Ranking the NBA from worst to first, along with 2011 New Year’s resolutions…

30. Cleveland Cavaliers (8-26) Mo Williams resolves to find a way out of this mess. So does Antawn Jamison. And J.J. Hickson. And Jamario Moon. And Byron Scott. The Cavs have lost 17 of their last 18 games, and if they don’t keep tabs on their guys, Manny Harris is going to be the best player on the team before you know it. Read More »

As a West Coast kid who grew up rooting for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (though not necessarily the Lakers as a team) and Georgetown University, there’s only one thing worse than having three die-hard Celtics fans and one die-hard Duke fan in the office: That’s having three die-hard C’s fans and two die-hard Duke fans.

In the midst of more unprovoked J.J. Redick slurping, I threw out an unpopular opinion: Salim Stoudamire at Arizona was a better shooter than Redick at Duke. Read More »

In basketball, being a go-to guy isn’t always about who takes the last-second shot. It’s the guy who regularly gets the basketball when things are getting tense in the fourth quarter; the guy expected to calm things down when teammates are getting antsy; the guy called upon to snuff out an opponent’s rally or spark a rally of his own; the guy who’s not just supposed to make shots, but make the right decisions. Bottom line: Who do you want the offense to run through when everything is on the line? Read More »

When you interview guys for a living, it’s hard not to notice a difference between a good interview and a great interview. So it was very interesting last night to read a list of NBA players that Hornets.com’s Jim Eichenhofer compiled who’ve impressed him the most in a one-on-one setting. Also what’s interesting, is that fact that half of the guys of his list were Duke alums. Coincidence? Perhaps. But regardless of where they went to school, it’s worth taking a look. Read More »

After Kevin Durant took home MVP honors yesterday, a lot of people started talking about the 2012 Olympics in London and who of this current bunch was going to make the cut. Specifically the biggest discussion in the Instant Analysis after the game was what would be done about the three and four positions given that you’ll have Durant, LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony in the mix. Also, with a glut young point guards, who’s going to be playing for Team USA in two years. With all that said, here’s my prediction for the 2012 Team USA Olympic roster. Read More »

After analyzing the NBA’s Top 15 Expiring Contracts yesterday, it got me thinking: How many players in the NBA will make over $10 million this season? While the answer to that question is below, I decided to take it one step further. After the jump, you’ll find the NBA’s richest players broken down by position, height, age, NBA titles, NCAA conference and just about any other way you can organize it. Trust me, you’ll be surprised. Read More »

I’d hate to be a guy in the NBA who is known more as an expiring contact than a player. Remember back when Theo Ratliff had a big deal? His name was getting tossed around more than a hacky sack at Bonnaroo. So while every team is trying to piece together rosters for next season, there are certain players that will most likely not make it through the year without having to find a new apartment. Without further ado, here are the NBA’s Top 15 Expiring Contracts. Read More »

One of the more feeble darts thrown from Cleveland Cavaliers fans to LeBron James this summer is something along the lines of, “We made you.”

Right. Except now that LeBron is gone, the team that won 60-plus games in each of the past two seasons, that went to the ’07 NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history, that during the LeBron era put together its first five-year string of consecutive postseason appearances since its ’92-96 run, went from a legit title contender to arguably the worst team in the League the moment LeBron said he was moving to Miami. So who made who again? Read More »

While the casual NBA fan learned last week which games to put on their radar for Opening Night, Christmas Day, the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, along with some other notable opening week matchups, the rest of us — the hardcore, League Pass-watching, fantasy team-owning, problem gamblers — were just as psyched for yesterday’s unveiling of the entire 82-game schedule for every team … With the Dime office located just a few subway stops away from Madison Square Garden, of course we have a vested interest in the Knicks schedule: Brandon Roy and the Blazers come to MSG for the home opener Oct. 30, and hopefully Greg Oden will be standing on two healthy legs that late into the season; Read More »

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from the Summer of LeBron, it’s that too many fans/media treat athletes like fantasy-roster chips and only view things from a pure basketball standpoint.

Not once in all the anti-LeBron (and now anti-Chris Paul) arguments have I heard a critic acknowledge the biggest human element at play: That maybe LeBron just wanted to leave Cleveland, and didn’t want to live in New York, or live in Chicago, and just really wanted to relocate his life to Miami. No basketball. No business. No legacy. Just a man and his family’s life. Read More »