D-Wade (Photo. Mannion)With each passing game, dealing Shaq looks like a genius move for the Heat. Dwyane Wade and Shawn Marion look like they’ve been playing together for months rather than days, and although Miami is 0-2 since Matrix first suited up, they’re playing with more energy; like they actually care about winning or losing. Last night’s game against the Nuggets was some of the best ball we’ve seen the Heat play all season, even though they lost in overtime … Tied up with a few seconds left in regulation, Allen Iverson had the ball on an iso, being guarded by Dorell Wright. Iverson went for a stutter-step and pull-up fadeaway, but Wright played it perfectly and blocked the shot. But Denver pulled it out in OT on the free throw shooting of Anthony Carter and Carmelo … D-Wade (29 pts, 10 asts) went crashing into the second row after a loose ball, and Miami’s play-by-play guy was all, “Is he OK? I hope he isn’t hurt.” Meanwhile, Mark Blount - who had dove for the same loose ball earlier - was still lying there on the court and no one said anything … J.R. Smith went off for 28 points on eight triples, Kenyon Martin had 24, ‘Melo had 22, and some other guys with a lot of tattoos got buckets, too. Matrix had 23 points and 18 boards, the most for a Miami player this season … Steve Smith (Hawks color commentator) was in rare form as his team was getting beat by Detroit. He said “us” or “we” multiple times during the pre-game show and kept it up during the game, dropping lines like, “Joe Johnson has to carry us” and “If we’re going to win this game, we can’t turn the ball over.” In first quarter Smith was talking about how the Pistons “need to stay out of injuries,” and when speaking about Rasheed Wallace said, “This kid is so special.” Rasheed is 33 years old, by the way. Smith is 38 … And what was up with Andre Aldridge in the NBA TV pre-game show, saying Atlanta’s Phillips Arena is “one of the best places in the League to watch a game.” Yeah, maybe if you enjoy the quiet conversation. Do the ushers at Phillips even care if you sit in the seat matching your ticket? … Rasheed scored 15 in the first quarter (finishing with 21), pretty much all on jump shots. There was even a 3-on-1 fast break where ‘Sheed got a pass right at the rim and he decided to bank in a 2-foot set shot. What, had ‘Sheed made a bet that he wouldn’t dunk all game or something? If that was Vince Carter who passed up the dunk, he’d never hear the end of it … It looked like a blowout at first, but ATL wouldn’t go way until Chauncey Billups (16 pts, 8 asts) ran off 12 straight points in the fourth. How many starting point guards in the League can regularly pull up for three-pointers in transition and no one ever gets mad at them? Chauncey is one. Baron Davis is probably on that list, along with Sam Cassell and Steve Nash, and Gilbert Arenas if you wanna call him a PG … Kirk Hinrich made it back from the injured list, only to (along with Chris Duhon) get carved up by Chris Paul. CP went for 25 points and 14 assists in the Hornets’ win, setting up Peja outside (6 threes) and David West inside (27 points) … The Kings were down by 15 to the Grizzlies (seriously) with about 40 seconds left and everyone in “Let’s just get out of here” mode. Mike Conley was lazily dribbling the shot clock down when Kevin Martin ran up behind him and poked the ball away, converting a meaningless layup on the other end. Does that play fall under the “Never giving up” or the “Padding your stats” category? K-Mart ended up with 33 points … Hakim Warrick got the start at PF and dropped 24 points and 13 boards. Kwame Brown played 2 minutes off the bench, less than Jason Collins and Brian Cardinal … No need for KG when the Celtics played the Pacers. Paul Pierce was locked in, dropping 28 points and sticking the dagger to Indy whenever they got close in the fourth quarter. Pierce’s numbers aren’t always going to sparkle like LeBron’s or Kobe’s simply because of how the Celtics play, but The Truth is still as deadly as anyone when he’s looking to score … Do the Bucks and Sonics get offended when people call the Celtics “the green team” as if they’re the only one? … Speaking of Milwaukee, in this week’s Hit List we talked about the chemistry issues going on in the Bucks’ backcourt. Apparently it’s a team-wide problem according to coach Larry Krystowiak. Whatever the problem is, Michael Redd and Mo Williams are being paid too much money not to work it out somehow … Nice gesture by the Nets last night, allowing fans in the upper reaches of the arena to come down to the better seats. The crappy tri-state area weather made it so only about 7,000 people showed up to the game. Well, the weather and the fact that it was a Nets/Wolves game … Vince’s two-hand 360 dunk was sick. But did you see Marko Jaric just not even pretend to try doing anything about it? Vince picked up the loose ball and Marko might as well have stood in place … We need Shaq to come back and play, if nothing else just so this “The Big Spectator” nickname doesn’t catch on … The Dime headquarters is gonna be pretty empty today, and totally empty starting tomorrow as the crew will all be in New Orleans for NBA All-Star Weekend. As usual there will be too much stuff going on, and since we’re stepping up our coverage from the last couple years, we’ll try to take you along with us to every party, basketball and media event as it happens … We’re out like harmony in Milwaukee …
February 13th, 2008 at 5:55 am
J Crom says:
nobody can say it
February 13th, 2008 at 6:09 am
Alex "Robocop" Murphy says:
because if you’re not first you’re last?
