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The NBA is understandably sensitive about gun violence, given that two of its players recently brandished guns in a locker room. But they’re losing perspective, and coming across as unreasonable hypocrites. Months ago, Nike did a LeBron-Kobe print ad where Kobe says, “I’ll do whatever it takes to win games. I don’t leave anything in the chamber.”

The ad has been released, and the NBA is offended, releasing this statement: “We had no prior notice of this ad. We think it is inappropriate.”

Really? I mean, really? Are you even remotely serious? Because, if you are serious, you’re either a blind idiot (which we know Stern is not) or a massive hypocritical bully. You operate a sport where the entire dialect revolves around the word “shoot” and its variants. Shoot. Shot. Shot clock. Blocked shot. Shooting percentage. Three-point shot. Sharpshooter. Sniper. Rifleman. And you’re going to take offense at a shooting reference?

And don’t try to tell me Kobe agreed, so the NBA is correct. Of course Kobe agreed. He’s corporate. He knows this isn’t a battle worth wasting breath on, because he understands Stern is just doing this for PR. Something Kobe understands completely. But this is beyond stupid, and it should be called out as such. It’s Stern’s obsession over the public image of the league run amok.

If this is how you want to play it, Stern, then be consistent. Rename every aspect of the game. Change all of the NBA’s historical records. Take down the NBA.com website now until you can reconstruct it without any reference to shooting. Stop selling all books that use the term. Re-write them. Stop selling all DVDs. Re-dub them. Never replay any game on the NBA Network where any variation of the term is stated by an announcer or displayed on the screen.

And maybe, just maybe, start being consistent. As the AP article points out, just yesterday, Pacers coach Jim O’Brien said: “We did not have enough bullets in our gun to make games of it.” Stern, are you going to fine him? Call it inappropriate? Or is your paternalistic hypocrisy reserved for young black men?

For those of you who follow the Frog’s Twitter feed (and the proprietors thank you for your patronage), you may have noticed this tweet regarding Ricky Rubio staying in Spain:

“Elgin Baylor is laughing at David Kahn. Isiah Thomas still thinks it was a good pick.”

Well, sure, it’s easy to pick on a woeful NBA franchise when they spend the fifth overall pick and end up getting nothing from that resource for each of the next two years. And blasting a couple easy targets like Elgin Baylor (currently unemployed, yet a solid target) and Isiah Thomas is always good for a chuckle. But wait, do the Timberwolves really get nothing from that #5 overall pick?

The Unfiltered blog at Basketball Prospectus has a nice rebuttal. Take it away, Kevin Pelton:

“From a basketball standpoint, however, it’s hard to see this as a negative for Minnesota. Rubio, lest we forget, will not turn 19 until October. He is, in fact, a full month younger than highly-touted incoming Kentucky recruit John Wall, the presumptive No. 1 overall pick in next June’s Draft.

Given all the hand-wringing we usually hear about young players entering the NBA unprepared, how can it be considered a bad thing that Rubio will spend the next two years developing and maturing physically in Spain on Barca’s dime? When he does come over, Rubio will be better prepared to contribute immediately. He’ll also be (essentially) the same price. By waiting two years to bring Rubio over, the Timberwolves will get his age-21 through age-24 seasons on his rookie contract, as opposed to having to begin paying him market value at the age of 23. In the long term, this is a financial boon for Minnesota.”

Thank you, Mr. Pelton.

The Timberwolves also get to do exciting things like save future money for possibly extending Kevin Love and find out if Jonny Flynn can handle the point in the NBA. They’ll also have a better idea of what Rubio can do, particularly if he has improved his shooting touch and bulked up. In fact, in two years, it is quite likely Rubio’s value will be even higher. He’ll have two more years of experience under his belt and it is reasonable to think that the Knicks will still have Mike D’Antoni as their coach, but no LeBron James (unless he really wants to go to New York, be surrounded by very little quality, and face the challenge of winning an NBA title literally on his own). At that time, particularly if Flynn develops quickly, the Wolves may get to name a price for Rubio’s services (or Flynn’s, for that matter).

16 party guests are showing up. Who’s staying for a while and who’s not?

Staying Until After Hours:
Cleveland (East #1 – 66-16)
There is no point in listing superlatives to describe the play of LeBron James. What is more important, however, is the Cavaliers’ status as the deepest team in the East, as the late addition of Joe Smith has made them two deep with better than serviceable players at every slot. Inside, outside, they’ve got it all. Cleveland also hung a 39-2 record at the Q (with one loss coming in the finale with only one starter playing) to sew up the rights to host any and all Game Sevens.

Los Angeles (West #1 – 65-17)
Kobe Bryant wants a title so that there is no doubting his individual greatness. With the return of Andrew Bynum, who has been superbly efficient on offense since returning, the deepest team of the West, which was already head and shoulders above the rest of the conference all season, gets its entire crew back for the first time in two months.

