Paul George exults during Game 6 (Getty Images)

Buried deep in Lee Jenkins’ recent fantastic Sports Illustrated profile of Indiana Pacers All-Star Paul George was this aside about George’s still-developing all-around game:

Last week, George was watching Oklahoma City against Memphis on television in his apartment when Oklahoma City point guard and close friend Reggie Jackson made a quick first step to the basket. "This summer," George announced, "I want to work on that move." He must attack more, pull up less, and raise a shooting percentage that dipped to 41.9% this season with increased attempts. "I don't even know anymore where his ceiling is," says Walsh.

I don’t know what his ceiling is either, and while (as Eric Freeman noted earlier on Monday) we are running the risk of overrating George’s star potential at this exciting point in his career, this clearly still is a player on the make. George’s tantalizing all-around gifts seem suited for just about any facet of the game – all-world defense, perimeter shooting, post-up work, penetration and dishing – which makes him the perfect up-and-coming foil for a Miami Heat team built around three of the best all-around players of their generation.

To act as the perfect foil, though, George must seal the deal in Monday evening’s Game 7 against the Heat. And to do that, he is going to have to attack early and often, drawing fouls and getting to the line. And to do that, he is going to have to utilize his own quick first step and attack the basket.

Jason Kidd works his magic in Phoenix in 1997 (Getty Images)

Just two days after fellow 1994-95 co-Rookie of the Year Grant Hill retired from basketball, former Dallas, Phoenix, New Jersey and New York point guard Jason Kidd has announced his own retirement. The 10-time All-Star turned 40 in March and suffered through a rough postseason run with the New York Knicks earlier this spring. He signed a surprising three-year deal with New York in 2012 to help steady the team’s backcourt until 2015, but as the 2012-13 season wore on it became more and more apparent that Kidd’s time in this league was running out.

It was in sharp contrast to the brilliant career that preceded this up-and-down season. Too often Kidd’s fantastic work came in concerts with caveats about what he couldn’t do – Jason was an iffy perimeter shooter for many years and his defense fell off toward the end – but his time in the NBA was as impactful as any of his contemporaries, spread out over nearly two decades.

Ray Allen shaves with all the lights on, and water running (Getty Images)

It seems like a lot of effort for what is only a 20-minute workout, especially for a player that only averaged eight shots per game in the regular season. Still, it’s a routine, and Ray Allen is sticking with it. Since Allen’s second NBA season, so long ago that it was Michael Jordan’s final year with the Chicago Bulls, Ray has been getting to home and away arenas three and a half hours before tipoff to work on his shooting. The practice routine has continued unabated for a decade and a half, with four different teams, and his slavish devotion to the workout has changed the culture for the Miami Heat.

So much so that the franchise decided to rent out a third team bus, one that often features just Allen and a couple of team employees/personal rebounders, heading to and from the arena. Which means Allen and the Heat, who will play their 98th game of the season on Monday night, have pretty much cashed in the ecological goodwill that LeBron James’ bike rides created nearly a hundred times over.

Allen is, um, aware. From Chris Tomasson’s very good feature in Fox Sports Florida:

“I don’t help that none whatsoever,’’ Allen quipped about the team bus making an extra trip not exactly aiding the energy crisis.

Manu Ginobili isn't done hoarding hardware (Getty Images)

Will this month’s NBA Finals be the last we see of San Antonio Spurs swingman Manu Ginobili in an NBA uniform? Nah, guy. Nah.

As the San Antonio Express-News’ Jeff MacDonald noted, it’s just fine to wonder about Ginobili’s NBA future. The 36-year old is a free agent this summer, and after season-long struggles with both injuries and his shooting touch, the excuse of the expired contract could be a convenient way to ease out of negotiations that would almost certainly ask him to take a pay cut down from the $14.1 million he made this season. Toss in a few years of potential upcoming international service and the possibility that Ginobili could make both his first and final NBA seasons end in a championship win, and you would think he’d have the perfect opportunity to Euro-step (we know, we know, he’s not European) into the sunset.

Manu’s not having any of that. From the Express-News:

“I’m not planning on retiring,” Ginobili told the Express-News.

It was over 13 years ago that Grant Hill injured his left ankle late in his last regular season with the Detroit Pistons. Playing in the postseason a month later after rushing back from the injury, Hill broke the same ankle. This then led to a spiral of rehabilitation, re-injury and even serious infection as Hill attempted to return to his previous, All-Star form, resulting in a respected career as a role player beginning in his final season with Orlando in 2006-07.

