In his first 10 postseason games, he matched his regular-season total of 20-point games (three) and missed that mark by a single point on two other occasions.

But San Antonio Spurs sophomore Kawhi Leonard reminded him that he's not the only young, athletic wing causing havoc in this Western Conference semifinal.

With San Antonio nursing a 62-58 lead midway through the third quarter of Game 5 on Wednesday night, Danny Green snagged a loose ball on the Warriors' end and raced down the floor. Carl Landry stepped in front of the charging Green, who quickly gathered himself with a pair of dribbles.

Then Green spotted a streaking Leonard racing down the right side of the floor and hit him in stride with a one-handed lead pass. Leonard grabbed the pass at the right elbow, cleared himself for departure with two steps and soared toward the basket.

Barnes was there to contest the dunk, but a ferocious finish from Leonard meant the rookie's only reward was a future poster appearance:

And Barnes just got put on a POSTER!

— ESPN First Take (@ESPN_FirstTake) May 15, 2013

Barnes has the narrow lead in the individual scoring battle with Leonard, 19-14, but the Spurs have since opened up a commanding 13-point lead, 89-76, in the early stages of the fourth quarter.

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(Tepid applause from the audience.)

Tonight's contestants: the New York Knicks!

(A collective "not these guys again!" sigh from the audience.)

Welcome back, fellas! It's come to our attention here at The Blame Game that the Indiana Pacers are whooping you every which way at the moment.

They certainly did in Game 4 to push you to the brink of elimination. They held you to 35.6 percent shooting from the field and just 8-of-28 from three. They bludgeoned you on the boards, 54-36, and came away with a 16-11 edge on the offensive glass. In short, they outhustled and outmuscled you at nearly every turn.

Certainly the Pacers deserve kudos for the job they've done on you Knickerbockers. It's not exactly surprising to see Indy's defense, which happens to be one of the best the NBA has ever seen, making it so difficult for New York to score.

But let's be real here, folks. Those New York City tabloids aren't about to sing the praises of the opposition in their back pages. No, they'll be picking fights and pointing fingers (as they tend to do) as the series returns to Madison Square Garden for an all-important Game 5.

So, before the Big Apple's sports commentariat spills wholeheartedly into overblown criticism, let's have a more measured look at who among you "deserves" the most vitriol with...THE BLAME GAME!

Carmelo Anthony

Blame Tally: 3 Finger Points

Who better to serve as our starting point than Carmelo Anthony?

(Carmelo shifts uncomfortably in his seat.)

You're the team's designated superstar. You pushed for a trade from the Denver Nuggets more than two years ago. You cost the Knicks a slew of quality, fan-favorite components—including Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, and Raymond Felton—in that blockbuster trade. You (allegedly) forced out Mike D'Antoni and Jeremy Lin while urging the Knicks to reshape their roster around you. You're the best player the team has, and you make more money than any of your teammates.

So naturally, the ax is going to fall hardest on you—even more so now that you're shooting under 40 percent from the field in these playoffs, topping that off with a 9-of-23 performance and fouling out in the fourth quarter of Game 4. You have a (well-deserved) reputation for playing "iso ball" and jacking up bad shots, which leads casual observers to assume that your poor shooting is the result of rote ball-hoggery.

Except it's not that simple, is it? Shooting and scoring is what you do best, and it's what the Knicks need you to do if your team is going to win.

And if your teammates aren't doing their jobs on the offensive end (i.e. moving the ball and hitting outside shots), then your job becomes that much more difficult to do well...

JR Smith

Blame Tally: 5 Finger Points

...which brings us to JR Smith!

(Smith is nowhere to be found. He's probably out searching for his jump shot somewhere.) 

Something switched when you smacked Jason Terry with your elbow in Game 3 of the Knicks' first-round series against the Boston Celtics. In the six games since, you've averaged just 13.3 points on an astoundingly awful 28.6 percent shooting from the field (27 percent from three). 

