Wherever you stand on Chris Bosh’s status (or non-status) as a legit superstar in the League, he was definitely a superstar when he had to be last night. Dealing with double-teams almost every time he touched the ball against Atlanta, Bosh produced a modest 14 points (6-19 FG) and 10 boards, but in crunch time he delivered against one of the NBA’s best front lines … Toronto was down four with under a minute to go before Bosh beasted Josh Smith in the paint for a hook shot. Then after Smith missed a layup, the Raptors got the exact scenario they wanted: Read More »

Last week we asked the Dime faithful for your favorite and least-favorite NBA nicknames. Reader Chaos best summed up ours and everyone else’s general feeling: “We need to start giving players real nicknames man. I miss those days. How can you beat Hakeem the Dream, Air Jordan, Sir Charles, The Admiral, Clyde the Glide and The Worm. All the names these days are lazy like Melo, CP3, CB4, King James, Joe Jeezy … smh.” Read More »

For some inexplicable reason, while the ESPN announcers were recapping last night’s Cavs/Pistons game as Cleveland was putting the finishing touches on another W, they failed to explore the possibility that Detroit was shaken up by what had happened to Rodney Stuckey, or go into how it affected their play … During a timeout late in the third quarter, Stuckey was coming of the court and said he felt dizzy. He then collapsed on the bench right next to the Pistons’ trainer, and had to be rushed away in ambulance. After that, there was a somber, strange vibe in the arena that even translated through the TV. Read More »

There were two primary story lines at work during last night’s Kings/Rockets game: First was the return of Carl Landry to Houston-slash-Kevin Martin facing his old squad. Second was Sacramento managing to win a road game against a decent opponent despite Tyreke Evans having the worst game of his NBA career, going 4-of-22 from the field for nine points.

Lost in the shuffle was that Luis Scola might have earned himself a new nickname. Read More »

About one month ago, Shawn Marion found himself staring down Caron Butler at the Verizon Center in Washington D.C. In the final seconds of a Mavericks/Wizards game, Marion’s squad led by one, and Caron’s squad was looking for him to change that by delivering a dagger.

Two of the most versatile forwards to come through the NBA over the last decade went head-to-head, strength against strength: Caron’s offense versus Marion’s defense. Caron made his move, went for a jumper, and Marion blocked it. Game over. Read More »

First they acquired Eduardo Najera from New Jersey for Kris Humphries and Shawne Williams. Next they traded Josh Howard, Drew Gooden, James Singleton and Quinton Ross for Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson. Then when they signed Von Wafer to a 10-day contract, you had to know that Mark Cuban had something up his sleeve. It’s safe to say, the Mavericks are making a run at the title. Read More »

A few minutes before last night’s Thunder/Spurs game in San Antonio got underway, Kevin Durant was on the OKC bench casually chatting with Bruce Bowen. After the game started, KD must have felt like Bowen had never left. Facing a combination of quick, strong, tough and crafty defenders, Durant was harassed into his worst offensive performance in about two months … KD’s jumper with 3:30 left in the third quarter was the last time he saw the ball go in the basket. Read More »

From the cover of Dime to the cover of GQ, Kobe Bryant has been everywhere lately. Except the basketball court. And it’s been killing him. Previously on his way to one of the most impossible Iron-Man like seasons in recent NBA history — playing through well documented injuries to his fingers, back, knees, shoulders and ankles — Kobe finally had to show human frailty and miss some games sandwiching the All-Star break, including the All-Star Game itself. (Kobe may be the only guy in the League who takes the ASG seriously.)

Last night he returned to the lineup, and in storybook fashion, dropped 32 points and the game-winner in Memphis. This entire season for Kobe has been a self-inflicted cross-examination of his toughness, but is KB24 the toughest man in the NBA? Read More »

Before the season, I made a pretty bold declaration by writing that the Washington Wizards could win the championship this year. And on paper, I still stand behind that statement. But when your whole starting five from the beginning of the season is gone by the trade deadline – something that I bet has never happened before – all expectations are thrown out the window. Read More »

For two guys who were mentioned so often throughout the NBA trading deadline frenzy, it never seemed likely that Tracy McGrady and Kevin Martin would directly cross paths the way they did late Wednesday night. As we sent this Smack to post, the deal (almost finalized) has T-Mac, Carl Landry and Joey Dorsey going to Sacramento for K-Mart, Hilton Armstrong, Sergio Rodriguez and Kenny Thomas … There were still reports that the Knicks could be brought in last-minute and T-Mac could end up in New York, but as it stands, this is a good move for both sides. Read More »