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 »

Boxing promoters would’ve been proud. The Spurs and Grizzlies put together one long 15-round fight. It was like the end of the Departed. There were bodies everywhere. The Grizz couldn’t knock out San Antonio; the Spurs weren’t letting go. But Zach Randolph (31 points, 11 rebounds) wasn’t having it, and down the stretch he made the difference in Memphis’ series-clinching 99-91 win … The visitors finally came back to take the lead with just under five minutes to go after Memphis had two straight shot-clock violations. But immediately after the timeout, the Grizz jumped all over the Spurs, going on a game-changing 10-2 run, highlighted by two shots from Z-Bo that were straight out of Billy Hoyle’s repertoire. In the final minutes, it actually felt like Memphis finally broke the Spurs’ will. Did anyone EVER see that coming? … Read More »

Gregg Popovich has multiple superstars on his roster, all of whom have rings and have made huge shots in the past. He has Richard Jefferson, a guy a who has played in two NBA Finals, at his disposal. He has the Red Rocket, a three-point shooting cyborg, in his Spurs arsenal. He could have picked any of these guys to take the shot to keep his team’s season alive, but he chose Gary Neal. Read More »