That streak of basket-attacking aggression that helped you earn Sixth Man of the Year honors appears to have all but dissipated. You've attempted more than six free throws in a game just once in nine postseason appearances. Less than 30 percent of your playoff shots have come within close range of the rim, per NBA.com.

You're one of the NBA's better makers of bad shots, but you're not making them right now and you're taking far too many of them to begin with. Of your 22 attempts in Game 4, 15 came from outside of the paint.

To your credit, you haven't shied away from the blame (via Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com):

The Knicks can't succeed unless you score, but your confidence seems to be down, even more so amidst an ongoing illness (more on that later). Do yourself a favor and target the rim whenever you can. A layup here, a floater there and who knows? Maybe (just maybe) you'll get your mojo back.

Tyson Chandler

Blame Tally: 1 Finger Point

In the meantime, it's a good thing you've found yours, Tyson Chandler.

After getting schooled by Roy Hibbert in Game 3 and looking like little more than a shell of your former self for most of these playoffs, you were noticeably more productive in Game 4. You turned in your first double-double of the postseason (12 points and 10 rebounds in 40 minutes), blocked three shots and held Hibbert to just six points on 2-of-8 shooting.

To be sure, the fact that you've been operating with a neck injury since the regular season hasn't helped matters overall. Nor did your latest diatribe about the Knicks' stagnant offense (via Frank Isola of The New York Daily News) do much to change the reality in Game 4.

But you've shown plenty of grit and guts thus far while fighting through pain and have spoken your mind like any good leader would (and should). 

The Injury/Illness Bug

Blame Tally: 10 Finger Points

If not for some untimely visits from the injury bug, Tyson Chandler's inconsistent productivity probably wouldn't be such a concern. Furthermore, JR Smith's lack of confidence would not likely be so tough to shake if he weren't also battling a bug that's also gotten a hold of Kenyon Martin.

As Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com noted, Iman Shumpert might've played (and produced) more if not for discomfort in his surgically repaired knee:

On the flip side, Amar'e Stoudemire's return to health might not have been such a good thing after all (via Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports):

All of this reminds us of the ubiquitous part that Lady Luck plays in any team's postseason success. The Knicks seem to have wound up on her bad side somehow and are suffering the consequences as a result.

Mike Woodson

Blame Tally: 10 Finger Points

Not that you've necessarily helped matters any, Mike Woodson. Pablo Prigioni goes scoreless for one game, so you cut his playing time from nearly 24 minutes in Game 3 to three minutes in Game 4.

Yet Jason Kidd hasn't scored in almost three weeks and he's still playing significant minutes for you (via Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com):

You respond to the Pacers' pressure defense by allowing (if not encouraging) your Knicks to get away from the three-point-shooting, small-ball formula that got them to this point. You go big with Kenyon Martin in the starting lineup for Game 4. You play Steve Novak for less than 10 minutes total through the first four games against Indy, and you seemingly forget that you have yet another versatile big on your bench (Chris Copeland) who's capable of knocking down long-range jumpers.

We've all heard the old tropes about playoff basketball being far different from the regular season, but nobody said you had to take on a new identity to succeed thereabouts. You appear to be grasping for something that works—in essence, panicking, and rightfully so.

Your team is one game away from elimination after turning in the franchise's finest season in over a decade. Your contract also happens to be far more expendable than any of those into which your most prized players are currently locked. 

And with a certain Zen Master lurking in the shadows, it certainly wouldn't shock anyone if yours was the first head to land on the chopping block.

Be sure to tune in to The Blame Game next time, when we bury Oklahoma City Thunder coach Scott Brooks!

Follow @Josh_E_Martin

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The Blackhawks were second in the league in scoring and first in defense.  After a slow start, the Red Wings were able to finish fifth in defense but only ranked 20th in goals.

The great thing about sports, though, is that previous stats do not matter and they do not play the games on paper.  The Red Wings will be able to play it out on the ice to see if they can pull off the upset.

