And the Jeremy Lin magic rolls on. The Force is so strong with this guy that even when he doesn’t necessarily play all that well (as was the case last night), his team still wins and somehow overcomes the force of nature that is Kevin Love in the process … Lin led the Knicks to a come-from-behind win over the T-Wolves in Minnesota, 100-98, getting 20 points, six boards, eight assists and three steals. He was only 8-24 from the field, missed a few foul shots and turned it over six times, but, really, who cares? Read More »

Buy Low: Wesley Matthews is averaging 7.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 2.0 steals and 0.3 threes in his last three games. He’s also shooting 33 percent from the field during this forgettable stretch. Stepping back and looking at the picture will show fantasy owners that Matthews is shooting 41 percent from the floor this season, notably below his career average of 45 percent. His game log shows that he’s only cracked 50 percent from the field three times in his 12 games since Jan. 14. Before that night, Matthews was hitting 48 percent of his shot from the field. Chalk his recent struggles up to a slump. He’s still starting and getting 32+ minutes a night and remains a solid source of threes and all-around production. Read More »

Last night, Denver ran away from L.A. in the Staples Center because they dominated at points in the second and late in the third quarter. George Karl trusts his bench, almost too much in fact. His goal this year might be to coach this team like its intramurals. That’s just speculation, but with the way he hands out minutes, 11 guys all average double figures, we wouldn’t be surprised. Having a decent bench is always important, but it’s never been stressed like this. Five games in six nights will leave your team playing more up and down than a seesaw if the second unit can’t hoop. Read More »

Already this season, we’ve seen star players go down. Zach Randolph is out for a long time. So is Al Horford. No one knows how Manu Ginobili will play when he comes back. And no one really knows how much injuries are affecting Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul and Gerald Wallace. A part of me wants to say it’s the shortened season, but face the facts: Injuries happen every year. Read More »

You had to know it would happen with 66 games in 120 days. Someone was going to fall off. Surprises are a double-edged sword; Somebody has to fall. Besides Miami – who despite the loss last night look like the runaway best team in the NBA – who else can you say has really been dominating? I’ll give you Chicago. But after that Portland has been blown out at home and on the road to two dysfunctional teams with superstars on the edge of town (Phoenix, Orlando). Denver is feasting on the weak but struggling against talent. Atlanta, who knows what’s going on with them? Read More »

Gregg Popovich is a fan of many things, but apparently American culture is not one of them. I mean, can you picture Pop watching “Jersey Shore” or taking in a Taylor Swift concert? Neither can I. Yesterday before San Antonio faced Minnesota, Pop was asked about Ricky Rubio. Specifically, how difficult it would be for him to adjust to American culture. Of course, his response was classic. Read More »

In the fourth quarter in South Beach last night, Tracy McGrady outplayed even LeBron James. We shouldn’t have to remind anyone it’s 2012 and not 2003. But watching T-Mac bang threes (he hit a trio of big ones in the fourth quarter), grab rebounds in traffic and close out the Heat for their first loss of the season, we caught a serious case of deja vu. Miami, after looking invincible at times through their first five games, controlled the game throughout the first three quarters. But with McGrady (16 points, seven rebounds, four assists) turning back the clock, Dwyane Wade (12 points, 10 assists) scoring only three points in the second half, and Atlanta shutting down the fast break with a zone defense, the Hawks walked out with a 100-92 win. 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 »

You can’t fault America for disregarding an old team that lost in the first round last season. Since then, so much has happened in basketball that I doubt too many casual fans even realize the Spurs ran away with the Western Conference during 2010-11′s first 82 games. It took the new monarchs of Los Angeles all of one preseason quarter to take the torch from Miami as the new season’s most interesting group of newcomers. Chris Paul aka John Williams. Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan redefining the basic psychics of the game. Chauncey Billups playing with a controlled rage aimed at the entire basketball nation. But the Spurs showed Monday in their 95-82 revenge win against Memphis that balding heads aren’t bringing them to retirement homes and Saturday afternoon black-and-white cowboy reruns just yet. The two teams are ready to size each other up. They get their first taste tonight. 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 »