Throughout his career in the NBA Pat Riley has won. Besides Red Auerbach and Phil Jackson, no coach has been more successful and certainly no man has won as much while wearing the tripartite hats: player, coach and now general manager. The only caveat to all that winning is attempting to duplicate the feat with everyone gunning for you in the next year. Riley has had three chances to repeat with the Lakers and once – before this year – to repeat with the Heat. The hard-nosed and dictatorial demeanor earlier in his coaching career has mellowed with time, and his front office tactics have allowed him both the distance and the experience to construct (rather than instruct) his teams. Now he’ll get another chance to repeat, and for once, he won’t be coaching. Read More »

When Kyrie Irving was chosen No. 1 in the 2011 NBA Draft, he knew his rookie year would be impacted by the league’s lockout. He just didn’t know how great that impact would be. After his close brush with unemployment, the Rookie of the Year front-runner can now resume the business of proving he belongs here. Read More »

Who will coach the Lakers next season? Almost immediately upon getting knocked out of the playoffs, the focus of L.A.’s offseason turned to who will replace Phil Jackson and his 11 championship rings. Because they are the Lakers and because they still have a ton of talent on the roster, L.A. should have the pick of the litter. GM Mitch Kupchak says that while he expects Jackson to retire, he is not yet ready to talk about the probable coaching vacancy. But we can. Read More »

It wasn’t even a year ago when everything was different. Young. Exciting. Most of all, fun. But being from Northeast Ohio is tough right now. Learning to swallow your pride and bearing the brunt side of jokes takes a toll. “Cleveland Stays Takin’ Ls.” It’s become a slogan. The economy is down. The basketball team can’t win. You would think the sun hasn’t shown up above Lake Erie for months.

Still, it could be worse. At least the fans are showing up. Cleveland could be New Orleans, a city wrecked by the forces of nature, a still uneasy, rebuilt culture just coming back, an organization that can never tell from week to week how much support it will get or from year to year what the future holds. Read More »

There are a bunch of special dates circled on the Dime calendar – NBA Opening Night, the NBA Draft, All-Star Saturday Night. For us though, none of those dates compare to the first day of the NCAA Tournament. It’s one of those days where we can’t believe how lucky we are that our jobs entail leaving the office to go to a sports bar to watch great college games for hours on end. So yesterday at noon, we hit Wildwood BBQ in the Union Square area for (green) beer, food and madness that included a slew of last-second shots to decide games … The big story from Day 1 of the Tourney is undoubtedly the massive 13-seed Morehead State upset of No.4 Louisville, 62-61. So much for this. You knew something was brewing right from the jump as State raced out to the early lead and then hung with the ‘Ville the entire way. Then with a little more than four seconds to go in the game, down two with the ball, Morehead State’s Demonte Harper raised up in Peyton Siva’s face and drilled a long three from the top of the key. Then Louisville’s Mike Marra had a look from the wing to win the game but had his shot blocked on an incredible defensive play State’s Kenneth Faried, aka “The Next Dennis Rodman” … Read More »

Whether it’s accurate or not, you often hear Kevin Garnett being referred to as a bully. Well, last night the Boston Celtics did what bullies do – they humiliated a weaker, defenseless opponent. The Milwaukee Bucks experienced the equivalent of having their lunch money taken and then stuffed in a locker as Boston held them to just 56 points – a record low for the shot clock era (Boston scored 87). It was an absolute defensive clinic by the Celtics who just imposed their will on the Bucks. “That’s about as humiliating a defeat as you’ll ever see,” a disgusted Scott Skiles said after the game. “They got us on our heels and took our competitive fight away from us. We pretty much just gave into it.” … How bad was it for the Bucks? Earl Barron (10 points) was the only Milwaukee player who finished in double figures. John Salmons, who seems to exist only to put the ball in the hoop, failed to record a single point … Read More »

The best point guard in the NBA debate is one of my favorites. On any given night, you could make the argument that Player A is better than Player B, depending on the situation and criteria you’re looking at. But one point guard whose name never enters this conversation is Baron Davis. Try telling that to him or his new coach Byron Scott, who called Davis one of the NBA’s top five point guards when healthy. Read More »

A little piece of Utah died today. The announcement that Jazz head coach Jerry Sloan is resigning after 22 and a half seasons with the team came as a shock to those outside of the organization and marks the end of an era for the NBA. We will likely never see a coach who sticks around with one team as long as Sloan, not to mention one who defines his team’s identity as much as Sloan.

When Sloan was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009, Dime reader and Jazz fan/blogger Amar penned this piece on the legacy of a true pro’s pro: Read More »

The Cleveland Cavaliers have been feeling the bad karma this season. LeBron James came into their house and destroyed them, Anderson Varejao suffered a season-ending ankle injury during a simple practice drill, and future building block J.J. Hickson has bounced in and out of the starting lineup. Meanwhile, the Cavs are 8-37, losing their 18th game in a row last night in Boston, and their 22nd straight on the road. Read More »

Say it in your best Rudy Tomjanovich voice: Don’t EVER underestimate the heart of an underdog!

When I wrote the Cleveland Cavaliers 2010-11 season preview, I thought maybe, possibly, the defending Central Division champions would muster enough motivation to surprise the critics and snatch a playoff spot. After all, this was a 60-win team that had only lost a couple key players, right? Read More »