In lieu of making yet another LeBron/Jay-Z analogy, let’s put it this way: The Cavs are treating the Wizards like LL Cool J did Canibus. They’ll take some time out to address the beef, but always with a swagger that says “Who is this little pest?” It’s even trickled down to the announcers. When Washington came out blasting last night (”Second Round Knockout”) and put the Cavs down by as much as 18 in the first half, Austin Carr admitted the game didn’t mean as much to LeBron and Co. as it did to Gilbert Arenas‘ squad. Read More »

Five matchups to watch on Tuesday’s nine-game schedule…

Denver @ Indiana: Carmelo Anthony vs. Danny Granger Buckets, buckets and more buckets. By normal human standards, Granger is having a great start, averaging 26.5 points in two games. But ‘Melo is on some extraterrestrial level right now, dropping 37.7 points on 53% shooting and looking like an MVP in the making. Read More »

I can’t resist season preview magazines. NBA, NFL, college, MLB, I’m a sucker for those thick annual issues that I’ll pore through in a couple of sittings before the season, then rarely open during the season. (Speaking of, keep an eye out for Dime #53, our NBA/college/high school preview issue.)

Every few years, one of the preview mags will do a feature where they create the “perfect” player for their sport, Dr. Frankenstein-style. Read More »

Imagine the disappointment that swept across the NBA TV studios when they found out LeBron was sick and going to miss last night’s big preseason game between the Cavs and Wizards. No tense ‘Bron/DeShawn encounters, no real reason for highlight montages of LBJ taking Washington’s heart in the playoffs, no smooth segues to talk about Mike Miller wearing LeBron’s signature shoes. And to top it off, starting in LBJ’s place was Jawad Williams, who scored 21 points (4 threes) in his last Smack mention of the season, a Cleveland loss … Gilbert Arenas put up 18 points for the Wiz, while Miller scored 24 (5 threes) and Randy Foye scored 21. However, Antawn Jamison hurt his shoulder in the first quarter and didn’t return. Read More »

In our “Where Are They Now” story we ran on Joe Forte a few days ago, we talked about how the former Celtic made a major locker room no-no by showing up to a game one time wearing a Lakers jersey. Newly acquired forward, Mike Miller, might have stepped on a few toes with his new teammates by wearing LeBron James’ signature shoes. As we all know, LeBron isn’t too popular in that locker room, especially with DeShawn Stevenson. The two have one of the biggest rivalries in the league and the Wizards’ shooting guard was not bashful about voicing his displeasure about Miller’s choice of sneakers. Read More »

There’s nothing really to say about DeShawn Stevenson’s new tattoos other than that they’re crazy! Check out the backwards Pittsburgh Pirates “P,” a Frankenstein-like crack on his forehead and Honest Abe on his neck. Wow. Read More »

Almost is probably the best word to describe the career of Darius Rice. If you remember, Rice was one of the most celebrated preps in the country back in 2000. The nephew of the football legend Jerry Rice, Darius has always been on NBA GM’s radars ever since he graduated from the University of Miami in ’04. Although he has been close several times to earning a contract, it’s now 2009 and D-Rice is still not in the league. Read More »

Before you skip the article and head directly to the comments to destroy me, just hear me out. And for fans of the Celtics, Cavs and Magic, it’s not that you don’t think it’s possible, but rather that the thought of the Wizards beating you in the second round of the playoffs makes you sick. But the more and more I think about it, the more and more I convince myself that the Wizards could win the championship this year. Read More »

Last week it seemed a forgone conclusion that Stephon Marbury had — either intentionally or unintentionally — ended his own NBA career by following his crazy Internet act with a public admission that he smokes weed. However, maybe there’s still a chance for Steph to get back in the League … if he really wants it.

According to ProBasketballNews.com, the Wizards are keeping Marbury “on their radar” as a possible late signing. Read More »

When Austin wrote a couple weeks ago that the Wizards would be crashing the 2010 postseason party as a seventh or eighth seed, a lot of people disagreed. Not because they thought the Wizards would be back in the lottery, but rather that people were thinking they could legitimately get homecourt advantage in the first round. Despite having Caron Butler, Antawn Jamison, Randy Foye, Nick Young, Mike Miller, Andray Blatche and JaVale McGee, DeShawn Stevenson knows that it all comes down to Gilbert Arenas. Read More »