“I am raising the stakes right now … If this is a poker game, I am shoving my chips right in the middle of the table. I am raising the ante. Anybody who wants out can get out. This team is going to the playoffs. OK? This team is going to the playoffs.”

I can just imagine Larry Bird repeating the mantra to himself the morning after pulling off a win-win trade for my Indiana Pacers while he’s at his home gym cashing 92 out of 100 threes before breakfast. Read More »

Training camp means different things to different players. Whether it’s NFL camp opening up last week, or NBA camp set to open in about a month, the preseason is a collection of established veterans who can safely go through the motions, hungry youngsters looking to make a name for themselves, and desperate fringe types fighting for employment.

With NBA free-agent signings and trades still being completed, not every roster is set in stone, but for the most part we have a good idea who will make up each team’s starting lineup. Except for the handful of incumbent starters who have a battle ahead of them when they get back on the court. Here are 10 NBA starters receiving a tough challenge to hold down their spot: Read More »

One of the 800 rumors to see the light of day around the NBA trade deadline was of a proposed deal sending T.J. Ford and Brandon Rush to the Bobcats for D.J. Augustin, Gerald Henderson and Nazr Mohammed.

At the time, Charlotte reportedly decided against making the move, mainly because T.J. is slated to make $8.5 million next season and then-owner Bob Johnson was hesitant to take on that much cap space on a borderline starter. Read More »

After three quarters of feeding the post and flexing their size advantage, the Lakers went back to their bread and butter when things got tense against Toronto: Give it to Kobe Bryant and vacate the premises … Midway through the fourth, L.A. was down on the scoreboard and in danger of losing their fourth game in a row. Predictably, that’s when Kobe (32 pts, 6 rebs, 6 asts) went to work. In the span of what seemed like a few seconds, he strung together a jumper and some free throws to turn a four-point deficit into a Lakers lead. A couple minutes later, Kobe put L.A. up four with a short baseline fadeaway. 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 »

Since hearing about the relaunch of NBA Jam, the talk of the office has been which players are going to make it in the game. As you know,

Seeing as Rasheed Wallace didn’t even bother combing his hair, you kind of got the impression early on that Boston was taking the Pacers lightly — and that was before the C’s fell behind by double-digits in the first quarter. (Oh wait, ‘Sheed never combs his hair. Scratch that part.) KG was given the night off with a thigh bruise, and even Tommy Heinsohn called in sick rather than risk his pipes against Indiana when there’s a big Christmas Day game against Orlando looming … Overcoming a slow start in which they made Earl Watson look like Tim Hardaway, the Celtics managed a tie going into the fourth, and that’s when Paul Pierce took over. Read More »

Here’s a list of guys that have stepped up their game this season and in turn are catching the attention of a few more eyeballs. Overall, I think that Aaron Brooks is playing the best of anyone on this list; however, I have chosen someone from each division whose improvement has not gone unnoticed. 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. As the week wraps up I took the time to reflect on what the NBA taught me over the last 7 days. Read More »

Whether you believe Tyreke Evans is a true point guard or not (he’s not), last night was a textbook example of exactly why Sacramento drafted him to play the point.

On his way to dropping 26 points in a win over the Pacers, Tyreke scored the Kings’ first 10 points, and it was obvious the game plan going in was to get Tyreke off early. He used his height to shoot over T.J. Ford and Earl Watson; his strength and handle to easily drive past them; and his length to catch the ball near the rim on cuts and post-ups and get easy buckets. Read More »