Each Wednesday, we’ll be assessing how the top prospects of the 2013 NBA Draft are faring in college and overseas. Stick with us each week for assorted thoughts, including the biggest risers and fallers, the standouts, the sleepers and what we know and don’t know about the next NBA Draft class… Read More »

Continuing our two-part series on the most disappointing players this season, we’re shining the light on the Western Conference, where there were lots of underwhelming performances. Again, in fairness, those who were injured for the majority of the season were not included. Read More »

“What ifs” in sports can run deeper than still waters. What can be a simple question or proposition on the surface, may also result in major changes to a player or players’ careers and, in some instances, even swing titles. Read More »

On the first day of the year AB (After Brandon), you couldn’t go 15 minutes without running into someone cracking a joke about the Dunk Heard ‘Round The World. We did our part, putting together 10 of the greatest facials in NBA history. Read More »

Last night in a truly crazy 3OT game up in Toronto, Marvin Williams threw down on new rookie, Jonas Valanciunas. Valanciunas has come into the NBA the hard way – he’s been dunked on twice in a week. For once, Williams showed us what made the Hawks draft him over Chris Paul. Read More »

The aftermath of the NBA Draft is always a good time to tell who actually knows something about basketball and who should just sit in a corner and think about hockey. One particularly popular non-informed opinion we’ve heard across sports-radio shows and Internet columns since Thursday is that the Cavs messed up by taking Dion Waiters with the No. 4 overall pick. Now we’re not guaranteeing that Waiters will be a good pro. He might not pan out, just like any Top-5 pick could potentially be a bust. But if your only reason to bash Cleveland’s pick is that Waiters wasn’t a starter at Syracuse, well, you need a better reason. Read More »

Weekend Wonder: Gerald Wallace averaged 21.0 points, 12.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 4.0 steals, 1.0 block and 2.0 threes in two games over the weekend. In this stretch, he shot 54 percent from the floor and 89 percent from the free-throw line, while averaging 2.5 turnovers per game. It’s only been nine games, but Wallace has averaged better all-around numbers (top 20 value) for the Nets than those he was putting up in Portland earlier this season. Read More »

There’s something purely Americana about the hometown kid making good in front of the hometown crowd.

Whether it’s David Freese blasting home runs to lead his St. Louis Cardinals to a World Series title, or Chauncey Billups going from prep legend to college superstar to NBA bust back to NBA superstar in Denver, or even Jerome Bettis winning a Super Bowl in Detroit in his final NFL game while playing for another team, we like these stories. In a sports culture where free agency and stressed-out GMs eager to trade make it increasingly tougher for fans to claim one group of players as “our guys” for any length of time, hometown ties remain nearly impossible to break. 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 »

It’s not just us, and it’s not just you. It’s everyone. Everyone is sick of charity games, of celebrity games and nights ending up 170-168. It was cool for a while. That got us through the summer of no basketball, trade rumors or signings: “Capital Punishment,” “The Big Payback,” and all the rest. But Jamal Crawford and Lou Williams are promising something different. Seattle and Atlanta are two consistently overlooked hoop hotbeds. But now we’ll have the chance to see which city is better. Expect it to be heated. Expect it to be real. Read More »