February 13th, 2008 at 6:12 am
Vignesh says:
“Vince’s two-hand 360 dunk was sick”….WORD!!
February 13th, 2008 at 6:13 am
YOUNGFED says:
Martin never has to pad his stats Dime. That Miami game was the best ever.
February 13th, 2008 at 6:31 am
J Crom says:
naw robocop cause that crap is annoying. And I gotta agree with Fed. Martin “gets buckets son”…no need to pad stats
February 13th, 2008 at 6:46 am
Vignesh says:
whoa..Carter(ma man) got more assists than kidd… hmmm..when did that ever happen last time…
Denver can actually cause a lot of trouble if they are healthy..the team rox..except for anthony carter
February 13th, 2008 at 6:51 am
Str8baller says:
all the haters can STFU. Vince is legit. Dude is nasty like that. Now they all wanna talk how they were kidding when they said he was done.
Air Canada my ass…Air World… Half Man ALL AMAZING
my 2 cents
Happy Anniversary Dee… Kocham cie
February 13th, 2008 at 7:08 am
Vignesh says:
I think Vince saw the show where Charles and Magic were just going at him by saying hes done…he cud be the 3rd option…he cant dunk any more blah blah…
me thinks that lit a fire up under his arse
February 13th, 2008 at 7:14 am
Big Aaron says:
Anyone else laugh like hell when Camby swatted D-wade on like 3 consecutive possessions last night?
Marion looks like a sweet pick-up. Riley done raped another GM.
February 13th, 2008 at 7:43 am
Flo Jo says:
Dwayne Wade and Shawn Marion … could be the start of something special. If Marion opts out where do you think he would want to go?
February 13th, 2008 at 8:11 am
Sean says:
Before we start handing out trophies, Wade and Marion are 0-2…I’m guessing Marion is quite happy with his 23-18, especially since he can start his vacation in late April.
February 13th, 2008 at 8:31 am
Celts Fan says:
obviously no trophies are being handed out, but a nucleus of Wade, Marion, Haslem, and Beasley/Rose is a great start to reload that team…
February 13th, 2008 at 9:00 am
Top Gun says:
Miami’s losses have been close all year long, with the exception of a few. Ricky Davis looks like a fool without his moustache, kinda creepy too.
Vince is weak !!
February 13th, 2008 at 9:08 am
silkification says:
its funny to see marion “happy” as he moves from first to the worst team in the league. get those stats, kick back and relax as you watch nash in the playoffs. just don’t show up at the desert arena and expect a starks-esque welcome home… trick
February 13th, 2008 at 9:13 am
rean_pogi says:
“Do the ushers at Phillips even care if you sit in the seat matching your ticket?” - that’s cold man,plain C-O-L-D…
wade,marion,and a top draft pick 09?hmmm…riley could be a wise man after all…
mavs all the way…
apir!
February 13th, 2008 at 9:23 am
Kobeef says:
The Miami game was the best effort in a losing game all season. Wade and Marion are a very good pairing and might be worth keeping. That said, with ONE MORE LOSS the HEAT will officially finish the season with a losing record.
Is Kwame the biggest #1 pick bust ever? Mike Olowikandi and Sam Bowie come close…but I think Kwame could have a shorter career…2 minutes on the worst team in the league??
Bassy continued his trend of playing great when matched-up against top-5 PG’s, putting 27 points (50% from 3) on Kidd to go with 7 assists and just 1 turnover.
