2012 NBA Playoffs Western Conference Finals TV Schedule (Yahoo! Contributor Network)
(Tue, 22 May 2012 20:31:00 PDT)
The 2012 Western Conference Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder will begin on Sunday, May 27 and may end as late Friday, June 8. Due to their early Western Conference Semifinal victories over the Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers respectively, the Spurs and Thunder will both be rested up for a matchup between the two teams with the best records in the Western Conference. Which team will prevail in this best-of-seven series to see who will represent the West in the 2012 NBA Finals?

Metta World Peace calls Mike Brown fat (Ball Don't Lie)
(Tue, 22 May 2012 16:52:27 PDT)
We have had plenty of Lakers postmortems in the wake of their Game 5 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Most concern whether or not they'll try to make a big trade involving Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum or both. It's a period of great flux for the franchise, and all we can be sure of is that Kobe Bryant will continue to play a huge role in whatever happens. Whether or not Metta World Peace will be part of that future is anyone's guess. After signing with the Lakers as Ron Artest in 2009, he was an integral part of the Lakers' championship that season. Over the past two seasons, however, they've seen diminishing returns on their investment, with MWP becoming less dependable, more reckless ( the elbow to the head of James Harden will always make that point), and a little pudgier around his midsection. He has one more year on his contract, plus a player option season that he'd be a fool not to take, but the Lakers might consider using their amnesty clause on him to save some cash. [Related: Lakers' future uncertain after playoff KO by Thunder | Photos ] World Peace, to his credit, took some blame for his struggles this season while at Lakers HQ on Tuesday for his season-ending interview. However, in doing so, he also called his coach fat. From Mark Medina for the Los Angeles Times on Twitter (via PBT ):

Thunder face West's best in climb toward top (The Associated Press)
(Tue, 22 May 2012 16:03:44 PDT)
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) The Oklahoma City Thunder haven't found any shortcuts as they try to climb to the top of the Western Conference.

The Los Angeles Clippers, and Los Angeles Lakers? Gone till November (Ball Don't Lie)
(Tue, 22 May 2012 13:30:09 PDT)
The thought, as soon as the Los Angeles Clippers pulled off a deal for All-Star point guard Chris Paul last December, was that the Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers would no doubt meet in the playoffs at some point. That the two teams, with the Dallas Mavericks fading and the Oklahoma City Thunder not having made a major offseason move, would duke it out for the Pacific Division title, and possibly play in the Western Conference finals for the rights to represent the city in the NBA Finals. And why not? Even after trading Lamar Odom for mere payroll relief, the Lakers still looked stout as ever. Kobe Bryant's knee was as good as it had been in years thanks to his experimental knee rehabilitation in Germany and the extended six-month layoff due to the Lakers' relatively early 2010-11 exit and the NBA's lockout. The Clippers would be returning superstar Blake Griffin, they matched Golden State's offer for center DeAndre Jordan, and Paul was supposed to be the guy to find easy buckets when everyone's footwork went awry. Instead, though, both teams petered out in the second round, with just one win between the teams to show for their efforts. The Clippers looked both thin and brittle, overly reliant on Paul to save them from the offensive dregs, with CP3 once again ending his season with a pronounced limp. The Lakers looked disturbingly uneven from night to night, a top-heavy team whose top parts didn't play well with each other. Both went out far earlier than intended by them, or predicted by some, and both have major issues to face as they head into their offseasons a month earlier than they had hoped for way back in December.

Lakers will debate overhaul after playoff exit (The Associated Press)
(Tue, 22 May 2012 09:54:57 PDT)
LOS ANGELES (AP) Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol spent the final minutes of the Los Angeles Lakers' final game arguing in Oklahoma City, disagreeing on the best way to run a pick-and-roll play.

Kobe Bryant and the Lakers face uncertain future after early playoff exit
(Tue, 22 May 2012 03:11:03 PDT)
The Lakers will likely need to make some changes after losing to the Thunder in the second round.

Spurs flirting with history on 18-game streak (The Associated Press)
(Mon, 21 May 2012 23:19:06 PDT)
SAN ANTONIO (AP) Eighteen wins in a row, and eight more victories to go.

Clippers learn in 1st winning season in 6 years (The Associated Press)
(Mon, 21 May 2012 16:50:49 PDT)
LOS ANGELES (AP) The Los Angeles Clippers were swept out of the playoffs, ending a season to remember and build on for the much-maligned franchise.

