NBA Essentials ranks our six favorite stories of the day.

1. BallHype: A graphic-heavy ode to Chris Paul and his youthful awesomeness.

2. Straight Bangin': A passionate and incredibly well-reasoned summation of why the Knicks should consider Chris Douglas-Roberts with the sixth pick.

3. foodcourtlunch.com: The post title says it all: "Tim Duncan Returns a Pair of Pants."

4. TrueHoop: A tremendous dispatch from ballers in Iraq.

5. Ball Don't Lie: Would Jason Terry rather have four arms and two legs or two arms and four legs?

6. Basketbawful: Ray Allen's jumper left Ray Allen for Jason Kapono? Juicy!