As much as I enjoy watching LeBron James at the peak of his NBA powers, as much as I enjoy watching the veteran Celtics come together since Rajon Rondo went down, as fun as it is to watch Carmelo Anthony drop 35-plus night after night en-route to his first scoring title, and Chris Paul continuing to be the best point guard of this generation, what makes the NBA so great night in and night out is everyone else. Read More »

Every night in the NBA is its own minimovie, played out in any number of acts. Wednesday there were 14, and we could have called it, The Closers, for the way Kobe and Kyrie won after ridiculous comebacks in the fourth quarter. Friday would be The Takeover. Read More »

The last time Rudy Gay posted up Evan Turner, the Sixers appointed nerd damn near ripped Gay’s arm out of his socket. That was back in 2011, and since then, Gay, Zach Randolph and the Grizz can’t go a week without someone pointing out that their marriage is doomed for failure. This time, the Gay-on-Turner post-up worked out a little better in Memphis’ three-point win in Philadelphia. Read More »

FRESH PICKINGS Al-Farouq Aminu (19 percent owned in Yahoo!, 22 percent owned in ESPN) Aside from a rather ugly month of December, Aminu has put together a pretty solid fantasy season. He was one of the hottest pickups in the beginning of the year and has once again become worthy of a roster spot. Read More »

Portland fell into a lull for a quarter and a half — usually a death knell against a team like Miami — but still knocked off the Heat, 92-90, because they awoke twice at key moments to get back into position to stuff the champs at home. The first came to end the third quarter to slice into Miami’s 12-point lead, and then another finished the fourth. Read More »

FRESH PICKINGS: Isaiah Thomas (55 percent owned in Yahoo!, 59 percent in ESPN) After recent clamoring from the Sacramento locker room and a minor injury to Aaron Brooks, Isaiah Thomas has finally been given a chance to start. Read More »

Charlie Villanueva was hit with a flagrant foul 2/ejection from last night’s Pistons/Kings game for this foul on Sacramento’s Isaiah Thomas. CV could be looking at a suspension – do you think it warrants that level of punishment? Read More »

Every so often, the teacher becomes the student, and last night in Madison Square Garden, the return of Amar’e Stoudemire was overshadowed by Damian Lillard one-upping the ultimate clutch player, Carmelo Anthony, in winning time. If the NBA ever gets its mind right and puts together a “Rookies Performing Under Pressure 101″ class, they’ll have to bring in Lillard as a guest speaker. Bookended by a Carmelo Anthony triple and a three-point play from ‘Melo courtesy of the dumbest foul of 2013, Lillard (21 points, six assists) hit the biggest shot of the game: a step-back triple in Pablo Prigioni‘s grill. Read More »

Yesterday, we brought you our list of the top 25 most overpaid players in the League. Today, we’re taking a break from condemnation and doling out some praise. Although the number is smaller, plenty of NBAers deserve a little more cash. Whether it’s because they’re on their rookie contracts or they exploded after signing a long-term deal, some guys could have some serious contract gripes. Here are, in our estimation, 25 of those underpaid players, beginning with No. 25. Read More »

Leave it to my city to turn a friendly game of basketball into a political battlefield.

At the same time that a legitimate proposal to build a new NBA arena is being kicked around the Seattle City Council, an event like the Jamal Crawford Summer Pro Am All-Star Game takes on a heavier meaning: A community rally of sorts for arena supporters and starving Supersonics fans to point out basketball’s role in the fabric of the Emerald City, but also an opportunity for arena opponents to say, “Why do we need to build a $400 million basketball facility when you guys seem perfectly happy here?” Read More »