“Get ready for a steady dose of ‘What’s wrong with the Lakers?’ fire-alarm stories today. (Which will promptly be forgotten after they destroy the Cavs on Wednesday.) … So, um, yeah. That was from Smack earlier this week, after the Lake Show lost in Charlotte and spiced up the soap opera when Kobe ducked the post-game media and Phil gave a snippy five seconds of his time. Considering that the last Lakers/Cavs meeting saw L.A. beat Cleveland worse than Sonny Corleone beat Carlo, and considering it’s Kobe and Pau Gasol versus the worst team in the League, you can understand our early prediction. We were wrong … Read More »

It’s just sad now. Or maybe it’s still funny. The Cavs have become the NBA’s charity case, worse than the Washington Generals because at least the Generals aren’t trying to win. The Cavs are getting to that part of the movie when head coach Martin Lawrence is at the end of his rope and needs a pep talk from an 11-year-old … During last night’s 27-point rout at the hands of LeBron James and the Heat, one Miami announcer sighed, “Oh, that woebegone look in the eyes of these Cleveland Cavaliers.” Read More »

Crazy how perception can change so quickly. Even in the aftermath of LeBron‘s 2010 playoff exit, most people would still have considered him no lower than the 2nd-best basketball player in the world. When we did a “Who’s Better?” comparison between LBJ and D-Wade during the season, the heavy majority swung toward LeBron. But now? After LeBron joined the Miami Heat, our latest DimeMag.com poll asked “Who’s the better player?” — and results showed Wade with a 3-to-2 advantage. Looks like LeBron is gonna have to wait until they actually get on the court to get his crown back … In the meantime, we’re starting to get an idea what the Heat roster may look like: Read More »

Although the ’09 NBA free agent class isn’t as stacked as in years past — not to mention the League is being more thrifty than ever due to the slumping economy — teams still have holes they want to plug, and players have moves they want to make. On the eve of the negotiation period (players can’t officially sign until July 8), we’re taking the next few days to break down each team’s free agent situation… Read More »

It’s been a big week for the Cavaliers. First a Shaqtus was spotted blooming in Cleveland and then the drafting of Danny Green and Christian Eyenga and now pics have surfaced of the next shoe in the LeBron James signature line. Here we have it, the Nike Air Max Lebron VII. Read More »

Five teams who had good reason to stage those goofy, awkward draft-room celebrations, and four players who should go buy themselves something pretty …

1. Toronto Raptors They had one glaring need — an athletic SG/SF who can score — and filled it with DeMar DeRozan, who could be the second-best player in this Draft when it’s all said and done. The 6-7 highlight machine will sell tickets, too, which every NBA team could use right now. Read More »