With the Heat taking up about 98 percent of the post-Decision attention devoted to the NBA’s Southeast Division, it’s like everybody forgot that the Bobcats are still on the rise, the Hawks are still pretty good, the Magic are still very good, and the Wizards shouldn’t be slept on as a future problem — and not the “Our three best players all think they’re The Man and want 20 shots a night” kind of problem they’ve been in the recent past … John Wall is the alpha, and if Gilbert Arenas isn’t a distraction, he’ll give you 20-something points a night at the two. Read More »

Other than “I can’t stand Reggie Miller,” the last thing you’d expect to hear from an Indiana Pacers fan is, “I hope we start T.J. Ford at point guard.”

But that’s where I’m at right now. After incoming rookie Lance Stephenson turned in a surprisingly effective and efficient performance at the Orlando Summer League (14.8 ppg, 73% FG), the idea of him starting at point guard next season is building momentum. Read More »

With HBO’s new season of “Hard Knocks” premiering August 11 — and focusing on the New York Jets — the show has been a big topic of conversation in the Dime office and NYC in general.

While Major League Baseball has begun capitalizing on the (well-produced) reality TV genre with “The Club,” which follows the front-office/managerial arm of the Chicago White Sox, the NBA has yet to really get on board. Read More »

How much does it say about media hype and Internet culture that perhaps the most heated sports rivalry of 2010 — Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather — involves two guys who have never actually competed against each other, and have rarely even been within arm’s reach of each other?

But check out any boxing message board, or the opinion columns and TV segments about the (hopefully) upcoming superfight. Mayweather/Pacquiao has bad blood flowing before the two even step into the ring. Read More »

Chris Bosh and Vince Carter might have more in common than you think. After Toronto GM Bryan Colangelo tried to shred Bosh’s reputation earlier this week, claiming the All-Star power forward quit on the Raptors towards the end of last season — drawing comparisons to Carter, the ultimate Toronto villain — Bosh had this to say:

“No, at any time, did I ever give up,” Bosh told Rogers Sportsnet. Read More »

Most of the time, my life revolves around sports: I write for Dime, I scour the rumor mills, and I’m constantly playing basketball or some other sport in my off hours. Like most fans, I take the games seriously. But even though it’s hard to get over a 12-win season by my New Jersey Nets or another late-season collapse by my New York Mets, eventually over time I’ll get over things like that. Sometimes, however, there are true tragedies in sports — such as the Lorenzen Wright story — that are not as easy to get over, and stick with me to this day. Read More »

OK, so none of us are old enough to actually reminisce on Pistol Pete‘s college career, but we know enough to recognize the dude was incredible. Pistol averaged 44.2 points, 6.5 boards and 5.1 assists per night at LSU. Numbers don’t lie.

What happens to former stars once they pass their prime? Unfortunately in professional sports, most become ring-chasers.

Let me define a ring-chaser: An older player, usually a former superstar or at least an All-Star, who is past his prime and decides to join a championship contender knowing he won’t be a major factor in his new team winning a title. Read More »

Imagine you’re Shaq. (OK, you’d probably have to go back and eat about twice your normal breakfast to really get into character, then put on socks big enough to use as a backpack.) Now you’re waiting in free-agency purgatory for somebody to sign you, and you know the Hawks are in the mix. You get a call from your agent who says, “Sorry Big Fella, but it looks like Atlanta signed another center.” As you’re quickly flipping through your mental depth chart to think of any decent fives still on the market, the agent says, “They got Jason Collins.” … Read More »

NBA TV’s re-run of the Lakers/Suns Western Conference Finals series is playing in the Dime office right now, and we just watched Steve Nash knock down the game-icing free throws in Game Three. So of course that started an argument: Who would you want at the line to win (or seal) the game for your team?

When people talk about “clutch,” they’re usually referring to game-winning shots and buzzer-beaters. But one underrated part of being clutch is hitting free throws. Teams like the Lakers, Celtics, Spurs and Pistons have been successful recently because they had that one guy (or two) who can hold a lead late in the fourth quarter by knocking down shots at the line. Read More »