The Clippers have caught the momentum of an avalanche in this 15-game winning streak, and they’re apparently stopping for nobody, no matter their reputation. The Celtics are only six months removed from losing in heartbreaking fashion to Miami in the Eastern Conference Finals, but Los Angeles made Boston look irrelevant and old in a 106-77 crush-job at Staples Center. Read More »

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With Lakers guard Kobe Bryant becoming the fifth and fastest player in NBA history to score 30,000 points, Dime is looking at all angles of the five-time champion’s career today. (Hey, we already called him the greatest player since 2000.) It’s equal parts celebration and examination of one of the NBA’s most polarizing and talented players in history. Read More »

Every now and then, we could all use a reminder that this basketball thing isn’t as complicated as we think. Last night’s national TV showdown between the Thunder and Clippers was one of those reminders. Sure, we could get all Hubie Brown-ish and meticulously pick apart and break down every little subtlety, but the game ultimately came down to this: Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook were better than everybody else when it mattered most … Matt Barnes of all people sparked L.A.’s fourth-quarter rally to force overtime, but then KD and Russ took over the extra session and won it for OKC. Read More »

Maybe the Clippers are really this good? Or maybe the Spurs just aren’t THAT good? San Antonio has now lost two of their last three home games, and twice already this year to the Clippers. But we’re leaning to the Clippers being pretty good, because, well, they’re one of the few teams that can go one-on-one for the entire fourth quarter of a close game in San Antonio and still pull out a W. Despite leaving the Red Rocket open for multiple triples late in the game (Bonner had ten points in the final frame), L.A. walked off winners, 92-87. Read More »

You never would’ve believed it unless you watched the game, especially with one team sporting guys like Chris Paul, Eric Bledsoe, Jamal Crawford and DeAndre Jordan (Blake Griffin didn’t suit up). But the Jazz were the more exciting team on the floor last night in their 99-91 win over the Clippers, and nearly did enough in the first half alone to steal the Lob City nickname. Read More »

Dwyane Wade is full of pride. He’s one of the few cats who could stand up to David Stern, call him out for being a condescending chump, and we wouldn’t be surprised (and he actually did this during the lockout). He’s been a great player for a long time, and he knows it. We had an argument about Wade on Twitter last week when a follower tried to say D-Wade was never considered the best player in the world, or at least was in the conversation. Um, they must’ve not been basketball fans in 2006. There were NBA fans everywhere who were ready to annoint Wade as the best in the game. Outside of his style choices, Wade has the accomplishments and the resume to be extra impressed with himself. Read More »

Shaquille O’Neal‘s movies make us want to wince (did you know he’s been in seven films?) but it doesn’t mean the big screen is out of his future. And we’re not talking about his cameo in “Grown Ups 2″ he’s got coming up. The Big Aristotle became The Big Projector on Friday when his newly renovated movie theater, the CityPlex 12, he co-owns in downtown Newark opened. Read More »

It’s no secret that the NBA is on the mainstream backburner right now — stuck in that period when everybody is paying attention to football and the MLB playoff chase, when pretty much every important free agent has been signed, and when training camp isn’t exactly right around the corner. But in places like Oklahoma City, they’re just as basketball-obsessed as they were during the NBA Finals. Even on days when there’s no other NBA news to report, there’s still something coming out of OKC. Lately it’s been all about James Harden and Serge Ibaka. Read More »

The big names signed on the dotted line – or in Deron Williams‘ case, on the iPad – weeks ago, and the pool of talent is pretty much completely dry. But for contending teams, and even those who are just in the market for a veteran to give them a few good minutes or a few good pre-game speeches, there are still a couple of names available. None of these guys will be making consistently key contributions for a contender, but they’re all still viable NBA players. Read More »