If you’re purely interested in the best interest of Allen Iverson, you’re glad the Grizzlies had one of their business-as-usual losses against the Clippers last night. Having gone 0-3 since A.I. joined the lineup earlier in the week, for Memphis to win after Iverson had left the team for undisclosed personal reasons — even if it was against the Clips — would have brought up all the same criticisms of Iverson you saw in Detroit and at various points throughout his runs in Philly and Denver. Mainly, that A.I.’s team is better without him, and that certain young stars (i.e. O.J. Mayo in this case) are better off when he’s not in the picture … Instead, the Grizzlies did what they typically do with or without Iverson, putting up a lot of points while giving up even more. Read More »

Last year we debuted the “Highs and Lows” system — previewing the NBA season by predicting the respective ceiling and basement for each team. Same theme, different season…

Added: Brandon Jennings, Hakim Warrick, Carlos Delfino, Kurt Thomas, Jodie Meeks, Roko Ukic

Lost: Richard Jefferson, Charlie Villanueva, Ramon Sessions, Keith Bogans, Malik Allen, Damon Jones Read More »

Every NBA team has a go-to guy, and there’s really only room for one. And it’s not strictly who takes the 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 »

After making the All-NBA Third Team in 2004, Michael Redd got paid to the tune of $91 million over six years. Choosing to stay with the Bucks instead of heading back home to play with Cleveland and King James, Redd thought that Milwaukee was headed places other than the lottery. They might have been had he not torn the ACL and MCL in his left knee. But don’t worry Bucks fan, Redd will be back soon and he’s gunnin’ to get back to the top. Read More »

Similar to the Vegas/Orlando summer leagues, you don’t want to read too much into the FIBA Americas tournament as far as projecting how its standouts will do in the upcoming NBA season, especially when Team USA sat this one out. But it’s hard not to be impressed by Leandro Barbosa’s recent work and predict big things for him this season. In leading Brazil to the tournament gold medal yesterday, as well as a spot in the 2010 World Championships, Barbosa averaged 21.1 points on 55% shooting from the field. It was a down year for Barbosa in ‘08-09. Read More »

Between Stephen Jackson’s trade request, Anthony Randolph’s summer league breakout, and C.J. Watson’s incredibly over-covered free agent situation (all this for a guy who’s like two steps above the minimum salary?), we’ve been talking about the Warriors a lot this offseason. Things have been such a mess in the Bay lately that it’s been assumed Golden State will stink again, but in reality, they could be better than you think. Monta Ellis will be healthy from Day One, everyone in the organization is convinced Randolph is about to blow up, Andris Biedrins will get his nightly double-double, and Kelenna Azubuike is one of the better sneaky-good players in the NBA. Read More »

Rick Pitino is buggin’. Still firmly in the eye of the storm surrounding his sex/extortion scandal (with all sorts of salacious terms like “FBI” and “adultery” and “psychological evaluation” and “blackmail” being thrown around daily), Pitino called a press conference at Louisville yesterday to wag his finger at the media Rafael Palmeiro-style for covering this story. “[What] I don’t understand is why you keep fostering this behavior. On a day where Ted Kennedy died, the news here in Louisville broke in with Karen Syper’s (the woman in question) audio and the tapes and detectives. That’s a pretty sad commentary on us.” Read More »

Just ask the Miami Heat: Even the worst team in the NBA is one monster season by one player away from getting back in the playoff picture. And it doesn’t always have to be a superstar putting in an MVP-caliber effort, either. Every one of this year’s 14 Lottery squads has one player who, if he produces a career year (or simply does what he’s supposed to do), can swing his team’s fortunes as a postseason contender. In this three-part series, we’ll identify those guys who need to step it up: Read More »

Blown out in Houston. Twenty-pieced in Denver. Temporarily shut down in Orlando. Even when the Lakers looked their absolute worst in the ‘09 playoffs, there was one man associated with the team who still had reason to celebrate.

David Lee (not the New York Knick) is the agent for both Andrew Bynum and Trevor Ariza. Throughout the postseason, Lee watched as Ariza, an unrestricted free agent come July 1, made his job easier and his percentages more lucrative with every clutch steal, timely three-pointer, and defensive stop against the likes of Carmelo and Hedo. Read More »

Here’s what I don’t get: While you can’t make it five minutes into a Ricky Rubio argument without somebody supporting his case with the concept that he “held his own” against grown men overseas and against Team USA in the Olympics, Patrick Mills gets zero credit for not just holding his own, but putting in serious work against the Redeem Team and other international juggernauts. Read More »