Do you need a point guard? With so many little guys infiltrating the NBA these days, you’d think many teams would be aching to ship off some of their smaller contributors. But for every five me-first, get-my-own, shoot-‘till-my-arm-is-numb lil’ guys, we might have one legit point guard left. They’re a dying breed, even as teams line their benches with quick-hitting spark plugs. At this point, there are a few guys available, and you take what you can get – shoot-first or not – as long as they can run an offense. Read More »

About halfway into the fourth quarter last night, Norris Cole had everyone in the building and all who were watching on national television wondering Who Dat? By the end of the night, Cole was the hero and he had national columnists asking the following morning if straight up, we were really going to love him forever… or was it just a hit and run? Is he for real? In just his second game as a pro, Cole dropped 14 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, didn’t shy away at all from the big shot and unlike the starter, Mario Chalmers, he stayed within his game, not constantly dribbling into the lane and turning it over. Read More »

You’d think with an electric point guard and an authentic Aussie around, the Milwaukee Bucks would be a pretty exciting NBA team. Dig into the team’s statistics from last season and you’ll find otherwise. There isn’t much else in Milwaukee besides some middle-round value, and the most valuable fantasy player the Bucks have to offer is bogged down by serious physical limitations. Maybe Captain Jack can turn the ship around? Read More »

As if you’d expect them too. Nah, when you have a 21-year-old (legit) point guard who can pass, shoot (sometimes) and is athletic, you hold onto him. Maybe he never pans out the way you really wanted him to, but you take that chance…especially with the way the game is being played now (no hand-checking, up-and-down, less Mateen Cleaves). Read More »

Beast of the Night: Dorell Wright put up 32 points, five rebounds, six assists, three steals, one block and three three-pointers made. He shot 67 percent (14-21) from the field, 75 percent (3-4) from the free-throw line and had one turnover. While Wright’s field-goal percentage is usually his Achilles heel, it was clearly no problem last night. His surge into fantasy superstardom is astounding. Owners shouldn’t expect to see him last too long on draft boards next fall. Read More »

Buy Low: Mo Williams is emotional. We know this from his heartbroken comments after LeBron James left Cleveland. Now that he’s in Los Angeles playing with the Clippers (read: with Blake Griffin), the skies look a lot sunnier for Williams, who looks primed for a mini-comeback during the remainder of the season. We’ve seen how revitalizing playing with Griffin was for Baron Davis – expect the same magic to happen for Williams. Read More »

Beast of the Night: Dwight Howard posted 31 points, 17 rebounds, two steals and two blocks last night against the Kings. He shot 59 percent (10-17) from the field, 92 percent (11-12) from the free-throw line and had three turnovers. Howard’s averaging a career-high 23 points and 1.2 steals per game this season. He remains a stud, so long as you can handle his poor free-throw shooting. Read More »

Some debuts, for all their hype, are ultimately quiet and relatively forgettable. That was not the case for Carmelo Anthony with the New York Knicks last night. Some of the Dime crew was at MSG for Knicks/Bucks, which was almost an entire workday in of itself — the introductory press conference for ‘Melo and Chauncey Billups began at 5 p.m., and the last post-game interview with ‘Melo didn’t wrap up until after 11 p.m. In between, ‘Melo dropped 27 points and 10 rebounds in his NY opener, Chauncey put up 21 points and 8 assists, and the Knicks spoiled Milwaukee’s plans to play spoiler … Read More »

Every legit NBA title contender this season seems to have that one Lottery-bound team that poses problems for them. For the Celtics, it has been Detroit. For the Spurs, it’s been Minnesota. For the Heat, it’s been Indiana. The Lakers? They’ve been having a tough time with the Rockets for the last couple of years now, Yao or no Yao. Last night’s matchup was another nail-biter … It’s easy to see why the Rockets are a bad matchup for the defending champs. Read More »

Not to take a dump on ESPN’s Friday doubleheader featuring Spurs vs. Mavs and Blazers vs. Suns, but was there really any doubt that last night’s true must-see matchup was Warriors vs. Clippers? Forget the win-loss records: Blake Griffin and Monta Ellis might actually hail from planets other than ours, Stephen Curry and Eric Gordon are walking clinics on the art of deadly buckets, and the Golden State crowd is always fun, especially on a night where they’d be welcoming back Baron Davis … Read More »