In some respects, you have to understand where Allen Iverson is coming from. Going back to Little League and all the way through intramurals or whatever level you reached in your athletic career, we’ve all been taught that the best players start the game. Of course, it’s a little different in the NBA: If a coach really wants his second unit to have more offensive firepower or defensive stability, he might put one of his best five players on the bench, which is why Manu Ginobili and Jason Terry are annually up for Sixth Man of the Year.
That said, there are some backups who — forget what the coach might be trying to do — have no business being backups. And it’s not always because they’re so great, but that the guy starting in front of them shouldn’t be starting. Who should be taking a seat? Read More »
Last year we debuted the “Highs and Lows” system — previewing the NBA season by predicting the respective ceiling and basement for each team. Same theme, different season…
In June of 2003, the Detroit Pistons made a decision that forever changed the face and future of the Denver Nuggets. By selecting Darko Milicic with the No. 2 pick, it allowed Denver to finally secure a franchise player in Carmelo Anthony with the next selection.
Since that evening in the Garden, the Nuggets have only gotten better. Business the prior season though, pre-Melo, was anything but exciting for the city of Denver. The 2002-2003 squad, which featured a younger Juwan Howard, ultimately rotated through 21 players and 65 losses. The Nuggets finished the year with 17 wins and found themselves 43 games behind the division-leading and eventual NBA Champions, San Antonio Spurs. Read More »
The NBA preseason is underway, meaning it’s time again for Dime’s team-by-team season previews. Last year we debuted the “Highs and Lows” system — predicting the respective ceilings and basements for each team. In other words, what is the realistic best-case and worst-case scenario for the 2009-10 campaign?
Added:Emeka Okafor, Darren Collison, Darius Songaila, Marcus Thornton, Ike Diogu, Bobby BrownRead More »
Although the ‘09 NBA free agent class isn’t as stacked as in years past — not to mention the League is being more thrifty than ever due to the slumping economy — teams still have holes they want to plug, and players have moves they want to make. Here, we break down all 30 NBA teams’ free agent strategy…Read More »
Big Baby and Rasheed Wallace were polar opposites during the playoffs. Davis surprised a lot of people by filling in for an injured Kevin Garnett on the offensive end, accounting for about 16 points and 6 boards per game. On the other hand, ‘Sheed turned in one of the least inspired performances in recent memory, essentially quitting in Game 4 of the Detroit/Cleveland series.
When I read last night that Trevor Ariza might be leaving the World Champion Los Angeles Lakers, I didn’t know what to think. But then it hit me: Trevor Ariza is this year’s James Posey. And just like I told James last year: Don’t do it! Read More »
Before he played himself onto the ‘09 postseason map with bursts of effective/annoying defense against LeBron James, Orlando swingman Mickael Pietrus was — by definition — just your average NBA player.
According to the League’s annual survey tallying the average height, weight, age and experience of its players, Pietrus was found to be the closest thing to the quintessential average pro: 6-foot-6, 215 pounds, 27 years old, six seasons in the League. Read More »
To clarify: Our NBA Fantasy Finals have nothing to do with the stat-driven “fantasy basketball” you play online. We’re taking NBA Finals teams throughout history and pitting them against each other to see what you think would happen. Assume both lineups are healthy, and the older team gets homecourt. Today it’s arguably two of the top three power forwards of all-time (and their star-studded teams) going head-to-head …Read More »
Lessons learned during the first round of the ‘09 playoffs: (1) KG makes a bit of a difference. (2) The Pistons cannot start next season with the same roster. Some parts of the Rasheed/Rip/Tayshaun trio need to go. (3) James Posey isn’t enough help for Chris Paul. (4) The Spurs are human.
We’ll hear a million rumors over the off-season about how to address these four problems. Here’s the first one - merging Nos. 2 and 3.
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