Beast of the Night: Chris Paul finished with 24 points, 7 boards, 12 dimes, 5 steals, 2 turnovers and hit 3 threes. He shot 53 percent (9-17) from the field and 100 percent (3-3) from the line and though he’s playing second fiddle to LeBron James so far this season, there’s still a chance he could end up as the top fantasy player yet again. Read More »

David Stern knew better than to seriously compete with the NFL conference championships on Sunday, putting only three games on the NBA schedule. And good thing the Vikings lost, because if Brett Favre had made the Super Bowl, the media hype over the next two weeks might lead the NBA to suspend their operation altogether until after the entire world hopped off Favre’s jock. Peyton Manning/Drew Brees — plus some Kim Kardashian sprinkled in — we can deal with; a 24-hour, 14-day Favre love fest would be too much to handle … The Mavs faced the Knicks at MSG, and, well, Dime reader JHUSTLE can explain it best: “Aight Dime the next post has gotta be how my Mavs just destroyed the Knicks by 50. FIFTY POINTS???!!! Woooooooow just burn the Garden to the ground after that one. That team should be ashamed of themselves. That’s a 2K10 score, not a real life NBA game score. SMFH.” … Read More »

Unlike some nights when you have to choose between five different games on League Pass, one on NBA TV and reruns of “Jersey Shore,” tonight was one of the few instances where everything came together. As the League’s top two teams and top two players squared off, all eyes were on Kobe vs. LeBron, and the League’s No. 1 and 1a did not disappoint … The mood was set before the jump, as “O Fortuna” from Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana blasted from the speakers. Aside from perhaps “The Ride of the Valkyries” when the helicopters attack the village in Apocalypse Now, there’s nothing more epic … Read More »

Since hearing about the relaunch of NBA Jam last week, the talk of the office has been which players are going to make it in the game. As you know, the best part of NBA Jam back in the day was the player combinations. With that in mind, EA Sports has come through, giving fans the chance to select which three players from each team they would like to see represented in the revival. Read More »

With the exception of Michael Jordan, no opposing player has had more dramatic moments in the Garden as Miller. Everything from his clutch shooting to his trash talking to Spike to his theatrics with the crowd. Who could forget his 8 points in nine seconds during the 1995 Eastern Conference semi-finals in MSG? That was also the time he gave the choking sign to Spike in the front row. Garden fans hated him and Miller embraced the role of being the villain. But in the end, Miller respected Knicks fans and vice-versa. Read More »

We argue. You decide.

BRANDON JENNINGS (by Jack Jensen) For whatever reason, I had always discredited Brandon Jennings’ game. Since “Young Money” was being paraded around as the next sure thing at Oak Hill Academy in high school, I was sure he’d be more hype than value. The trash talking little guard from Compton would pan out like Darius Washington Jr. or Sebastian Telfair (who is just now becoming a reliable backup) and never quite reach his top-tier billing, I quietly thought. Welp, 15 games into his career and you can safely check that feeling off on my “Oops” list. Read More »

A couple years ago I had an opportunity to interview John Calipari for Dime. Aiming to do something different with the biggest rock-star coach in the college game, I came up with the idea to have Coach Cal talk to me like I was a big-time recruit and give me his pitch on why I should play for him at Memphis. Thus was born “The Pitch,” our now-regular feature where we’ve had everybody from Rick Barnes to Reggie Theus share their recruiting tactics.

It was only right that Calipari set the standard. After all, he is the best salesman in the college game. Read More »

Breaking down the first-week performances of the serious 2010 title contenders, Spurs announcer Sean Elliott messed up his words and said the Lakers took an “old-fashioned butt cooking” from the Mavs on Friday night. As it turns out, that was the best way to describe what the Spurs were about to do to the Kings on Saturday … Despite Sacramento starting probably the worst frontcourt in the League (Jason Thompson, Sean May, Desmond Mason), it was one of those nights where Tim Duncan didn’t have to do much and could let the smaller guys go to work. Read More »

This was color commentator Dominique Wilkins speaking on T.J. Ford in the first quarter of last night’s Hawks/Pacers game:

“He’s not a bench player. He’s a guy you have to have on the floor because he can make so many people around him better with his penetration ability.”

Even as a Pacers fan and somebody who respects Dominique’s opinion, I couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at that one. Read More »

Contrary to what Chris Webber said last night, the Celtics are not going to win the 2010 championship because they picked up Rasheed Wallace. While ‘Sheed will definitely play a role, Boston isn’t winning jack (or Larry) unless Paul Pierce performs up to Paul Pierce standards. Last night was vintage Truth, as Boston downed the Cavs in the opening game of the new season, a rare home loss for Cleveland. With a little over a minute remaining in the fourth and the Celtics up by four, Pierce (23 pts, 11 rebs) ran a pick-and-roll with KG near midcourt against LeBron and Shaq. Advantage: Boston. Shaq reached, Pierce teached, then stuck a jumper from the top of the key that was essentially the dagger. Read More »