UNC-Charlotte’s Charlie Coley III turned out The Palace at Auburn Hills in last night’s NCAA dunk contest. I used to call this “The Fred Jones” after Fred tried it in the ’04 NBA contest; then I saw Chandler Parsons try it at the Jordan Brand H.S. All-American contest; and J.R. Smith did it over All-Star break. Now I’m calling it “The Charlie Coley.”

Coming off Wednesday’s loss to the Nets — who’d already appeared to throw in the towel on the ’08-09 season — the Pistons are three games below .500 and just a half-game ahead of Chicago for the 7th seed in the East.

Between injuries to some key veterans, the latest Allen Iverson drama, and the fact that it’s April and the Pistons are still trying to find their identity, the problems are piling up for a team that was supposed to be competing for a championship. Read More »

If you believe in trends and omens and four-leaf clovers and all that, Andrew Bynum would be wise to — even if he’s 100% healthy — skip the Lakers’ April 12 game against the Grizzlies. Bynum’s last two significant knee injuries have happened in games against Memphis; and yet he’s circled April 12 as his projected comeback date from this latest injury. Read More »

OK, so I was wrong. While I had the right reasons, I picked the wrong team. But after watching Michigan State maraud through the Midwest bracket and take out my pre-Tournament pick, Louisville, along the way, I can say this now: The Spartans will take the ’09 national championship. And they’ll do it for a lot of the same reasons I originally picked the ‘Ville: Read More »

Even without Gilbert Arenas, Cavs/Wizards games have managed to stay interesting this year. There was the closer-than-expected Christmas Day game, where Mike James came out looking like an All-Star and the Cavs had to score 11 straight in the final 1:30 to pull out a win. Then a couple weeks later there was the infamous Crab Dribble game. But with Arenas on the court last night, the rivalry felt official again. Read More »

The Lakers have something to play for over the season’s last couple of weeks. While they’ve already clinched the best record in the West, they’re still three games behind Cleveland for the League’s best record overall, which would guarantee home-court advantage should L.A. get to the Finals. Read More »

The700Level posted this video today of Julius Erving saying his goodbyes to the old Philadelphia Spectrum. If for a second I forgot how much I loved the Good Doctor, this video brings me right back to going to games with my Dad when I was little and watching Julius do his thing.

And I am now on a personal quest to find the t-shirt that a fan is wearing at the 5:05 mark…

Watching the Bobcats snatch defeat from the jaws of victory last night, I figured out their biggest problem, the reason why — even if they beat the odds and sneak into the playoffs this year — they’re not really ready yet.

Charlotte desperately needs a crunch-time jump shooter. You look at the playoff teams in the League, and most of them have at least one: Read More »

Over on KixAndTheCity.com check out pics of the Jordan Brand Spizike Boot. Read More »

If you didn’t see Ray sink three after three to deal the Bobcats a devastating blow for their playoff hopes, check it out…