Paul George, one the NBA's youngest stars blew past Lebron James and completely destroyed the Birdman. George finished with 22 points and six rebounds as the Pacers survived the Heat 97-93 to even the 2013 Eastern Conference series at 1-1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MuNXefEo3Y&feature=player_embedded

We all know Michael Jordan's ability as talent evaluator is limited, nothing against the G.O.A.T but it is what it is, - Kwame Brown. Either-way, until Jordan starts making goods on the Colossal amount of lottery picks Charlotte has amounted then make we can take more time to take an in-depth look at his NBA Draft day selections. Jordan who went on record to say that the best and most effective way to slow down LeBron James is by forcing the 6'8 freight train to drive left, which ultimately would result in a pull-up jumper. As part of an extended interview with ESPN the Magazine in February, Jordan said he'd studied James' game and offered his strategy on how he would guard him. [+] EnlargeJames Chris Trotman/Getty ImagesLeBron James went left, driving for the winning layup in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Indiana Pacers. "So if I have to guard him," Jordan told ESPN's Wright Thompson, "I'm gonna push him left so nine times out of 10, he's gonna shoot a jump shot. If he goes right, he's going to the hole and I can't stop him. So I ain't letting him go right." Has once again come up short as stats tell a different story and according to LeBron himself, he was taught how to make a left-handed layup from his early days. "Frank Walker, my first basketball coach, taught me how to make a left-handed layup," James said. "He wouldn't let me dribble the ball until I got the steps down to make a left-handed layup consistently. We used to do it before practice every day. He always told me I'd be a much better player if I could make shots with both hands."

Dope... Dope.... Article on Memphis. Kinda reassures why the NBA took away the Vancouver Grizzlies and moved them to Memphis. Two of my favorite college players played for the Tigers (NCAA) Penny Hardaway and Derrick Rose. In a community whose love for basketball has often been its greatest currency, this playoff run is just the most recent layer in a civic history that has perhaps been underappreciated on a national scale The story of how Memphis became one of America's top basketball destinations is now 40 years in the making. But perhaps it is best told through those who came to appreciate it from the outside. Here, in the little basketball Mecca on the banks of the Mississippi River, three generations of fans have grown accustomed to those sleepy summer days when people of all races and socioeconomic strata pack sweaty inner-city gyms to watch superstar pros, college players and street legends play glorified pick-up games and cheer with the intensity of a Final Four matchup. And here, from the grassroots on up, it is considered a formality that Memphis — a metro area of 1.3 million — will produce more talent every year than cities three times its size, adding to a legacy that began when a team led by local players cracked the national consciousness at the 1973 Final Four.

The game’s most dominant player is also crushing the competition in stores, outselling his nearest rival’s signature sneakers 6-to-1. Nike generated $300 million in U.S. retail sales in 2012 for James’ signature shoes, according to research firm SportsOneSource. Nike’s haul represents a 50% increase from sales of James’ kicks in 2011. “The first thing is the aesthetics. The shoes look great and his star stature continues to rise,” says SportsOneSource analyst Matt Powell. “The media attention on him helps him sell more footwear.”

Over at Grantland, Andrew Sharp has written an article lamenting the fact that the Spurs were able to get a player as good as Kawhi Leonard with the 15th pick. Sharp, who is a Wizards’ fan (my condolences), says that watching Kawhi Leonard play drives him especially insane because his Wizards had a chance to draft Leonard, but passed. How could the Spurs — who, due to their consistent regular season success, typically draft in the the 25-30 range — get their hands on such a productive young player? Click here to read more!

The Memphis Grizzlies have a tall order to climb out of their 0-2 series hole against the San Antonio Spurs as the series switches to the Memphis for game three of their best of seven series. The Grizzlies fought hard to force overtime after falling behind 18 points and trailing by 13 as they entered the fourth quarter. One of those spark-plugs was Quincy Pondexter who climbed the ladder against the Boris Diaw, forcing the french veteran basketball player to hide his face.

A few days ago, Larry Brown declared that for basketball, advanced stats “don’t work”. But when you read what he has to say, you get the sense that Brown thinks that some advanced stats don’t work. In other words, I think there are some “advanced stats” that Brown might like. Click here to read more!

Since we posted about Carmelo Anthony, Stephen Curry, and Pistol Pete, Melo has continued to miss a very large amount of shots at an alarming rate. At the moment, Anthony has taken over 30 field goal attempts (FGA) per 48 minutes played during this year's playoffs. This feat has only been accomplished 14 times, and Melo's performance is the second worst in terms of effective field goal percentage (eFG%): Click here to read more!

When Russell Westbrook went down in Game 2 of the Thunder’s series against the Rockets, many people thought that ended OKC’s chance at this year’s NBA championship. And they were right. Just not in the way that most people were expecting.

Andrew Wiggins, the most heavily-hyped high-school basketball prospect since LeBron James, committed to the University of Kansas on Tuesday. Of course, where he chose to go to college doesn’t ultimately mean much—everyone knows that his destination is the NBA, and he would have been the top pick in this year’s draft if he was eligible. With that in mind, here are the three teams expected to be near the top of next season’s draft lottery that would make the most sense for Wiggins. Wiggins is thought of by many as the “next LeBron,” so it would only be right that he follows in James’ footsteps and plays for his hometown team. The Raptors would be guaranteed at least one SportsCenter Top 10 play every night by adding the high-flying Wiggins to a collection of electric young wings that includes Terrence Ross and DeMar DeRozan.