Of course, team leaders Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg and Jimmy Howard will need to shine in this series.  However, for them to win, they will need those second-level players, the “X-factors,” to rise up to help the team win.

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After Indiana's suffocating defense held them to just 82 points in Tuesday night's 93-82 loss, New York's scoring average in the second round is down to just 88.25 points over four games.

Tyson Chandler was critical of New York's offense after Game 3, urging the team to move the ball more and keep the defense on their toes. Though originally perplexed by his teammate's comments, Anthony seems to concur at this point:

On Tyson's comments, Carmelo Anthony says, "He has the right to say that. Our offense has been sh****y." #Knicks

— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) May 15, 2013

In the first two games it was thanks to a lot of standing around and waiting for Anthony or J.R. Smith to make something happen. This has changed in the last two games, but the team hasn't had any kind of improvement. In fact, it seems worse.

The Knicks had just 10 possessions end out of isolation in Game 4. 47 pick and rolls.

— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) May 15, 2013

This offensive slump dates back to the first round, as New York averaged just 87.7 points in six games against the Boston Celtics.

As a team they're shooting just 41.4 percent from the field and 32.8 percent from the three-point line. That puts them 3.4 percent below their season field-goal percentage and 4.8 percent below their three-point percentage.

As bad as they've been, Anthony seems to think the shots will start falling at some point, urging J.R. Smith to keep doing what he's been doing.

Carmelo also says he wants J.R. Smith to "keep shooting." So there's that.

— Frank Isola (@FisolaNYDN) May 15, 2013

Smith is on the same page as the rest of the team, going as far as taking the blame for New York's woeful offense.

J.R. Smith: "I take the blame for this whole series."

— Frank Isola (@FisolaNYDN) May 15, 2013

Even with the odds stacked against the Knicks, who need to win three in a row against the Pacers to move on in the postseason, Anthony still has faith in his team.

Carmelo says "I believe we can do something special here. I'm very confident that we can do something special here."

— Frank Isola (@FisolaNYDN) May 15, 2013

With the Pacers completely dominating the pace of the entire series so far, it's hard to imagine the Knicks mounting a comeback.

However, with their ability to knock down three-pointers in entire bushels, completely counting them out would be a mistake.

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When Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov purchased the Nets in 2010, he said he believed the team would make the playoffs in 2011-12 and win a championship within five years.

The Nets finally made the playoffs this season, albeit a year late, and will have to make big moves this offseason to fulfill Prokhorov’s championship aspirations within the next two years.

The first and most important order of business for Prokhorov and general manager Billy King will be finding a new head coach.

The day after the Nets were dispatched from the postseason by the Chicago Bulls, the team announced it would not be offering an extension to interim head coach P.J. Carlesimo. Carlesimo led Brooklyn to a 35-19 record after Avery Johnson was fired, but he was never in the franchise’s long-term plans.

The search for a new head coach began as soon as the Nets parted ways with Carlesimo. Among the names being floated around as potential candidates are Jerry Sloan, Lionel Hollins, Doc Rivers, Jeff Van Gundy, Larry Brown and Brian Shaw.

Billy King said he isn't necessarily looking for a big-name coach, but many of the names on the list fit that description. Deron Williams has already expressed his desire for a veteran coach who is tough and demands the absolute best from his players.

King is looking for the same thing.

“I want to find someone who I feel can take this group collectively and get the most out of them,” King said in an interview with Nets’ web writer Ben Couch (via NBA.com).

In addition to finding a new coach, Brooklyn must also find a way to upgrade its roster in the offseason.

An $83 million payroll didn’t get the job done in 2012-13, and the Nets are well over the salary cap, so finding a player to take them to the next level will be difficult.

King has expressed interest in Croatian sharpshooter Bojan Bogdanovic. Bagdanovic, who currently plays for Fenerbahce in Turkey, has nice size (6’8”) and could help the Brooklyn offense stretch the floor.