Boston (East #2 – 62-20)
While the team has gotten better than expected play from those filling in for Kevin Garnett down the stretch (Glen Davis – 12.2 points and 5.2 rebounds in 31.1 minutes per game, Leon Powe – 13.2 points and 7.5 rebounds per game in 25.8 minutes per game while missing time, as well), the return of a healthy KG is required for the team to make a legitimate run at Cleveland. Without him, the team is still formidable and can win a couple series, but the loss of their best interior defender will sink their repeat hopes.

Orlando (East #3 – 59-23)
The Magic are the NBA’s best-kept secret. I know, it’s hard to believe that a 59-win team is a secret. While Dwight Howard carries the load and gets national press, Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis open things up for a fun offense and everyone chips in with an effective defensive scheme to funnel everything to Howard. Rafer Alston has been everything the Magic could have hoped for in the midseason trade, as the team went 19-6 after his arrival before dropping three of their last four.

Having a Few Drinks:
San Antonio (West #3 – 54-28)
Even with Manu Ginobili being gone and Tim Duncan being hindered by a leg injury, the Spurs can’t be counted out. Greg Popovich is still the coach, Duncan is still to be reckoned with, and Tony Parker can win games on his own.

Portland (West #4 – 54-28)
The Blazers are 27-10 since January 24, including 18-2 at the Rose Garden, featuring a pair of wins over the Lakers (not to mention seven straight over LA). Throw in one of the league’s best closers in Brandon Roy leading a deep crew (nine players average 15 minutes or more per game) and you can see how Portland is arriving a year early, even without getting much from Greg Oden.

Houston (West #5 – 53-29)
The Rockets are 22-8 since Tracy McGrady tapped out this year. They were 20-15 on the season with him. Bill Simmons made a big deal in his Wednesday column about Yao Ming being an “only” guy because he will give you a certain level of play and nothing more. Well, he’s getting more help then he did previously, as there are four other double-figure scorers, two guys over nine points per game, and Shane Battier. In particular, Yao is getting a lot of help from the first legitimate power forward to grace the Rockets’ roster in a while, as Luis Scola (who may be the most underrated player in the league) has averaged 13.6 points and 10.1 rebounds since McGrady was lost for the season.

Spilling the Dip and Slinking Out:
Denver (West #2 – 54-28)
This is not a question of Chauncey Billups, who transformed the Nuggets into a very good team. It is a question of the rest of the squad. Is Carmelo Anthony (a career 38.9 percent shooter from the field in postseason) ready to take the next step and lead his team in the postseason? Can Kenyon Martin and Nene stand up in the postseason? Can any of their shooting guards play good defense?

Atlanta (East #4 – 47-35)
Joe Johnson may carry the heaviest load of all participants in the first round. He is the Hawks’ do-everything player on offense… and has to check Dwayne Wade for most of the 40+ minutes he will be on the floor. It also remains to be seen if the rest of the roster is ready for primetime after last year’s postseason taste. At least they aren’t facing a premier point guard in the first round, thereby saving Mike Bibby some embarrassment.

Rude Guests Who May Overstay Their Welcome:
Miami (East #5 – 43-39)
Michael Beasley has ramped it up in his last five games, hanging averages of 24.2 points and 11.2 rebounds in that span. That’s an interesting development and could provide enough scoring as a complementary player to go with that Dwyane Wade character.

New Orleans (West #7 – 49-33)
Chris Paul can simply win a series for the Hornets on his own. He may have to, though, as David West has a leg injury, Peja Stojakovic is just coming back from an injury of his own, and Tyson Chandler made his first appearance in nearly a month in their finale. The Bugs are 29-24 since January 3, which includes a run of seven straight wins from late February to early March. Injuries have simply made them an inconsistent bunch.

Chicago (East #7 – 41-41)
The Bulls have closed strong, winning 12 of their final 15 games before dropping their finale and sliding into the seventh seed, outscoring their foes by 91 points in that 15-game stretch. The +6.1 scoring differential would have placed them fifth in the NBA over the course of the season. Ben Gordon (21.8 points per game) and John Salmons (20.1 points per game) were a dynamic 1-2 punch in that time in that hot streak.

Someplace Else to Go:
Dallas (West #6 – 50-32)
Age has finally caught up with Jason Kidd and his matchup with Tony Parker in the first round will illustrate that perfectly. The Mavericks’ biggest problem is that they cannot match up with the two best players on the Spurs in Parker and Duncan. It’s time for Cuban to go back to the drawing board.

Philadelphia (East #6 – 41-41)
A lack of outside shooting, an established go-to player, and polished interior talent make the Sixers overmatched when it comes to facing the Magic. At least they will have a longer offseason to try to figure out how they can blend Elton Brand into an uptempo style.

