NBA

Professional athletes are increasingly seeking out the right agents to help them develop their off the court brands. Those agents are not always the ones who are negotiating their team contracts. The most recent example of this emerging trend is NCAA Basketball National Player of the Year and Top NBA prospect, Trey Burke. Burke’s father, Benji Burke, of Infinite Sports Concepts, will handle Burke’s NBA team contract, but The Legacy Agency (“TLA”), a full service sports agency that has positioned itself as a leader in talent marketing,  will manage all of his off the court endeavors including marketing, endorsements, speaking engagements, and appearances.

The All-NBA team for the 2012-2013 season was announced today and the results were predictable.  Four of the players selected to this season’s first team, Lebron James, Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant and Chris Paul were also voted onto last year’s first team. Joining them on the first team this year is center Tim Duncan. He replaces Dwight Howard, who earned a spot on the 2013 third team.

Blake Griffin, Russell Westbrook and Tony Parker return to the second team from a season ago and are joined by Carmelo Anthony and Marc Gasol. The third team is comprised of Dwyane Wade, Howard and first-time selections David Lee, James Harden, and Paul George.

Players were selected for the honor by 119 sportswriters and broadcasters from Canada and the United States. They used a scoring system of 5 points for a first team vote, three for a second and one for a third. James led all players with 595 points and he was followed by Kevin Durant and Chris Paul who received 555 and 537 points respectively.

Indiana Pacers 49 - 32 vs. Miami Heat 66 - 16

Regular Season Series: Indiana Pacers 2, Miami Heat 1

The Miami Heat enters the Eastern Conference Finals as heavy favorites against the Indiana Pacers. They have lost only three times in their last forty eight games and have faced little resistance from their opponents thus far in the 2013 post season. However, the Pacers should give the Heat a fight in this series. They defeated the Heat twice in the regular season and have the interior size in center Roy Hibbert and forward David West to expose the Heat’s weakness in the paint.

This will not be an easy series for the Heat and they should not take the Pacers lightly.  Here are five observations that could decide the outcome of the series.

The willpower of Lebron James

At the end of it all, it was a feeling the New York basketball fans were all too familiar with.

In a season that promised much, the Knicks once again fell short of expectations and were eliminated from the Playoffs by the Indiana Pacers. Saturday's 106-99 loss meant a 4-2 series defeat and another season of underachievement. Despite winning their first playoff series since 2000, this year has left us with more questions than answers when it comes to the Knickerbockers ability to win a title.

This was a team built to 'Win now', filled with savvy veterans to compliment their All-NBA forward Carmelo Anthony. A title challenge was expected after a strong regular season, where they finished atop the Atlantic Division with a record of 54-28 and the number two seed in the Eastern Conference. This Knicks team had a different look about it than teams of the past. They had all bought into Mike Woodson's 'Team first' philosophy and most agreed that if anybody was going to dethrone the Miami Heat, it would be the Knicks.

Memphis Grizzlies 56 – 26 vs. San Antonio Spurs 58-24

Regular Season Series: Series tied with two wins apiece.

The Memphis Grizzlies will square off against the San Antonio Spurs in the 2013 Western Conference Finals that begins Sunday in San Antonio. Both teams have been impressive in the post season, with the Spurs sweeping an ailing Los Angeles Lakers squad in the first round and then fending off a tough up and coming Golden State Warrior team in their second round series. Meanwhile, the Grizzlies post season run began with them soundly beating a strong Los Angeles Clippers team in the first round and then followed that up by defeating the shorthanded Oklahoma City Thunder in the second round.

This will be a competitive series and there is not an obvious favorite, as both teams match up well against each other. Each team possess’ quality big men, athletic perimeter players and point guards that can create opportunities for themselves and their teammates. While neither team has an obvious advantage, here are five observations that could decide who wins the Western Conference Championship.

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