A good sign that things are getting busier and crazier around here: A couple years ago, if the first televised NBA preseason game was on during the workday, you would’ve found at least 2-3 members of the Dime crew parked on the office couch in front of the TV, workload be damned. This year, the best we could do was catch some of Jazz/Bulls (from London) on a side-glance … No Derrick Rose for this one, as he reportedly hurt his ankle the day before in practice. (Funny how that coincided with his 21st birthday on Sunday. Not that we’re accusing anybody of anything.) Read More »
The NBA preseason is 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:Jordan Hill, Darko Milicic, Toney Douglas, Gabe PruittRead More »
One of the most interesting parts of the first few days of NBA training camp is seeing the lineups we’ve speculated about all summer finally coming together. Some of them haven’t changed a bit, some of them look real good, and some — try Chris Duhon, Wilson Chandler, Danilo Gallinari, Al Harrington and David Lee in New York — just look good and terrible … Speaking of Gallo, apparently Mike D’Antoni has fallen back in love with the kid and is talking him up big-time. After the Knicks fans booed him out of MSG at the draft, the quick assumption was that Gallo would be the next Skita Tskitishvili, but if he stays healthy and carves out a nice little Andrea Bargnani-like niche for himself, that’s a big W for the Knicks … Read More »
On personal and professional level, not many professional athletes had a year as bad as Eddy Curry. Last season, the 6-11 Knicks center battled injuries and weight problems that sidelined him practically the entire season. His image took a huge hit after he was accused of sexual harassing his personal driver last January. He also had his $5.6 million Chicago house (the same one where he and his family were robbed at gunpoint in back in ‘07) foreclosed on. And worse of all, he tragically lost his ex-girlfriend and daughter to a horrible murder in Chicago.
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On Friday, we broke the story that Stephen Jackson wanted out of the Bay. After missing the postseason for two straight years, Captain Jack expressed his desire to leave the Warriors and catch on with a playoff team. He listed five teams he’d want to suit up for in ‘09-10: the Mavericks, Cavs, Spurs, Rockets and the Knicks.
Earlier this summer, I went to Chicago for our Dime #50 cover shoot with Derrick Rose. Going in, we’d decided not to waste anyone’s time doing a generic studio shoot with Derrick wearing a Bulls uniform that could’ve been done anywhere, by anyone. Authenticity was the objective. So we went back to the roots: two blocks from Derrick’s childhood home in the South Side, at the park where he became the player you see today. Here is the shoot and story that transpired…Read More »
Thank Oscar that the program directors at NBA TV decided to start showing some of the best games from the ‘08-09 season in neat little one-hour increments this week, otherwise the general inactivity these days would draw a basketball fan stir crazy … The NBA free agent landscape is like combing through the used CD rack at a store that’s already been raided by the broke college students: There’s still some interesting, slightly attractive product, but nothing too great. Case in point: The most intense “bidding war” lately has been over C.J. Watson — a second or third-string PG on most teams — and that just ended since the Magic pulled out of negotiations and it’s looking like C.J. is headed back to the Warriors … Meanwhile, David Lee is the biggest name left on the board that anybody seems to want (sorry, A.I.). Read More »
Back during his peak, one of the things we loved about Gilbert Arenas was that he’d randomly show up at D.C.’s famous Barry Farms court to play in the Goodman League, putting in work against the D.C./Maryland area’s best playground ballplayers with the same attitude that he’d go at Deron Williams or D-Wade on an NBA court. But then the injuries started to pile up, and even when he was healthy here and there, Gilbert understandably wasn’t as much of a presence on any concrete court while Kevin Durant took over the mantle as the NBA’s Barry Farms regular. On his way back from this latest injury, though, Arenas has not only looked like his old self indoors, he’s also back on the playground. Read More »
Lately we’ve been calling for NBA TV to do us starving hoop fans a favor and put next month’s FIBA European Championships on the air, all while forgetting the FIBA Asia Cup is actually going on right now. Not as much star power, not as high quality ball, but we still wouldn’t mind seeing some of those games on the schedule to replace the endless ’80s re-run games … From the games yesterday — or next Tuesday or whatever it would be with the U.S./China time difference — Yi Jianlian was the star, putting up 29 points and 18 boards in China’s win over Jordan. Read More »
In a move reminiscent of these last two years of Brett Favre stalking in the NFL, Dwyane Wade kicked off another round of rumors regarding his 2010 plans when reports surfaced that he recently bought a $1.4 million townhouse in Chicago. Never mind that Wade is from the Chi, so that could’ve been a summer bachelor pad for himself or a gift to his Mom, but it still has people speculating now on whether Flash is interested in signing with the Bulls next summer … Read More »
