After last night’s loss to the lowly Phoenix Suns and a Los Angeles Lakers win over the Portland Trail Blazers, the Dallas Mavericks have now been officially eliminated from the playoffs for the first time since 2000. That was so long ago, we’re not even sure Dirk could have grown a beard in an effort to spur the Mavs back to a .500 record. Read More »

The case of former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith is peculiar, one where a former No. 1 pick languished, then found a career rebirth. And then, today, he was traded to Kansas City because Colin Kaepernick took his job with an out-of-nowhere run in December and January. In NBA terms, the only player eligible for such a career twist would be former No. 1 pick Andrea Bargnani — though he still hasn’t found the career rebirth part yet. Read More »

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Paul Pierce isn’t the only one sneering at the news that Rajon Rondo is out for the year with a torn ACL. I don’t live in the Bean anymore, but I can guess the looks people are giving each other on the street. It’d be one thing if they still had the Patriots, but they lost. Read More »

Two things were clear in Oakland last night. Clearly, Golden State has a ceiling, and the Heat don’t. And clearly, LeBron James is really freakin’ good, like “the youngest player to ever score 20,000 points” good. In Miami’s 17-point win, James passed the 20,000-point mark near the end of the first half on a double-pump runner, and it was just one great highlight on a night of Miami highlights that also included James recording his 5,000 career assist, and enough Wade/’Bron big plays to last a week. Read More »

As the first leg of the NBA season has closed, player values have fallen 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 have evened out. The early hot streaks dissolve, and the underachievers slowly work their way back into the fantasy hierarchy. Read More »

BUY LOW Kyle Lowry Kyle Lowry lost his starting role after returning from injury, but even off the bench he has plenty of fantasy relevance. In five games manning the second unit, he’s putting up 13.4 points, 2.8 rebounds, 7.0 assists, 1.8 treys and 1.4 steals, which is basically starter’s stats anyway. Read More »

Kyle Lowry doesn’t just have a chip on his shoulder. It’s more like a granite boulder weighing him down with bad luck, bad fate, bad juju or whatever superstitious doggerel you subscribe to. Whether it’s injuries or backups or injuries leading to backups, Lowry has consistently been barred from the elite point guards club he so clearly deserves to be included in. At this point, it’s not just his defense or his penetration or his efficiency as it is how genuinely hard Lowry plays on a night-to-night basis. Read More »

With Mike D’Antoni literally sitting in Phil Jackson‘s old seat (and even walking like him) along the Staples Center sideline, the new Lakers era didn’t exactly start according to plan. They couldn’t make free throws (19-for-37). They couldn’t make shots. They couldn’t even stop Brook Lopez. But down the stretch, their defense was suffocating, and Kobe Bryant (25 points) hit enough free throws to hold off Brooklyn, 95-90. 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 »