Portland Trail Blazers' Thomas Robinson (41) reacts after he was called for a foul against San Antonio Spurs' Tiago Splitter, right, of Brazil, during the second half of Game 2 of a Western Conference semifinal NBA basketball playoff series, Thursday, May 8, 2014, in San Antonio. San Antonio won 114-97. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Portland Trail Blazers' Thomas Robinson (41) reacts after he was called for a foul against San Antonio Spurs' Tiago Splitter, right, of Brazil, during the second half of Game 2 of a Western Conference semifinal NBA basketball playoff series, Thursday, May 8, 2014, in San Antonio. San Antonio won 114-97. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

You think Thomas Robinson looks upset in the above photo from Portland’s 114-97 Game 2 loss at San Antonio Thursday night?

If only cameras had been in the locker room before the game.

That’s when Robinson ran into something far scarier than Tim Duncan. He saw a snake in his locker-room stall.

Joel Odom of The Oregonian got the details from Robinson himself.

“It took a couple minutes for
everybody to believe me. ‘There’s a
snake in my locker.’ But everybody
thought I was playing, until they came
over and looked for ourselves. And
then he told us to get away from it,
it was a rattlesnake. ”

Robinson’s initial reaction?

“I screamed, jumped, yelled, all
that.”

His teammate, Mo Williams, seemed braver than the other Blazers in the locker room at the time. He posted a photo of the rattler to Instagram.

http://instagram.com/p/nwOSxRnfSA/

Reporters asked Robinson after the fact what the snake looked like, and he had the perfect description:

“Black and white. Spurs.”

Robinson went on to score two points and grab two rebounds in 14 minutes after the pre-game scare. Portland, down 2-0 in the series, plays host to San Antonio on Saturday (9:30 p.m., ESPN).

Chalmers a steady component for Miami

Miami Heat's Mario Chalmers (15) shoots over Brooklyn Nets' Deron Williams (8), Joe Johnson (7), Paul Pierce (34) and Kevin Garnett (2) in the first half of Game 1 in an Eastern Conference semifinal basketball game, Tuesday, May 6, 2014, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

In the Jayhawk vs. Jayhawk Eastern Conference semifinals — also known as Brooklyn vs. Miami — Mario Chalmers’ Heat put Paul Pierce’s Nets in a 2-0 hole Thursday with a 94-82 victory.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uh-C5UtzLCg

Though Chalmers (11 points, 5 assists) was outscored by Pierce (13 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists), Miami’s sixth-year guard has to be feeling better about his team’s chances of moving on to the conference finals — especially with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh on his side.

Chalmers doesn’t have the name power of the Heat’s Big Three, but he has been in the starting lineup in every game he’s played during the previous three regular seasons for the back-to-back NBA champions.

Shandel Richardson of the Sun Sentinel wrote about Chalmers’ consistency following Game 2 of the series. His biggest accomplishment in this one might have been his role in holding Nets guard Deron Williams scoreless (0-for-9 in 37 minutes).

“I just provide all I can for my
teammates. My main focus this year was
just being a consistent player. I
think I’ve done a pretty good job with
that. My teammates trusted me. The
coaching staff trusted in me.”

Bosh said the Heat need Chalmers in that role, and appreciate what he brings.

“When Rio is playing well, we’re tough
to beat. He’s just that fourth or
fifth guy who you can’t leave. When
he’s controlling his tempo, doing his
job, making open shots, it’s really
all uphill for us.”

Game 3 is Saturday at Brooklyn (7 p.m., ABC).

McLemore planning on busy offseason

Sacramento Kings guard Ben McLemore (16) slam dunks in front of New Orleans Pelicans guard Anthony Morrow (3) and forward Darius Miller (2) in the second half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Monday, March 31, 2014. The Kings won 102-97. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

The 2014 NBA Playoffs are in full effect as eight of the league’s 30 teams still have dreams of hoisting the Larry O’Brien Trophy come June.

For most of the league, though, it’s already summertime.

Trying to reach the playoffs himself one day, Sacramento shooting guard Ben McLemore hasn’t stopped working on his game while returning to Lawrence, where he played one season for Kansas.

