Eric Bledsoe and Chris Paul get it in, now (Getty Images)

Los Angeles Clippers guard Eric Bledsoe is an offensively potent, ever-improving defensive wunderkind. The 6-foot-3 hybrid guard caused major havoc during last year’s Clippers playoff series with the Memphis Grizzlies, he’s dominated Grizzlies guard Mike Conley through each of their regular-season showings, and he was masterful in the fourth quarter of Los Angeles’ Game 1 win on Saturday — scoring 13 points on 6 for 6 shooting, with six rebounds and four assists to zero turnovers during the quarter. Conley played fewer than four minutes in that quarter as Los Angeles romped.

To hear Clipper All-Star point guard Chris Paul tell it, performances like these are why Bledsoe won’t be long for Los Angeles. Paul said as much on Sunday while hinting toward his own status as a future Clipper, in an interview with Arash Markazi of ESPN Los Angeles:

"Bled is one of the best guards in our league," Paul said after practice Sunday. "I've said it all season long. I'm enjoying playing with him right now because there's no way he can be here next year because we probably won't have enough money to pay him. He should be a starting point guard in this league next year."

Once upon a time, a fan of Chicago Bulls point guard Nate Robinson had a dream, and asked a question.

@nate_robinson If I get a tattoo of your photo, send me your shirt? twitter.com/ivan_ecus/stat…

— Iván García (@ivan_ecus) April 4, 2013

The fan did not get a response to his question, but that, it seems, did not in any way deter him from holding up his end of the bargain in pursuit of his dreams:

@nate_robinson look my new tattoo twitter.com/ivan_ecus/stat…

— Iván García (@ivan_ecus) April 13, 2013

We did it! (Image via @ivan_ecus)

... which, as I see it, is a pretty serious commitment to make when you don't even know for sure if the player you like is going to send you anything.

What are you plotting, Tony Parker? (D. Clarke Evans/NBA/Getty Images)

That's an awful wry smile you've got there after shooting just 8 for 21 from the field in your San Antonio Spurs' Game 1 win, Tony Parker. Seems like you're pretty pleased with yourself — almost like you've just watched a long, meticulously orchestrated plan come to fruition.

This doesn't have anything ot do with those skin-tight French bus driver uniforms, does it? Or does it? Or maybe it wasn't Kobe tweeting at all — maybe you had noted technologist, teammate and countryman Boris Diaw hack his Twitter account to sow dissension in the Los Angeles Lakers' ranks. Intrigue!

Man, the suspense is just killing me. Won't you guys let me know what fiendish plot Parker's got swirling around in that star point guard brain of his? Best caption wins some Dastardly doings (literally). Good luck.

In our last adventure: Looking good, Meyers Leonard.

Samuel Dalembert asks the referee if he hears any free agent scuttle (Getty Images)

Milwaukee Bucks reserve center Samuel Dalembert is not some team-killing cancer, musing openly about his future beyond 2012-13 on full record with reporters. He’s just an open, candid, honest guy when it comes to discussing the life of a moderately priced journeyman NBA reserve.

Still, we don’t recall too many instances where one of those reserves has gone record to discuss signing with an opponent while he plays that opponent in the first round of a playoff series. This is exactly where Samuel went before Sunday evening’s Game 1 showdown between the Bucks and Miami Heat, as FOX Sports’ Chris Tommasson talked to Sam about his very specific thoughts on his upcoming free agency:

"The Heat will be definitely an option," Dalembert told FOX Sports Florida before his Bucks lost to the Heat 110-87 in Game 1 of an Eastern Conference first-round series Sunday night at AmericanAirlines Arena. "It’s up to them and seeing what’s going to be out there. But at this point you want to be with a contending team. You don’t want to go backwards, so you want to chase that promised land."

J.R. Smith puts six fingers in the air, because he knows what's up. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

The New York Knicks piqued our interest with a vague Monday morning tweet:

The NBA will make an announcement at 2:30 PM today at MSG Training Center.