The Nets are no strangers to scouting and acquiring foreign prospects, after signing Mirza Teletovic and Tornike Shengelia last year.

There also remains the possibility of finding an immediate-impact player in the draft. The Nets have the No. 22 pick and there’s no reason to believe they won’t find a quality player at that spot.

Just ask the Golden State Warriors, who acquired Draymond Green at No. 35 in 2012. Experienced players from big-time collegiate programs aren’t the sexiest picks, but they also come with less risk. C.J. Leslie of North Carolina State and Deshaun Thomas of Ohio State are two guys that could be around when the Nets are on the clock.

The Nets also have to find a way to ditch Kris Humphries, who had a dreadful 2012-13 season in Brooklyn. His expiring $12 million contract could prove to be a big asset either during the offseason or prior to next year’s trade deadline.

The final question is whether the Nets, given their current financial situation, will find a way to re-sign Andray Blatche and C.J. Watson at a reasonable price.

Blatche was a pleasant surprise for the Nets this season, but he’s going to be an unrestricted free agent. The 26-year-old has expressed his desire to stay in Brooklyn, but it’s hard to imagine he’ll stick around for a veteran’s minimum contract.

The same can be said for Watson, who is also set to become a free agent, and could choose to seek more money elsewhere.

Billy King was able to secure his own future in Brooklyn after being rewarded with a multi-year contract extension.

King knows what changes the Nets need to make, but it won’t be easy. He must find the right head coach, get creative in making upgrades to the roster and re-sign key bench contributors to turn Brooklyn into a legitimate title contender.

For more Brooklyn Nets analysis, follow Andrew on Twitter: 

Follow @andrew_kipp

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They are the last of the Canadian teams left in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The Senators eliminated the Montreal Canadiens easily in five games. The San Jose Sharks swept the Vancouver Canucks right out of the playoffs with just a modicum of effort.

Then there's the Toronto Maple Leafs. After making the playoffs for the first time since 2004, the Maple Leafs were in the process of shocking the hockey world. They fell behind the Boston Bruins 3-1 after the first four games, and it seemed like they would go quietly against a team that had tormented them in recent years.

But the Maple Leafs reached for another gear and found it. Not only did they win the fifth and sixth games to tie the series, they were dominating the Bruins in Boston in the third period of the seventh game.

Then it happened. The Maple Leafs appeared satisfied with their three-goal cushion and the Bruins kept pressing.

The Bruins got a goal near the midway point of the period to stop the bleeding. They got a huge save from Tuukka Rask to keep the Leafs from restoring their three-goal margin. Then, with Rask on the bench, Milan Lucic and Patrice Bergeron scored to tie the score. Bergeron added the inevitable winner in overtime.

The Leafs had been vanquished.

That left Canada with just one surviving team in the playoffs.

The Senators.

This is clearly a team that is deserving of respect. No team suffered through more serious injuries during the year than Paul MacLean's team. Stars like Erik Karlsson, Jason Spezza, Milan Michalek and Craig Anderson were all out of the lineup at key points during the season.

Few gave the Senators a chance to make the playoffs for a second consecutive year. Most thought they would be sellers at the trade deadline.

They were nothing of the kind. They were resilient and they made the playoffs as the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference.

Their first-round win over Montreal earned them a matchup with the top-seeded Pittsburgh Penguins. That's a tough assignment for any team, but it's especially demanding for the Senators.

That's because they are not just playing for themselves and their fans. They are playing for a nation that has not had a Stanley Cup winner since 1993.

Twenty years ago, the Montreal Canadiens won their 24th Stanley Cup. Head coach Jacques Demers' team had a magical run. After dropping their first two games at home to the late, lamented Quebec Nordiques, the Canadiens were virtually unstoppable.

They won the next four games to eliminate the Nords. They swept the Buffalo Sabres. They took care of the New York Islanders in five games, and they did the same to the Los Angeles Kings to earn the Stanley Cup.

