They fetched donuts, they rode the pine at times and they got their feet wet. Now members of last year’s rookie class are ready to contribute. Of course we know that this year, Derrick Rose will continue his rise to that Deron Williams/Chris Paul point guard status and O.J. Mayo will build on his sensational rookie campaign. But there are several sophomores who have flown under the radar that you might need to start keeping tabs on. Here’s my five. Read More »

Between the Delonte West fiasco and the team’s back to back losses to begin the ’09-10 campaign, it hasn’t been the smoothest start for the Cleveland Cavaliers. With 80 games to go this season, there isn’t any reason for the team or fans to start panicking yet. But they should definitely be worried. Read More »

With the emergence of Danilo Gallinari, it looks like the New York Knicks’ highest paid player, Larry Hughes, will be odd man out in coach Mike D’Antoni’s rotation. Situation sound familiar? Last year, the team’s highest paid player and the former face of the franchise, Stephon Marbury, was basically blackballed by D’Antoni at this exact point in the preseason. While Steph bit his tongue at first, it wasn’t long until things started to spiral out of control and the Knicks’ season started to play out like an episode of the Hills. Read More »

As you know, Dime Magazine is a basketball lifestyle publication. We are all about giving you guys an all-access pass into the lives of NBA players, whether it’s showing you their cars, homes, jewelry and gear. Today, we’re going to tell you what players bring with them to the games. Prior to the Knicks/Sixers games on Tuesday, we asked a couple of guys: What’s in the bag? Read More »

In last night’s Sixers/Knicks game, there were only two times the entire game where the crowd erupted in cheers. One of them being when Larry Hughes was subbed out of the game, the other was when Darko Milicic got this fast break dunk.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Madison Square Garden is my favorite place to watch basketball. The first time I’d been there was in the summer of 2003 when I was swindled by a scalper who sold me a fake New York Liberty ticket. Fortunately, a group of ladies had a soft spot in their heart for a naïve guy from Utah and gave me their spare ticket in exchange that I buy them a few beers. The second time was in 2006, where I caught a Knicks/Nuggets game that ended with the crowd chanting “Fire Isiah.” And the last time I went to a Knicks game at the Garden was last fall, which also coincidently ended with the crowd chanting “Fire Isiah.” Read More »

Marcus Landry wasn’t drafted, nor was he invited to any training camp. But that’s not stopping the former University of Wisconsin forward from playing in the NBA. Marcus, whose brother Carl plays for the Rockets, is on his hustle like a hungry rapper showing up uninvited to record lables’ offices. He (or Carl) reportedly paid for his own plane and hotel fares to NYC to try out for the Knicks. Read More »

Danilo Gallinari is still kind of a mystery to the basketball world. Because of a back injury, the 21-year-old forward was limited to just 28 games during his rookie campaign but he showed some flashed of promise near the end of the season. Word out of Knicks camp is Gallinari has been impressive not only as a shooter, but as a distributor and creator. Entering his second season in the League, big things are expected out of the Rooster this year. We were able to talk a little Knicks with Danilo at the EA Sports NBA Live 10 release party on Tuesday. Read More »

New York fans don’t trust their team. It’s not just the years spent under Isiah/James Dolan’s reign of terror. It’s everything - the conspiracy theory that their best player in the last thirty years landed in NYC via a rigged lottery, the Frederic Weis incident, the false promise of Antonio McDyess-as-the-next-Charles Barkley, and even Allan Houston looking like the guy from Lost who doesn’t age.

But we didn’t realize that the rampant distrust reaches all levels of the organization. Read More »

Despite some obvious rust — seeing as he hasn’t played in an NBA game that counted since January of last year — Stephon Marbury looked alright in his Celtics debut, a home win over the Pacers. Even at less than his best (8 pts, 2 asts, 12 mins), anyone can see how Good Steph will help the C’s as a backup point guard; the problem is that everyone is terrified of what will happen if/when Bad Steph shows up. Last night the new Employee #8 had a few timing issues, and naturally he doesn’t know Boston’s playbook yet. But Tommy Heinsohn brought up a good point; since Steph will often be playing against backup point guards, his adjustment period will be that much easier from here on out … If the Pacers hadn’t played the C’s so close, this would have been a good opportunity for Doc Rivers to get Marbury a lot of minutes. T.J. Ford and Jarrett Jack will make anyone guarding them have to work, between T.J.’s speed, Jack’s strength, and the fact that both of them are always pushing the pace and looking to shoot. As it stands, Steph could only play in spots as Rajon Rondo (17 asts) had to take care of business … Read More »