Late night work. #nodaysoff #strive4succes #rcjh getting better everyday till the end. #sirmclemore

A post shared by Ben McLemore (@b_mclemore23) on May 7, 2014 at 6:57pm PDT

http://twitter.com/BenMcLemore/status/464470076540727296/

But he’s also in town to get in some off-court work, toward completing his degree.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-rDGbVdv9w

McLemore, drafted seventh by the Kings last summer, didn’t receive any votes for the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award, won by Philadelphia’s Michael Carter-Williams, the 11th overall pick in 2013.

Sacramento general manager Pete D’Alessandro addressed the 21-year-old shooting guard’s first season — 82 games, 55 starts, 8.8 points, 2.9 rebounds, 37.6% shooting, 32% from 3-point range — in a recent Q & A.

“I think Ben had a very common rookie
year. His performance is something we
see a lot from guys like him. I think
we saw it early on and he stepped up
quickly and played well, hit somewhat
of a wall and now you see later on
he’s getting there. If you took the
beginning and end of this season and
put them together, you’d look at him
and go, ‘Hey, those are pretty decent
looking numbers.’ I think it’s common
when you have a young guy who’s played
a year of college and steps into that
starting position. It’s a lot to ask.
We have three high-scoring pieces on a
team. How do you step up and be that
fourth guy? It’s tough.”

To D’Alessandro’s point, McLemore’s numbers fluctuated throughout his first year:

• November: 9.5 points, 3.1 rebounds, 39.3% FGs, 36.4% 3s in 23.2 minutes

• December: 8.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, 37.6% FGs, 35.1% 3s in 28.2 minutes

• January: 5.9 points, 2.3 rebounds, 35.1% FGs, 29.3% 3s in 19.7 minutes

• February: 6.6 points, 2.8 rebounds, 30.1% FGs, 23.5% 3s in 25.1 minutes

• March: 10.6 points, 2.9 rebounds, 42.7% FGs, 32.8% 3s in 31.4 minutes

• April: 13.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, 39.1% FGs, 31.6% 3s in 37.3 minutes

The rookie’s confidence began growing late in the season, after Sacramento traded away Marcus Thornton, and re-inserted McLemore into the starting lineup.

D’Alessandro, it seems from the Q & A, remains impressed with McLemore — even if he didn’t have the kind of rookie year Carter-Williams or Orlando’s Victor Oladipo (the No. 2 overall pick) did.

“I’ve said this from the beginning of
the year, the guy works like no other
young guy works. He and Ray (McCallum,
another 2013-14 rookie) together, I
really give them a lot of credit for
their work ethic. If you have talent,
athleticism, and that work ethic –
which he does – I think it’s a recipe
for success. I really look forward to
what has yet to come for him. I’ve
been very happy with Ben. I’ve said it
all year long, and I stand by it.”

Clearly that work ethic is already being put to use. In a quote from CowbellKingdom.com, the young guard described how the 82-game grind of his first NBA season shaped his plan of attack going forward.

“Just coming in the league, I’ve seen
so much playing against these
different type of caliber guys every
night, just seeing what I need to work
on. It definitely helped me (realize),
‘Ok, I need to work on this, this
summer.'”

Markieff Morris snubbed in Sixth Man voting?

Phoenix Suns' Markieff Morris (11) drives as Memphis Grizzlies' Zach Randolph (50) and Tayshaun Prince (21) defend during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, April 14, 2014, in Phoenix. The Grizzlies won 97-91. (AP Photo/Matt York)

Once the NBA announced Los Angeles Clippers gaurd Jamal Crawford as the 2013-14 Sixth Man of the Year, it didn’t take long for someone to pose the question: Why not Markieff Morris?

That someone was Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic, who covers the Phoenix Suns and used his ballot to vote Morris as the league’s top reserve.

Coro’s case against Crawford stems from the fact he started 24 games for the Clippers in the regular season, and the Suns beat writer said Morris or Chicago’s Taj Gibson were more deserving.

Morris had plenty going for him, and Coro provides the evidence. Among bench players (the 6-foot-10 power forward served as a backup in all 81 games he played), Morris scored the most points (1,115) had the most double-doubles (11), was fourth in rebounds per game (6.0), fifth in points per game (13.8), sixth in field-goal percentage (48.6), and even seventh in steals per game (0.85).

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[3]:

Boston's Paul Pierce hoists the Larry O'Brien Trophy. The Celtics crushed the Lakers in Game 6 of the NBA Finals on Tuesday in Boston, and Pierce was named MVP after the game. Pierce played at Kansas University from 1995 to 1998.