— NY_KnicksPR (@NY_KnicksPR) April 22, 2013

Just 10 minutes later, we found out the contents of said announcement:

JR Smith will be announced as Sixth Man of the Year this afternoon.

— Howard Beck (@HowardBeckNYT) April 22, 2013

That's right, sports fans. J.R. Smith — the New York Knicks' butt-photo-tweeting, midnight-bike-riding, Power-Rangers-loving, Sean-Paul-video-stealing, slow-jam-inspiring, title-tattoo-promising shooting guard — will be named the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year on Monday afternoon. That's just delightful, isn't it?

The voting falls in line with our 2013 NBA award predictions, in which all three of us here at BDL (along with Yahoo! Sports NBA columnist Marc J. Spears) tapped Smith as the league's best backup. Smith received 72 of 121 first-place votes, receiving 484 total points to take first place ahead of a slew of other very worthy candidates for the honor of the NBA's top reserve. Fellow shot-happy guard Jamal Crawford of the Los Angeles Clippers (the choice of Y! Sports editor Al Toby) finished second, receiving 31 first-place votes and 352 points.

Veteran Golden State Warriors point guard Jarrett Jack finished third, receiving 14 first-place votes, followed by sweet-scoring guard Kevin Martin of the Oklahoma City Thunder (two first-place votes), sharpshooting New Orleans Hornets forward Ryan Anderson (one first-place vote), Denver Nuggets point guard Andre Miller (zero first-place votes) ... and, amusingly enough, Jordan Crawford, who was traded from the Washington Wizards to the Boston Celtics during the season and received one first-place vote (which, one would suspect, probably intended to go to Jamal).

Comedy fans waiting with bated breath for Shaquille O'Neal to bust out some hilarious hijinks during the 2013 NBA Playoffs got their wish Sunday night during halftime of TNT's broadcast of the Miami Heat's 110-87 win over the Milwaukee Bucks. And how did the Big Kazaam grant that wish? By showing a clip of him stripping down into his skivvies and going for a lap around the set of NBA TV's Fan Night broadcast, much to the chagrin of hosts Matt Winer and Greg Anthony.

Behold the laffs:

"That was a bet I had to pay to [TNT analyst] Kenny [Smith]," Shaq explained. Well, "explained," I guess. We don't know what the bet was or when it took place.

Whatever the circumstances of the tank-top-and-boxers run, though, it's pretty likely that the idea was Shaq's from Jump Street — you might remember that Shaq seems to do stuff in his underwear in front of cameras an awful lot.

Like walk on the beach in hot pink bikini briefs during an episode of the Peabody Award-winning reality show "Shaq Vs."

Or walk around the "Inside the NBA" set in boxers to pay off a Blake Griffin vs. Kevin Love bet he made with Charles Barkley.

It's playoff time again, which can mean only one thing — players looking to make fashion statements in postgame interviews so that we can all gawk at/marvel at/scott at/denigrate/worship their swag. (Which action you choose probably says more about you than it does about them.)

There weren't very many bold sartorial choices in the aftermath of a chalk-heavy weekend that saw favored teams win all eight Game 1 matchups, but two stars — reigning league MVP LeBron James and reigning style MVP Russell Westbrook — opened the postseason with a bang.

Here's LeBron getting his tropicalia on, sweater-wise, after putting up 27 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists to pace his Miami Heat to a 110-87 Game 1 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday night:

Floral. (Screencap via @BleacherReport)

Athlete style maven Megan Ann Wilson informs us that James' sweater comes from Staple Design's 2013 "Spring Training" collection and retails for $54. Seems like a small price to pay for something so seasonal, florid and warmer/brighter-but-still-makes-me-think-of-"Garden-State"-y.

Not to be outdone — ever, in a million years, by anyone — after kicking in 19 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds in the Oklahoma City Thunder's 120-91 pasting of the Houston Rockets, Westbrook took the postgame podium in something a bit less restrictive in the arms: