Who do you want your offense to run through with the game on the line? Counting down from 30th to 1st (one per team), I’ve ranked the League’s go-to guys…

TIM DUNCAN, San Antonio Spurs You know how I know Duncan is old? Justifying his spot as a Top-10 clutch performer in the NBA isn’t as tough as justifying his spot as the No. 1 option on the Spurs. Read More »

All due respect to the L.A. Clippers, but the Detroit Pistons are clearly the best 0-4 team in the NBA.

As pointed out in this week’s Dime NBA Power Ranking, Rodney Stuckey and Ben Gordon have formed perhaps the League’s most explosive backcourt so far this season, and six Pistons are averaging double-figure scoring. Two of their losses were by a combined four points, and Detroit was up 15 on the Bulls in the fourth quarter before losing another one. Read More »

You know it’s bad when you shoot 2-for-13 and it actually might have helped your preseason percentages. But that’s where Kobe Bryant is at this point. Against Utah last night, not even the presence of Raja Bell could get Kobe (7 pts, 23 mins) to pick up his game. The Jazz remained unbeaten so far this preseason with the 82-74 win in a game that was as uneventful as a Keanu Reeves performance … Read More »

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 »

Earlier this summer, it was rumored that Donnie Walsh was grooming Allan Houston to become the next general manager of the New York Knicks. Not long after that, team owner James Dolan (briefly) re-hired Isiah Thomas as a part-time consultant, and rumors began to fly that Isiah was being set up to eventually take over for Walsh, who is 69 years old. And as recently as earlier this week, when the Knicks were the subject of NBA TV’s “Real Training Camp,” Houston was interviewed and mentioned as Walsh’s possible successor. Read More »

After 11 years in the NBA, current ESPN analyst Jamal Mashburn knows a thing or two about basketball – both on and off the court. So when I had the chance to talk with Mash for an extended period of time, it was a no-brainer. From his All-American years at Kentucky to buying the Pistons to doubting Michael Jordan’s “Flu Game,” we covered it all. Check out the exclusive Dime interview below. Read More »

John Beilein seems to have a plan in place at Michigan. With thousands of kids looking for college scholarships, how does he know who has the potential to make it to the NBA? Well, he’s hoping the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Already with the son of six-time NBA All-Star Joe Dumars (sophomore Jordan Dumars), the son of five-time NBA All-Star Tim Hardaway (freshman Tim Hardaway, Jr.) and the brother of NBA All-Star Al Horford (freshman Jon Horford), Beilein has added another prodigal child to the roster: Glenn Robinson III. Read More »

Is there a more irrelevant NBA franchise right now than the Detroit Pistons? They’ve got no clearly identifiable franchise star — it might be Rip Hamilton, might be Rodney Stuckey, and neither is exactly having his jersey fly off the NBA Store shelves — and probably the most anonymous coach in the League. They finished way out of the East playoffs in 2010, and haven’t done anything to make anyone believe they’ll avoid the Lottery in 2011. They used their Lottery pick on a talented yet Duncan-ish personality in Greg Monroe, last summer’s two big free-agent signings were disappointments, and their only two free-agent moves this summer were re-signing a backup point guard and a 57-year-old center. Read More »

I don’t know much about hockey, but I know the game isn’t easy on one’s body. So whenever I see an NHL player who’s been in the League for 15 or 20 years, it always amazes me.

Earlier this week the New Jersey Devils inked 27-year-old wing Ilya Kovalchuk to a 17-year contract worth $102 million. SEVENTEEN years. When the deal runs out, Kovalchuk would be 44 years old and likely a living legend with Devils fans. (Note: The NHL rejected the contract on Tuesday for salary-cap reasons, but the Devils and Kovalchuk can still renegotiate another deal.)

Nobody in the NBA is ever getting a 17-year deal, but I was thinking of some NBA guys who are locked into their station and won’t be going anywhere anytime soon. Read More »

An NBA team in Las Vegas? This is obviously not breaking news, as the proposal has been tossed around since 2007, but reportedly it is very possible in the very near future. According to the Oakland Press: “An investment group wants to bring an NBA team to Las Vegas … The group, International Development Management LLC, said it’s close to purchasing an NBA team to play in its proposed arena … The ‘deal’ has a lot of loopholes to clear. The investment group must first strike a deal with the county to fund construction of its proposed arena … Chris Milam, CEO of International, told the Las Vegas Sun the group has a team “under contract.” Read More »