I’ll never forget watching Seattle’s run during the 2005 playoffs. They played the future champs – San Antonio – to a virtual tie in the second round, losing in six games but not before they nearly pushed it to seven. They were a fun team, really one of the last in Seattle to matter. Ray Allen was in his prime as an all-around player, and they gave minutes to a lot of memorable guys. Their front line packed more beef than an offensive line: Danny Fortson, Reggie Evans, Nick Collison and Vitaly Potapenko. But the biggest of them all was Jerome James. In 11 playoff games, he provided us with the first and the last glimpse of the Jerome James that mattered. Read More »

Carmelo Anthony had that George Gervin flow going once again last night. Not that ‘Melo was dropping mid-range finger rolls or squeezing his skinny body in between some poor team’s Swiss Cheese defense — it was more that Carmelo’s 23-point effort in the third quarter against Indiana was awfully reminiscent of the 33-point quarter he had a couple years ago that tied Iceman’s record for most in a quarter in NBA history … You could say ‘Melo (36 pts, 14-27 FG) channeled Iceman in that there wasn’t as much of that usual bully-style in his buckets. Read More »

During NBA Free Agency, there are always winners and losers. There are guys like Rudy Gay and Wes Matthews that made huge jumps in their salary scale, and there are guys like Jermaine O’Neal and Ray Allen that took huge pay-cuts. After eating high off the hog for quite some time, reality is going to soon set in for a lot of NBA guys. So without further ado, here are the Top 10 NBA Free Agents Ready For The Biggest Pay-Cut. Read More »

Congratulations to Big Baby Davis: You produced the most famous glob of spit to hit American TV since the blonde who launched a loogie in homegirl’s face on Flavor Flav‘s show. Big Baby’s slobber made more highlight shows yesterday than the crunch-time bucket that preceded it, the one that really stamped Boston’s win over the Lakers. Between that spit and this interview, dude should capitalize on his new popularity while the iron is hot: Get a little promotional deal with the new Shrek movie and book a commercial for paper towels … Read More »

File them in somewhere between Jerome James and LeBron James.

Back in ’05, Jerome James was in a contract year with the Sonics, and even as a full-time starter averaged only 4.9 points and 3.0 boards in the regular season. But in the playoffs, ‘Rome broke out: Starting with a 17-point, 15-board, 5-block line in Game 1 against Sacramento, he averaged 12.5 ppg and 6.8 rpg in the postseason. Solely on the strength of those three weeks, he signed a 5-year, $30 million deal with the Knicks. And you know the rest. Read More »

If only Radio Raheem was around to see this. Back in ’89, Do The Right Thing, Radio elaborated the concept of love versus hate with the assistance of five-finger rings and a big-ass radio.

He was talking about true hatred, the hate that begets stress and the type of violence that would eventually cost him his life. But today, the word “hate” in pop culture has been watered down to something more like criticism. Read More »

To the surprise of no one, Eddy Curry told the New York Daily News this week that he’s NOT opting out of his contract this summer, setting himself up to make $11.2 million next season for — assuming he has a repeat of this season — doing just shy of nothing.

You know NFL players, who play a more dangerous sport yet can be cut loose without pay at a moment’s notice, must have a deep-seeded jealousy of NBA players and their guaranteed money. Read More »

One thing I’m going to miss this St. Patrick’s Day is staying up all night by force, not by choice. Last March 17, we were living literally right next door to an Irish pub; since then we’ve moved to a condo across the street and just out of earshot of the tragic karaoke renditions of “Sweet Caroline.”

For that, I’d say I’m lucky. But my kind of lucky isn’t close to NBA-player lucky; there are no eight-figure contracts involved when regular people get lucky. So on this St. Patrick’s Day, we have the 10 luckiest players in the NBA… Read More »

Steering clear of a competition with the Texas/Alabama national championship game, the NBA had just one game on the schedule last night, with the Bobcats visiting the Knicks at MSG. Not exactly the bright lights of a LeBron or Kobe appearance, not I’d Rather Watch ‘Man vs. Wild’ either. In fact, it’s not crazy at all to suggest both of these teams could wind up in the playoffs in 2010 … The Bobcats were up 10 late in the third, but NY put together a quick 15-0 run that bled into the fourth, highlighted by a couple of Nate Robinson threes, plus one play where he crossed up D.J. Augustin and took off from the dotted line, catching a dunk that would’ve been nasty if he was 6-foot-3; but was downright disrespectful considering he’s the size of a jockey … Read More »

Word on the street is the Chicago Bulls could be interested in acquiring a certain disgruntled former All-Star out in Texas. The Tracy McGrady saga in Houston has gone from bad to worse last week when the team sent him home in the middle of an Eastern Conference road trip. T-Mac has been at odds with the Rockets ever since he announced he was getting season-ending surgery without telling the team first back in February. Since then, the team has flourished without him and have not welcomed him back now that he’s healthy. Read More »