Before the NBA All-Star break we unveiled the new cover of Dime Magazine, featuring Portland Trail Blazers phenom Damian Lillard. As we near the final 20 games of the regular season, we wanted to publish our reflections from before the All-Star break we wrote about in the new issue… Read More »

The NBA regular season, at least for the teams that hold visions of championships, is just an 82-session practice for the playoffs. So rather than worry about who is the unofficial “best” or “worst” team in the League right now, let’s look at which team is most equipped for the truly important games. Read More »

We put Portland guard Damian Lillard on the cover of Dime issue No. 72 because his rise to a likely Rookie of the Year honor follows the dominant NBA trend of the moment. Read More »

The Heat-Clippers showdown got undermined in the last three weeks by Chris Paul‘s hurt kneecap and a flu strain that made most Miami players sick before the game. Still, even with the whole Clippers roster (Jamal Crawford had 13 points, Paul had 3 and Blake Griffin had 13 in their respective returns) mostly healthy, shorthanded Miami bludgeoned its way to a rout made almost unwatchable it was so lopsided if it weren’t for LeBron James’ hypnotizing skills. Read More »

In the final weeks before the All-Star break, the midseason mark is almost upon us. While every rookie under the sun has struggled at some point this season, Damian Lillard has remained invincible. Anthony Davis wasn’t able to shake injury. Bradley Beal has let the injury bug catch up with him as well, and Dion Waiters lost his starting spot at times. Read More »

FRESH PICKINGS Andre Drummond (45 percent owned in Yahoo!, 60 percent in ESPN) Every year I wind up with a fantasy crush on someone that I just have to get my hands on and after watching him develop throughout the first half of the season, Andre Drummond is definitely that player. Read More »

Andre Drummond has been excellent through the first half of his rookie year. But he’s not getting the playing time many feel he deserves. Critics of keeping Drummond on the bench point to his high efficiency and his defensive dominance on the block. If you stretch his production to 36 minutes, he’s giving you a double-double, almost three blocks and 1.7 steals a night while shooting a ridiculous 61 percent from the floor. Read More »

In April, the Mavs might look back and admit this was the night their season died. Up 21, they blew the lead and then lost after a flurry of insanity doomed them. First, Nic Batum made a completely ridiculous three-pointer to tie it up (dude hadn’t made anything all night). Read More »

With the midseason point approaching, it’s been interesting to see which rookies have been able to avoid that rookie wall so far. While January has been a hot month for some of the rookies, others have struggled. While Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Alexey Shved spent the majority of the season on the top half of our rookie ladder, others have outplayed them this month. Read More »

There was a lot of movement in the top 10 since our last rookie ladder. As the season picks up into high gear, few have been able to keep up with the pace. Guys like Austin Rivers and Kyle Singler have fallen off the radar while guys like Jared Sullinger and John Henson are opening eyes. Read More »