Charles Barkley is the Steph Curry of insults

Good morning. Let’s basketball.

WOOF: Not a banner night for offense in the NBA. The Celtics put up seven points in a horrific first quarter and never truly recovered. Atlanta’s up 2-0. Meanwhile, Memphis scored just 11 in its own first quarter against the Spurs and trailed by 14 at the half. The Spurs coasted to a 2-0 lead.

SCORES GALORE ...

BOS 72, ATL 89
MEM 68, SAS 94

ON THE AIR TONIGHT ...

Hornets at Heat, 7 p.m. ET, NBA TV, MIA leads 1-0
Pistons at Cavs, 8 p.m., TNT, CLE leads 1-0
Blazers at Clippers, 10:30 p.m., TNT, LAC leads 1-0

THE NBA IN NC: Bethlehem Shoals on the competing narratives around the NBA’s deliberate decision-making around the 2017 All-Star Game in North Carolina in the face of the state’s new anti-anti-discrimination bill.

ARROGANCE INC: I wrote about the deep well of hubris in Golden State, starting at the top.

SPEAKING OF ARROGANCE ... Just a simply incredible portrait of Kobe from Ramona Shelburne. Good lord.

HEROINE: A woman videobombs a kiss cam moment by double-fisting pizza. I don’t care if it’s staged.

PLAYOFF WEDGIE!

OOF: I’m honestly not clear about mascot anatomy but this stunt looks painful for Harry the Hawk.

A LEGIT LOL: Watch Dave Joerger express discomfort as Chris Andersen nearly dislocates his coach’s arm on a fly-by high-five.

THE SERBIAN WALL: Boban Marjanovic guarding the inbounds seems unfair.

GRIT AND GRIND AND BRAND: Terrific Kevin Arnovitz piece on the perfect branding of Memphis.

12 SECONDS OF WES: Seth Rosenthal breaks down the 12 seconds of Wes Matthews that may have saved the Mavericks’ playoff run.

SAME OLD PROBLEM: Jason Patt on the Thunder’s collapse.

OH NO: Charles Barkley said Reggie Miller may be the worst analyst on television. On the network that employs both Charles Barkley and Reggie Miller.

MORE CHUCK: Want some more of Barkley being too real? Here he is determining that the remainder of the Warriors-Rockets series is indeed not necessary. Barkley also said James Harden finished 479th in DPOY voting, suggested LeBron get a Rogaine endorsement so he doesn’t waste money on paint and renewed his attack on the fine people of San Antonio. Basically, Chuck was in rare form on Tuesday and Inside the NBA is an hour-long Twitter meme and it is greatness.

ADAM TO ADAM: SLAM’s Adam Figman interviews Adam Silver. There’s some excellent talk about how the league stays up on style trends and lots more.

A TWIST: Luke Walton might not take a head coaching job this summer, he tells the New York Post. Regardless, despite talking to Knicks boss Phil Jackson and the Nets organization, the Warriors haven’t cleared him for any interviews yet.

GLASS CEILING, SHATTERED: CBS did a nice interview with Michele Roberts, the players’ union chief.

EXCELLENT NEWS: Earl Watson kept the Suns job with a multi-year deal.

WELL SURE: The Kings are interviewing Mike Woodson and Vinny Del Negro. Marc Stein adds Sam Mitchell to the list.

OOH THIS IS NICE: Jordan Brand has a Kawhi signature line of apparel coming soon. It looks great.

Happy Wednesday. See you next time.

Stifling Defense: Kawhi Leonard frustrates Lance Stephenson

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