Some of the benches on NBA squads are just nasty. It used to be teams would go just seven or eight deep in their rotation. Now some of these teams have benches so stacked that they could probably handle Milwaukee or Sacramento’s starting fives. I ranked my top five second units in the league. Keep in mind, starting lineups haven’t been set in stone and some of these guys might start come opening night (tonight for some). Read More »

Logically, after ticking off points, rebounds, assists and steals, it’s time to move on to looking at late-round players who can help you in the blocks category. This is a list of big men, naturally, so most can help field goal percentage as well, but our focus today is on blocks. Listed below, in no particular order, are some players that will likely be available in the later rounds of your fantasy drafts and can help fulfill your need for blocks. As always, let us know what you think. 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…

Added: Andre Miller, Juwan Howard, Jeff Pendergraph, Dante Cunningham, Ime Udoka

Lost: Sergio Rodriguez, Channing Frye, Michael Ruffin, Shavlik Randolph Read More »

Last week we brought up the point guard battle going on in Portland, and were pretty certain that after signing Andre Miller to a three-year, $21 million deal, it was a no-brainer that the 12-year vet was going to start. Not so fast. According to The Oregonian, Nate McMillan was very clear with Miller when the team recruited him this summer saying that he “envisioned Miller coming off the bench, running pick and rolls with Oden and funneling fast-break passes to Fernandez and Webster streaking on the wings.” And it appears that’s how it’s going to be. Read More »

With Bruce Bowen retiring last week and John Stockton headed for the Hall of Fame this week, the concept of the “dirty” basketball player has been in discussion around the Dime office.

Even the casual NBA fans knows about notorious thugs like Bowen, Bill Laimbeer and Ron Artest, who wind up on “SportsCenter” with every elbow, slide-under ankle-breaker, hip check and hard foul they deliver. But you really have to watch the games to point out the guys who are sneaky-dirty; the ones less like Bowen and more like Stockton, whose slight-of-hand acts don’t get as much attention as the guys with reputations that precede them. Here are 10 of the sneakiest/dirtiest, a.k.a. The Wood Harris All-Stars: Read More »

Forget that the nearby Blazers — led by hometown product Brandon Roy and “Mr. Sonic” Nate McMillan — are in the playoffs. Without the actual Sonics around and a distinct drop in general interest in the NBA in Seattle, the biggest sports stories in my city right now are the NFL Draft, and Ken Griffey Jr. coming back to the Mariners. Read More »