Beast of the Night: Chris Paul edges out Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade and David Lee with his 39 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals, along with 61 percent (14-23) shooting from the floor and perfect (8-8) shooting from the line. He also hit 3 treys in an overtime victory over Dallas. CP3 got off to a relatively slow start this season but has really turned it on for the past three games. He’s playing with some extra ferocity nowadays and that’s a great thing for his fantasy owners. Read More »

NBA training camps are underway, meaning it’s time again for Dime’s team-by-team season previews. Last year we debuted the “Highs and Lows” system — predicting the respective ceilings and basements for each team. In other words, what is the realistic best-case and worst-case scenario for the 2009-10 campaign?

Added: Tyreke Evans, Omri Casspi, Jon Brockman, Sergio Rodriguez, Sean May, Desmond Mason Read More »

Every NBA team has a go-to guy, and there’s really only room for one. And it’s not always about taking a last-second shot. It’s the guy who regularly gets the ball when things are getting tense in the fourth; the guy expected to calm things down when teammates are getting sloppy; the guy called upon to snuff out an opponent’s rally, or spark a rally of his own; the guy who’s not just supposed to make shots, but make the right decisions.

Bottom line: Who do you want the offense to run through when everything is on the line? From #30 to #1, these are the League’s best go-to guys… Read More »

Although the ‘09 NBA free agent class isn’t as stacked as in years past — not to mention the League is being more thrifty than ever due to the slumping economy — teams still have holes they want to plug, and players have moves they want to make. Here, we break down all 30 NBA teams’ free agent strategy… Read More »

Since it seems the popular thing for national basketball writers to do these days is openly lobby for NBA jobs they’ll never ever-ever-ever-ever-ever get, allow me to put in my bid:

I want to be Zach Randolph’s agent.

Of course I don’t have any experience or a law degree. But if the most important function of an agent is to always work in his client’s best interest, I’ve at least been thinking like Zach’s agent for the last four years; Read More »

Rasual Butler got a wide open look from three to down the Kings coming out of a timeout. Somebody deserves to be blamed. Is it Francisco Garcia for not fighting through a screen and getting out on Butler? Is it Andres Nocioni for not switching to Butler quickly enough? Or is it Kenny Natt’s fault for not making sure that his guys knew exactly what to do in this situation?

Do NBA players have the impression that non-English media outlets give them more leeway to be honest and non-diplomatic? Paul Pierce’s “I’m the best player in the world” interview last summer was with a Spanish-language publication — words that earned him plenty of criticism as soon as it made its way back to the States — and now Andres Nocioni is throwing his current and former team under the bus via the international media. Read More »

The T-Murph Express keeps chugging along. Troy Murphy’s Fantasy MVP line last was 23 points, 4 threes, 10 boards, 6 dimes, and 2 blocks. He also shot 66.7% from the field and was perfect from the line. He’ll be a fantasy trade deadline conversation piece for sure. He’s not a keeper so if you’re out, move him. Here are the other players you should be concerning yourself with today. Read More »

After the trade deadline, once all the dust settled, there was one team more than the rest that I was excited about: the Sacramento Kings. I know what you’re thinking, but I’m not crazy. Despite Sacramento’s 13-48 record in the Western Conference, there is more than Kevin Johnson to be excited about in Sac-Town.

Think about it. Just weeks ago this team was miserable with a couple big salaries on the roster of players they had no desire to have, and now the forever documented “youth movement” is on in full effect and the Kings are primed to become players once again. If I had to find one team to compare them to, it would be Miami. Read More »