The tearing down of LeBron James was beginning to stir.

The league’s greatest player was submersed in mediocrity for three quarters in the face of cries for him to be legendary.

His Miami Heat trailed by 10 points entering the fourth quarter, and James’ stat line was stagnant at 14 points on 3-of-12 shooting.

A legacy was on the line. This was James’ moment to decide how his story would be told.

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It's a player's league. The game of basketball is ultimately a very simple one. So in the NBA, the team with more talent usually wins.

In many ways, however, that is selling short the vast complexity of today's schemes. 

Some fans don't even notice—instead spending the entire 48 minutes of the game watching the player with the ball—but within nearly every possession is a series of screens, cuts and misdirection moves designed to create vulnerabilities in the defense.

It is staggering how choreographed these tactics can be. It may be even more impressive just how many often occur within 24 seconds.

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Danny Green isn’t hiding behind either the San Antonio Spurs or Miami Heat's Big Three. He has instead revealed his presence with each of the NBA-record 25 three-pointers he has connected on through five games of the NBA Finals.

This is a player who was once dismissed for a lack of athleticism and an erratic shot. He faced cuts from two different NBA teams, including his current one. He's played in Slovenia and worked through the D-League.

Yet here he is on the league's biggest platform, in all his behind-the-arc glory.

He isn't one of the "superstars" of these finals, but Green’s ability to hit from long distance has made him into a legitimate NBA Finals MVP candidate.

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Bleacher Report recently spoke with TNT NBA analyst Steve Kerr about the 2013 NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and the San Antonio Spurs. Within that conversation were a number of tangents and tidbits about shooting, particularly in the playoffs. It's a task with which Kerr is intimately familiar.

The five-time champion piled up a plethora of iconic moments during his 15-year career as a pro. Certainly, far more such moments than you might otherwise expect from a guy who never averaged more than nine points or seven field-goal attempts during any single season.

Shooting, though, is a skill that always seems to be in short supply in the NBA—and just so happened to be the one at which Kerr excelled.

Kerr still stands as the most accurate three-point shooter in NBA regular-season history, with a career mark of 45.4 percent. He previously held the single-season record for accuracy until 2009-10, when Kyle Korver bested Kerr's 1994-95 mark of 52.4 percent.

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Every spring, the NBA and the NHL wind up competing for the affection of sports fans around the globe while figuring out which collection of highly trained, expertly managed millionaires should hoist a big hunk of metal as part of a semi-impromptu parade. Thousands (perhaps millions) of remote controls are worn out by viewers flipping between channels in a desperate search for the biggest thrill.

To help you sort through the noise, Bleacher Report brought together two of its leading voices for pro basketball (NBA Lead Writer Josh Martin) and pro hockey (NHL Featured Columnist Nicholas Goss) to represent their respective sports in a spirited, (mostly) respectful debate. Their topics of discussion ranged from nail-biting drama, star power and history to "extracurricular activity" and social media buzz.

And, to top it all off, we invited NFL Featured Columnist Nick Kostos to pick a winner...because the victor in any battle between hoops and pucks is always going to be pigskin.

Naturally. 

Hey Nick,

It's that time of the year again! Spring's in full bloom, summer's right around the corner and the NBA and the NHL will soon crown their respective champions for the 2012-13 season.

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The San Antonio Spurs are just a single win away from cementing the legacy of their Big Three of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. They have the opportunity to extend their dynasty with a fifth title in 15 seasons against the Miami Heat.

That’s a title once every three seasons, and yes, that’s absurd.

Headed to Miami in search of a win in either Game 6 or 7 is no simple task, and there is still one more momentous effort needed to capture that next championship, but a victory gives the Spurs a spot among basketball royalty.

The dynasty will always be remembered for its Big Three:

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Blake Griffin is known for his highlight-reel ravaging of rims.

Dwight Howard is known for his under-performance and dramatic losses.

At least that’s the portrayal of the two Los Angeles superstar big men from this past season.

Griffin is the marketable young Clippers dunk artist, a 24-year-old who is seeing team success but is stagnant in production after just three seasons.

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LeBron James does not have the killer instinct of Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant.

Put that line on shuffle—it gains further momentum on any given night of these NBA Finals as James grows more vulnerable to disappearance.

His inconsistency is undeniable, as the league’s greatest talent has vanished for prolonged stretches in his quest for a second ring.

LeBron's sudden absence in big moments is again fueling criticism. He fell far short of incredible in the second half of the Miami Heat’s 114-104 loss to the San Antonio Spurs in Game 5 Sunday night.

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