This is pretty much the worst news a Hawks fan could’ve received. With the team off to one of it’s more promising starts in recent years, the man in the middle, their glue defensively and perhaps their best player, could be done for the season.

Yahoo! Sports’ Marc Spears tweeted just a few minutes ago: “Hawks center Al Horford expected to be out 3-4 months with torn left pectoral muscle, source tells Yahoo! Sports.” Read More »

All hell is about to break loose in the NBA. Teams need players (preferably good ones) to fill out their rosters. Serious runs will be made at lots of guys, especially the ones who play positions where the talent field is most thin – point guard and center. That is how guys like Sam Dalembert are lining up for yet another monster free agent contract. Athletic 7-footers don’t grow on trees.

So who are the best of the best? Read More »

Between the more widespread use of advanced statistics, and the argument on whether we should take the words of players and coaches as gospel, some NBA players get unfairly hit with labels. We overrated some and underrated others, and often it’s a tag that sticks with them for years. I’ve said this before but in no other sport do we obsess over rankings like we do in basketball. In baseball, it’s so easy to hit a slump or tail off for a short period of time. The best hitters in the world can still go a whole month hitting measly ground balls and pop-ups. In football, it’s impossible to truly compare players. Is Philip Rivers better than Adrian Peterson? Ed Reed or LeSean McCoy? Too many different positions, responsibilities. Read More »

When I was younger, nothing involving video games took up more of my time than editing rosters. This was before they did it for you, and back when the game would arrive without 20-30 legit NBA players in it. There were always guys who would make teams and get run, but wouldn’t be in the game. It shouldn’t have, but it did matter to me who was a 57 and who was a 62. Read More »

There are so many moving parts when ranking players for keeper leagues – ages, contracts, long-term prospects vs. immediate returns, the league’s expiration date and the unknowns that come with real-life basketball. Clearly, this task is more of an inexact science than cooking up the typical fare of preseason fantasy rankings for non-keeper leagues. This means readers would do well to grab a few grains of salt before reading this list, which is based on the assumptions that you’ll be committing to a nine-category, head-to-head keeper league in 2011-12 and at least two seasons beyond. In general, players who are 30-plus years old were excluded, save for a couple exceptions. Following each player’s name is what his age will be when (or if) the 2011-12 NBA season begins. Read More »

Last night, the Atlanta Hawks put on an incredible performance against the Chicago Bulls to even their second round series at two game apiece. They played aggressive, moved the ball well and played with energy – all of which have not always been the case for the team this year. Atlanta seems to be the ultimate light switch team – they show up sometimes and completely disappear at others – but their talent should allow them to be one of the best teams in the NBA. Read More »

Up 87-81 with only a few minutes to play, it felt like the Lakers had their mojo back. But just as they have all year, the defending champs couldn’t close as Dallas ended on a 17-5 to win 98-92 and push the Lakers from worried to dead. L.A.’s final minutes read like a movie script from a drunk screenwriter: no one could solve the Dirk Nowitzki (32 points) high post-up, and the German either scored or found wide-open shooters. Read More »

We’ve always been taught the deeper you go in the playoffs, the more important those big uglies are. Sinewy guards breaking down defenses and wing shooters splashing jumpers from all over the court are great luxuries to have. But playoff basketball always comes back to the big guys, the rebounders and the paint protectors. You have to control the line of scrimmage to win.

Yesterday, we saw a Memphis front line take their game to an even higher level, a level that’s seldom reached in the playoffs. So far this year, that Grizzly interior has dominated like no other. They’ve been the best inside combination of any playoff team. Read More »

Yesterday, I posted the Nike Air Max Hyperdunk 2010 designed for Richard Jefferson. But with the Hawks taking on the Magic tonight, I thought you might want to see a colorway made exclusively for Al Horford. Check ‘em out: Read More »

We haven’t done one of these in a while, so here’s a reminder on the ground rules: (1) The idea is that while each team has the same roster it had at the time of the draft, they have the added benefit of knowing how each potential draftee will turn out as of today. (2) You can’t predict injuries. (3) Potential still matters. (4) Lastly, you can’t predict how the rest of your roster will turn out.

All clear? With that, here’s my 2007 NBA Draft do-over: Read More »