NBA Thursday: OKC, Golden State pick up wins

We could go with a lot of head puns here, but I’m pretty sure Austin Powers used up all of those 15 years ago. And now I’ve just made a lot of people feel bad about their age. I’m so sorry.

You go, Vince. Whatever works, I guess. Rev that motorbike.

Well, now Charles Barkley has an intern, apparently. Talking on TV about basketball is clearly just too difficult for Barkley to handle without help.

Heck, I’d be an unpaid intern for him if I got to ride a Segway on national TV and give Chuck an opening to squeeze in an opportunity to talk about his old Nike signature shoe.

He apparently got so heated he threw a tantrum while sitting next to assistant coach Mo Cheeks before storming off for a brief stay in the locker room before returning.

Oh, that poor kid. That definitely was not the time to offer Russell Westbrook a high-five.

Hat tip to Royce Young.

Dallas is off to a disappointing start to the season with a 19-26 record good for 11th place in the Western Conference. Dirk has started the last 12 games for the Mavericks but is averaging just 14.8 points per game on 42 percent shooting. Both marks are the lowest since his rookie season in the 1998-99 season.

The Warriors on the other hand have been one of the season’s biggest surprises with a 28-17 record. They are currently fifth in the Western Conference standings. Golden State will also be missing a key player on Thursday as Seth Curry will miss the game due to an ankle injury that he suffered earlier this week.

Zach Randolph certainly didn’t intend to do so, but he’s on pace to get his name written into the record books.

However, he does have 12 rebounds!

Golden State of Mind, SB Nation’s Warriors blog, has a report on how Bogut looked in his first game back on Monday.

Mavs Moneyball, SB Nation’s Mavericks blog, has a fairly pessimistic look at the mood around the team following Tuesday’s heart-breaking loss.

The game, set to tip off at 8:00 p.m. ET, is the first half of TNT’s national double-header.

After getting off to a 21-4 start, Memphis looked like one of the biggest roadblocks in the way of Oklahoma City getting back to the NBA Finals. However, as they cooled down considerably over the last two months, financial realities forced the hands of the Grizzlies’ new ownership group.

Check out Straight Outta Vancouver, SB Nation’s Grizzlies blog, for their take on the big trade.

For a look ahead to all the big NBA games this weekend, head on over to our partners at SI.com.