Company pulls anti-Seattle, Oklahoma City Thunder T-shirts after receiving death threats (Ball Don't Lie)
(Mon, 21 May 2012 08:00:53 PDT)
The New York Times' Howard Beck, on his way from Los Angeles to Oklahoma City to cover Monday's Game 5 between the Lakers and Thunder, uncovered this rather shady T-shirt design on Sunday . The Thunder aren't exactly giving these rags out at the door, but that didn't stop our initial post on the T-shirts on Monday morning from inspiring a world of outrage on Twitter, and apparent death threats sent the way of Warpaint Clothing, the company that humorlessly put the duds together -- utilizing the former Seattle SuperSonics logo along the way. Rightfully, just one Thunder fan deciding to purchase this and pull it over their head is enough for us to break out the Patented BDL Tsk-Tsk Geiger Counter -- and as a result Warpaint has decided to stop selling the shirts because of death threats sent its way in reaction. To reiterate, Oklahoma City didn't wrest its current team out of Seattle because 37 selected fans and civic leaders won a free-throw shooting contest. It didn't "win" the team by being the quickest to press buttons in some trivia contest at a local chicken wing joint ( "PRESS 'B!' It's 'Romancing the Stone!' Hurry!" ), and the presiding genius of GM Sam Presti is no reflection on either level of fandom emanating from either Oklahoma City or Seattle. No, the current Oklahoma City Thunder are not the former Seattle SuperSonics mainly because former owner (and current Guy That Bilks You Out of Money Every Day For Your Starbucks Fix, You Silly Twit) Howard Schultz didn't think twice before selling a basketball team needing a new stadium to an ownership group from a city that had already proven it could be a fantastic host for an NBA team, with a new stadium at its disposal. [Related: Kobe, Metta World Peace technicals bury Lakers in Game 5 ]

Spurs close out Clippers to sweep series 4-0 (The Associated Press)
(Mon, 21 May 2012 01:01:09 PDT)
LOS ANGELES (AP) The San Antonio Spurs are on to the Western Conference finals, along with their 18-game winning streak and 8-0 mark in the playoffs.

Spurs sweep Clippers to extend NBA win streak
(Mon, 21 May 2012 00:31:19 PDT)
San Antonio continue to run roughshod across the NBA, completing their second-straight four-game series sweep in the postseason by beating the Los Angeles Clippers 102-99 in game four.

Spurs finish off Clippers with 102-99 victory (The SportsXchange)
(Mon, 21 May 2012 00:10:16 PDT)
LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Clippers said before Sunday's Game 4 against the San Antonio Spurs that they'd need to play desperately in order to pull off the upset and extend the series to a fifth game in San Antonio.

Paul can't rescue Clippers in final minute (The SportsXchange)
(Mon, 21 May 2012 00:10:16 PDT)
Perhaps no words signaled the change in expectations for the Los Angeles Clippers this season better than Chris Paul's statement after the San Antonio Spurs swept the Clippers out of the playoffs Sunday night at Staples Center.

Spurs rally to beat Clippers, win series (The Associated Press)
(Mon, 21 May 2012 00:00:13 PDT)
LOS ANGELES (AP) The San Antonio Spurs mowed down another opponent, using their guile under pressure to close out another perfect playoff series.

Spurs sweep Clippers, advance to West finals
(Sun, 20 May 2012 23:39:37 PDT)
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The San Antonio Spurs steamrolled into the NBA Western Conference finals after a 102-99 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday gave them a clean sweep of their seven-game series.

Duncan happy about Game 4 challenge (The SportsXchange)
(Sun, 20 May 2012 23:20:19 PDT)
Of the eight straight postseason wins so far for San Antonio, only two have been by less than 10 points. Sunday night's Western Conference semifinals clincher over the Los Angeles Clippers was by far the closest call.

Behind the Box Score, where the Heat grabbed control behind LeBron James’ amazing afternoon (Ball Don't Lie)
(Sun, 20 May 2012 23:05:36 PDT)
Miami Heat 101, Indiana Pacers 93 (series tied, 2-2) Dwyane Wade came alive and LeBron James had a game for the ages on Sunday afternoon. All signs pointed to the Heat's dynamic duo flipping the proverbial switch, as they put the Pacers away, so what took so long? Why, a week into this series, did it take four games for the Heat to come alive? Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra was absolutely correct in pointing out that none of us should be surprised that a series between a second and third seed will be a long battle "without much variance," but we're probably just as correct in wondering where the heck Udonis Haslem was in Game 3 of his team's long series with the Indiana Pacers. Even before Haslem's jump shots helped put the Pacers away in Miami's Game 4 win over Indiana on Sunday, Spoelstra's adjustments won Miami this game. He put two of the best players in NBA history in a position to succeed, and his work (even when Indiana was up, in the first quarter) won the Heat this game.

Spurs 102, Clippers 99 (The SportsXchange)
(Sun, 20 May 2012 22:30:14 PDT)
LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Clippers said before Sunday's Game 4 against the San Antonio Spurs that they'd need to play desperately in order to pull off the upset and extend the series to a fifth game in San Antonio.

Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant have Thunder looking like champion contenders
(Sun, 20 May 2012 08:40:23 PDT)
The whispers a year ago that the young stars couldn't coexist are fading following another shutdown of the Lakers in Game 4 of the Western semifinals.

Kobe Bryant blames Pau Gasol for Lakers' Game 4 collapse against Thunder
(Sun, 20 May 2012 01:13:11 PDT)
The Lakers left their latest meltdown against the Thunder bickering and on the brink of elimination.

Thunder rally past Lakers, take 3-1 series lead (The Associated Press)
(Sun, 20 May 2012 01:04:18 PDT)
LOS ANGELES (AP) Kevin Durant stood above the 3-point line and watched the shot clock dwindle in the final seconds of Game 4. When Metta World Peace backed up slightly on defense, Durant hesitated only an instant before launching a 26-footer.

Spurs' Duncan shows that he's aging well (The SportsXchange)
(Sun, 20 May 2012 01:01:12 PDT)
Father Time catches up with everyone in professional sports. There's no stopping the aging process and the inevitable diminishing of skills.