With only four teams remaining in the NBA Playoffs, it means a few “contenders” have already been eliminated from title contention. The offseason is the time for these teams to retool to prepare for deeper runs next season. The Boston Celtics are one of the most storied and celebrated franchises in NBA history. Read More »

When will the Lakers’ “new” season start exactly? And did Boston’s begin once Rajon Rondo was lost for the year? These are things we think about after Thursday’s second-half power surge by Boston shut off the lights on the Lakers, 116-95, now four games under .500. Read More »

Beast of the Night: Danny Granger returned from a one-game absence with a bum ankle to put up 32 points, five rebounds, an assist, a steal, a block and four made three-pointers last night against the Nets. He shot 50 percent (10-20) from the field, 89 percent (8-9) from the floor and had two turnovers. Granger is having a great month, averaging 20.9 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 2.7 threes through nine games. He’s pulled his value up into the realm of the top 35. Read More »

The Grizzlies should’ve just hit up a Super Bowl party early because Boston slapped them around all afternoon, winning their fourth-straight game 98-80 behind a throwback (24 points, nine rebounds) from Kevin Garnett and yet another, ho-hum 21 points from The Truth. Boston’s defense was suffocating, holding Memphis to under 37 percent from the field and under 20 points in every quarter outside of the third. And with Rajon Rondo (14 assists, his first game with double-digit assists since Jan. 13) really back, they had one of their best bucket-getting halves of the year (the second frame) … Read More »

Beast of the Night: LeBron James had himself a typically big line to the tune of 35 points, six rebounds, seven assists, three steals and two blocks. He shot 57 percent (13-23) from the field, 100 percent (9-9) from the free-throw line and had two turnovers. Through three games, James is averaging 32.7 points on 59 percent shooting from the field and 87 percent shooting from the charity stripe. The odd thing is that he has yet to attempt a single three-pointer. The fact that he’s been such a stud without a three-pointer says volumes about his fantasy value. It’s early, but James looks like the probable top dog in fantasy basketball this season. Read More »

On the opening day of the regular season, it was hard to pick a leading headline. Too many great games. Matchups. Players to watch. Championship-caliber teams. And it was all on Christmas, so you know everyone (besides the entire Dallas organization) was bringing everything they had for the national TV audience. But we weren’t sure any game topped the one smack in the middle: Chicago coming from behind in the final minutes to shock the Lakers, 88-87. Chicago gave us a new meaning for Chistmas stuffing by snuffing Kobe Bryant‘s (28 points, seven rebounds, six assists) baseline pull-up at the buzzer and stealing a game they had no business winning, down double digits in the fourth quarter, and then after being down six with 54 seconds left once Kobe made a miraculous spin move fallaway. Read More »

Next up for fantasy basketball discussion: the Detroit Pistons. There’s a good deal to like here from a fantasy perspective – although there’s no first-round stud, there is some decent value in the middle rounds and a few fill-in guys to watch on the waiver wire when need be. With a good number of free agents for the Pistons, fantasy owners should expect things to change in the upcoming season. Read More »

As the NBA regular season approaches, we preview the upcoming campaign with the “Highs and Lows” system — predicting the respective ceiling and basement for each team.

Added: Tracy McGrady, Greg Monroe

Lost: Kwame Brown, Chucky Atkins Read More »

You knew this was coming: Once D-Wade, LeBron and Bosh essentially formed a super-squad on their own, accusations of tampering and collusion would arise. NBA owners will reportedly meet today to check it out and determine whether there was something shady going on between the three superstars — which Bosh didn’t help when he slipped up and said he and ‘Bron and Wade had been talking about a collaboration for “months.” Rules aside, though, what’s really wrong with players talking about whether they’d like to play together? Read More »

Nobody would have predicted this. It wasn’t really that long ago when Kobe Bryant and Tracy McGrady were neck-and-neck in the debate over who was the most talented player — Shaq and Tim Duncan were still the most dominant — and explosive offensive weapon in the NBA. Today, Kobe and T-Mac are both 31 years old, but while Kobe is still pretty much in his prime and leading his team to championships, T-Mac is like a classic car running on fumes and still hasn’t been on the court in the second round of the playoffs … Read More »