Do you need a point guard? With so many little guys infiltrating the NBA these days, you’d think many teams would be aching to ship off some of their smaller contributors. But for every five me-first, get-my-own, shoot-‘till-my-arm-is-numb lil’ guys, we might have one legit point guard left. They’re a dying breed, even as teams line their benches with quick-hitting spark plugs. At this point, there are a few guys available, and you take what you can get – shoot-first or not – as long as they can run an offense. Read More »

If there was one player I wished I had been more like growing up, it’s Tony Allen. Not the line drive shooting part. I’m talking about the ruggedness, the defense, the “time to grind” bloodhound that never stops. Tony Allen isn’t a star. He’ll never be one. But even before Memphis… for Boston fans he was rather unique. Six long years, playing nearly the exact same role with the exact same PT every season. He wasn’t supposed to be a good enough shooter or decision-maker to make it full-time, and even when he was looking like he might finally make it, he went out and dunked during a stop in play, tearing up his knee in the process. Read More »

Whereas last summer reshaped the NBA and as a byproduct of that, helped usher in the extended lockout, the upcoming abbreviated free agency period won’t include a single franchise player. There are probably no future Hall of Famers available. Hell, there might not even be a single All-Star out there. But what is being given up will be replaced in a frenzy. The signings and player movement will be fast and furious, and without any sure things, there will be plenty of opportunities to criticize GMs who panic and throw ridiculous contracts at simply average players. Read More »

When I first met Tyreke Evans five years ago, I came away unsure that the 6-foot-6 high school sophomore could dunk.

I mean, he could dunk – at his height, with natural athleticism and arms long enough to box with God, he could definitely get himself above the rim – but next to the aerial showmanship of Class of 2008 peers such as DeMar DeRozan, Willie Warren, Devin Ebanks and even little Brandon Jennings, Tyreke’s arsenal of jams was like Duck Hunt compared to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. During an afternoon-long photo shoot for the cover of Dime #24, Tyreke wowed me with 30-foot jump shots. But when he was asked to dunk on camera for some mid-air shots, the letdown was jarring. Read More »

Beast of the Night: Stephen Curry followed up his forgettable opening night with 21 points, seven rebounds, 10 assists, six steals and a three-pointer. He shot 58 percent (7-12) from the field, 86 percent (6-7) from the free throw line and had four turnovers. Sadly, Curry’s big night ended on a sour note when the guard landed on Kyle Korver’s foot and reinjured that balky right ankle. Keep an eye on his status. Read More »

Lamar Odom, Dwight Howard and Chris Paul aren’t walking through that door. The Lakers are what they are right now: an 0-2 team searching for a spark. They took a beheading at the hands of the Kings last night in Sacramento, 100-91 and while everyone wants to drive the stake into them after two games, maybe we should just give some credit to the Kings. Tyreke Evans (20 points on 13 shots) was a monster again last night, and Marcus Thornton (27 points on 13 shots) was dropping bombs on ‘em Outkast-style throughout the second half. Every time L.A. threatened, one of those two made a big offensive play, or DeMarcus Cousins out-hustled everyone in yellow for the ball. Read More »

In the last decade, the NBA has transformed from being a big man’s league into a guard’s league. Although frontcourts have always, and will always be the foundation of a winning team, recently franchises have found it much more difficult to build an elite frontline than putting together a competitive 1-2 punch. Ultimately, putting together a dominant frontcourt is what separates the good teams from the great ones, because in today’s game every team has talented guards. Frankly, each team has a backcourt that can outplay its opponent on any given night, which is why it is so difficult to pick five particular tandems as the best up-and-comers in the League. Read More »

The lockout is just a memory, the NBA is days away from its glorious Christmas Day return, and fantasy basketball preparations are in full swing. But you can’t escape the past. This isn’t a life lesson from the fingers of someone wholly unfit to give you non-fantasy basketball advice – it’s a reminder that suspensions handed down late in the 2010-11 NBA season are going to affect some players’ availabilities in the early going this season. On top of those suspensions are injuries and health conditions that will have implications from the outset of the 2011-12 NBA season. Below is a rundown of early suspensions and injuries, and the players who stand to benefit from those circumstances. Read More »

Of all five teams that the New Orleans fiasco sort of screwed over this week (Los Angeles, New Orleans, Houston, the Knicks and Boston), it’s the Lakers who are probably hurting the most to get these talks kick-started and moving again. Lamar Odom isn’t feeling the love right now, and showed up for just a few moments during practice yesterday. So there’s no doubt in our minds that they’re working feverishly right now. The teams were given the green light to start talking again so all three are back to the negotiating table, attempting to tweak what they thought was a sure thing just a few days ago. Read More »

The Sacramento Kings have sky-high potential when it comes to fantasy appeal. The question is whether they’ll have enough touches and shots to appease all the offensive weapons available. With so many mouths on this team to feed, fantasy owners should keep their expectations in check when it comes to the weekly production of any one of the Kings’ main rotation players. Read More »