February 13th, 2008 at 9:53 am
yuri says:
Yes. The Phillips Arena ushers do care about your tickets. Long story short, my wife and I got effed on some tickets last year by a scalper in the ATL. The arena was half-empty, so we assumed we could move down (not to the floor mind you, just a decent seat in a section with 100 empty chairs) to a section where some friends were sitting, and we got the boot. We moved to another empty section, and again got the boot. Basically we bounced around for a half until we found a seat. Settled in to watch KG give the Hawks 34 and 15, only to shy away from the ball down the stretch so Ricky Davis could be, well, Ricky Davis and fuck up the game for Minny.
February 13th, 2008 at 10:14 am
Sith Lord 24 says:
Shawn Marion is the greatest ball player of all time that has never had a play ran for him, he can get 20 10 playing 4 different positions on any team!!!!!!! i dont think anyone else in the history of basketball can say that
February 13th, 2008 at 10:38 am
Celts Fan says:
Kobeef, I think the list of all time busts for #1 picks (Bowie was 2nd btw, behind Hakeem and ahead of some dude named Michael)
1. Olowakandi
2. LaRue Martin
3. Kwame Brown (he’s a stiff, but at least he’s a stiff that will stay in the L for his entire career, which will undoubtedly be pretty long and have more stops than Greyhound, because at least he can protect the rim a little. Kandi Man and LaRue weren’t around all that long)
February 13th, 2008 at 10:42 am
G says:
Sith is wildin. Marion is nice but cmon 4 different positions? Ill give him the 3,4, and maybe the 5 but even that is pushing it. Still think Lamar Odom is king of that category
February 13th, 2008 at 10:57 am
IGP says:
I’m from VT but I went to Atlanta to see a Hawks game (amongst other things obviously) and my friends and I got nosebleed seats. The usher told us before the game started, “hey you can sit wherever cuz there will definitely be some free seats” haha.
February 13th, 2008 at 11:12 am
Kobeef says:
Worst #1 picks of all time:
1. Michael Olowokandi (1998)
2. LaRue Martin (1972)
3. Kwame Brown (2001)
4. Derrick Coleman (1990)
5. Joe Smith (1995)
6. Kent Benson (1977)
This gallery also does a good job with the Busts list:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/2005/06/24/gallery.nbabusts/content.20.html
February 13th, 2008 at 11:38 am
sans says:
Derrick Coleman lived up to it for a minute. Even after that he was a valuable role player, putting in work at the center spot, out of position, when he was too fat to do anything else.
I’m dreaming that Marion will accept Larry Hughes’ bought-out contract this summer for a chance to grab a chip with Lebron, but I always dream big for the Cavs. Memphis and Seattle/OKC will have some cash to throw around.
February 13th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
GEE...nominated for new pop folk rap group album of the year says:
Um are you all forgeting Magic?? Dude could and did play every position on the floor at one point or another. Well too I might add.
D.C. has always been wack to me. I remember getting in a heated one with some of my homies about who was better to take D.C. or Juwan Howard. D.C. was a cancer and overrated.
Marion and Wade are going to be the new fun team to watch once they get an atheletic and decent point. If they get a versatile center that can run the floor too, with about 2 or 3 spot up shooters. Oh my gosh. I know a lot of if’s lol.
I ALSO TAKE BACK WHAT I SAID ABOUT MARION BEING A SYSTEM PLAYER. HE IS “NOT” A SYSTEM PLAYER. He has shown he very much can ball regardless of where he is at.
Atlanta should have beat Detroit, they played way harder, they just make a lot of stupid mistakes and costly turnovers. Props to the D, for really showing experience and coolness during the end.
Boston really should worry a lot about Detroit. If Clev. will ever make a trade you could say teams should worry about them too, but as long as Bron doesn’t have anyone. He won’t see no Trophy. That’s my word!
Last night on the tube they was talking about originally it was a Vince for Shaq trade, that never happened. That would have been funny to see Shaq in a Nets uni. Talk about weird.
Honestly who wants Ben Wallace???? NOT NOBODY!
I love dub. negs.
February 13th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
Celts Fan says:
Kobeef, Joe Smith can’t be on that worst #1 picks list that high. He’s not great and iddn’t deserve first overall, but he’s good enough and productive enough that there are definitely more than 5 worse first overall picks.
February 13th, 2008 at 1:45 pm
doc says:
Wow Vince got a dunk.
February 13th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
K-Dizzle says:
Doc
against the T-Wolves….
