,” Duncan said. “We have a lot of plays to work from and a lot of experience to work from.”

Whether it’s a deep playbook or an extensive songbook, there’s a level that only sustained excellence can achieve. With McCartney in town and the Spurs enjoying a 3-0 lead in the series, it seems like a good time to bask in their achievements.

Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili have played in 28 playoff series together, winning 97 postseason games. Only the Los Angeles Lakers’ combination of Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Michael Cooper won more.

It probably isn’t a coincidence that when the Spurs were trailing in the final minute and a half of the fourth quarter, they came out of a timeout and the ball went from Parker to Duncan to Ginobili in an exquisitely executed play that resulted in an easy layup.

“I have a great deal of confidence in them,” coach Gregg Popovich said. “They’ve earned that. They’ve been together, they’re all very competitive. They may or may not do something perfectly, but they’re going to do it to the best of their ability. That allows one to go to bed at night and deal with whatever the consequences are.”

“We don’t panic,” Parker said. “We know what we want to do. We made a lot of great plays at the end of the game last night.”

Ginobili described it as "corporate knowledge," an institutional memory that resides in this trio that has played together for more than a decade.

“We know how we feel without even having to say a word,” Ginobili said. “And that’s important. And we have five pieces that are very important to what we do that are new.”

The playoff contributions from the likes of Danny Green, Kawhi Leonard and Tiago Splitter can’t be discounted. Green and Leonard have knocked down open 3-point shots when Parker or Ginobili force the defense to collapse. Splitter provides a big presence and is an underrated passer. Matt Bonner has added driving and inside-scoring elements to his game in addition to his 3-point shooting.

“It’s the core group and new pieces, just being altruistic and trying to help out,” Ginobili said. “Pop being very communicative and very clear on what he wants. It’s the whole package. But of course, Tony, Tim, Pop and me, we know each other very well and it’s easy to communicate.”

They’re the ones who Carry That Weight. They’re trying to Get Back to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2007. I could go on with the McCartney-written song titles, but I’ll just Let It Be.

The San Antonio Spurs didn’t start strong, but they had plenty left at the finish. Now they are in position to finish the Memphis Grizzlies and advance to the NBA Finals with one more win.

Let’s take a look at some of the statistical highlights from Game 3.

The comeback … kids?
The Spurs have become pretty adept at this comeback thing.

The Elias Sports Bureau noted that the rally from 16 points down at the end of the first quarter marked the third-biggest end-of-first-quarter deficit overcome in the Conference Finals since the round began in 1970-71.



The Spurs actually trailed by as much as 18 points during the game, their second rally from at least 18 down this postseason.

They also had such a comeback in the conference semis against the Golden State Warriors.

The Spurs are also the second team in the last 15 seasons to win more than one game in a single postseason in which they trailed by 18 or more points.

The Mavericks had two such wins in the 2003 postseason.

The Spurs have as many 18-point comeback wins over the last two postseasons (3) as the rest of the NBA combined.

San Antonio was 0-21 in postseason games in which it trailed by at least 18 points from 2000 to 2011. They are 3-2 in those games over the last two postseasons. The rest of the league is 3-61.

The Big Fundamental comes up big
Tim Duncan moved his way a couple of all-time lists in this win.

He notched his 144th career postseason double-double, passing Wilt Chamberlain for the second-most all-time. The only player with more is Magic Johnson, with 157.

If you wish to hold him to a higher standard—- Duncan had his 94th postseason game with 20 points and 10 rebounds. That’s tied with Chamberlain for fourth-most.

Duncan is 37 years and 30 days old. He finished with 24 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Elias notes that only two players in NBA history had a 20-10-5 game at an older age in postseason: Kareem Abdul Jabbar (four times) and Karl Malone (once)

Duncan also passed Jerry West and moved into sixth place on the all-time postseason scoring list.

Duncan was 6-for-10 with 14 points when guarded by Marc Gasol. he was only 4-for-11 against Gasol in the first two games of the series.

How the Spurs won
The Spurs won by making their shots after a rough first quarter. San Antonio shot 21 percent in the first 12 minutes and shot 59 percent in the last 41 minutes, including 8-of-10 in overtime.

The Spurs scored on high-percentage shots. They finished with 58 points in the paint, tied for the most by any team against the Grizzlies in any game this season.

Looking ahead
No team in NBA history has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a playoff series. Teams that are up 3-0 have won all 107 series’.

During the Gregg Popovich era (since 1996-97), the Spurs have taken a 3-0 lead in a best-of-seven series on 11 different occasions. None of the previous 10 series went further than five games.

The conference finals are upon us, and David Thorpe's weekly rankings of postseason MVPs continue. Last time we talked, Marc Gasol was on top, but there's a new sheriff in town.