The Lakers are still the smart bet to defend their championship, but we’re also not counting out the Thunder in their first-round series. But if OKC is really going to pull a ’94 Nuggets job and win as an 8th seed, they may need to actually reanimate Dikembe Mutombo in his prime … The front line was the key to L.A.’s Game 1 win: Pau Gasol put up 19 points, 13 rebounds and 3 blocks, while Andrew Bynum went for 13 points, 12 boards and 4 blocks. And Lamar Odom didn’t even do much in this game. OKC can only counter with Nick Collison (not skilled enough), Serge Ibaka (too young) and Nenad Krstic, who is what we thought he was … Tough game for each of the marquee superstars: Kobe had a quiet 21 points (6-19 FG), while Kevin Durant scored 24 on just 7-of-24 from the field. Read More »

Every great modern NBA center has had one. Dwight Howard had Patrick Ewing. Andrew Bynum had Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Even Kevin Love had Chris Dudley in high school. Now, the Memphis Grizzlies are thinking about bringing on Dikembe Mutombo to help them with Hasheem Thabeet. And I couldn’t think of a better scenario for the No. 2 pick in the Draft. Read More »

After a disaster of a debut, Antawn Jamison was a lot better in Game #2 of his Cavs career. Jamison put up 19 points and 8 boards coming off the bench against Orlando, giving Rashard Lewis joystick moves in the paint and stepping out to bury jumpers in his face, but Cleveland still lost its third straight … Reminiscent of the “Kobe hates Shaq” era of annual Christmas Day games, ABC focused on the pre-game dap session to see how Shaq and Dwight Howard would interact. After a harmless fist bump, Old Superman and New Superman went to work: Read More »

Four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, Dikembe Mutombo, made an appearance this morning at the NBA Store in New York City. Along with NBA Hall of Famer, Bob Lanier, Mt. Mutombo teamed up with the NBA, iHoops and Right Guard to announce the Right Guard Total Defense Challenge – the nationwide search for the “Best Defensive Stopper.” Read More »

The list is undeniably impressive — those who either retired without an NBA championship or went a long time without a ring directly because of Michael Jordan. Members include Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, John Stockton, Patrick Ewing, Gary Payton, Mark Price, Alonzo Mourning, Tim Hardaway, Reggie Miller …

Almost as star-studded is the list of talent kept permanently ringless or who suffered longer than expected thanks to Tim Duncan. Read More »

Whenever somebody asks me how I became a Georgetown Hoyas fan growing up in Seattle, I give them one of three reasons:

1. When I was a kid, U-Dub barely had a basketball team as far as I knew. 2. I didn’t realize G’town wasn’t an HBCU until I was like 12 years old. 3. Joey Brown.

Who is Joey Brown? He was a 5-10 point guard and four-year starter for the Hoyas in the early-’90s. Imagine Earl Watson without the height and you get the picture. Read More »

This is just great. In a game against the Grizzlies last night, Carl Landry rejected Rudy Gay’s weak dunk attempt. After blocking the shot, Landry turned to former teammate Dikembe Mutombo, who was in the crowd, and honored him by wagging his finger. As you all know, that was Mt. Mutombo’s signature move after he got a big block. The best part of this video was watching Mutombo’s reaction.

This season, several players came into camp with their bodies reshaped. Chris Bosh and Rajon Rondo both got jacked over the summer - each adding 15-20 pounds of mass to their once skinny frames. Other guys like Caron Butler, Quentin Richardson and Tim Duncan all dropped weight to increase efficiency and reduce the risk of injuries. The question is whether these body transformations actually translate into better performances on the court. Read More »

One of the few bright spots in the Indiana Pacers’ slow start has been the encouraging play of second-year center Roy Hibbert. Throughout the preseason and the early part of the regular season, the former Georgetown Hoyas standout has upped all his stats. In his first four games of the ’09-10 season, Hibbert is averaging 10.8 points, 10.3 rpg and 2.2 bpg. We sat down with Roy a few nights ago, when the Pacers were in town to play the Knicks. Read More »

Saving the biggest for last. As I’ve covered before, this isn’t a typical “best players” ranking. If you see a high school kid listed higher than an NBA All-Star here, nobody’s saying the prep is better than the pro. Instead, I’m looking at the whole picture: Who had an overall better season? Pound-for-pound, who made the biggest impact on their level? Who made the biggest mark on the entire game of basketball? Who made this season his own? So here are my Top 10 — not “10 best” — centers from the ‘08-09 season… Read More »