Few teams have had an offseason as crazy as the Los Angeles Clippers but their Pacific Division rivals, the Golden State Warriors are sure close. After watching Baron Davis walk because of a rift with management, the Warriors quickly made combo guard Monta Ellis a rich man, inking him for over $60 million. Fast forward a couple months and the Warriors are not pleased with Ellis. In fact, they’re essentially calling him a liar to his face.

Multiple league sources have told ESPN.com that Ellis had several cuts and abrasions on his leg - atypical of an injury sustained on a basketball court - in addition to the high ankle sprain and torn deltoid ligament he suffered on Aug. 21.

The Contra Costa Times had earlier reported that the severity of the injury has the Warriors skeptical about the explanation they received from Ellis, who told the club he got hurt working out in his native Mississippi.

Call me crazy, but it’s probably not a good idea to publicly call out your new franchise player. The Warriors aren’t buying Ellis’ story, but what is there to do about it? If their investigation proves that Ellis was lying, are they going to void the massive extension they just gave him? Unless they want a full-scale mutiny from their fanbase, probably not. 

If there’s one thing the Warriors don’t do, it’s tread lightly with their players. Controversies like this should be kept in house, not made public to the media. Ellis will miss the first couple months of the season, but it’s not like he went Kellen Winslow on us and destroyed his leg in a motorcycle accident. Don’t turn this into a full-scale fiasco, Warriors.

Of course, Ellis isn’t the only player whose injury excuses have been a little…ahem…false. Remember Jeff Kent’s infamous truck washing? Or Sonny Bono’s Vladimir Radmanovic’s painful ride down the slopes? These things happen. A simple slap on the wrist would have worked fine, not a fullscale media assault.

Chicago Bulls 108, Detroit Pistons 92: Sure, you know the fact. No team in NBA history has ever come back from the seemingly insurmountable 3-0 deficit. But nobody can say the Bulls have gone out without a fight. After gaining confidence in their game four win, the Bulls went into Detroit and beat some ass. It’s taken a few games but the Bulls are rolling again. Ben Gordon led all scorers with 28 points while his backcourt mate Kirk Hinrich scored 17 points with 13 assists. If you caught any of the game, you saw even more of the tantalizing potential that rookie Tyrus Thomas has. Thomas scored 10 points, grabbed 6 rebounds, and had 5 steals in the win. He’s a bit raw but he’s already one of the most athletic players in the league. Losing one game is one thing. But losing at home and sending this series back to Chicago is not what the Pistons had in mind. Game six is Thursday in Chicago. The Fat Lady ain’t singing yet.

Utah Jazz 100, Golden State Warriors 87: The Warriors had the feel-good story, the athleticism, and the best homecourt advantage we’ve seen in some time. But they didn’t have Carlos Boozer or Derek Fisher. The Jazz wrapped up the series in five games in a game that was far closer than the final score indicated. Boozer scored 21 and D-Fish scored 20, including several three pointers in the final quarter. With the Warriors now out of the playoffs, it’s tough to find a real good story in these playoffs. There’s LeBron James and a Suns team that’s been victim of some solid cheap shots from the Spurs. The Jazz now move on to the Western Conference Finals, while the Warriors exit as the most popular #8 seed ever.

If you missed the action of this weekend’s NBA Playoffs, you missed some incredible highlights. Below are two videos from the weekend’s action. The first one is that of Baron Davis, who iced a game three Warriors win with an incredible dunk over shot-blocking extraordinaire Andrei Kirilenko. The second is from yesterday’s game four between the Pistons and Bulls. With the Pistons down big, Flip Murray was able to degrade Kirk Hinrich with an incredible dunk.

Quite frankly, it’s hard not to get pumped up by Mike Tirico’s enthusiasm in the Baron Davis clip. The Jazz may be up 3-1 but Baron’s dunk definitely stole the show.

In the battle of tortoise and hare, it’s the slow-paced Utah Jazz that are getting the best of it. Their surprising 115-101 win over the Golden State Warriors has them just one game away from the Western Conference Finals. In front of another packed house at Oracle Arena, the Jazz slowed the tempo and took both the Warriors and their fans out of their element. It worked.

“We’re doing better staying with what they’re trying to take away from us,” coach Jerry Sloan said. “Our team hasn’t had to make these adjustments, but our guys are getting better and better.”

Unlike the Dallas Mavericks, the Jazz haven’t been rattled enough to completely throw out their gameplan. The Warriors are a fast-paced team, Utah isn’t. Therefore, something has to give. Last night, it was Utah that successfully controlled the tempo and therefore, they controlled the game. Carlos Boozer’s 34 points and 12 rebounds was the difference here, as the former Duke star simply manhandled people inside.

The Warriors have been a great story but it’s been easy to overlook the Jazz’s great play this year. Their 12-1 start got people talking and they finished the season with 51 wins. They have the legit inside-outside game that the 1990s version of the Jazz did and it’s paying huge dividends. The series returns to Salt Lake City on Tuesday, where the Jazz can advance to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 1998.

In honor of tonight’s Warriors vs Jazz game, here’s a video of the back court that has taken the playoffs by storm. Jason Richardson and Baron Davis have willed their team into the conference semi’s, and it should be a treat watching them tonight at rowdy Oracle Arena.

Oakland and Salt Lake City are two cities that couldn’t be more different. Oakland is 35% black, Salt Lake City is 2% black. Warriors fans get hyphy after games, Jazz fans wind down with some Coltrain. The Golden State Warriors are a run-and-gun team. The Utah Jazz pound the rock inside and play physical. They couldn’t be more different but somehow, this series couldn’t be any better. Last night was the second great game of the series, won by the Jazz in overtime, 127-117.

When you compare the series the Warriors had with Dallas and the battle they’re currently facing in the Jazz, the differences are very obvious. Utah, like Dallas, has great big men. The Mavs had Dirk, the Jazz have Carlos Boozer and Mehmet Okur. But unlike Nowitzki, Boozer hasn’t looked like a deer in headlights against the Warriors. Unlike Avery Johnson, coach Jerry Sloan hasn’t allowed Golden State to set the tempo. Nobody on the Warriors can stop Boozer and the Jazz know it. He ended the night with 30 points and 13 rebounds.

Along with some great basketball, this series has produced a great story. Veteran point guard Derek Fisher didn’t fly into Salt Lake City until the third quarter. He had other things going on, things far bigger than a game of basketball. His baby daughter was in New York undergoing cancer surgery. Fisher entered the game to a standing ovation and hugs from both teams. Then he hit a crucial three pointer in the Jazz’s win.

The series now leaves Salt Lake City and heads to the raucous Oracle Arena for the next two games. This series is shaping up to be the best of the playoffs. We’re seeing two clashing styles and real high scoring. We’re even seeing the return of Andrei Kirilenko’s game! AK47 turned in a brilliant game two, compiling 20 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, and 6 blocks. It’s up to Baron Davis and his crew to send this thing back to Utah tied at two. Game three is Friday night.