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Top Five Lakers Playoff Moments in the Kobe Era - Fan's Take (Yahoo! Contributor Network)

The 2012 Playoffs were full of frustration for Lakers fans like me as Kobe and Company struggled in the first round against the Denver Nuggets, getting pushed to seven games in a series that should have been closed out much sooner. Then, in the Western Conference Semifinals, the Lakers blew Games 2 and 4 and were defeated 4-1 by the Oklahoma City Thunder.

 

Chris Paul is the L.A. Clippers' savior -- but there have been others in the NBA (RealClearSports.com)

Chris Paul joins a list of players who turned struggling franchises around.

 

The moments that made an MVP season (The Associated Press)

MIAMI (AP) LeBron James wears jersey No. 6 in Miami, so here's six memorable moments from the season where the Heat star became just the eighth player in NBA history to win a third MVP award. The announcement was made by the NBA on Saturday:

 

The Utah Jazz? Gone till November (Ball Don't Lie)

The Utah Jazz couldn't even take a game in the team's opening-round series with the San Antonio Spurs. It took a furious rally in the fourth quarter of Game 4 for the Jazz to even lose a game by single digits ; they lost the four games by an average of 16 points. The shooters weren't shooting well, nobody could stay in front of Tony Parker, and one-time All-Star guard Devin Harris managed a shockingly low single-digit PER over the first three games of a four-game postseason. And it doesn't matter. Would we have liked to see the Jazz give the NBA's hottest team a few more close games, or even a win? Sure. But this wasn't ever supposed to be the year for Utah to attempt this. The Jazz went into 2011-12 fully ready to use each of the season's 66 games to develop rotations, give Tyrone Corbin his first full year -- if you can call it that with a shortened season and training camp, and so few practices -- as head coach and see how well the team's bigs played off each other. The answers, some 5 1/2 months later? There still aren't any. This group is still developing, and the playoff trip was a fantastic bit of gravy not so much for the extra gate revenue or needed work on an advanced stage against a championship-level team, but because it allowed Corbin and the Jazz more of what they needed the most — reps. What comes next? That depends on quite a bit.

 

Finally, a Brooklyn Nets logo haircut for us all to get (Ball Don't Lie)

I know what you're thinking: It seems like FOREVER since the Brooklyn Nets released their official, Jay-Z-designed logo , and yet we still haven't seen any sort of follicular representation of it that we can all go into our local barbershop and get. People in San Antonio can get Michael Jordan's face on their head every single day if they want to, and yet we're sitting here like a bunch of SAPS. Luckily, Brooklyn barber Ron Snipes , one intrepid, slightly-too-shaggy gentleman in need of a cut and online barbering site  BarbershopConnect.com — "Your Connection to the Barbering Community" — all exist, and have come together to give America what it needs. Behold: The adidas logo atop the badge — while not part of the official Nets insignia — is a nice touch that shows sharp knowledge of the Nets' branding and partnership agreements, what with the shoe company both producing the team's jerseys and sponsoring the new team store at the Barclay Center . Savvy synergy, Snipes.

 

Mavs: NBA title to sweep, offseason with questions (The Associated Press)

DALLAS (AP) The Dallas Mavericks never seemed as though they were really defending an NBA title. It certainly wasn't the same team that raised the trophy a year ago.

 

NBA: Stoudemire practices with Knicks (The SportsXchange)

Forward Amare Stoudemire practiced with the New York Knicks on Friday for the first time since suffering lacerations on his left hand after Game 2 on Monday.

 

Report: Magic's Anderson to receive Most Impoved award (The SportsXchange)

Orlando Magic power forward Ryan Anderson reportedly will be announced Friday as the recipient of the NBA's Most Improved Player Award.

 

Beleaguered Bulls try to move on without Rose (The Associated Press)

PHILADELPHIA (AP) The Chicago Bulls took flight for Philadelphia without both a series lead and superstar guard Derrick Rose.

 

Jason Kidd may retire this offseason if teams don’t bring the big cash, reports SI (Ball Don't Lie)

Has anyone noticed how weird Jason Kidd's game has gotten recently? Not "bad" or "ineffective," just "weird." He'll pace that Dallas offense without picking up the same sort of ball-dominating stats he used to, but he still seems absolutely in control of things even if he's just relegated to making the lead pass, or penetrating enough to start a wave of extra passes. And even though his Mavs are down 0-2 in their playoff series (and title defense) to the Oklahoma City Thunder, Kidd still seems like a game-changer of the highest order. He's also a free agent this summer. A free agent of the highest order, in Kidd's estimation, who will probably play his last game as a Dallas Maverick whenever the Mavs play their last game — sometime later this week, or in late June. And according to Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix, if teams don't come correct with their free-agent cash, Kidd just might call it a day. Here's Chris' tweet, from Wednesday night :