February 13th, 2008 at 2:05 pm
Sith Lord 24 says:
can get 20 10 a game without a play being run for him…… no one did that but marion
February 13th, 2008 at 2:50 pm
Ian says:
coleman , smith shouldnt be in the top 5
coleman was grat for a while
smith ok
btw marion is way better than odom
February 13th, 2008 at 2:54 pm
Ian says:
love the way some people where talking about how soft vince is and that sheed deserved that spot in the allstar game
but comon sheed a pf that loves jumo shoots and only takes 7 rbs a games please
and people call dirk soft
February 13th, 2008 at 3:41 pm
Knowledge says:
dirk is soft. you see the finals 2 yrs ago or last year’s playoffs? dude ws shut down by small forwards.
until vince wins something, he can stay in jersey
sheed is real, he didn’t wanna go to orleans; he had vacation time planned with the fam, D Stern named him a replacement. Yeah, dude shoots jumpshots and he also plays defense, wins and plays thru pain. just cuz he don’t bitch about it don’t be fooled. best thing that happened to Vince was getting that elbow to his head, but a dunk against the league’s worst team and now he’s hard?
February 13th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
GEE...nominated for new pop folk rap group album of the year says:
Phoenix 36 15
New Orleans 35 15
Dallas 34 17
Utah 33 19
L.A. Lakers 34 17
San Antonio 33 17
Denver 32 19
Golden State 31 20
Houston 31 20
If G.S. takes an L tonight and Houston wins they got that 8th spot. Hopefully they will handle buis. Peep out Utah though. If they lose like 1 to 3 games they sliding hard! The west is so crazy. You can’t even say it’s a clear cut case for any position now. I mean you got injuries, trades still going on and some teams get hot and some lose it.
It’s gone get real fascinating this last half!
February 13th, 2008 at 4:13 pm
GEE...nominated for new pop folk rap group album of the year says:
It’s gone be real fun in the L. TONIGHT!
February 13th, 2008 at 4:55 pm
Ian says:
knowledge
what im sayin is
u people are down on vince because hes what avg 20 6 5
and say he should be around 28 7 7
but isnt it the same with sheed hes a 12 7 2 player
he should be getting at least 20 10 with that talent
why arent people down on him too?
February 13th, 2008 at 7:25 pm
Knowledge says:
Ian
Not down on vince, just think it’s funny that he’s the nets #1 option and is averaging 20 5 and 5 while RJ’s averagin 23 5 and 3 and some people are getting overexcited cuz Vince had a dunk on the worst team in the league. No one ever mentioned rasheed for the all-star spot, stern appointed him. It could easily have been turkoglu josh smith or ilgauskas.
To answer your question, no one is down on sheed because he hs been inconsistent his whole career. He kinda goes through the motions like robert horry then something clicks in his head and he goes nuts against Duncan, Garnett, Bosh etc. He’s the 4th option on a team that gets to the conference finals every year, even when he doesn’t score or rebound, he still plays defense, help side d, blocks and changes shots. Noone expects 30 and 20 from sheed, but once in a whlie, he hits you with 25 and 12. Sheed is more in tune with his fans cuz you never see him smile when the team is losing, you never see him making jokes with the other team and you never see him back down. I agree with you that it would be nice if he got 20 and 10 every night, but that’s not sheed and you can’t judge his game by numbers cuz he does so much on the other end. He turns it on when he feels like it. Difference is his team doesn’t really need those numbers from him, whereas the Nets go nowhere if Vince don’t put up 25-30. You say he’s averagin 20 5 and 5, well how’s the team doing? His team needs 28 7 and 7 just like the last 3 years when the nets strted rolling, vince was always around 30 a game. He’s still in his prime so when he gets paid in the summer and he’s only avging 20, it looks bad for him
February 13th, 2008 at 7:42 pm
K-Dizzle says:
Gee
If Kidd gets traded, does my man Jose get to start for the east? lol
Ian
I hope you watchin the raps-nets game, they just discussin how Vince can’t be stopped when he goes to the rack but today, he’s on the perimeter, and they down big right now
Anybody tell me why dallas would be givin up size and youth for a poor-shootin point guard past his prime? No diss to JKidd, but with the acquisitions of Shaq, Webber, Gasol as well as Yao, Boozer, Amare, Duncan, Bynum being out west, shouldn’t you be tryin to keep Diop cuz I don’t think Damp matches up to anybody out west?
February 13th, 2008 at 9:15 pm
oh baby says:
can’t wait to see what all you haters have to say about Manu tomorrow…
February 13th, 2008 at 10:16 pm
GEE....girl look at you..looking like the great pumpkin says:
K-D Yea I guess he can get the start then! LOL