Weekend Wonder: Kevin Love came up big this past weekend, averaging 32.0 points, 16.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.5 steals, 0.5 blocks and a three in two games. He shot 49 percent from the field, 100 percent from the line and averaged 4.0 turnovers in that stretch. For the season, Love is averaging top five numbers, which is exactly where he was pegged by most fantasy owners in this season’s drafts. Read More »

Buy Low: Derrick Rose has produced just 10 points, five rebounds, six assists and one steal in his last two games. His back is aching him, which is part of the reason why he only played a total of about 33 minutes in those two games. Clearly, Rose’s fantasy value has taken a hit with this latest setback, just as we were forgetting about his bum toe. He could be playing at less than 100 percent for the foreseeable future, but with All-Star weekend about two weeks away, recovered health shouldn’t be too far away. Read More »

Who stole Orlando’s offense? With the Celtics reeling from injuries and actually giving legit minutes to people like Sasha Pavlovic and E’Twaun Moore, the Magic could’ve stepped on their necks. Instead, they folded like a bad hand, scoring only 56 for the game and leaving Boston with a 31-point L on their foreheads. 56 points sounds awful. But 20 second half points and 24 percent shooting for the game sounds even worse. Dwight Howard had 18 and 14, but didn’t even make a shot in the second half while Paul Pierce and Brandon Bass dropped 19 to lead all scorers … Read More »

Oklahoma City didn’t play Thursday, but try telling Thunder fans it wasn’t a victory. Guard Russell Westbrook went all Boomer Sooner by signing a five-year, $80-million extension. The deal brought praise for GM Sam Presti and hailed Westbrook, slammed for being a “shoots-lots” guard, for his unselfishness: “Instead, Westbrook delivered to his teammates, his organization and this city a blessed gift. Expansion of the Thunder’s window of opportunity to turn Oklahoma City into Titletown. … No promises beyond 2016, but until then, barring catastrophic injury, an oil-and-gas bust or general manager Sam Presti losing his senses, the Thunder is set for five years of excellent basketball,” the Oklahoman columnist Berry Tramel wrote. Read More »

Talking All-Stars two weeks into the season? It happens when David Stern and co. attempt to stuff 66 games into 120 days. The All-Star balloting is already up on NBA.com, and you’ll start hearing campaigns emerge for players like Andre Iguodala, Andrea Bargnani, Tyson Chandler and LaMarcus Aldridge. But they’ll be players this year missing out just as there always are. Read More »

Watch Kobe Bryant hit Kevin Martin with the ol’ up-and-under-lefty-self-pass-off-glass-tip-in move. The reaction from Lakers’ color guy Stu Lantz right after the play:

“That young man never ceases to amaze. I’ve seen him do that about 10 times now in his career, but each time is better than the last.” Read More »

Beast of the Night: Ty Lawson finished with 25 points, four rebounds, three assists, eight steals and two three-pointers last night in a loss to the Trail Blazers. He shot 63 percent (10-16) from the field, 75 percent (3-4) from the free-throw line and had two turnovers. Lawson is off to a very solid start in his first three games of the season. Though he’s not dishing out many assists (3.0 per game), he’s shooting like a center (62 percent from the field), hitting threes (1.7 per game) and thieving like a maniac (4.0 per game). There’s little standing in his way to giving his owners top 30 value this season. Read More »

Beast of the Night: LeBron James had himself a typically big line to the tune of 35 points, six rebounds, seven assists, three steals and two blocks. He shot 57 percent (13-23) from the field, 100 percent (9-9) from the free-throw line and had two turnovers. Through three games, James is averaging 32.7 points on 59 percent shooting from the field and 87 percent shooting from the charity stripe. The odd thing is that he has yet to attempt a single three-pointer. The fact that he’s been such a stud without a three-pointer says volumes about his fantasy value. It’s early, but James looks like the probable top dog in fantasy basketball this season. Read More »

Everyone wants to talk about super teams. Of course, the Heat, Knicks, Clippers, Celtics and all the rest of ‘em capture the imagination of the NBA fan base. There’s nothing quite like feeling the anticipation and excitement in the air when you see that news hit telling you Chris Paul has finally been traded and he’s going to the Clippers. What immediately follows is typically more invigorating than what eventually happens. The promise of what could be is almost always better than what is. Even here at Dime, we find ourselves talking about one third of the NBA about 80 percent of the time. That doesn’t mean we don’t care about everyone else. Read More »

The two guard is the most glamorous position in basketball. You can thank Michael Jordan for that. Every kid of my generation grew up wanting to play the two, rock a sweatband on the left elbow, wear baggy shorts and the number 23, and we all thought we’d grow up to be 6-6. Power players may traditionally determine who’s got the juice, but shooting guards are nearly as important. The very best can create shots anywhere on the floor, and routinely finish games by getting shots in the closing moments. These are normally the very best athletes in the world; graceful, but still powerful… explosive, but still finesse. No one has the same combination of jaw-dropping athleticism and phenomenal ball skills the greatest shooting guards wield. Read More »