Yesterday was light in terms of NBA news and notes and rumors and all that: LeBron was released from the hospital following oral surgery, Leroy Smith took another step toward hoop/comedy immortality, and the combine results from the Chicago pre-draft camp were released. (James Harden is more athletic than you think, while Blake Griffin is exactly as athletic as you think.) At this point it’s really all about the NBA Finals, which tips off tonight in L.A. at 9 p.m. EST on ABC. For Smack today, the Dime crew gives their predictions: Read More »
After yesterday’s amazing introduction, it’s time for some more Leroy Smith. Check out the first part of this eye-opening expose that picks up where Leroy begins his quest to get into the Basketball Hall of Fame…
A statement by the great Mars Blackmon that still lives fresh today. After doing his best to check reigning MVP LeBron James in the Eastern Conference Finals, Mickael Pietrus will do his best to guard last year’s MVP Kobe Bryant. Not an easy task for anymore, so Mike figured he’d switch things up. Read More »
Amar’e has learned something from Shaq. Since the Diesel arrived in the Valley of the Sun, Stoudemire has become more adept at playing the media to get what he wants. He was an outspoken critic of Terry Porter. Goodbye, Terry. He created some hype about himself when he said that he’s better than Chris Bosh. Then he had sports pundits going gaga over that debate. And now, he sounds like he’s trying to get the trade rumor mill moving.
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Ask an old-timer about how much the NBA has changed, and all they have to do is point to this week’s biggest story leading up to the Lakers/Magic championship series. Almost 40 years ago, the Finals revolved around, “Will Willis Reed play?” Today, you can’t find anybody under the age of 50 named “Willis,” and now the big question is, “Will Jameer play?” Doesn’t quite sound the same coming out of Marv Albert’s mouth as the first one … Jameer did practice with the Magic yesterday, after which Stan Van Gundy said he looked good. Read More »
Following in the footsteps of Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant, Ty Lawson and Chase Budinger, 12 of the best high school prospects are headed to France to duke it out in the prestigious World Basketball Tournament. The 2K Sports Preseason All-Americans are stacked – Findlay Prep’s PF Tristan Thompson, Northland High’s PF Jared Sullinger, Lake Clifton High’s PG Josh Selby, and a host of other top-flight talent.
Trail Blazers GM Kevin Pritchard is already on the fast track to made-man status in Portland. Having used some shrewd (and some no-brainer) moves to turn the franchise around from the “Jail Blazers” of Darius Miles, Ruben Patterson and Qyntel Woods to a media-friendly exciting playoff team featuring Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge and Rudy Fernandez, Pritchard has arguably done a better job than any NBA front-office exec over the last 3-4 years. Read More »
When we were going through an edit of the NBA Draft preview for Dime #49, Pat changed the entry as it was written for Tyreke Evans. I don’t remember what it said before, but here’s how it reads now: “Prolific scoring workout beast. Draft stock will only go higher as he kills workouts leading up to the draft.” No truer words could have been predicted. ‘Reke’s stock is shooting up – he’s supposedly coveted by the Timberwolves at No. 6 now. And rumor is that other draftees – James Harden and DeMar DeRozan – don’t want to work out against him.
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