Brian Scalabrine isn’t the only one predicting Rajon Rondo will win this year’s MVP (stay tuned on that one). Rondo’s maturity, and the state of the Celtics, is a topic of discussion across the league. Most believe this is the year Rondo officially takes over the team. In this video, watch the White Mamba compare his former point guard to Jason Kidd, and break down why he thinks Boston’s best player will be the league’s most valuable. Read More »

God Bless Brian Scalabrine.

What is it about Brian Scalabrine that drums up so much wide-spread acclaim that’s in no way related to his output on the court? His highest scoring average for a season was 6.3, and he barely ever started or played big minutes. He never scored more than 339 points in a season, so why was he so popular both in the online world and on the court, where fans would go ballistic when he was subbed in late in blowouts? Read More »

Chris Webber will forever be known as the best underwhelming NBA player ever. He was one of the greatest power forwards of this generation, and yet, it always felt like he should’ve been more. That dates back to his early feuds in Golden State with Don Nelson, one of the first instances where everyone realized this Generation X of players had way too much power. Read More »

Brian Scalabrine, after 11 years and countless memorable quotes and moments later, might be trading one place on the bench for another. Sources told Comcast Sports in Chicago that one of the most mocked and celebrated players in NBA history could join the Bulls’ coaching staff as an assistant to Tom Thibodeau because of the departure of assistant Rick Brunson. But, stop: Don’t do it. It’s not worth it to make a White Mamba joke. The 34-year-old has been in on it the whole time during his career while quietly stashing away four NBA Finals trips and, not-so-quietly, a ring in Boston. Read More »

I’m partial to Allen Iverson‘s 10-year-old “practice” press conference moment as the best ever as an NBA fan — but I’m not blinded by the hardwood to know it’s but one of the stars in the press conference’s stellar history.

The default recipe for a memorable press conference is a surly person behind the mic prodded by a question from the press that raises the coach or athlete’s ire. Rare are the jovial press conference memories, but they exist in here, too. Read More »

There’s something purely Americana about the hometown kid making good in front of the hometown crowd.

Whether it’s David Freese blasting home runs to lead his St. Louis Cardinals to a World Series title, or Chauncey Billups going from prep legend to college superstar to NBA bust back to NBA superstar in Denver, or even Jerome Bettis winning a Super Bowl in Detroit in his final NFL game while playing for another team, we like these stories. In a sports culture where free agency and stressed-out GMs eager to trade make it increasingly tougher for fans to claim one group of players as “our guys” for any length of time, hometown ties remain nearly impossible to break. Read More »

No one can accuse Derrick Rose of lacking self-confidence. “Why can’t I be the MVP of the league,” Rose famously asked last September, before becoming the youngest MVP in NBA history last season. This year, he’s still not concerned with anybody else, and is now talking about bringing multiple championships to his hometown. Read More »

While the Trojans decide to highlight some of their NBA success stories, there are two guys noticeably missing: O.J. Mayo and Brian Scalabrine. I can legally understand one, but the other just baffles me. Read More »

No one wants to come out and admit it right now, but is there a race going on between Dwight Howard and Chris Paul to get to Hollywood? Some believe so. How it came to this, we aren’t sure. But it suddenly feels like the two biggest pieces in this new age NBA and are both privately gunning for the same team. The only problem is, most likely, only one of them gets there. As Yahoo! Sports reported, the Lakers and Hornets have already talked deals. With Howard not coming out one way or another and with the Hornets’ front office determined not to have a repeat of what happened in Cleveland, the focus shifted to CP, and the Lakers reportedly offered New Orleans their pick: Andrew Bynum or Pau Gasol? Who do you want? Read More »

One of things we all around the Dime office miss most about this time of year is the hype. It draws attention, gets people talking and gets people watching. It especially sucks this time because just a year ago, we were consumed by hype. Last season, everyone assumed Kevin Durant would run away with the MVP. He didn’t. Many assumed the Heat would win close to 70 games (or perhaps more). They didn’t. There were only a handful of fans who thought Blake Griffin would do the things he did – terrorize NBA rims across the country and takeover Sportscenter himself. He actually did. Since the owners are running out on the tab, and the players are left bickering amongst themselves over whether to give 15 percent or 20 percent, we now have no hype. Read More »