The Cavs are locked and loaded for a solid run at the championship, a disgruntled former superstar finds a new home (and maybe another one before the day’s up), the Bulls are in an even better position to make a splash this summer and a perennial lump of dead weight now finds himself with 10,000 lakes to drown in. That pretty much sums up all the NBA trade action from Wednesday night into Thursday morning, in what has shaped up to be a trade season that has lived up to expectations so far. Here’s a quick rundown of the fantasy implications. Read More »

Call it a motivational tactic or simply of moment of brutal honesty, but Doc Rivers delivered what had to be a sobering blow for the Celtics yesterday: “One of the guys said, ‘We’re better than Orlando,’ and I said, ‘No, you’re not. They knocked you out of the playoffs last year.’ Orlando is better than us right now. Atlanta is better than us right now. L.A. is better than us right now.” (Notice how he didn’t include Cleveland, though.) … That quote was following Boston’s decisive loss to the Magic, one of just two NBA games on Super Bowl Sunday. Read More »

Being that they’re young, rich NBA players, we can’t imagine it’s too hard for Jason Thompson and Donte Greene of the Sacramento Kings to pull some good looking girls. Unfortunately for them, Bessie won’t be one of those girls. In this short skit posted on Kings.com, Greene, Thompson and Kings intern Jon Santiago all fight for Bessie in The Dating Game. Read More »

A multiple-time NBA scoring champ abruptly left his team in the middle of a road trip yesterday, amidst rumors that the longtime superstar and the organization couldn’t come to an agreement on his playing time and role on the court. No, this isn’t Memphis, and this isn’t Allen Iverson. This is about Tracy McGrady, who after being told he wouldn’t play in Houston’s two games this weekend (at Nets, at Cavs), left the Rockets and went home. Nobody affiliated with the Rockets has officially said whether this is one of those, “Call me when you decide to play me, trade me or buy me out,” situations, but it seems obvious enough, right? Read More »

Ranking the NBA from worst to first…

30. New Jersey Nets (1-19) — Brook Lopez is going to be this season’s Al Jefferson. His numbers should be enough to be an All-Star (18.9 ppg, 9 rpg), but his team’s record will ultimately keep him on the outside looking in.

29. Philadelphia 76ers (5-16) — The delirium of Allen Iverson’s return took about 40 minutes of game time to go back to the depression of a now 10-game losing streak. Read More »

If it’s not Kevin Durant or Amar’e Stoudemire, then it’s got to be Donte Greene right? This dunk comes to us from Miami’s 115-102 victory in Sacramento last night; where you could have also caught Dwyane Wade tossing the occasional wink to Gabrielle Union on the sidelines, en route to dropping 34. Joel Anthony did have a nice laugh on Amir Johnson a few weeks back, but damn, the posters are losing their meaning.

Beast of the Night: Donte Greene went nuts against the Knicks last night, posting 24 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal and 6 blocks while hitting 6 threes and shooting 69 percent (9-13) from the field. It’s tough to remember the last time a player hit 6 threes and blocked 6 shots in the same game, and it goes without saying that this was a huge night for the second-year player. Greene’s value won’t get higher than it is right now, but he deserves attention in most leagues. Read More »

Beast of the Night: Nene put up a monster line with 20 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals, 4 blocks and 2 turnovers while shooting 62 percent (8-13) from the floor and 80 percent (4-5) from the line. It was his finest game of the season so far and his owners have to be hoping that he stays healthy. Read More »

Even though there was no NBA game action last night, there was tons of activity in the League. As we mentioned yesterday in Smack, while there were certainly some memorable plays in the tune-up games, this preseason will be known for two things: a lack of “real” NBA refs and injuries. Thankfully the former has been cleared up after the NBA reached an agreement with the referees, but unfortunately the latter seems to be an overwhelming reality for many of the League’s standout players … On the eve of the season opener, which includes a matchup between the Lakers and Clippers in a battle for Los Angeles (well, not really), it appears the Clippers will be without their superstar. Announced late last night, Blake Griffin may miss up to six weeks with a stress fracture of his left patella. Suffered during the Clippers’ last preseason game against the Hornets on Friday, this is horrible news for the No. 1 pick and Rookie of the Year favorite … Read More »

NBA training camps are underway, meaning it’s time again for Dime’s team-by-team season previews. Last year we debuted the “Highs and Lows” system — predicting the respective ceilings and basements for each team. In other words, what is the realistic best-case and worst-case scenario for the 2009-10 campaign?

Added: Tyreke Evans, Omri Casspi, Jon Brockman, Sergio Rodriguez, Sean May, Desmond Mason Read More »