Players claimed off waivers this season got a big win on Friday, the New York Times reports. The players’ union won its case against the NBA to give players off waivers their Early Bird Rights — that is, allowing them to re-sign with their last teams without regard to the salary cap. It’s a big win for the New York Knicks with both Jeremy Lin and Steve Novak being affected. Read More »

Israel is known as the Holy Land and a place rich with history and culture, but what many people don’t know is that it is also home to high level basketball. Since 2000, Israel has been one of the biggest basketball hotbeds in Europe. Maccabi Tel Aviv, Israel’s top team, won Euroleague titles in 2001, 2004, and 2005, and reached the Euroleague title game in 2006 and 2008. They also produced NBA players Anthony Parker, Omri Casspi, Maceo Baston, and Sarunas Jasikevicius, and beat the Toronto Raptors in an exhibition game, 105-103, in 2005. Additionally, many NBA players including Jordan Farmar, Trevor Booker, J.J. Hickson, and Avery Bradley spent the lockout playing in Israel. I caught up with David Pick, a writer for Eurobasket.com covering the Euroleague and Israeli basketball, to talk about the lockout, the Israeli Super League, and LeBron James. Read More »

Beast of the Night: Al Jefferson took full advantage of a triple-overtime marathon against the Mavericks, posting 28 points, 26 rebounds, one assist, one steal and two blocks in more than 54 minutes of burn. He shot 56 percent (14-25) from the floor and had one turnover. For the season, Jefferson has exceeded expectations by producing top six averages. Barring major changes in the Jazz’s roster or Jefferson’s health, he should be viewed as a first-round player in next year’s drafts. Read More »

Beast of the Night: Monta Ellis finished his big night with 35 points, six rebounds, 10 assists, four steals and three three-pointers. He shot 56 percent (14-25) from the floor and 80 percent (4-5) from the free-throw line, and had five turnovers. This was a nice bounce-back game from his 9/1/7 clunker on Monday. Ellis’ fantasy value has dropped since he arrived in Milwaukee, but he’s still a solid source of points, assists and steals. Read More »

Beast of the Night: Goran Dragic finished with 22 points, two rebounds, seven assists, three steals and four three-pointers. He shot 57 percent (8-14) from the floor and 67 percent (2-3) from the free-throw line, and had two turnovers. Since becoming a starter exactly a month ago, Dragic has averaged 18.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 8.6 assists, 2.0 steals and 2.1 threes per game, while shooting 52 percent from the field and 82 percent from the free-throw line. Those are top five numbers. Kyle Lowry‘s return shouldn’t damage Dragic’s fantasy value too much the rest of the way. Read More »

Beast of the Night: Danny Granger posted 25 points, seven rebounds, one assist, two blocks and three three-pointers last night against the Wizards. He shot 53 percent (8-15) from the field and 100 percent (6-6) from the free-throw line, and had no turnovers. Granger has displayed a habit of turning in a clunker or two each week, but he’s maintained top 50 value throughout the season. Read More »

Beast of the Night: Kevin Love posted 28 points, 11 rebounds, two assists, one steal, four blocks and four three-pointers in a losing effort against the Grizzlies. He shot 46 percent (10-22) from the floor and 100 percent (4-4) from the free-throw line, and had two turnovers. Love has racked up eight blocks in his last three games, which is completely out of character. If he can somehow lift his blocks per game next season, he’ll make a run for top three status. Read More »

Beast of the Night: Brandon Jennings posted 31 points, three rebounds, seven assists, five steals and six three-pointers last night in a loss to the Kings. He shot 52 percent (12-23) from the floor, 25 percent (1-4) from the free-throw line and had three turnovers. Jennings’ poor free-throw percentage remains his major weakness, but through the first six games of the season, he’s putting up top 70 numbers. Read More »

We are so tired of writing words like “lockout” and “canceled” and “meetings” and “George Cohen” and “decertification” that we can’t imagine how y’all feel reading it. It all makes us want to run up in the meetings shouting and screaming, slapping people across the face. The bad news never seems to stop. No matter if he’s playing or in a suit, Michael Jordan is always in between the lines. Amazingly, even nearly a decade after he officially retired for the final time, MJ’s influence can still be felt across the league, from the owners to the players and onto the fans. People still love him. His sneakers still sell. And the players still respect him. Tomorrow will represent some of the most important meetings yet, and the two sides are basically fighting to save the season at this point. Read More »

The Sacramento Kings have sky-high potential when it comes to fantasy appeal. The question is whether they’ll have enough touches and shots to appease all the offensive weapons available. With so many mouths on this team to feed, fantasy owners should keep their expectations in check when it comes to the weekly production of any one of the Kings’ main rotation players. Read More »