Everybody has had their 15 cents’ worth of advice for Gilbert Arenas. One TV analyst (I can’t even remember which one at this point) recently said Arenas needs to focus on nothing but basketball whenever he’s able to come back to the NBA, whether he’s playing for the Wizards or another team.
“Come back as a basketball player,” they said. “Not as an entertainer, not as a blogger, but just a basketball player.”
There was a time when it seemed Gilbert was known more for his popular NBA.com blog than his actual game, but during his long injury/rehab ordeal he eventually dropped the blog and talked of committing to becoming a more focused ballplayer. Read More »
With the season already past the midway point, NBA GMs have their minds set on the NBA Playoffs. But for those teams that will be counting ping pong balls instead of playoff victories, the upcoming NBA Draft has many intriguing prospects that need to be recognized. So before March Madness takes over, Dime contributor Lucas Shapiro will be profiling players and giving them a team that would best fit their talent. First up, Kentucky’s John Wall. Read More »
Though it’s tough to cover everything in a concise manner, let’s attempt to traverse this broad topic by way of using a simple grading system. The first letter grade after each player’s name will be based on their performance thus far, in addition to how they’ve fallen short of, met or exceeded expectations; and the second grade will be based on their expected value during the second half of the season. Read More »
Nothing against LeBron, Kobe, ‘Melo and the rest of the usual suspects, but if the Hornets make the playoffs, let’s just scrap the voting process and hand the MVP to Chris Paul. With his team battling to stay above .500 and tied for 10th in the West, CP might be carrying a bigger load than any superstar — and that’s only a “might be” because of Dwyane Wade … Hosting the red-hot Grizzlies, Paul again had to dominate just for N.O. to squeak out a win. He took over after Memphis went up by nine with 4:30 to go, scoring or assisting 17 of the Hornets’ final 20 points. With 40 seconds left, N.O. was up one when Paul (21 pts, 13 asts) froze Jamaal Tinsley with a series of shakes and stuck a mid-range jumper. “You just don’t want Child Welfare to come and say anything about the way he’s shaking him!” laughed announcer Gil McGregor … Read More »
Not that Tony Parker is sweating a 2010 All-Star snub — I’m guessing he’d rather spend the winter weekend curled up with Eva Longoria instead of getting booed every time he touches the ball in Spurs-hating Dallas — but TP nonetheless issued a late reminder yesterday that he shouldn’t be forgotten in All-Star talk.
On paper, Parker went against nemesis Chris Paul and gave him 25 points while snapping the Hornets’ seven-game home win streak. In reality, CP and TP rarely guarded each other; but no matter who was in front of him, Parker thrived. Read More »
“I hope to hear more from Nate Robinson. He is going to have an entire country looking up to him as an inspiration. I am part filipino as well and proud to say “I am pinoy.” – YouTube user Pacman344140Hagler
Manila might be more than a dozen time zones away from Los Angeles, but people in the Philippines are fully aware of what’s going on with the Lakers as well as the other 29 teams in the league. To put things bluntly, Filipinos are crazy for the NBA. And by crazy, I mean like what college football is to people in South Bend. Or what soccer is to people in England and what hockey is to folks in Toronto. Get the point? The league has also taken notice of the passion Filipinos have for basketball. Read More »
Having literally been beat up on the road lately — Steve Nash is still in stitches from getting his mouth busted open in Indiana the other night — the Suns appeared to have a big win at Atlanta in their pocket last night. With 10 seconds left and up by two, Nash was going to the line, where he’s automatic in game-icing situations. After Nash (12 pts, 11 asts) did his part to make it a four-point game, Mike Bibby missed a three and Josh Smith got fouled on the putback. Smith (20 pts, 15 rebs, 4 blks) made one and missed the second, but Jamal Crawford — the skinniest and probably least physical guy on the court — snuck in and got the offensive board and bucket. Read More »