Somehow, Hill lasted for 13 years following that injury, despite all the setbacks. And he finally retired on Saturday, even knowing that a good medical staff and right situation could still put him in the right place to be a contributor on a good team in 2013-14. The move was likely spurred on by Hill’s final season with the Los Angeles Clipper, his first since 2005-06 to be riddled by injury. By midseason (even with the Clippers humming along) it was obvious that Hill had just about had enough.

Which is a shame, because we never felt like we got enough of Grant Hill. Even after 18 seasons.

Roy Hibbert stayed upright for over 40 minutes again in Game 6 (Getty Images)

INDIANAPOLIS – David West playing through a frighteningly-high fever may be the story of the game, and Paul George’s 28 points and eight rebounds may win him plaudits as the star of the game. On the flipside, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh’s inability to contribute may leave them as the goats of this particular contest, while LeBron James may take scorn for earning a late-game technical foul.

Focusing attention on these aspects would be missing the point. The Indiana Pacers won Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals on Saturday night because the team’s defense, rightfully lauded throughout the year as the NBA’s best, set the tone. Miami shot just 36 percent in the 91-77 loss, completely fading down the stretch against a Pacers team that just would not allow good looks in the lane, while keeping the Heat off the free throw line throughout.

George led the team in points and Roy Hibbert contributed 22 of his own in the win, but those combined points paled in comparison to the pitch-perfect defense the two Pacer stalwarts provided throughout the gutty win. The Heat found Hibbert inescapable in the paint when they attempted to drive in Game 6, as Roy once again used his length to not only contest initial attempts at a shot, but also recover in time to contest dump-off passes while securing good enough position to grab six defensive rebounds and 11 caroms overall.

Dwyane Wade gathers himself during Game 5 (Getty Images)

Four full days off may not seem like a ton of time to the San Antonio Spurs, who will have to wait nine days between the Western Conference finals and NBA Finals, or even the Dwyane Wade we knew and admired from earlier this spring – the one who enjoyed a combined 16 days off following series victories over Milwaukee and Chicago. For the most recent version of Dwyane Wade, one we still know quite well and admire just as much, four days could mean all the difference in the world. The ailing Heat star could give his worn out knees an extended break between now and the June 6 tip-off of the NBA Finals with a much-needed return to form on Saturday night.

All he has to do is help his Heat down the Indiana Pacers in Game 6. Much easier wished than accomplished, especially with Wade once again battling the expected results of his years of all-out play, paired with his routine trips to the second, third and fourth round of the playoffs. For the first time all season, the Indiana Pacers will be playing for their basketball lives in Game 6, while working at home in a building in which they’ve won seven of eight playoff contests. The Heat will be working without Chris Andersen. The Pacers will be working with a sense of panic and urgency. Dwyane Wade will be working with one healthy knee.

It won’t be easy, Miami fans, when you do deign to tune in late in the first quarter.

Stephen Curry addresses his fans on May 16 (Getty Images)

Stephen Curry has earned his vacation. He’s stuck with his Golden State Warriors through the dregs of the Don Nelson era, battling frustrating ankle injuries, and watched as the team tried to pair him with the like-minded but less efficient Monta Ellis. Few gave the Warriors a shot at the playoffs heading into 2012-13, but because of Curry’s work the team was at one point the hottest squad in the league, making it to the second round before Curry’s reoccurring ankle woes scuttled what could have been a classic series against the San Antonio Spurs.

Immediately after the team’s ouster, Curry and his teammates gave a heartfelt tribute to the rabid Warrior fan base. The Bay Area has supported the Warriors through good times and bad, and because the team has mostly been bad, the city of San Francisco didn’t hesitate to give Curry a key to the city, even if the squad “only” made it to the second round. In a discussion with Sports on Earth’s Will Leitch, Curry talks up the recent ceremony:

Four years ago, Curry was disappointed that the Knicks didn't draft him. Today, he has the key to the city. (San Francisco, not Oakland… not yet.) Stephen Curry has been special all his life, but he's never been more special, and more revered, than he is right now, in this city. "You wanna know how much this place loves their Warriors?" he says. "We made it to the conference semifinals and they gave me a freaking key to the city. The key to the city! For the semis! If we'd have won the title, they'd have put a statue of Coach Jackson on top of the bridge."