Ironically, just as last week’s NBA Draft had about as much star power as a WNBA game, this summer’s free agent class is also incredibly weak up top. Today, news broke that David West will opt out of his contract and become a free agent. He seriously might be the best player available this summer. Compare that to one year ago when it seemed every franchise player was on the market. Read More »

Although Dwight Howard was a landslide winner of the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year award, he was not a unanimous pick for the NBA All-Defensive First Team, which was revealed earlier today. (One voter put Dwight on the second team.)

Otherwise, the First Team went according to form: Blocks/boards leader Dwight was on there, along with steals leader Rajon Rondo, at least one “reputation” pick with Kobe Bryant, and highlight-reel king LeBron James. Gerald Wallace rounded out the first five. Rondo had the second-highest vote total next to Dwight, getting 23 First Team votes and four Second Team votes. Read More »

It truly feels like the playoffs now. And not because three of the four conference semifinal matchups are set, or because we’ve got our first Game 7 on the horizon, or because the “Just Happy To Be Here” crew is all gone. It feels like the playoffs now because Kobe Bryant has unleashed the bottom-teeth scowl on a full-time basis … Kobe (32 pts) was bearing his teeth all throughout last night’s Lakers/Thunder Game 6 in Oklahoma City, like when he stuck a fadeaway with four seconds left in the first half to put L.A. up by six at the break, then ran off 13 of the Lakers’ first 15 points of the second half. Read More »

One of the great pains in the ass about working for Dime is that too many people are convinced we all think with the same brain.

We’ve got a whole team of talented and opinionated writers around here, so it’s annoying when I get e-mails and comments berating (or even praising) me for something that was written in someone else’s column. Usually I let it slide, though.

But then my man Aron Phillips got on this kick that Brandon Jennings should be NBA Rookie of the Year. Read More »

In turning themselves around from a Lottery team to a tough playoff out, the Milwaukee Bucks have thrived on a commitment to defense. While high-volume scorers Brandon Jennings and John Salmons currently get the headlines, it’s guys like Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, Ersan Ilyasova and Kurt Thomas whose unsung efforts on the defensive end will ultimately give the Bucks its best chance at upsetting the Atlanta Hawks in the first round. Read More »

He’s not even the most famous second-round draft pick on his own team, but Luc Richard Mbah a Moute is a classic example of the crapshoot reality of the NBA Draft.

While injured All-Star Michael Redd is the Milwaukee Bucks’ signature second-round success story, Mbah a Moute is the one who can help the team make some noise in the playoffs right now. And unlike Redd, the UCLA product wasn’t even a marquee star in college; it was something of a surprise that he was drafted at all when he was taken with the 37th pick in 2008. Read More »

The thematic stat you’re going to hear whenever the Mavericks get into another close game is that, dating back to last season, the Mavs are 10-0 in their last 10 games that were decided by one point. The Mavs are also 3-0 this season in games decided by two points, including last November when Dirk Nowitzki hit a game-winner in Milwaukee. Last night the Mavs hosted the Bucks, and again it went down to the wire … Read More »

Beast of the Night: Dwight Howard put up 13 points, 20 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 4 blocks and 3 turnovers in 33 minutes of a blowout victory over the Rockets last night. He shot 71 percent (5-7) from the floor and 75 percent (3-4) from the free throw line. His scoring, rebounding and blocks are down this year, and his turnovers are higher compared to last season, but you know what you’re getting with Howard. Read More »

In all honesty, we’ll be surprised if Vinny Del Negro still has a job by the time the Dime crew makes it up to Madison Square Garden tonight for Knicks vs. Bulls. Just when you thought the Bulls were getting their act together and had put together some well-played games, they went out on Monday and — whatever you want to call it — did something that deserves a new word other than “collapse.” If it doesn’t ultimately cost Del Negro his job, it at least has the hot seat burning a hole in his drawers. (And remember, this is the same organization that fired Scott Skiles on Christmas Eve a couple years back. Don’t think Del Negro can use the holidays as a stay of execution.) … Here’s the scene: Coming off an impressive win over the Hawks, the Bulls were up THIRTY-FIVE on Sacramento, at home, midway through the third quarter. The announcers were running out of ways to call it an ass-whoopin’. Read More »

Sporting an 8-3 record going into Monday’s action, the Bucks were still a tough team to figure out. Brandon Jennings could make a good case for League MVP of the first month, and with Michael Redd returning to the lineup, some people think the Bucks are gearing up for a playoff run. Then again, an alarmingly soft schedule — almost all of Milwaukee’s wins have been against surefire Lottery teams — has others thinking the Bucks are just taking advantage of patsies until the rest of the League compiles its scouting report on Jennings. Although Andrew Bogut and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute would be out for last night’s game at San Antonio, it was still seen as a good test for one of the League’s early-season surprises … Read More »