Joe Johnson is absolutely balling right now. He dropped 24 in the first half of Atlanta’s blowout win in Toronto. After he closed the frame with a rainbow three from the top of the key, the ATL play-by-play guy yelled, “Nothing but the bottom of the sack.” It’s not even a question anymore whether he’s an All-Star. If he keeps this up, we’re only asking for him to give back $30 million to the Hawks, rather than $40 mill. 30 points on 13-for-18 from the field, in only three quarters … Tracy McGrady added 15 off the bench … Read More »

What was that we said about the Heat being by far the best team in the league? They definitely aren’t playing like it. At least Denver is holding up their end of the bargain. The Nuggets played like legitimate Western Conference threats last night, their energy wearing down Miami in the second half of their win. Would there be any team more fun to play on than Denver? George Karl doesn’t just want to play fast. He wants quicker shots. He wants a faster pace. And he wants to run teams out of the gym. It also helps to have Ty Lawson too. Read More »

Beast of the Night: Kyle Lowry lit up the Lakers for 22 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists, two steals and four three-pointers. He shot 42 percent (8-19) from the field, 100 percent from the free-throw line (2-2) and turned the ball over twice. Believe it or not, Lowry is putting up top three overall averages so far this NBA season. Read More »

So they think they need a committee to study this stuff huh? It shouldn’t take a genius or even a formulation of a number of basketball minds to figure this one out, but as Yahoo! Sports is reporting, the NBA and the Player’s Association are discussing whether to form a committee to study the age minimum for the NBA draft with “the possibility that no immediate changes to the ‘one-and-done’ rule will come in the finalization of the new collective bargaining agreement.”

Good. Maybe they’ll finally discover what I’ve been saying all along. Read More »

The Oklahoma City Thunder are not like a box of chocolates. You know they’ve got four fantasy studs that can feasibly be drafted in succession in the first four rounds of standard-sized drafts. Truth be told, no one else on this roster really matters. It will be interesting to monitor how the team’s mercurial point guard adjusts to having a more prominent mate in the backcourt. Read More »

After an outstanding three-year career at Kansas, which included a 2008 NCAA Championship and three Big 12 titles during his tenure, Cole Aldrich was a Lottery pick this June. First selected by the Hornets before being trading to the Thunder on Draft Night, the Bloomington, Minn. native gladly returned to the Midwest. So with everyone’s expectations for the Thunder going through the roof this season, we decided there was no one better to turn to for the inside scoop on life in OKC. In his third entry, Cole talks about rookie hazing and life in the NBA D-League. Read More »

After an outstanding three-year career at Kansas, which included a 2008 NCAA Championship and three Big 12 titles during his tenure, Cole Aldrich was a Lottery pick this June. First selected by the Hornets before being trading to the Thunder on Draft Night, the Bloomington, Minn. native gladly returned to the Midwest. So with everyone’s expectations for the Thunder going through the roof this season, we decided there was no one better to turn to for the inside scoop on life in OKC. In his second entry, Cole talks about the Thunder road trip, No-Shave November and his new crib. Read More »

This last Thursday, forward Latavious Williams became the first high schooler to jump straight to the NBA since the League instituted its age limit in 2005. Oh, did I forget to mention that Williams went from graduation right into the NBA’s Development League?

You read right: the D-League. 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: James Harden, Byron Mullens, Serge Ibaka, Etan Thomas, Robert Vaden, Kevin Ollie

Lost: Desmond Mason, Earl Watson, Damien Wilkins, Robert Swift, Malik Rose, Chucky Atkins Read More »