Score a few more votes for Lionel Hollins in the Coach of the Year race, because he may have just figured out the best way to guard Kobe Bryant at the end of a game. Last night the Grizzlies were up two on the Lakers with 21 seconds left when Mike Conley blew a chance to ice the win and bricked two free throws. Then it was Kobe’s turn, and as he was going into his move to get space for his trusty mid-range jumper over O.J. Mayo, Marc Gasol switched onto him. The 7-footer kept his arms up the entire time, and was quick enough on his feet to stay in front of Kobe long enough to force him to pass. Kobe did find Ron Artest wide open on the wing, but he missed and Memphis won. Read More »

Although things weren’t looking to hot for Michael Redd last week, things just got a whole lot worse. According to The Journal Sentinel, a basketball source has confirmed that Redd suffered a torn ACL and torn MCL in his left knee on Sunday night in Los Angeles, sidelining him for the rest of the season. Read More »

Whatever was said between Allen Iverson and the Philadelphia front-office brass when the two sides met in Dallas yesterday, A.I.’s case for joining his old team was no doubt strengthened by what happened when the Philly players ran into the Mavericks that same night. Starting Jrue Holiday at PG and Willie Green at SG, the Sixers backcourt was looking real thin while getting dominated by 36-year-old Jason Kidd (22 pts, 11 asts, 6 rebs, 4 stls, 3 blks) in every facet of the game and hit up by Jason Terry for the game-winner … Read More »

Beast of the Night: Kevin Martin finished with 48 points on 52 percent (14-27) shooting from the field and 72 percent (13-18) from the free throw line, hitting 7 threes and adding 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals, 1 block and 3 turnovers. He was toying with O.J. Mayo during parts of the game, hitting a variety of difficult shots over his outstretched hand. K-Mart’s picking up right where he left off last season and the only major limitation to his value is his health. Read More »

Tom Izzo has built himself nothing short of a dynasty in his time at Michigan State. It’s no secret, but the Spartans are built top to bottom again this year. From reigning Big Ten POY, Kalin Lucas, to future NBA check collectors Delvon Roe and Durrell Summers, Sparty is looking good. Read More »

Last year we debuted the “Highs and Lows” system — previewing the NBA season by predicting the respective ceiling and basement for each team. Same theme, different season…

Added: Brandon Jennings, Hakim Warrick, Carlos Delfino, Kurt Thomas, Jodie Meeks, Roko Ukic

Lost: Richard Jefferson, Charlie Villanueva, Ramon Sessions, Keith Bogans, Malik Allen, Damon Jones Read More »

It’s too bad YouTube didn’t exist back in the year 2000. If it did, I guarantee a lot more people would know who Eddie Robinson is. E-Rob’s hops were straight up ridiculous. He was the sixth man for those Charlotte Hornets teams that boasted guys like Baron Davis, Ricky Davis and Eddie Jones. Even with all those high risers on the squad, E-Rob’s crams might have been the nastiest. Night in and night out, he was good for at least two Sports Center worthy crams. My favorite was his signature showboat dunk: a self alley-oop on the fastbreak (see vid below). Read More »

Friday night, Dime’s Aron Phillips spoke to an unnamed source who works in the NBA and said that Allen Iverson has worked out the details of a contract with the Charlotte Bobcats, but the deal won’t be official until next week. The general consensus surrounding A.I. is that the 34-year-old is too stubborn to blend into a contender’s system, and at the same time, will stunt the development of any up-and-coming young team. But Iverson in Charlotte could be a win-win for both sides: Read More »