At some point during the fourth quarter, as the Hawks were getting all they could handle from the Rockets and seemed on the verge of their first home loss of the season, Dominique Wilkins said the same thing you’re gonna hear from a bunch of opposing team announcers about the Rockets this year: “This is a GOOD basketball team!” in a surprised tone … In what might have been the most entertaining finish of the year, Houston went up by seven midway through the fourth when Aaron Brooks dusted Joe Johnson on a crossover/hesitation along the baseline for a layup. Read More »

If you haven’t heard, this is supposed to be a down year for the Pac-10.

Over the summer the conference lost James Harden, Jordan Hill, DeMar DeRozan, Jrue Holiday, Darren Collison, Taj Gibson, Jeff Pendergraph, Jon Brockman and Chase Budinger to the NBA Draft. Going back to 2008, the Pac-10 also lost O.J. Mayo, Kevin Love, Russell Westbrook, the Lopez twins, Jerryd Bayless and Ryan Anderson, all of whom would still been in school today had they not gone pro early. Read More »

Beast of the Night: Nene put up a monster line with 20 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals, 4 blocks and 2 turnovers while shooting 62 percent (8-13) from the floor and 80 percent (4-5) from the line. It was his finest game of the season so far and his owners have to be hoping that he stays healthy. Read More »

Josh Smith is spoiling me rotten. Watching Hawks/Blazers last night and seeing Smith throw down at least two dunks that would normally make me (at least) sit up on the couch and make a “something stinks” face, I found myself not doing anything.

Smith is so good above the rim, he dunks so hard and makes it look so easy, that it’s getting tough to even be that impressed by his dunks anymore unless he’s dunking right on somebody. Read More »

Buy Low: Al Jefferson will miss the next two games to tend to a family illness, but it’ll give him some time to rest, too. He’s shown glimpses of life and his steady uphill path to recovery should reach its peak by the beginning of December.

Andre Miller is starting alongside Steve Blake, but the chances for him taking over as the sole starting point guard are getting better. Read More »

Beast of the Night: LeBron James scored 34 points and chipped in 2 threes, 4 boards, 7 dimes, 2 steals and a block last night as he outdueled Dwyane Wade. He shot 40 percent (8-20) from the floor, but the important thing is that he shot 89 percent (16-18) from the free throw line. It doesn’t matter what number he sports on his jersey – The King is a fantasy stud who makes you numb with his steady production of solid lines. Read More »

That’s right, the college hoops season is here and you know what that means: it’s time to unleash the mother effing fury! For the past seven months, I’ve been bottling up a vicious mixture of excitement and rage, just waiting for the moment to release my emotions onto the rest of the world. Well that time has come. Your boy Matty D is back to give you a look at the top teams in the country and to separate the champs from the chumps. Read More »

Beast of the Night: Danny Granger shot 50 percent (12-24) from the field and perfect (5-5) from the line on his way to 31 points, 2 threes, 16 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks and 4 turnovers. The double-digit boards were out of the ordinary as Granger seems to be dealing with a sore heel quite nicely. He’s still a DNP risk but his owners have to be enjoying the ride so far. Read More »

Beast of the Night: Dwyane Wade put up 41 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals and 1 block against the Wizards last night. He shot 48 percent (14-29) from the field, 92 percent from the line (12-13), hit a three and turned the ball over twice. Wade’s having difficulty replicating his spectacular numbers from last season but he’s obviously still an outright stud. Read More »

Ten days ago on Halloween night, New York Knicks fans walked into Madison Square Garden with their usual annual optimism and excitement. The sold out crowd roared and cheered like it was the playoffs, especially after the Knicks put on a spirited fourth quarter comeback against the Sixers that forced overtime. Then once again, the Knicks ruined the moment by getting blown out in OT. Read More »