Every year in March the NCAA Tournament rules the basketball world. And each year during March Madness there are Cinderella stories about teams that make magical runs well beyond what anyone would have expected of them. On each of these teams there is a folk hero, one player who defines the team’s magical run. In 2011 that folk hero was Butler’s Matt Howard. With his shaggy hair and long socks, Howard dominated the boards against any opponent who dared come his way and helped lead eighth-seeded Butler to their second consecutive national championship game. In 2008 there was Stephen Curry and his silky-smooth jumper leading Davidson to the Elite Eight. Last year, one that stood out to me was Montana’s Anthony Johnson. Read More »

As the NBA regular season approaches, we preview the upcoming campaign with the “Highs and Lows” system — predicting the respective ceiling and basement for each team.

Added: Quentin Richardson, Chris Duhon, Daniel Orton, Malik Allen

Lost: Matt Barnes, Anthony Johnson Read More »

At this stage in the game, if you’re still a free agent, you’re most likely looking for an NBA roster spot before you have to settle for an overseas gig (or perhaps even retire). But with that in mind, there are still some talented veterans – over the age of 35 – that are worth the minimal investment. I’m not saying sign them to a three-year, $10.5 million contract like the Lakers did with 35-year-old Derek Fisher, but you get the picture. Without further ado, here are the Top 5 NBA Free Agents Over 35 Years Old. Read More »

After going through the Midwest, South, and West regions, we’ll wrap up the NCAA Tournament Players to Watch with four from the East region:

ISHMAEL SMITH, Wake Forest, PG, Sr. These past four years must have felt like 10 for Smith. He came to Wake as the heir apparent to Chris Paul, but after leading the ACC in assists as a freshman — something CP3 never did in college — he and the program were rocked by the death of coach Skip Prosser. Read More »

Some things are just predictable, and you can’t even fault anybody for being predictable about it. For example, at the end of a calendar year, magazines and TV shows and websites all roll out their “Best of the Year” lists, rankings and recaps. And at the end of a decade, you inevitably see the same thing on a bigger scale.

So while everybody is getting in their “Best [NBA-related thing] of the Decade” lists for the period covering 2000-2009, let’s switch it up a bit:

Who will be the best player of the NEXT decade? Read More »

In the past few weeks, it seems the Knicks have found a winning formula and Nate Robinson isn’t one of the ingredients. Although he is perfectly healthy, the diminutive guard has not played in the Knicks’ last nine games due to coach Mike D’Antoni’s decision. In that stretch, the Knicks are 6-3 and when Nate is in the lineup, the team is just 0-9 when he scores 19 or more points. Whether or not those stats imply that the Knicks are better without Robinson in the lineup is debatable. But by the looks of D’Antoni’s actions, the coaching staff seems to think that’s the case. Read More »

Count us among those who loved Amar’e Stoudemire‘s scruffy-face-’fro-and-goggles look, but if being lined up with a fresh cut means STAT will play the rest of the year like he did last night, we can live without the Moses Malone tribute. Amar’e was a beast, dropping 28 points and 10 boards on Orlando and helping hold Dwight Howard to just 10 points (8-17 FT) on ONE field goal attempt. Of course he got some easy buckets off the pick-and-roll, but his jumper was smooth as well, and his offensive rebound and dunk in the final seconds was vital in helping PHX stay undefeated at home … Read More »

Beast of the Night: Carlos Boozer dominated the Bulls last night to the tune of 28 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal and 3 blocks. He shot 86 percent (12-14) from the field, 80 percent (4-5) from the free throw line and had 2 turnovers. Boozer’s exceeding expectations this season and seems very motivated to make a good impression on teams who might court him this summer when he becomes a free agent. Read More »

Just two games on the NBA’s Thanksgiving schedule: one matching up two Eastern Conference title contenders, the other matching up maybe the two most inconsistent-yet-dangerous squads in the League … Dwight Howard hadn’t really had a Dwight Howard Monster Stat Line in a couple of weeks — as a matter of fact, so far this season he’s been pretty quiet by his standards — but he broke out yesterday with a 22-point, 17-board, 4-block effort against the Hawks. Read More »

Jameer Nelson just can’t catch a break. Last February, the Magic’s starting guard hurt his shoulder, causing him to shut it down for the rest of last season and almost the entire playoffs. Just a few weeks into this 2009-10 season, Nelson tore some cartilage in his left knee against the Bobcats on Monday night. Jameer will have surgery on the knee and is expected to miss the next 4-6 weeks. The question now is: how much will Nelson’s absence hurt the Magic in the short and long run? Read More »