Stephenson's intensity is unmatched in NBA playoffs

If Lance Stephenson has a great game, the Pacers almost surely win. Stephenson, a 3rd year guard out of the University of Cincinnati, has taken some time to develop. Thanks to the patience of Larry Bird and Frank Vogel, Stephenson has become the barometer that the Pacers can measure their play off of each time they play as a unit.

Credit Stephenson for improving his play since being drafted in the second round. At Cincinnati for a single season, Stephenson was a very raw prospect. He was used to taking most of his team's shots from his high school days in Brooklyn, but Stephenson wasn't quite ready for that at the college level. He finished his only season at UC shooting 44 percent from the field and averaging 12.3 points per game. The Bearcats didn't make the NCAA tournament the only year Stephenson played for the team. He never seemed to truly fit Mick Cronin's scheme.

Fast forward three years and Lance Stephenson is the most impactful player on the Indiana Pacers, a team just 2 wins away from the NBA Finals. Stephenson isn't the best player on the team; that distinction goes to former XU player David West or Roy Hibbert. However, Stephenson is capable of electrifying an arena at any point in time in the game. Filling in for Danny Granger this season, Stephenson enjoyed a break out year at just 22 years of age. He has bulked up to 228 pounds since his college days, fitting the bruising mentality of the physical Pacers. The shooting guard will now be an every day player at the highest level. His game isn't dissimilar to Dwyane Wade's, the man who he has gone up against in the NBA Conference Finals.

Stephenson has an egotistic aura about him. He trash talked the Miami Heat last season from the bench by making a chocking sign with his hands. Stephenson never entered the games in that series. Now, Stephenson can back up his trash talking abilities. He is averaging 10.1 points per contest this postseason after averaging over 8 in the regular season. Stephenson is also averaging 7.7 rebounds a game, a strong suit in his playing abilities, along with 3.3 assists. He is averaging over 35 playoff minutes a game, showing just how much his team relies on him. Stephenson has been seen talking smack to LeBron James, the man who guards him a great deal, in between free throws and trying to get in his head. This seems to embolden Stephenson's game. He is coming off of his best postseason performance in which he scored 20 points while shooting 9 of 15 from the field. He also iced the Knicks' Conference Finals chances by recording a double double in Game 6. He scored 25 points that day and also had 10 rebounds.

As the series rolls along, Lance Stephenson only gets better. This young man lives for those clutch situations in a game. I trust Lance Stephenson with the ball in his hands in a crucial moment in a game as much as or more than I trust LeBron James in the same situation. Each time he steps out onto the court, Stephenson seems to learn something new about himself and his style of play. If Stephenson can score over 20 points again tonight in Miami, I guarantee you that the Pacers will win. Keep an eye out for number 1 because he is really the number 1 player in terms of importance for Indiana.