Dirk used a lot of magic this spring in the NBA, but he saved a little something for Turkey. Nowitzki made four huge free throws in the final few seconds to beat Turkey by six. He had 19 for the game, but 13 of those came in the second half. You know Dirk’s one-footed fadeaways? Is there any shot ever that’s crazier? When he’s feeling it, like he was yesterday, he doesn’t even look, just turns his shoulder and chucks the ball at the hoop. The only way that works is through millions of repetitions. Read More »

So it’s true. Following the Deron Williams-to-Turkey saga on Twitter yesterday had us dizzy. It went from “OMG, what?” to “No way that’s true. NO WAY” to “Well, maybe Williams really wants to play” to “Holy s^&* he IS gonna play.” Rumors were rampant all day until Williams’ new agent, Jeff Schwartz, finally confirmed it: the All-Star point guard has a deal in place that will pay him $5 million to play next season for Besiktas while offering an opt-out for whenever the lockout does end. Read More »

The media doesn’t often come to a consensus, but regarding this year’s NBA Draft class, there seems to be widespread agreement: it blows. From bloggers to radio show hosts to television pundits, everyone is saying this could be the weakest draft class in years.

“I tend to think that there’s so much media out there that there’s no way we’re going to think just one way,” says basketball analyst Jay Bilas. “Sometimes it pays to be contrarian in the media. [But] you just don’t hear the contrary view this year.” Read More »

Every year in the NBA there are 16 teams that make the playoffs and 14 who are relegated to the NBA Lottery. Those 14 teams hope that their draft pick can be a building block for the future and help their team become one of the 16 in the playoffs the following season. This article evaluates how well this year’s lottery teams have drafted the past five years: Read More »

Now that Jimmer Fredette’s college career has come to an end, it’s time to look at his NBA potential. Tyler Hansbrough, J.J. Redick and Stephen Curry stirred similar controversy when their record-breaking careers ended and the NBA horizon loomed. Take a look as we debate the potential of arguably the best player in college basketball. Read More »

This is where it starts to really get good. The Sweet 16. It’s just a moniker, but it means so much more. You make the Sweet 16 and jobs are safe, at least for the most part. You make the Sweet 16 and the program is satisfied. The ones who aren’t satisfied? They win titles.

With four games tipping off tonight (why we have all day and yet the games are overlapping, that’s a whole other topic, but don’t even get me started…), take a look back at some of the best Sweet 16 games of the decade. Hopefully, maybe one of the games tonight will find its way onto this list next year. Read More »

They don’t jump like that in Raptors practice. (Well, unless your name is DeMar or Vince.) In Atlanta, Chris Bosh got scalped by Marvin Williams last night during TNT’s Heat/Hawks broadcast, as Marv follow-dunked right on Bosh’s head at one point. Bosh should have just left the building after that one. But at least Bosh got crowned in ATL, where people care more about Dem Franchise Boyz than they do about the Hawks … Despite LeBron going off for 38 points (13-19 FT) and 11 boards, Miami left with another preseason loss, but this time they had their big guns on the floor in the fourth quarter. Read More »

So the Wizards have the ball in the final minute of a close game, and their point guard is slowly dribbling the clock down, figuring out where and how to make his move. “That’s John Wall, right?” somebody asks. “Nah,” comes the answer. “It’s Lester Hudson.” And that’s how you know it’s still the NBA preseason … In the first Madison Square Garden appearance for Wall since he shook hands with The Commish, the No. 1 pick put up 19 points, 5 boards and 6 assists and might have left actual burn marks on Ray Felton‘s shorts. But when the game went down to the wire in the fourth, Wall was on the bench while the likes of Cartier Martin and Landry Fields logged the crunch-time minutes … Read More »

Forget “Real Training Camp” on NBA TV. Can we get the Charlotte Bobcats a reality show on Showtime? Stephen Jackson is worth the airtime alone, but then throw in Michael Jordan getting used to everything that comes with being The Boss, Shaun Livingston‘s (latest) comeback story, Tyrus Thomas‘ mood swings, Sherron Collins‘ out-loud Chitown personality getting rookie hazed, Boris Diaw‘s battle to stay below 320 pounds, the Kwame Brown/MJ dynamic, and Larry Brown‘s manic obsessive nature, and you’ve got potential greatness. Read More »

The NBA isn’t as much of a copycat league as the NFL, but teams that want to contend for championships still have to adapt to whatever the current ring-bearers are doing. Case in point: Every good team is looking to add size, toughness, and six to 12 extra fouls in the frontcourt to deal with the Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom problem presented by the Lakers. (Same goes for the East. Check the Celtics and Heat scrambling to sign any guy who is near 7-feet tall with four limbs.) You saw it yesterday, when as soon as Erick Dampier hit the open market, the Rockets put in their bid. Read More »