Bulls/Magic was over the moment Derrick Rose crashed to the floor and sprained his left wrist. On a night when the Bulls were already playing without Joakim Noah (foot) and Luol Deng (calf), and Orlando has been smashing all non-contender squads during their now seven-game win streak, Chicago’s only chance would be if D-Rose went off like Shep in Above the Rim — or if Vinny Del Negro hopped in a Hot Tub Time Machine and brought Mike and Scottie back with him … Late in the first quarter, Rose went to the rack and threw his body into Dwight Howard, hurting himself when he tried to break the fall. The play was exactly like the one from last month when Dwight and Rose collided and Rose wound up with a hip injury. Read More »
Other than Nate Robinson making history as the first three-time champion, there really wasn’t anything memorable about last night’s NBA All-Star dunk contest. It was like one of those comedy movies that’s funny enough to get the job done while you’re in the theater, but 30 minutes after you leave you can’t remember any of the jokes … If there was a signature dunk from Nate, it was probably his last one in the finals, when he threw it off the glass and did a reverse jackknife, then went over to the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders and danced with their pom-poms. Read More »
Feel bad for Brook Lopez. The ONE time dude goes into a game this season thinking he’s got a victory in the bag — seeing as the Sophomores traditionally treat the Rookies like frat pledges in the Rookie Challenge — he still ends up taking a loss. Not only that, but the guy Brook was guarding most of the night, DeJuan Blair, he of the 6-4 stature and orange peels holding his knees together, posted a 22-point, 23-rebound effort that should have won him MVP … Read More »
The way things are playing out, Tyreke Evans is going to be the next Deron Williams. How’s that? Because as nasty as he is, due to all the talent in the Western Conference, ‘Reke might have to wait 2-3 years later than he should to make his All-Star debut. By all means, Tyreke is having an All-Star season right now. He’s one of only three players in the League averaging at least 20 points, five boards and five assists (along with LeBron and D-Wade), he has the Kings playing better than anybody expected, and he’s getting it done as a crunch-time performer. Read More »
For Chris Paul and Deron Williams to go head-to-head and put up underwhelming numbers isn’t a surprise anymore. For Devin Brown — the rare NBA starter who could also appear on “Who He Play For?” and stump Charles Barkley — to steal the show from both of those guys is definitely a surprise … Brown (30 pts, 5 threes) got it rolling early, scoring 10 of N.O.’s first 18 points, wetting jumpers and getting layups in transition off Utah turnovers. Despite Brown’s hot start, however, the Hornets struggled overall, falling behind by double-digits in a first quarter highlighted by C.J. Miles‘ 360 two-hand dunk. Read More »
The list is undeniably impressive — those who either retired without an NBA championship or went a long time without a ring directly because of Michael Jordan. Members include Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, John Stockton, Patrick Ewing, Gary Payton, Mark Price, Alonzo Mourning, Tim Hardaway, Reggie Miller …
Almost as star-studded is the list of talent kept permanently ringless or who suffered longer than expected thanks to Tim Duncan. Read More »
Working at Dime Magazine, a ton of headlines, news and opinions pass through our website each week. Everyday a new story breaks and we change our focus to the next game on the schedule. Before this week gets started, I’ll take the time to reflect on what the NBA taught me last week. Read More »
Before Thursday, the last time we saw the Blazers host the Suns on national TV in December, Brandon Roy had his “superstar” breakout by dumping 52 points on Phoenix. Last night, same setting with the same teams, it was Jerryd Bayless‘ turn. Having just recently been introduced to consistent playing time since Portland is racked by injuries, Bayless went off for 29 points (9-15 FG, 9-12 FT) in 29 minutes off the bench, and by the end of the night had Charles Barkley calling Nate McMillan into question for keeping Bayless buried until now … Read More »
Dwight Howard is going to snap. I don’t know when it’s going to happen, exactly what it’s going to entail, or which sad soul will take the brunt of it … but it’s coming.
Last night, Howard made 22 trips to the free-throw line in a win over the Pacers, three days after he shot 17 free throws in a loss to Phoenix. In both games, the defensive strategy was clear: Don’t let Dwight dunk on you at a 98 percent clip when you can send him to the line and take your chances 50/50. Read More »
