In basketball, being a go-to guy isn’t always about who takes the last-second shot. It’s the guy who regularly gets the basketball when things are getting tense in the fourth quarter; the guy expected to calm things down when teammates are getting antsy; the guy called upon to snuff out an opponent’s rally or spark a rally of his own; the guy who’s not just supposed to make shots, but make the right decisions. Bottom line: Who do you want the offense to run through when everything is on the line? Read More »

As the saying goes, one door closing means another door is opening somewhere. Or something like that.

While the immediate future looks bleak for the Cleveland Cavaliers without LeBron James, one of the few people set to benefit in the new era is All-Star point guard Mo Williams, who becomes the go-to guy on a team that’s used to being in the playoff mix. Like Homer Simpson, Mo (who got his first chance to shine in the pros when T.J. Ford got hurt in Milwaukee) is again realizing the greatness of the word “default.” Read More »

One of the more feeble darts thrown from Cleveland Cavaliers fans to LeBron James this summer is something along the lines of, “We made you.”

Right. Except now that LeBron is gone, the team that won 60-plus games in each of the past two seasons, that went to the ’07 NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history, that during the LeBron era put together its first five-year string of consecutive postseason appearances since its ’92-96 run, went from a legit title contender to arguably the worst team in the League the moment LeBron said he was moving to Miami. So who made who again? Read More »

Pretty much every wing player — i.e., a two-guard or small forward, typically someone who can play both — in the NBA is athletic. It’s one of the job requirements. And if they’re not very athletic, they can at least compensate by shooting your face off. So simply being able to do a YouTube-friendly dunk or knock down a rack’s worth of threes isn’t always enough to make an impact in the League.

The key is expanding your game. Here are five wing players who have added pieces to their original arsenal and are poised for a breakout season in 2010-11: Read More »

While Amar’e Stoudemire occupies the feature spot on Madison Square Garden’s marquee, the Phoenix Suns are exploring their options for how to replace their best (only?) interior threat. Because as much grief as Amar’e gets for being simply a byproduct of Steve Nash, the reality is that Nash thrived off Amar’e as much as Amar’e thrived off Nash.

In what would be a cost-cutting move to pave the way for signing another big man, the Suns are reportedly talking to a couple of teams about trading Leandro Barbosa. Read More »

With no games on the schedule and only tonight’s Celtics/Cavs Game 6 to look forward to, LeBron James was at the center of the basketball world’s attention as everybody tried to make sense of just what the hell happened to the game’s biggest superstar when he choked in the biggest game of his season … At any time Wednesday you could have gone to any sports website, and 85% of them would’ve had LeBron as the top story. When they weren’t signing the death certificate on the King’s reign as a clutch player, they were stamping his plane ticket out of Cleveland, or playing doctor regarding LBJ’s elbow. Read More »

Late in the first half of last night’s Cavs/Celtics felony, when Cleveland was still in the ballgame, Mo Williams hit a three at the same time Big Baby fouled Anderson Varejao under the boards to set up an unconventional four-point play.

While the refs were sorting out the call, the ball landed in the hands of Jamario Moon on the Cavs bench, and he suddenly broke into a little AND 1 Mix Tape, Harlem Globetrotters-style series of ball tricks. At the time I texted one of my boys: “Was that J.Moon’s future flashing before our eyes?” Read More »

As you may already know, this year’s NBA Draft is slated to have a ton of players in it. In addition to all the seniors that are automatically available, it seems there are more early entry prospects than ever before. So with only 60 names called on Draft night, you can believe that there will be some disappointed ballers. But don’t fret. Right now in the playoffs, there are multiple guys playing significant roles that went undrafted. So without further ado, here is the NBA Playoffs’ All-Undrafted Team. Read More »

If the Lakers are going to get a Jay-Z tribute, I’m not letting the true King of New York get ignored. All due respect to Jay’s grind, but Notorious B.I.G. drew up the rough draft of the blueprint Hova has since mastered to become the biggest name (and richest MC) in hip-hop.

For two years now the world — well, the world outside of Orlando, Dallas and a few other NBA cities — has wanted to see a Lakers vs. Cavaliers matchup in the NBA Finals. So if our boys at Lakers Nation feel Jay-Z will inspire their team to make it happen, maybe Biggie helps Cleveland live up to their half of the deal: Read More »

As much as we talk about Dwight Howard, have you thought about how much of a beast Joakim Noah would be if he developed an offensive game? With the Bulls battling for a playoff spot and getting a gift on Thursday with LeBron James (rest) sitting out their game as a late scratch, Noah helped them pull into a tie with Toronto thanks to those intangibles he’s known for; namely effort, energy and being in the right place to make the right play at the right time … Twice in the final two minutes, Noah (17 pts, 15 rebs, 4 blks) gave Chicago the lead: once with one of his ugly mid-range jumpers, and again with a tip-in. Read More »