Are they for real? We guess we could’ve said that about either one of the teams taking the floor in Indiana last night. The Pacers beheaded the Heat by 15, and Miami has now lost two in a row by double figures, and are just 8-6 since the All-Star break. Title contenders? They need to get their heads out of the sand first. Then on the other side, the Pacers made a statement: Don’t overlook us. They almost had Miami calling for the mercy rule on the boards, destroying them 49-33. Read More »

Kenyon Martin isn’t the only one in search of a team. The average NBA season always finds a few old veterans who make their way onto rosters during the stretch run, and this year with the shortened season, we figured it’d be even more hectic. People are out of shape, tired, hurt and some just plain can’t take the schedule. Because of the lockout, there’s even more top-level talent spread across the globe. But that’s not who we’re talking about. Read More »

You’d think with an electric point guard and an authentic Aussie around, the Milwaukee Bucks would be a pretty exciting NBA team. Dig into the team’s statistics from last season and you’ll find otherwise. There isn’t much else in Milwaukee besides some middle-round value, and the most valuable fantasy player the Bucks have to offer is bogged down by serious physical limitations. Maybe Captain Jack can turn the ship around? Read More »

Athletes will be athletes. As we saw in Thursday’s Smack, that’s why Oklahoma City guard Nate Robinson is half-seriously considering playing for the NFL, and coaches like Pete Carroll of the Seattle Seahawks are half-seriously thinking about that being a good idea.

It’s the same reason why we always want to imagine LeBron James strapping on the shoulder pads and coming off the edge as a defensive end or repeatedly overpowering any 6-foot-nothing corner for a jump-ball on a fade route. He’s such a good athlete we can’t even decide which position would be a better option. Read More »

Why do we like the little guy in basketball? Because it reminds us of ourselves, the ones who missed out on the two-foot growth spurt that we swear could make us into NBA players? Because it gives us a glance at someone doing something they aren’t exactly supposed to do? Maybe. We like underdogs.

Dallas’ J.J. Barea fits that mold. The whirling dervish dropped 17 points and five assists on the Miami Heat in Game 5 of the NBA Finals. How can a guy who’s not even 6-feet tall – teammate Brian Cardinal said he might be 6-feet in stilettos – do this over giants? And how did he score Miss Universe 2006 being so short? And is she taller than him when she’s wearing stilettos? Read More »

Like we’ve told you before, Kevin Durant would most likely top the list of NBA players whom other NBA players would pay to see in action. So either Michael Jordan isn’t that bothered with seeing KD do work up-close, or else MJ doesn’t want a first-person view of what the League’s leading scorer might do to his struggling Bobcats. Jordan was conspicuously absent from his regular courtside seat during last night’s OKC/Charlotte game, and he missed Durant dropping 32 points on his squad while the Thunder owned the fourth quarter like The G.O.A.T. used to do in his day … Read More »

Was it the most hyped-up NBA preseason game of all-time? Probably not, if you were around for Michael Jordan’s comeback debut with the Wizards, or Magic Johnson’s ill-fated comeback in ’92 that never made it to the regular season. But last night’s Miami/Detroit exhibition had almost a playoff feel to it, at least until the Pistons settled into their preordained role as the Washington Generals … The “Super-Friends” were only on the court for about three minutes together — D-Wade tweaked his hamstring early and sat out the rest of the game — but LeBron (18 pts) and Chris Bosh (20 pts) were dominant as a Big Two. Read More »

A lot of talk around the Dime office yesterday focused on 2011 NBA championship contenders. Are the Nuggets in the mix? One of our guys thinks so, which is why he says Denver shouldn’t trade Carmelo Anthony. But then again, Kenyon Martin doesn’t even sound like he thinks Denver can go all the way. “Al (Harrington) is cool,” K-Mart told the Denver Post about the team’s big offseason pickup. “Al’s my man, but I can’t see how we got better. You know, I’m going to be out and (Birdman) is going to be out (to start the season), so did we get better? I can’t say that we did.” Read More »

Without a doubt, Earl Boykins is one of my all-time favorite players in the NBA. Not just because he’s only 5-5, but because he gets buckets. And while the initial reports of him landing in Atlanta turned out not to be true, according to Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel, the Bucks are near an agreement on a one-year deal with the veteran point guard. Read More »

One of the commentators on ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” said it best earlier this week: Upsets are the life-blood of the NCAA Tournament. Even if it’s at the cost of a busted bracket, people want to see Cinderella stories and have lovable underdogs.

Case in point: When Michigan State benefited from a couple shaky referee calls to knock off 12-seed New Mexico State in this year’s tourney, the crowd was loudly booing as the upset bid fell short. Read More »