Too old. Too slow. By now it sounds like a recording for the Boston Celtics, but there’s a new problem beginning to surface that may be the real reason why this team is looking like a fake contender. Forget age and speed — these Celtics aren’t as hungry as they were in ‘08 and ‘09. During last night’s 20-piecing at home at the hands of the Grizzlies, the Celtics looked a lot like the UConn men’s team when they went through the motions before quitting in the Big East Tournament; maybe it’s something in the New England water … Rudy Gay (28 pts, 8 rebs) is exactly the kind of motivated thoroughbred giving Boston problems. Read More »

Beast of the Night: Manu Ginobili torched the Cavs with 38 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 2 turnovers, nailing 7 threes in the process. He shot 52 percent (12-23) from the field and 100 percent (7-7) from the line and is poised to be huge for the Spurs (and his fantasy owners) down the final stretch of the season. Read More »

That was Brent Barry’s line before last night’s Cavs/Spurs game, his way of saying Mo Williams needed to step up and lead Cleveland since LeBron was out with a sore ankle. After sticking a big three midway through the fourth quarter to tie it, Mo (17 pts, 8 rebs, 8 asts) was at the line with nine seconds left and the Cavs up one. He made both free throws (between shots, did you see that girl in the crowd who looked exactly like J.J. Hickson?), and although Greg Popovich drew up a beautiful play to get Roger Mason a wide-open three, “No Shot Rog” bricked to complete his 0-for-8 night beyond the arc … Read More »

Ranking the NBA from worst to first…

30. New Jersey Nets (6-53) — Mad Dog Carter and the rest of the ‘73 Sixers might have to cancel that champagne-popping party. The Nets are 2-5 since the All-Star break, recording wins over the Celtics and the (maybe) playoff-bound Bobcats.

29. Minnesota Timberwolves (14-47) — A disappointing season gets worse for Al Jefferson, suspended for this week’s games against Dallas and Houston after a DWI arrest. On a less serious note, Al’s team has dropped nine of its last 10 games. Read More »

Beast of the Night: Carlos Boozer bruised the Bobcats with 33 points, 16 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 1 block. He shot 81 percent (13-16) from the field, 78 percent (7-9) from the free throw line and had 4 turnovers. He’s on quite a hot streak right now and is doing a good job of boosting his stock for next season. Read More »

By picking up Antawn Jamison at the trade deadline, the Cavs now have one of the most productive frontcourt trios in the NBA, with Shaq at center, Jamison at power forward, and LeBron at small forward. In fact, those three combined for 72 of Cleveland’s 95 points (75 percent) against Orlando on Sunday.

In football, they say the guys on the front line are the ones that determine championships. Basketball is a little different — especially as the game becomes more perimeter and dribble-drive oriented — but it’s no coincidence that the League’s elite teams always have an elite group of forwards and centers. Read More »

USA Basketball released the names of the 27 NBA players who are candidates to play in this summer’s World Championships and the 2012 Olympics in London. Nine players return from the Olympic squad that took gold in Beijing – Kobe, LeBron, Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul, Chris Bosh, Dwight Howard, Carlos Boozer, Deron Williams, and Carmelo Anthony.

The rest of the roster looks like this: Read More »

Right before the start of the season, I interviewed Wolves forward Al Jefferson for a big feature that ended up running in Dime #53. At the time, Big Al was still at home in Mississippi and was extremely optimistic about the season. He was telling me about how he thought this could be the year he makes his first All-Star team. Jefferson also thought that Minnesota could be a surprise team, much like the ‘08-09 Blazers team. Read More »

Some experts think the All-Star Game should be reserved for players on winning teams, but I’m willing to overlook the win-loss record of the front of the jersey if the name on the back of the jersey is putting in honorable work.

Yesterday I made up a 2010 Western Conference squad of All-Stars from teams currently holding Lottery spots. Today is the East side. Those eligible: Bucks, Knicks, Pistons, Sixers, Pacers, Wizards and Nets.

Backcourt — Brandon Jennings & Rodney Stuckey Solid guard play is the Golden Ticket in college hoops, but if you look at what’s going on in the NBA, clearly it crosses over to the League as well. Read More »

Last Friday against the Lakers, while the Knicks were pretending to be a feisty underdog capable of putting a scare into a #1 seed should they crack the playoffs — only to be exposed against the Mavericks in a 50-piecing two days later — the All-Star resume of NY’s David Lee was one of the night’s themes. At one point, ESPN’s Jeff Van Gundy said that players from sub-.500 teams should be banned from making the All-Star team, presenting one extreme in the annual debate over how important a team’s win-loss record should be for an individual player’s All-Star case. Read More »