Last night, Denver ran away from L.A. in the Staples Center because they dominated at points in the second and late in the third quarter. George Karl trusts his bench, almost too much in fact. His goal this year might be to coach this team like its intramurals. That’s just speculation, but with the way he hands out minutes, 11 guys all average double figures, we wouldn’t be surprised. Having a decent bench is always important, but it’s never been stressed like this. Five games in six nights will leave your team playing more up and down than a seesaw if the second unit can’t hoop. Read More »

Every year, NBA.com puts out an early season survey where all the GMs across the league are asked to break down the league. The best teams, the best players, the most promising moves, the guys they’d want winning games for them, the best coaches… This year, they found 57 GMs willing to participate, and they answered questions on basically everything around the league. Read More »

You had to know it would happen with 66 games in 120 days. Someone was going to fall off. Surprises are a double-edged sword; Somebody has to fall. Besides Miami – who despite the loss last night look like the runaway best team in the NBA – who else can you say has really been dominating? I’ll give you Chicago. But after that Portland has been blown out at home and on the road to two dysfunctional teams with superstars on the edge of town (Phoenix, Orlando). Denver is feasting on the weak but struggling against talent. Atlanta, who knows what’s going on with them? Read More »

Gregg Popovich is a fan of many things, but apparently American culture is not one of them. I mean, can you picture Pop watching “Jersey Shore” or taking in a Taylor Swift concert? Neither can I. Yesterday before San Antonio faced Minnesota, Pop was asked about Ricky Rubio. Specifically, how difficult it would be for him to adjust to American culture. Of course, his response was classic. Read More »

Everyone wants to talk about super teams. Of course, the Heat, Knicks, Clippers, Celtics and all the rest of ‘em capture the imagination of the NBA fan base. There’s nothing quite like feeling the anticipation and excitement in the air when you see that news hit telling you Chris Paul has finally been traded and he’s going to the Clippers. What immediately follows is typically more invigorating than what eventually happens. The promise of what could be is almost always better than what is. Even here at Dime, we find ourselves talking about one third of the NBA about 80 percent of the time. That doesn’t mean we don’t care about everyone else. Read More »

No Kobe Bryant meant mismatch at times last night in the Clippers’ 108-103 win, their second straight in as many games against their crosstown rivals. It was a barrage of turnovers and highlights that battered the Lakers to the ground in the third quarter. Then it was Blake Griffin that drove a stake into the Lakers’ hearts in the fourth quarter. The next time someone puts Troy Murphy on Blake (30 points, seven assists, six boards), call us. It’s must-see TV. Yet somehow, the Lakers still had a shot at the end, but first DeAndre Jordan had a huge block on Metta World Peace. Then Griffin flopped his way to a charge call on Matt Barnes, securing the win. Read More »

What a shocker (please). The NBA season won’t start on time after talks stalled once more. Sad. Just sad. We feel for everyone who wants to see real basketball. We feel for all the employees who make their living off the NBA. We feel for Nick Young‘s hair. We feel for the integrity of the game. We even feel for the two sides who can’t seem to figure this trash out. But now it’s official: the first two weeks are gone because David Stern says there is a substantial gap between the two sides. Yesterday, there were reports that the sides were making progress, but at this point, it’s all a game of shadows and mirrors. Some people want to believe it’ll get done. Others say it’s going to take a long time … Read More »

It was 2003 and I was 14 years old spending a weekend at my grandma’s place. Let’s admit it – while we all love seeing our grandparents, their houses are never the most exciting places to hang out for prolonged periods. That is, unless you enjoy watching TV shows that make James Lipton‘s Inside the Actor’s Studio completely enthralling. So as an excuse to leave, my uncle used my desire to watch a meaningless Game 1 between the Suns and Spurs first round matchup to get out of the house. Read More »

Here we are again. It feels like just yesterday when a lockout starved fans of most of the 1998-99 season. Since then, there have been too many storylines to keep complete track of, but some things never change. The players and the NBA management butting heads is happening all over again.

Though some parts of human nature – greed – never change, pop music doesn’t stop and wait for David Stern to give in to demands. Looking back, here’s some top hits of 1998 and what the song titles can lend in knowledge about the basketball world comparing then and now. Read More »

How ironic: one of the NBA’s worst floppers wasn’t given credit for his superhuman performance because he didn’t quite flaunt it. In the midst of a Western cinderella rudely exposing the Spurs in the first round, we all missed something. Manu was hurt, bad enough that he actually had to sit out Game 1 of the series. He went on to average over 20 points a game the rest of the way, but never really gave us that dose of championship shot-making we are used to seeing from him (besides of course one insane shot at the end of Game 5). Read More »