Over the summer, I spent time working on a big feature for Dime #65. It was on Ben Gordon, and whether we had lost the real Ben Gordon for good somewhere along the line. He was always one of my favorite players… one of those cats who wasn’t quite a superstar, but yet still had you altering your schedule to catch his games. You never knew when he’d drop a 20-piece in a fourth quarter or catch someone slipping with a nasty step-back crossover. Then he signed a big deal with Detroit, left the cozy confines of Chicago, and hasn’t really been heard from since. Read More »

We had a joke all lined up. With Big Baby rumbling to 23 points and 12 rebounds, and with Dwight Howard in an injury/depressed/look at me funk, Orlando was setting themselves up. In his last three games before last night, Davis was averaging 21.3 points, 11 rebounds and 50 percent from the floor. For once, he WAS more useful than Howard. But somehow after hurting his lower back enough to be stretched out by the team’s physical therapist at midcourt before the third quarter, and with his shot not falling, Dwight didn’t give up. He did work. Read More »

Beast of the Night: LeBron James put up 41 points, six rebounds, four assists, three steals, a block and a three-pointer last night in a start at shooting guard for the Heat. He shot 60 percent (15-25) from the floor and 77 percent (10-13) from the free-throw line, and had four turnovers. James’ recent slip in production dropped him to No. 2 overall in fantasy basketball, but he’s still a monster. Read More »

Beast of the Night: Kevin Durant posted 32 points, nine rebounds, five assists, two steals, a block and a three-pointer last night. He shot 56 percent (10-18) from the field and 100 percent (11-11) from the free-throw line, and turned the ball over four times. This was a nice bounce-back game after notching a mediocre 18/6/2 (along with six turnovers) the night before. Read More »

While the Sixers were once again teaching everyone in the arena the basics of How To Run God Awful Offense At The End Of A Game 101, Jeremy Lin (18 points) was balling. The dude started the game shooting 1-for-9 and yet still had that bounce in his step. He got to the rim. He found his bigs. And most importantly, he made his free throws to close out the Sixers, 82-79. Amar’e Stoudemire chipped in 21 and nine, and his legs appear all the way back. He was dunking, spinning in the lane and had one fourth quarter block on Elton Brand at the rim that had Twitter all fired up. Read More »

Beast of the Night: Dwyane Wade scored 30 points, grabbed four rebounds, dished out 10 assists, stole three balls and blocked two shots last night. He shot 69 percent (11-16) from the field, 80 percent (8-10) from the free-throw line and had two turnovers. Wade has quietly maintained top five value so far this season, despite dips in his scoring, rebounding and three-point making. He has cut down on his turnovers and had increased his steals and blocks to make up for those declines. Read More »

The guys in the NBA TV studios were saying the Heat looked like a championship team last night. Okay, they did play Sacramento, who have lost six in a row and have perhaps the most playground, fundamentally-flawed team in the league. But the Queens really went hard, and had the defending East champs on their heels all night. In the end, Dwyane Wade (30 points on 16 shots, 10 assists) lifted Miami to another level with one of his best games of the season, and for the first time all year, three Heat players scored at least 20 and one of them wasn’t LeBron. They’ve now won seven in a row, all by double digits, and are sitting in first place in the NBA. Read More »

Beast of the Night: Josh Smith exploded for 30 points, 17 rebounds, seven assists, four steals, three blocks and two three-pointers last night. He shot 52 percent (12-23) from the field and 67 percent (4-6) from the free-throw line, and turned the ball over four times. Smith is improving his averages from month to month and continues to be a dominant fantasy asset on most nights. Read More »

Beast of the Night: Dwight Howard posted 25 points, 24 rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks last night, his sixth 20/20 game of the season. He shot 64 percent (9-14) from the field, 70 percent (7-10) from the free-throw line and had three turnovers. Howard’s averaging 25.4 points, 16.0 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 2.4 steals and 2.8 blocks in his five games so far this month. Read More »

Paul George was ashamed. He had to be. Garbage time, everyone ready to go home, just waiting on those seconds to peel off the clock and then he gets dropped. This was probably the first time in recorded history that a player went on Twitter after the fact and tried defending himself. Paul, just admit it. The rook got you. Norris Cole dabbled the salt shaker on you and you went stumbling five feet backwards. Read More »