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…

Added: Brandon Jennings, Hakim Warrick, Carlos Delfino, Kurt Thomas, Jodie Meeks, Roko Ukic

Lost: Richard Jefferson, Charlie Villanueva, Ramon Sessions, Keith Bogans, Malik Allen, Damon Jones Read More »

There is something about second round players that I just really like. Maybe it’s because they come into the league hungry and with a big chip on their shoulder for being overlooked. Most play with a sense of urgency because unlike the Draft’s first thirty, there is no guaranteed paper. Last year, second rounders like Luc Mbah a Moute, Mario Chalmers and DeAndre Jordan made some noise. Here are five late round rookies who are going to GMs pay for passing on them. Read More »

Whatever you hear coming out of Las Vegas today, don’t believe Anthony Morrow if he says he wasn’t gunning to break teammate Anthony Randolph’s summer-league scoring record. A couple days after Randolph dropped 42 points in a game for the Warriors, Morrow went Desperado on the Hornets — in a game Randolph was sitting out — sniping them for 47 points (18-26 FG, 7-9 3PA) to take his spot in the record books. (Not that they keep an actual book of VSL records; it’s probably scribbled on the back of a racing form.) Morrow had zero assists … And it’s nice to know Nellie will reward Morrow by benching him for two straight weeks once the season starts in favor of Rob Kurz … Thursday’s big matchup pitted Blake Griffin versus Hasheem Thabeet. Read More »

As expected, you couldn’t get away from Kobe Bryant yesterday. In fact, if you have any Orlando Magic fans in your life, you might wanna have them stay away from the Internet or any sports TV/radio stations for the rest of the week. The fallout from Kobe’s first “solo” NBA championship has so far revolved around two questions: What is Kobe’s place in history? and What’s next for Kobe and the Lakers? Read More »

It’s a great day for Georgia Tech and Texas. The slept-on Yellow Jackets get their high-energy, athletic power forward back from the brink of the NBA Draft. Gani Lawal decided to withdraw his name to go back to Atlanta for a chance at doing serious damage in the ACC alongside Derrick Favors.

And Texas is getting another possible first-rounder back. Damion James will return to Austin instead of going towards the bottom of the first round. He makes UT the class of the Big 12, and a real Final Four contender next year. Read More »

Two years ago, I was interviewing Washington State (now OKC Thunder) swingman Kyle Weaver for the Pac-10 part of Dime’s annual Player’s Ball NCAA preview when Weaver briefly mentioned Jordan Hill, predicting the Arizona big man would have a big sophomore season. I’d seen Hill play before, and wondered exactly what Weaver saw in this kid who averaged just four points and four boards the year before.

Two years later, Hill put up 18 points, 11 boards and almost two blocks per game for the Wildcats, and left school early as a Top-5 NBA Draft prospect in just about everyone’s book. Read More »

**UPDATE: HEAD TO HIGHSCHOOLHOOP.COM FOR AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH JOHN WALL ABOUT WHY HE CHOSE KENTUCKY**

Re-rank the college Top 25 right now. John Wall has single-handedly altered the landscape today, committing to John Calipari’s Kentucky Wildcats. Though his camp was supposedly divided, the last we heard was that both John and his mother were leaning towards UK. With his commitment, Kentucky has the single greatest recruiting class in about 20 years - perhaps ever. Read More »

It’s official, Coach Cal’s going to Lexington. As we wrote earlier, he could end up having a flat-out ridiculous squad when March Madness rolls around if everything works out. One more time, here’s Calipari’s ideal situation:

* Kentucky’s two recruits, Rivals’ No. 22 overall C Daniel Orton and No. 32 overall SG/SF Jon Hood don’t ditch the program now that Billy Gillispie’s gone. Read More »

The list of seriously relevant basketball players always dwindles as the regular season draws nearer to the playoffs. You’re seeing it this week with the NCAA Tournament (Anyone heard from Jodie Meeks lately?), and in the NBA it’s especially true — heading down the playoff stretch, only a select few dominate the nightly highlight shows and blog rolls.

You have to consider these things when putting together a magazine. Cover options are plentiful earlier in December, but as the postseason gets closer, they become limited. Read More »

We’re just asking the question: Exactly how many big-time threes and clutch free throws would LeBron have to hit before he’d lose the reputation for not being a solid shooter who performs in crunch time? Hosting Orlando last night in a game that had “playoff atmosphere” written all over it, ‘Bron calmly drilled a deep three to give Cleveland the lead with 47 seconds left, then hit two free throws with under 10 seconds remaining to ice the win. Read More »