As the first leg of the NBA season comes to a close, player values are starting to fall in place. Of course there are some exceptions, like if some of these players just happened to start off ice cold or riding a hot streak. However, by this time statistics begin to even out. The early hot streaks dissolve, and the underachievers slowly work their way back into the fantasy hierarchy. Here are this week’s top risers and fallers in fantasy basketball. Read More »

Sometimes we wish the NBA was more like the NFL. In football, you must bring your best effort or you’ll be left looking like Mark Sanchez on Monday Night Football, getting your skills compared to Uncle Rico from Napoleon Dynamite. Read More »

LeBron James dropped a ridiculous triple-double last night (26 points, 13 rebounds, 11 assists) but no one’s going to remember him carving up the Wizards. They’ll remember that with about 20 seconds left, he missed a wide-open wing triple that could’ve potentially been a game-winner. Read More »

FRESH PICKINGS: Jason Richardson (64 percent owned in Yahoo, 39 percent owned in ESPN) Although he is an old 31 years old with a recent history of knee problems, the trusty vet has been coming on strong after missing four games with an ankle sprain. Over his last four, Richardson is averaging 16.3 points with 3.6 treys, 4.3 rebounds and 1.6 steals. He may not be the most reliable over the long haul, but when healthy, J-Rich can give you the upper hand in rebound and block totals with his shooting guard eligibility. Read More »

Is it time we start taking New York seriously? We’ll have to wait until Amar’e Stoudemire comes back from his latest knee setback, and Carmelo Anthony gets pushed back to the three to see if this level of play holds up. But what else can we say? ‘Melo (21 points last night) has looked like he’s ready to finally embrace basic basketball principles like rebounding, defending and not holding the ball every time you touch it, and New York is getting contributions from everyone. Read More »

Okay, so Nick Young and JaVale McGee aren’t in Washington anymore and they accounted for like half of this list. But last year, the Wizards were still one of the most exciting terrible teams we’ve seen in a while. They should produce more wins this season now that they added Nene for a full year, as well as players like Emeka Okafor, Trevor Ariza and Bradley Beal. But hopefully, they don’t forget about the highlights. Read More »

This is the cover feature for Dime #70. To see the piece in its entirety, check out the issue on newsstands nationwide now.

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A year ago, we weren’t the only ones waiting for John Wall to explode. The entirety of the basketball universe felt he was on the cusp of touching greatness. Instead, the rise of one of the NBA’s best young players slowed through a tumultuous losing season in Washington. Now, Wall plans on fulfilling his promise next season. The world is waiting. Read More »

Chances are good that the first time many heard of Jordan Crawford, it was because of a tape that they couldn’t see of him. How weird to become nationally famous before a breakout Xavier season for something only a few actually saw him do. The Zapruder film of hoops at the time. Would that notoriety drive you when the lights are on for real? The tape, of course, was the famous “Dunk (on LeBron) Heard ‘Round The Internet.” As flattering as being known as a guy who smashed on LeBron, that’s not what he wants his game known for, though. Read More »

As Seth Rosenthal of the great Knicks blog Poasting and Toasting says: “Twitter has single-handedly made the NBA offseason much, much more tolerable. We used to just sit and wait for news while the Knicks were off doing whatever it is they do during the summer. Now, the players report on their own activities and we get a pretty regular window into their offseason activities.”

This was proved true last week, when we brought you DeShawn Stevenson’s kitchen ATM which may be topped this week by either Jordan Crawford, JaVale Mcgee or Ian Mahinimi. Read More »

When a crowd is chanting your name on the road, in part because you dropped 21 points in the first quarter, it doesn’t matter if that road crowd is only “road” in a technical sense. It was only a few miles away, but New Yorkers pretty much took over the Nets’ arena last night and spent the better part of the fourth quarter chanting for their new hero, Carmelo Anthony, in the Knicks’ 104-95 win. ‘Melo had 33 on just 21 shots, and added seven boards and four dimes as New York played one of their most balanced games in a long time. Read More »