FRESH PICKINGS Devin Harris (26 percent owned in Yahoo!, nine percent in ESPN) Lou Williams, one of the NBA’s biggest spark plugs, recently suffered a devastating knee injury which will keep him out for the rest of the season, and perhaps the beginning of next season, too. So who on the Atlanta Hawks will step up? You can expect an uptick in minutes from DeShawn Stevenson, Anthony Morrow and rookie John Jenkins, but I think the one to own is Devin Harris. Read More »

Hopefully you didn’t start throwing back cold ones too early in anticipation of the holiday yesterday, or else you probably missed some really good basketball. Case in point the battle in Florida between the Magic and Heat, which felt like an intra-squad scrimmage because so many Miami “fans” infiltrated the Amway Center. But there was one big difference: the game’s intensity was bordering on Duke/North Carolina levels. Read More »

Quick: Which Houston player has the team’s highest net on/off court rating? Here’s a hint, it’s the same player who has the team scoring 131 points more when he plays than when he doesn’t, the biggest such gap on the team. No, it isn’t James Harden, the NBA’s fourth-leading scorer per game — it’s forward Carlos Delfino. Read More »

On Friday in Houston, Jeff Green only had nine points in 25 minutes during a loss to the Rockets. I say “only” because Green has now scored in double figures in six of Boston’s last eight games. He’s finding his way with the Celtics. But even if it wasn’t his best game, Green did drop this hammer on the fast break. Was it his best dunk of the year? There’s only one other facial that compares. Read More »

The Knicks have laid a tripwire around Madison Square Garden this season, staying undefeated there by springing a first-quarter trap on the Lakers en route to a 116-107 win. What brought this game to a near-blowout and a near-comeback was Carmelo Anthony. It must be frustrating for once-Knicks coach and now Lakers leader Mike D’Antoni to see how ‘Melo has changed since D’Antoni resigned, and it’s twist-the-knife cruel that after that pair’s time together was marked by inconsistency, ‘Melo’s smooth hand buried the Lakers for most this game. Read More »

After doing his thing as a spot-up shooter for the Argentinian national team during the Olympics, Carlos Delfino reminded everyone last night that he still has a little sh*t to his game. Check out this up-and-under self pass off the backboard for a basket against the Spurs: Read More »

Nearly 30 years ago, Michael Jordan came back too soon from the only major injury of his career, and even today, Bulls’ chairman Jerry Reinsdorf counts his fortunes every night before he goes to sleep. Okay, he probably doesn’t do that. The man has buckets of money. He sleeps fine at night. But he still says the team listened too much to Michael about his body, and ended up taking a risk by bringing him back before the doctors said he was ready. Jordan had missed 64 games with a broken left foot before coming back to finish the season. The ruthless assassin in him told everyone he was indestructible, and could play even when a few doctors weren’t so sure. Read More »

The big names signed on the dotted line – or in Deron Williams‘ case, on the iPad – weeks ago, and the pool of talent is pretty much completely dry. But for contending teams, and even those who are just in the market for a veteran to give them a few good minutes or a few good pre-game speeches, there are still a couple of names available. None of these guys will be making consistently key contributions for a contender, but they’re all still viable NBA players. Read More »

Team USA put on some smooth retro Dream Team ’92 era unis for its showdown with FIBA No. 3-ranked Argentina on Sunday in Barcelona, unis so fresh that afterward Carmelo Anthony was telling reporters the team was posing for lots of photos in the locker room in pre-game. You have to wonder if a little mystique for Magic, Michael and Larry snuck into the first 10 minutes of the game because the red, white and blue shot out in front like the original Dream Team to a 19-3 lead. Read More »

Weekend Wonder: Chris Paul averaged 21.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 10.0 assists, 4.5 steals, 0.5 blocks and 1.0 threes in two games over the weekend. He shot 50 percent from the field and 100 percent from the free-throw line, and turned the ball over once per game in that stretch. CP3′s scoring and threes made per game are up, though his rebounding and assists are down from their marks last season. If his owners are complaining, they should really get help. Read More »