Facebook is about to go public with its IPO, which has everyone in a buy/sell mood and streaming “The Social Network” soundtrack on Spotify. It leads to conversations about how big the company can become. If you’re a hoops fan looking for a steal, it’s time now, at nearly a third of the way through the season, to see what teams you should invest your hopes in and who to sell off quick while you still can.

I don’t know anything about tech stocks but here’s who you believe in and what teams, if bought too aggressively, could ruin your portfolio. Read More »

Damn, are the Nuggets trying to send their whole team to China? They better hope the lockout ends sometime soon because they won’t have enough players. First Wilson Chandler. Then it was reported that J.R. Smith may soon become the highest paid player in Chinese Basketball Association history. Now, he may be topped by teammate Kenyon Martin, who has significant interest from two different clubs in the CBA. They are ready to give him an offer even greater than Smith’s. K-Mart is in line to have to take a huge pay cut from any NBA team that signs him (he’s a free agent). But in this setting, he’ll be the king. Read More »

Few things can match the power of a Darryl Dawkins dunk — that is, except for Dawkins’s personality. Known during his playing days for his backboard-shattering slams, Chocolate Thunder could most recently be found charming basketball fans across the country as an ambassador for NBA Nation on its eight-city summer tour which ended in Washington D.C. this June.

In addition to meeting with fans, Dawkins’ responsibilities on the tour included serving as a judge for the 2011 Sprite Slam Dunk Showdown, an amateur dunk contest. Chocolate Thunder’s credentials more than qualify him for the job. Dawkins earned the title of the NBA’s original power dunker during the 1979-80 season when he broke two backboards in less than a month. Read More »

What do you do the day after getting smashed by 45 points in a basketball game? And what do you do when, on that day after, you have to suit up in Boston and play arguably the best team in the NBA to try and get your swagger back?

For the Philadelphia 76ers, who were routed 121-76 in Chicago last night before facing Boston tonight, you just try to forget it. NFL teams perform elaborate ceremonies like burying the game ball from a bad blowout because they have to live with that loss all week, but the day-to-day nature of the NBA allows opportunities for quick recovery. Read More »

As the NBA regular season approaches, we preview the upcoming campaign with the “Highs and Lows” system — predicting the respective ceiling and basement for each team.

Added: Evan Turner, Spencer Hawes, Andres Nocioni, Darius Songaila, Tony Battie, Craig Brackins, Chris Quinn

Lost: Allen Iverson, Sam Dalembert, Willie Green, Jason Smith, Rodney Carney, Francisco Elson Read More »

Although the first two years of Elton Brand‘s tenure with the Philadelphia 76ers have been plagued by injuries and Lottery appearances, the two-time NBA All-Star — who boasts career averages of 19.3 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game — is going to be a key figure in Philly’s most recent rebuilding effort, holding down the paint while Andre Iguodala, Jrue Holiday and Evan Turner attack from the perimeter. Read More »

Andre Iguodala’s time with the Philadelphia 76ers might be directly tied to whom the Sixers take with the second pick in Thursday’s NBA Draft.

At this point, the Philly front office is torn down the middle between Ohio State’s Evan Turner and Georgia Tech’s Derrick Favors. GM Ed Stefanski loves Turner. Newly hired coach Doug Collins wants Favors.

Favors would be able to slide right into the frontline, but a selection of Turner could cause some dramatic changes. Read More »

As much as John Wall appears to be a lock for the Washington Wizards with the No. 1 pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, Evan Turner has been penciled into the Philadelphia 76ers lineup by almost everybody since the night Philly landed the No. 2 pick in the Lottery.

Not so fast. Soon after the Sixers hired Doug Collins as head coach, talk around the organization was that Collins is a big fan of Derrick Favors, and would seriously consider taking the Georgia Tech freshman over Turner. Read More »

We argue. You decide.

CHRIS BOSH (by Austin Burton) By now you’ve read 1,000 writers who will compare basketball to jazz. Well, I don’t know much about jazz; but I can point out the similarities between a basketball team and a rap group. While freestyling and impromptu ciphers can be a thing of beauty, we can’t underestimate the harmonic blueprint of every man playing his position. Anybody who’s been to a Wu-Tang or Grand Hustle concert can tell you — it doesn’t work when every man on stage is trying to be the headliner. Read More »

One of two things will happen when the Celtics and Magic face off in Boston tonight (8:30 p.m. EST, ESPN): Kevin Garnett and his guys will deliver a staggering blow to Orlando’s season to set up the inevitable TKO, or Dwight Howard and his guys will show their championship heart for the first time in these playoffs and make the conference finals interesting again … All the pressure is on Orlando, and the guy under the biggest microscope is Vince Carter. The Magic got him for games like this, facing a tough defense in front of a hostile crowd and needing somebody to get buckets that won’t be easy to come by. Whether it’s a wire-to-wire barrage of buckets, just a big fourth quarter, or just one clutch shot, Vince has to step up. Read More »