Words. @AllThatAmar

Jeremy Evans is a delight to watch. Not because he’s a fundamentally sound robot like Tim Duncan. Nor is he’s an ankle-breaking wizard like Chris Paul. Right now the second-year forward for the Utah Jazz may be low on both the skill and depth charts, but he has the athleticism that stands out even among other professional athletes. Read More »

Thursday started as a good day for the New Jersey Nets. They began the day by agreeing to terms on a one-year deal with shooting guard DeShawn Stevenson. Stevenson won a championship with the Mavericks last season and will immediately provide a winning pedigree, toughness and perimeter defense to a team lacking in all three areas. However, the way the day ended overshadowed the shrewd morning signing of Stevenson. Yesterday evening it was announced that starting center Brook Lopez had a stress fracture in his foot and would be out for six to eight weeks with the injury. This injury is one that could change the course and future of the franchise and hurts the Nets on multiple levels. Read More »

The Nets are doing their best to fill out their roster and surround Deron Williams and Brook Lopez with as many able pieces as possible. This week they’ve signed Public Enemy No. 1 to bolster their frontcourt, and this morning comes word that they have reached a deal with free agent DeShawn Stevenson.

So why did they move to sign a 30-year-old swingman who has been on five teams in 12 seasons to add to their already-crowded backcourt? Read More »

So they think they need a committee to study this stuff huh? It shouldn’t take a genius or even a formulation of a number of basketball minds to figure this one out, but as Yahoo! Sports is reporting, the NBA and the Player’s Association are discussing whether to form a committee to study the age minimum for the NBA draft with “the possibility that no immediate changes to the ‘one-and-done’ rule will come in the finalization of the new collective bargaining agreement.”

Good. Maybe they’ll finally discover what I’ve been saying all along. Read More »

We sort of called this. Duke lives and dies by the three. They did again last night. Tyler Thornton, the last guy you might expect to take a big shot – maybe the last guy you’d even expect to be in the game – hit not one but two huge threes in the final moments against Kansas. The second one was an end-of-the-shot-clock heave from nearly out of bounds that you just knew was going in the moment he released it. Combine those shots with a three from Andre Dawkins, and Kansas – who played them even all the way – couldn’t finish it off and lost 68-61. Read More »

Ben Wallace had a greater offense this weekend than Tom Brady. On Saturday night, he was reportedly booked on drunken driving charges as well as for the unlawful carrying of a concealed weapon. The police didn’t release his blood alcohol level and Big Ben will be back in court on Oct. 3. The pistol is something we can’t defend, and neither is the driving. But drinking (Wallace says he had four beers) is what happens when you’re part of an organization that seems intent on making itself the most dysfunctional group in all of sports. All of those players seemed like they were wound-up soldiers ready to pop at any second because of the frustration. We can only imagine the amount of stress they were under this year. For his part, Wallace says he was driving from Virginia to Michigan and just forgot that the gun – registered to his wife – was in a backpack in his backseat … Read More »

There ain’t nothing like going home. Except for Kobe Bryant because home is a number of different places for him: in Philadelphia where he went to high school and first received a brush with fame; in Los Angeles where he’s become world famous, and in Italy where the first seeds of a love affair with a game took him to places none of his childhood friends thought possible. Wouldn’t it be fun to go back there and shove it all in their faces? See how good I’ve become. See how successful I’ve become. The Mamba has a great chance now to do that. Hoping that chance would appeal to his competitive fire, the Italian club Virtus Bologna has offered Bryant a one-year deal for $6.7 million to play for them. Read More »

The first task for fantasy owners looking at the Dallas Mavericks is to take extra care to separate reality from fantasy. Yes, the Mavs were the underdogs-turned-NBA-champions in June, but that means absolutely nothing for fantasy basketball purposes. Assuming the team can reassemble itself into something resembling the 2010-11 champs, the Mavs will have one first-round stud and a handful of other usable parts, many of whom will be well into their 30s when the next season starts. Get those coughs out of your system and read on to see what the Mavericks can offer to fantasy owners next season. Read More »

Kevin Love has been making himself heard lately, saying that the latest offer from the owners was unacceptable. Love declared his interest in compromising, but also his honest opinion that NBA games will most likely be missed. A scary thought from the Timberwolves power forward. This lockout is enough to get us depressed. Talk of missed games – someone’s going to have to talk us off a ledge … Read More »

Brian Cardinal is the definition of a journeyman. With his sixth NBA team, the man affectionately named “The Custodian” finally got to the Promised Land, hoisting the Larry O’Brien Trophy with the Dallas Mavericks this June. On a team where every player had a specific role to play, Cardinal played his to perfection, coming in and making life miserable for Chris Bosh and LeBron James in the paint. Cardinal also made the most of his opportunities with the ball, knocking down some huge three-pointers in Game 5 and 6. Recently we caught up with Brian to talk about whatever was on his mind. Read More »