Photo. Mannion
One reason everyone has been so geeked since July that the Celtics are a championship contender again is the inevitable feeling of nostalgia. Well, Celtics/Cavs last night was definitely nostalgic; it looked a lot like those awful bump-and-grind Knicks/Heat games from the 1990’s. Paul Pierce only had 4 points on 2-of-14 shooting, Ray Allen […]

Caron Butler
While Soulja Boy was locked in a room somewhere working on that response diss to Hova and LeBron (because only so many things rhyme with “Youuuuuuuuuu!”), his man DeShawn Stevenson helped extend the Cavs/Wizards series and, of course, extend the NBA’s dumbest feud at the same time … In the first quarter of yesterday’s […]

Joe Johnson (photo. Zach Wolfe)
Game 3 was Josh Smith’s time to shine. Game 4 belonged to Joe Johnson. Getting wherever he wanted to go off the dribble while unleashing mixtape moves (pity James Posey and Leon Powe), then wetting jumpers from every angle and distance, Joe went Terminator on the Celtics, putting the red beam […]

Carmelo Anthony (photo. Mannion)
Is Carmelo Anthony destined to become the next Tracy McGrady? Same lead-the-League-in-scoring type offensive ability, same game/personality that’ll keep him a superstar as a player and endorser for the long haul, and — well, we’re in Year Five of Carmelo’s pro career, and he’s now looking at a fifth straight first-round playoff […]

Photo. Marc Morrison
Anyone who’s actually watched the Rockets/Jazz series (not just the highlights) can tell you this much: Tracy McGrady didn’t play any differently in last night’s Game 3 win than he did in the previous two losses. But because he knocked down some shots in the fourth quarter and found a way to shake […]

A.I. on Dime’s 2005 Collector’s Issue
Ask any top-level defensive stopper — be it Kevin Garnett or Bruce Bowen or Ron Artest or Gary Payton — and they’ll tell you that playing tough defense ultimately comes down to effort and desire. So when an ultra-talented offensive team like the ‘07-08 Denver Nuggets run risk of missing […]

Deron Williams (photo. Monte Isom)
Of all the Chris Paul vs. Deron Williams head-to-heads we have seen and will see over the years, last night’s won’t exactly go down in history. The Jazz got the win — which has kind of been the norm in the series so far — clinching the Northwest Division and proving […]

Dirk (photo. Monte Isom)
The main reason it still seems so strange that the Mavs are battling Golden State and Denver for those last couple of Western Conference playoff spots isn’t because Dallas won 67 games last year; it’s because they’re pretty clearly better than the Warriors and Nuggets this year and shouldn’t be underachieving like […]