For those of you that can’t make it to a game, this is the next best thing. Read More »

Beast of the Night: Ty Lawson finished with 25 points, four rebounds, three assists, eight steals and two three-pointers last night in a loss to the Trail Blazers. He shot 63 percent (10-16) from the field, 75 percent (3-4) from the free-throw line and had two turnovers. Lawson is off to a very solid start in his first three games of the season. Though he’s not dishing out many assists (3.0 per game), he’s shooting like a center (62 percent from the field), hitting threes (1.7 per game) and thieving like a maniac (4.0 per game). There’s little standing in his way to giving his owners top 30 value this season. Read More »

One of the key plays in last night’s Thunder/Mavs game saw Serge Ibaka strip an attacking Dirk Nowitzki. Russell Westbrook then picked up the loose ball, raced to the other end of the court, shrugged off a Jason Terry foul attempt, and still finished strong at the rim.

The momentum carried Russ into cameraman under the hoop and completely took him out. Check out the super slo-mo clip of the play from that cameraman here: Read More »

As we said in today’s Smack, everyone in the gym knew who wanted to take the final shot for the Oklahoma City Thunder last night. Down one with 1.4 seconds left, no one but Kevin Durant was going to get this look. Read More »

As long as the door’s open a crack, Kevin Durant can – and will – sneak attack you and steal a game. Last night in Oklahoma City, KD did just that. A back-and-forth game between the Thunder and the Mavs came down to a final two minutes dominated by big shots. With the Mavs down one, Vince Carter drilled a three from the top of the key off a Dirk decoy play with just 1.4 seconds to go. After a timeout, the Thunder inbounded to Durant, and despite everyone in the gym knowing he was taking the shot, the Mavs inexplicably A) let KD catch the inbounds pass cleanly and B) gave him some daylight to get off a shot. Buckets. Thunder win … Seriously, you let anyone take that shot other than Durant, right? Even a Russell Westbrook clean look is preferable … By the way, have you seen Russ’ MJ-powered skates?? … How’s this for efficiency? KD got 30, going 10-15 from the floor … We know there’s no substitute for NBA games and practices for players to get in game shape, but dudes who showed up to camp completely out of shape? No excuse. On last night’s TNT broadcast, Mike Fratello said that on the Mavs’ off day on Wednesday, the team made Lamar Odom come in for two hours of conditioning work. Then he had to come back early before the team’s shootaround on gameday yesterday for more … Read More »

Whereas last summer reshaped the NBA and as a byproduct of that, helped usher in the extended lockout, the upcoming abbreviated free agency period won’t include a single franchise player. There are probably no future Hall of Famers available. Hell, there might not even be a single All-Star out there. But what is being given up will be replaced in a frenzy. The signings and player movement will be fast and furious, and without any sure things, there will be plenty of opportunities to criticize GMs who panic and throw ridiculous contracts at simply average players. Read More »

In theory, after the Christmas shopping season is over, the last thing you would want to do is put out more money.

But if you didn’t spend every last dollar on gifts for your loved ones – or on Concords – the week after Christmas is actually a fantastic opportunity to find bargains as stores make room for new gear. This is especially true if you received gift cards or cash for the holidays and need a fresh pair for New Year’s, or just in general. After all, who knows better what you like than you do? Read More »

Last night, I watched my Sixers maul the worst Phoenix Suns team in recent memory. They’re just awful. Poor Steve Nash – after abusing Jrue Holiday the first handful of times down the court, disappeared into one of the least-effective performances of his career (four points on 2-11 shooting, one assist, six turnovers in 17 minutes).

Much of that can be blamed on a rotten supporting cast. Help is (sort of) on the way though, as the Suns just signed Michael Redd to a one-season free agent deal. Read More »

Beast of the Night: LeBron James had himself a typically big line to the tune of 35 points, six rebounds, seven assists, three steals and two blocks. He shot 57 percent (13-23) from the field, 100 percent (9-9) from the free-throw line and had two turnovers. Through three games, James is averaging 32.7 points on 59 percent shooting from the field and 87 percent shooting from the charity stripe. The odd thing is that he has yet to attempt a single three-pointer. The fact that he’s been such a stud without a three-pointer says volumes about his fantasy value. It’s early, but James looks like the probable top dog in fantasy basketball this season. Read More »

Too many highlights came out of the Heat’s come-from-behing win in Charlotte last night. While most were on the offensive end, LeBron James did add another chase-down block to his seemingly never-ending highlight reel. Still, that perhaps wasn’t even the best defensive play of the day. Josh Smith caught John Wall on the break as well, knocking him to the floor. Which one was the best? Hit the jump to decide. Read More »