FanHouse JoakimNoah

Cherry Picking recaps the previous day's NBA playoff action.

That was some Game 6 between the Celtics and Bulls, wasn't it? Kirk Hinrich and Rajon Rondo mixing it up early, Ray Allen scoring 51 points, and the two teams taking three overtimes to decide that they're going to need a Game 7 on Saturday to ultimately sort things out. An absolutely epic NBA playoff game.

Unless, of course, you're a fan of either the Houston Rockets or the Portland Trail Blazers.

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CHICAGO -- It was a primal scream, delivered with all the rock-star force and decibels that Joakim Noah could muster in a half-raucous, half-exhausted arena. "AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" he yelled, or something like that. After another three hours and 56 minutes of psychoball, part of an epic series with four overtime games, seven overtime periods, 65 ties, 105 lead changes, 16 stitches, a claw to the face and a slammed body into an NBA Cares advertisement, what else would The Greatest First-Round Series Ever do but produce a Game 7?

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Calling Game 6 of Bulls-Celtics epic is a vast understatement. The game was completely unbelievable. As in, if you didn't see it, you wouldn't believe everything that happened actually happened. I don't doubt trying to dissemble the game into mere memories will drive some fans mad with anxiety and frustration.

The Bulls ended up victorious after four hours of battle with the defending champs. This series had already tied the NBA record for most overtime periods in a series ... before tonight's triptych of extra frames. And for each overtime, there was a mess of incredible and unforgettable plays.

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NBA Essentials provides the must-see links, quotes and videos of the day.

-- "Shaquille O'Neal didn't just stay an extra day in Dallas because, as he claims, he wanted to visit the Grassy Knoll. We're told the Suns legendary center also stayed behind because he thinks all the grass in Dallas might be greener – and that he is angling with Mavs owner Mark Cuban for an offseason trade to Big D." -- Mike Fisher, DallasBasketball.com

Every night there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the "lig." Doing Lines lets you know which one tops the list.

As with the rookie snubs earlier this week, it's time to watch for the Disrespect Bounce. Namely, dudes like Al Jefferson, Mo Williams and Rajon Rondo -- did they explode to prove a point?

Jefferson got a shot against the toast of the West, and did his part: 34 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks for Big Al against the Lakers. Unfortunately, the team's defense was atrocious and Ryan Gomes missed double-digit field goals, and the Wolves dropped their second straight.

Every night there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the lig. Doing Lines lets you know which one tops the list.

The headline is both true and unbelievable. Minnesota is 9-2 in January, the latest triumph an overtime victory against Chicago. Al Jefferson registered as the only Wolves starter in double figures. Luckily, he made them count: 39 points on 16-29 shooting, nine rebounds and just one turnover.

Al's superhuman effort countered balanced play from the Bulls, which had six players with double-digit scoring. Joakim Noah might have had the best game of his pro career, notching 14 points, 10 rebounds and seven blocks. Obviously, Jefferson scored on the Bulls bigs at will. But Noah got his, y'all.

I have some information which may be new to you.

The Bulls are dysfunctional.

Color me shocked, as the circumstances of a Friday spat between Andres Nocioni and Joakim Noah come to public attention. According to Mike McGraw of the Arlington Heights Daily Herald, Noah admonished Nocioni for missing a defensive assignment for the second time in two games. Nocioni didn't like the criticism. Ergo, battle!

More embarrassing is Vinny Del Negro's crusade against pre-game snacks in the locker room. Such a scourge, those ... um ... peanut butter sandwiches? Discipline can be counted as an important piece of build a winner out of a bunch of kids. But you don't have to be a librarian to get people in line. Even worse, Hoopsworld's Bill Ingram considers it evidence of further straw-grasping by Del Negro.

The team spun its U-turn away from the Skiles era so hard it has wound up back in the same position as before, with the players apparently hating the coach and each other. So much for the hope of the No. 1 pick.

NBA Essentials ranks our six favorite stories of the day.

1. Blog-a-Bull. Joakim Noah and Tyrus Thomas are not making the most of their opportunities.

2. Ball Don't Lie. Video of the next president's election day pick-up game.

3. Sports Illustrated. Steve Nash is upset the Suns don't run when Shaquille O'Neal is on the bench.

4. Washington Times, via BallHype. More JaVale "Epic Vale" McGee: "A strip on the size-18 Nikes of Washington Wizards rookie JaVale McGee bears a peculiar phrase, written neatly in black Sharpie. 'Kill + Mode = Cheese.'"

5. Boston Globe, via TrueHoop. Carmelo Anthony might lose his personal chef ... to the White House.

6. Los Angeles Daily News. Why doesn't Chris Kaman surf the internet? "I'm into other stuff, shooting my bow and arrow around in my backyard, flying helicopters around. I just do stupid stuff you wouldn't think I'd be doing, but I'm the one doing it."

When Suns' head coach Terry Porter mentioned before the season that he was considering resting Shaquille O'Neal at various times throughout the season, I took it as him saying it was something he may do occasionally. As it turns out though, it appears to be the rule rather than the exception so far, and (needlessly) doing so at this point in the season cost the team a game that would otherwise have been winnable last night in Chicago.

The Suns planned to give Shaq the night off in Indiana, when the team was playing the second game of a back-to-back, and the big fella had put in 24 strong minutes the night before in New Jersey. In fact, Shaq was dressed in a suit up until about 20 minutes before tip-off, but was called to action after starter Matt Barnes left the team to be with his fiancee, who was giving birth to a set of twins. O'Neal played less than 12 minutes though, and with Amare Stoudemire blowing up for 49 points, the team got by without him.

After a day off, the Suns traveled to Chicago, but decided to give Shaq a night of rest because they again were facing back-to-back games, and the thinking was that tonight's opponent, the Milwaukee Bucks, would pose a bigger challenge in the paint than the Bulls. The Bucks have Andrew Bogut; the Bulls play Drew Gooden and Joakim Noah. But with the Suns already missing one of their starters, did they really need to give Shaq a night of rest, just six games into this young season?

With Tom Ziller's blessing, I bring you the story of a fan base that had its draft night hopes raised to the highest of heights, only to have them come crashing to the ground moments later. The Sacramento Kings had the 12th pick in the draft, and as things were shaking out, it appeared one of the best guards in the draft -- Jerryd Bayless -- might just fall into their laps at that spot. Through the first 10 picks, Bayless had been passed over. All that was left was for the Pacers to draft someone else at 11, which appeared likely considering they had just traded for T.J. Ford. But then ... well, Blazer's Edge (via TrueHoop) explains better than I ever could.

There's a show on National Geographic called "Seconds from Disaster" where they chronicle, minute by minute, the events that led up to a famous, tragic event like an airline crash or a gas pipe explosion. This feels like one of those shows ...

Obligatory warning: This thread is SOOOOO not safe for work because of the language. Well, maybe if you work in a porno shop with drunken sailors who have gone off of their Tourette's meds. No...even they would blush. But in this context all of that seems vaguely appropriate.

An absolutely hilarious account, and a pretty accurate one too. Now, Kings fans weren't lining up to jump off of the Tower Bridge because the team selected Jason Thompson. It was because of the cruel way in which the Draft Gods had toyed with them, and did so for the second straight year. Ziller mentioned that this year's Draft felt a little too much like last year's, when the Kings hoped to get Brandan Wright or Joakim Noah before they disappeared from the draft board in the two picks before it was Sacramento's turn.

Hopefully Thompson turns out to be more than a serviceable big man for the Kings. Because after the way the last two draft nights have gone down in Sacramento, the fans of the team seem to deserve it.