The Weekside: Dwight Howard and the search for a villain

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The flair of Steph Curry is a sight to behold. It’s almost silly to pretend there is still a debate about him being the best shooter ever, and Steph has been torching all comers with his long-range bombing, dribbling, and passing exploits on the way to an all-time record number of 3-pointers this postseason. But Steve Kerr has also been using the slight MVP in another astute way, as Rob Mahoney pointed out for Sports Illustrated.

“We’ve seen Golden State draw value from the surprise of using Curry as a screener,” wrote Mahoney. “The reigning MVP, at all of 185 pounds, is a screen-setting titan.” The play above is a prime example: Jason Terry is so intent on sticking to Steph like epoxy that a simple ball screen gave the Warriors a 2-on-1 at the rim that led to an easy dunk late in Game 2.

It’s stuff like this that shows how Kerr’s ingenuity has, in just one season, turned a top-notch team into a all-time great one. And it’s just one more reason why the NBA Finals will be more a showcase of excellence than a competition.

Kyle Korver struggled in the playoffs (largely because opponents are defending him better than they did in the regular season). He was especially poor after the first round, shooting an unthinkably low 34.3% against the Wizards and Cavaliers before suffering an ankle injury that is keeping him for the remainder of the Hawks’ season. (more on that later.)

But what he lacked in playoff production, he did show in sense.

Sure, his decision to jump off the train tracks in the clip above may have lead to an easy dunk by LeBron and sealed a win for the Cavs, but (a) he wasn’t stopping the giant freight train that could anyway, and (b) live to play another day. Though in Kyle’s case, sadly, it was only one more day. Injuries, always and forever, are the worst.

Russell Westbrook’s taste in music matches his taste in clothes.

It’s inconceivably great that we live in an era of instant Vines and GIFs of plays, great and hilarious. Imagine having these during the days of Magic and Bird with all the incredible passes or Jordan throwing up crazy shots. All of use who lived through those eras have indelible memories of their exploits, but given that the pool of footage those images are drawn from largely comes from the limited NBA highlight packages and MJ-produced self-promotion documentaries, we obviously have a lot of blank spots in their archives.

Really, we didn’t even have the thorough coverage we do now even two seasons ago. The Vines really didn’t start appearing until the 2013-14 season. We certainly don’t appreciate it enough, and adds so much to the viewing experience to see things like this Andre Iguodala dunk pop up on my Twitter timeline within a minute of them occurring.

Still, there is nothing like some good photos. And the still images of this Iggy dunk are just as good as re-watching the Vine loop again and again.

Although best of all might just be the Vine of Steph Curry’s reaction to ‘Dre’s dunk.

The only thing better than Jamie Foxx’s impression of Clippers coach Doc Rivers is his take on John Legend. And through the magic of YouTube, you can see both in one video.

There are several impending free agents who have spent the postseason guaranteeing that their futures will feature leisurely dives into Scrooge McDuck-esque money vaults. Though not household names to casual sports fans, I expect each of these guys to become very, very rich this summer when they sign max deals.

• Kawhi Leonard
• Jimmy Butler
• DeAndre Jordan
• Draymond Green

Then there are the a few others, namely Hawks Paul Milsapp and DeMarre Carroll. Each should be in for a hefty payday, with Carroll using a career year to propel himself towards a contract that would have seemed out of reach just one season ago. It is hard to say just how much he will get, however. The salary cap is scheduled to jump by a record (at least) $20 million in the summer of 2016, so the market this summer is unpredictable and may feature some odd signings. If any team really wants Carroll, they may be willing to overpay by a lot now and hand out an annual salary that looks wacky today but will be a below-market-rate sum for versatile wings like DeMarre in three years.

Though this season is coming to a crashing end for the Hawks, it is looking up for Carroll. Just a few days ago, he suffered a non-contact knee injury that, had it been serious, would have undone all the great work he did this year to earn his next deal. But instead, he has played through the pain and didn’t even miss a game. He hasn’t been his old self, but he likely has already done enough to assuage the fears that everyone had when they saw him go down.

Then, of course, there are the more-coveted free agents: Marc Gasol (getting the max), LaMarcus Aldridge (max), Kevin Love (who knows?), Millsap (a bunch of money), and Goran Dragic (many dragon dollars), and there are just a ton of players on the market who most teams will want.

The postseason has been a drag, but rest assured that the offseason will be nutso. At least a few GMs will shock the world.

All the words you can write about LeBron have already been written. Just look at this nonsense though.

Jahlil Okafor might give Kawhi Leonard a run for his money for Freak Hands MVP next season. Though my money is still on Kawhi, whose hands have inspired a celebration from his teammates and earned accolades like “bionic,” “Frisbee-size,” having “their own gravitational pull,” “vice grip,” and “holy smokes” in this New York Times profile.

FIRST-TEAM ALL DEFENSE

The coaching search is on for the teams with vacancies, not to mention the Chicago Bulls, which are expected to can Tom Thibodeau in the near future. In New Orleans, Jeff Van Gundy is reportedly emerging as a candidate. Disney-brand broadcasts wouldn’t be the same without him, but I’m in favor of anything that would put an even 1/15h of the league in Van Gundy hands. (His brother Stan coaches the Pistons.)

Another candidate in New Orleans: Alvin Gentry. The former Phoenix Suns head coach would do a fine job in the bayou as well, I’m sure, but the best part of his name coming up was that someone recently pointed out a story about Gentry and man-who-went-to-the-moon Buzz Aldrin. The quick version is here and this is the tale in video form.

Andrew Bogut has been a monster. I had no idea he could go up and get alley-oops one-handed like this still — and he did it twice. Plus, he was swatting shots at the rim and

The Golden State Warriors: From “We Believe” to “I Can’t Believe a Team Is This Good” in eight years.

Next: The Best Curry