Photo. Mannion
One reason everyone has been so geeked since July that the Celtics are a championship contender again is the inevitable feeling of nostalgia. Well, Celtics/Cavs last night was definitely nostalgic; it looked a lot like those awful bump-and-grind Knicks/Heat games from the 1990’s. Paul Pierce only had 4 points on 2-of-14 shooting, Ray Allen […]

Standing Tall and Ticked (photo. Mannion)
Cue another summer of the Phoenix Suns (secretly) and their fans (very publicly) blaming the refs and whatever other straws they can grasp onto while trying to come to grips with another heartbreaking playoff exit. You could say last night’s game hinged on a few crucial calls/no-calls, most of which […]

Dirk came through; Nash didn’t
We said it a couple days ago in our NBA Hit List player ranking: “These next two games is where we’ll see what kind of leader (Steve) Nash is. Right now you can’t tell if this is his team or Shaq’s.” So what happened in last night’s Suns/Spurs game? Nash had […]

Kobe (photo. Chris Sembrot)
As crazy and unpredictable as the ‘07-08 NBA regular season was, already in these playoffs we’ve seen some pretty predictable events. For example, was there any doubt the Wizards would lose their collective heads and starting acting a fool once LeBron and the Cavs started embarrassing them? Did you ever question whether […]

J-Kidd (photo. Jordan Hollander)
Sometime during the end stages of the Mavs joining the Dub Club (a.k.a getting 20-pieced) in New Orleans, this e-mail came through from one of the Dime crew: “Chris Paul, you’re under arrest for the murder of Jason Kidd.” That was cold, but you saw the numbers: 32 points and 17 assists […]

Photo. adidas
As good as this past NBA regular season was, Day 1 of the playoffs topped everything by giving us the best single game we’ve seen all year on any level. We don’t care who you love or who you hate, Spurs/Suns was an amazing display of ball that included a virtuoso performance from one […]

A.I. on Dime’s 2005 Collector’s Issue
Ask any top-level defensive stopper — be it Kevin Garnett or Bruce Bowen or Ron Artest or Gary Payton — and they’ll tell you that playing tough defense ultimately comes down to effort and desire. So when an ultra-talented offensive team like the ‘07-08 Denver Nuggets run risk of missing […]

Dirk (photo. Monte Isom)
The main reason it still seems so strange that the Mavs are battling Golden State and Denver for those last couple of Western Conference playoff spots isn’t because Dallas won 67 games last year; it’s because they’re pretty clearly better than the Warriors and Nuggets this year and shouldn’t be underachieving like […]

Photo. Tadder
Whether he was just trying to build suspense or he’s been operating on J.R. Rider Standard Time, Gilbert Arenas‘ comeback in D.C. was plenty dramatic. After going M.I.A. for morning shootaround and pre-game warmups — even the actually beginning of the game — Gil strode out from the locker room halfway through the first […]

Josh Howard (Photo. Monte Isom)
Thanks to a little blessing from the schedule gods, the Mavericks’ first game without Dirk Nowitzki in the lineup had them facing the Clippers. At home. Sitting somewhere between an actual threat and the stationary traffic cones that are the Miami Heat, the Clips gave the Mavs a chance to get […]

Dirk (photo. Monte Isom)
Remember a couple years ago when Tim Duncan played almost the entire season with a bad foot because the Spurs couldn’t afford to give him a rest and lose ground to the Mavs in the Southwest? At stake then was the difference between a #1-seed in the conference and a #4-seed. Yesterday, […]

O.J. Mayo (photo. Gary Land)
Even with two high-profile games on the schedule (and another involving the Bulls), the NBA took a backseat yesterday to college ball, as everyone was focused on the NCAA Tournament. Thursday’s main event had future #1 pick Michael Beasley and his Kansas State squad going up against future Lottery pick O.J. […]