Utah (West #8 – 48-34)
This team is a shell of what they have been. While the names (Carlos Boozer, Deron Williams, Mehmet Okur, Andrei Kirilenko) are the same, the game is not. There are seven players on the team who either will be free agents or can opt out of their current deals, so the “last hurrah” will be mercifully short. It will be more interesting watching Jerry Sloan react to the team being first round fodder than watching the actual games themselves.

Detroit (East #8 – 39-43)
Speaking of a “shell of what they have been,” the Pistons limp into the postseason, longing for the return of Chauncey Billups. Oh, he can’t return? Never mind, then.

The league claims they are fine, nothing to see here. Anyone who watches highlights of NBA games knows that other than a handful of teams, most in the NBA appear to have large swaths of “good seats still available”. And then some. Now folks are digesting what it means that the NBA has made approximately $200 million dollars immediately available to help at least 12 teams that need an influx of cash now to meet certain operating expenses. David Stern with the spin:

It should not, Stern said, be construed as a bailout. At a time when credit markets have been frozen, investors saw the NBA as a safe bet. “It’s exactly the opposite” of a bailout, Stern told The Associated Press “This was a show of strength in the credit worthiness of the NBA’s teams.” The NBA declined to name the teams interested in the money.

Yeah. It’s not a bailout. Needing emergency cash to meet operating expenses is the mark of a healthy organization. Ask General Motors. The general money issues facing the Association have drawn Bill Simmons’ attention, and he gets off a pretty damn good line:

And so we finally crossed the imaginary line between “building a good team while being fiscally responsible” and “being fiscally responsible and not giving a crap about anything else.” (In other words, the rest of the league finally caught up to the Grizzlies, Clippers and Suns. Robert Sarver, who knew? We always thought you were heartless, now we know you’re a visionary!)

Damn skippy. Suck it bitches. Welcome to the world inhabited by the four remaining Grizzlies fans. It’s cold out here. Bring a coat.

In light of last night’s 46-point explosion, including a franchise-record 24 free throws, it’s time to check in on the development of last year’s second pick in the NBA Draft, Kevin Durant. Durant struggled at times during his rookie season, but seemed to get a better hold on things as the season progressed. Durant was put in a difficult situation, though, as he was essentially given the keys to a struggling team that was leaving its hometown at the end of the season. He also played out of position at the shooting guard spot in an effort to minimize the ability of opposing big men to use their strength advantage to exploit and wear down the lean rookie. However, he was stuck guarding quicker players, many of whom were the lead offensive threats for his opponents, doubling the load on the young pup’s shoulders.

This season, though, Durant was moved to small forward after one game at the two-guard under interim head coach Scott Brooks, a much more natural fit. This has helped Durant’s production significantly:

Starts at guard (13) – 21.6 pts, 4.2 reb, 2.1 ast, 0.9 stl, 0.5 blk, 3.8 to per game

Starts at forward (30) – 26.0 pts, 7.6 reb, 2.8 ast, 1.4 stl, 0.9 blk, 2.9 to per game

Durant’s minutes have also jumped up under Brooks, as he has averaged 41 minutes per game as a starting forward over the 35:36 per night as a guard (he got over 39 minutes in that game where he started at guard in Brooks’ debut). That said, Durant is still averaging essentially the same number of field goal attempts per game – 18.8 as a guard, 18.6 as a forward. His effectiveness, however, is picking up, as he has boosted his three-point attempts from 1.5 to 3.9 attempts from deep without his success rate sliding and has taken the ball to the bucket more often, resulting in an increase from 4.8 charity shots (hat tip: Shooter from “Hoosiers”) per game to 7.7. For a guy who hits at the line at an over-85 percent clip, getting to the line this frequently is a no-brainer.

He’s still ramping up his game, too. In his last 23 games, Durant has averaged 27.2 points and rebounds per game, shooting 48.1 percent from the floor and 87.6 percent from the line in that time. Perhaps even more impressive is the consistency with which the forward has performed during this span of seven weeks, posting two stinkers (a nine-point effort while playing less than half the game as the Thunder were run out of the gym in Minnesota and a 5-for-17 night against the Suns). By the way, 19 of those 23 games have seen Durant hang a number 25 or larger in the points column of your box score.

That said, Durant still has work to do. His turnover rate is still too high, as he is fourth in the league in turnovers committed, and his defense still needs to improve greatly. The bright side is that as Durant has had the ball in his hands less as a forward, his turnovers have decreased significantly and the guys that surround him in the turnover category have names like Wade, Nash, and James. As Durant matures and his body fills out (he’ll be able to legally drink about the time training camp for next season rolls around), he will likely become an even more effective rebounder, too.

While he’s not the complete package yet, he likely will be very soon.