Last night was one of those evenings where we really wished we didn’t cover the NBA for a living. Who set up this schedule? When you combine a bunch of really bad teams with some good teams that don’t have anything to play for, ugly basketball ensues and brain cells die. Not all was lost though. The Spurs might have a few old guys, but they can still get it done, and last night San Antonio wrapped up the West’s No. 1 seed with a 124-89 destruction of the Blazers. Tim Duncan had 18 and the versatile Spurs again made sure everyone fed on Portland’s remains … Read More »

Weekend Wonder: Wesley Matthews averaged 23.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2.0 steals, 0.5 blocks and 4.5 three-pointers in two games over the weekend. He hit 50 percent of his shots from the field and 100 percent of his shots from the charity stripe, and averaged 2.5 turnovers in each of those games. Matthews has struggled with major bouts of inconsistency this season, but he’s still maintained top 60 value, mostly thanks to his strong three-point making (1.9 per game) and thieving (1.4 per game). Read More »

The New Jersey Nets really don’t offer that much from a fantasy perspective. While they have two prominent fantasy assets, the problem is that one is a point guard whose wrist may require a dose of caution, and the other is a big man who seems to have something of an allergy to rebounds. The team’s activities during the next window of free agency will ultimately determine its appeal – and the possibility for Kardashian jokes. Read More »

Most of the time college and NBA analysts disagree, but there is one thing that most can garner a consensus about: the fact that rebounding is usually the skill that translates best from college to the pros. With that being true, former Maryland forward Jordan Williams is in great shape. Williams established himself as one of nation’s best rebounders as a freshman in 2009-10 as the second-leading rebounder in the ACC. This past year he averaged over 11 rebounds per game, good enough for third in the nation, to go along with 16 points for the Terrapins. I caught up with Williams at the Nets’ workouts last week to talk about rebounding, Greivis Vasquez and McDonald’s. Read More »

After leading Washington to back-to-back conference titles in the Pac-10 Tournament over the last two seasons, junior Isaiah Thomas (who also claimed back-to-back conference MOP honors in those same title runs) decided the time was right to test his talents on another level: the NBA. During his time in Seattle, the 5-9 guard was nothing short of an offensive force. After averaging 16.9 points and 3.9 assists a game as a sophomore, he returned this season to drop 16.8 and 6.1 per and navigate UW to a Sweet Sixteen appearance in the NCAA Tournament. And as the kid embarks on his journey away from college and into the pros, we wanted to give him his own space, and voice, to roam. So, follow along with Isaiah on his Dime NBA Draft Diary; here’s his first entry… Read More »

Right after ESPN’s exhaustive 24-hour national TV marathon, perhaps the signature symbol of the beginning of a new college basketball season is the 2K Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden.

Kevin Durant had his national breakout as a freshman at the Classic in 2006. Derrick Rose did the same in 2007. Florida began its run toward the first of two straight national championships in 2005. Evan Turner‘s run toward his handful of National Player of the Year trophies made tracks through in Classic in 2009. Read More »