The Canadiens lost the opening game of the Nordiques series in overtime. That was definitely not part of a trend. They would play 10 more overtime games in that playoff year and they would win them all.

In their victories over the Sabres and the Kings, they would win three overtime games in each series.

Since that magical year, no Canadian team has been able to lift the Stanley Cup. The Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, Senators and the Vancouver Canucks have all played in the Stanley Cup Finals.

The Flames, Oilers and Canucks all got to the seventh game of that round before their hearts were broken

Canadian fans are having a hard time abiding all this Stanley Cup success by U.S.-based teams. Many find it insulting since they basically invented and fine-tuned the sport.

That's why the Senators have the weight of a nation on their shoulders.

Canadian hockey fans may root for the Canucks, Flames, Oilers, Jets, Canadiens and Maple Leafs. However, many of those fans have adopted the Senators for the remainder of the 2013 playoffs.

MacLean does not have to say anything about it and neither do his players, but they know what has already happened. Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg didn't make the playoffs and the others have been beaten in the first round.

If the Senators were a juggernaut, it would be one thing. Instead, they are facing a juggernaut in the high-scoring Penguins.

They may not need added pressure, but they have it.

To survive against the Penguins—and they have already dropped the opener—they are going to have to find some offense and goalie Craig Anderson must play brilliantly in goal.

It would be a tall order for any team, but it's even more demanding for Ottawa.

The odds are not in the Senators' favor to be the team that ends Canada's Stanley Cup dry spell.

Read more NHL news on BleacherReport.com

Each team has its own group of stars, and then there are players who can contribute at the right time to be an X-factor for their team. Here are the players who will be the biggest X-factor for their respective teams.

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Coming off of a game in which the two sides combined for 153 points, it was expected that defense would be at a premium Tuesday night. That was the case, as New York and Indiana went for a total of 175 points in this game.

22 more, but still not so offensively impressive.

Leading the charge for Indiana was George Hill, who tallied 26 points, and Paul George, who finished with 18 points and 14 rebounds. David West also picked up a double-double, finishing with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

As for the Knicks, Carmelo Anthony had 24 points and nine rebounds, while J.R. Smith posted 19 points of his own. Tyson Chandler picked up a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, as Raymond Felton scored 14 points and dished out six assists with three steals and two blocks.

So was that enough for the Knicks to tie this series at 2-2? Or were the Pacers able to extend their lead to 3-1 by holding down their home court?

Check the video provided above to find out.

Read more NBA news on BleacherReport.com

After an exciting opening round, the Conference Semifinals are getting started and the eight surviving teams all find themselves one step closer to winning a Stanley Cup.

Here is a look at the odds that each team has for winning the Cup this year.

The odds are based on a combination of the talent and ability of the team itself and the level of difficulty that their next opponent provides for them.

Feel free to comment on the list, and if you disagree, say where you feel the odds for your team should be and why.

Now, here's our look at the updated odds of winning the Stanley Cup for each of the remaining eight teams in the NHL playoffs.

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These are times when players emerge as overrated by sheer virtue of being allied with underrated teammates.

There are those who garner excess credit for their point production when they have reliable scoring partners who either instinctively step up in big games or flaunt their overwhelming breadth of playoff experience.

Or younger, unripe players who appear to develop ahead of schedule but are actually benefiting as expected from veteran teammates and gaining a little extra from an underachieving opponent.

Or scorers who get too much credit for just being a household name and, even if they pass as frostbitten, still need to start finding ways around even the stingiest defenses before they can join elite company. 

Some of the following 10 NHLers will have a chance to validate their rating a little more as their respective teams embark on the second round. Others may carry on as usual, but their viewers ought to take a more diligent look at those playing with them so as to ration the credit more reasonably.

This is, after all, the quintessential team sport.

With the exception of some would-be elites who have yet to translate their regular-season success, these players warrant a decent share of credit, but not at the expense of their teammates.

Unless otherwise indicated, all statistics for this report were found via nhl.com and are through games of Monday, May 13

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