Joe Johnson (photo. Zach Wolfe)
Game 3 was Josh Smith’s time to shine. Game 4 belonged to Joe Johnson. Getting wherever he wanted to go off the dribble while unleashing mixtape moves (pity James Posey and Leon Powe), then wetting jumpers from every angle and distance, Joe went Terminator on the Celtics, putting the red beam […]

Kobe (photo. Chris Sembrot)
As crazy and unpredictable as the ‘07-08 NBA regular season was, already in these playoffs we’ve seen some pretty predictable events. For example, was there any doubt the Wizards would lose their collective heads and starting acting a fool once LeBron and the Cavs started embarrassing them? Did you ever question whether […]

A.I. on Dime’s 2005 Collector’s Issue
Ask any top-level defensive stopper — be it Kevin Garnett or Bruce Bowen or Ron Artest or Gary Payton — and they’ll tell you that playing tough defense ultimately comes down to effort and desire. So when an ultra-talented offensive team like the ‘07-08 Denver Nuggets run risk of missing […]

Carmelo Anthony (photo. Mannion)
They looked good for a half, but the Mavs eventually folded under Denver’s hailstorm of buckets and dropped another game to a playoff-contending team. (They’re 0-9 against above-.500 squads since the Jason Kidd deal.) You don’t want to harp on Dirk’s absence, especially when Josh Howard scored 30 and the Kidd-Terry-Stackhouse backcourt […]

Skip (photo. Jack Thompson)
Remember 4-5 years ago when Rafer Alston went from a journeyman to a legit NBA player? Balling with the Heat that year, Skip was able to shed the streetballer rep by protecting the ball and knocking down threes like he’d been watching Mark Price tapes. That version of Skip was the Skip […]

“Have your ball back, Chauncey.” (Photo. Gary Land)
Early on it looked like the Pistons were going to make life miserable for the Nuggets: It seemed every Detroit bucket in the first quarter was a layup or a wide-open jumper, and every play Chauncey Billups called was executed to perfection. But some 1-on-1 play by A.I. […]

M.D.E. (Photo. Chenoa Maxwell)
Suns/Celtics had just as much pre-game buzz and the same playoff atmosphere as Suns/Lakers did the other day, except this one wasn’t as run-and-gun. The Suns jumped on Boston early to build a big halftime lead, and although the C’s kept things more at their pace (neither team cracked 90) and made […]

D-Wade (Photo. Mannion)
With each passing game, dealing Shaq looks like a genius move for the Heat. Dwyane Wade and Shawn Marion look like they’ve been playing together for months rather than days, and although Miami is 0-2 since Matrix first suited up, they’re playing with more energy; like they actually care about winning or losing. […]

Q let the dogs out. (Photo. Jordan Brand)
You think Quentin Richardson regrets talking reckless about the Celtics now? In Thursday’s New York Post, Q was quoted about their date with Boston last night: “We’re not in awe of them. They ain’t won no championships. They have a good record right now, but that don’t matter. […]

Photo. Jonathan Mannion
With so much hype centered on the Celtics ever since they pulled off the Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen deals, it’s been easy to forget the C’s still needs to go through the reigning Eastern Conference champs to get the rings. Those champs would be the Cavs, who — flawed as they may […]

Photo. Gary Land
Overheard in the Dime office Monday afternoon: “I’m going to watch the Kings game and try to figure out why Kevin Martin is good.” That was the plan. Too bad Andrei Kirilenko got involved. K-Mart II did score 21 on the night, but his team got mollywhopped in Salt Lake City. Even with […]