Do we need to add Orlando to the list of teams maybe interested in Allen Iverson?

No need to go that far, but with today’s news that Jameer Nelson will miss the next four to six weeks following surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee, the Magic are suddenly thin at point guard. Jason Williams is expected to fill-in as the starter while Jameer is out. Read More »

Beast of the Night: Kevin Martin finished with 48 points on 52 percent (14-27) shooting from the field and 72 percent (13-18) from the free throw line, hitting 7 threes and adding 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals, 1 block and 3 turnovers. He was toying with O.J. Mayo during parts of the game, hitting a variety of difficult shots over his outstretched hand. K-Mart’s picking up right where he left off last season and the only major limitation to his value is his health. Read More »

Last year we debuted the “Highs and Lows” system — previewing the NBA season by predicting the respective ceiling and basement for each team. Same theme, different season…

Added: Vince Carter, Brandon Bass, Matt Barnes, Ryan Anderson, Jason Williams

Lost: Hedo Turkoglu, Rafer Alston, Courtney Lee, Tony Battie, Tyronn Lue Read More »

Last season, the Orlando Magic kind of snuck up on the rest of the league. While everybody knew that they had a solid roster, not many expected them to come out as Eastern Conference Champions. This time around, Orlando is not only one of the favorites to win the East again but is right there in the mix to compete for a title as well. This time around, the path will be a little different. Read More »

We have to hand it to the DimeMag.com readers: You guys were way more entertaining in your comments about yesterday’s basketball news items than we could’ve been on a super-busy Friday in the middle of producing another issue. When news broke of Delonte West getting arrested for having THREE guns on him while riding a fancy tricycle (including a shotgun in a guitar case, Antonio Banderas-style), reader DH quipped, “I don’t think this is what LeBron meant when he said he wanted to surround himself with weapons.” Delonte got pulled over in Prince George’s County, Maryland, where, as reader Spencers Mom put it, “That’s how we go to the library.” … Read More »

Even before the tournament field was set, Spain vs. France was the most anticipated matchup at the FIBA European Championships. With both squads only missing a couple of their high-profile players — Jose Calderon and Sergio Rodriguez for Spain, Joakim Noah and Mickael Pietrus for France — these were clearly the two most star-studded rosters and favorites in the tourney. Throw in the drama of Spain looking very vulnerable thanks to some early-round struggles, and it was at least expected to be interesting. But then in yesterday’s quarterfinal matchup, Spain laid the hammer down in a 20-piecing that wasn’t even competitive. Rudy Fernandez (16 pts, 6 stls, 5 rebs) knocked down three triples in the first quarter as Spain got out to a blazing start and never looked back. Read More »

With Bruce Bowen retiring last week and John Stockton headed for the Hall of Fame this week, the concept of the “dirty” basketball player has been in discussion around the Dime office.

Even the casual NBA fans knows about notorious thugs like Bowen, Bill Laimbeer and Ron Artest, who wind up on “SportsCenter” with every elbow, slide-under ankle-breaker, hip check and hard foul they deliver. But you really have to watch the games to point out the guys who are sneaky-dirty; the ones less like Bowen and more like Stockton, whose slight-of-hand acts don’t get as much attention as the guys with reputations that precede them. Here are 10 of the sneakiest/dirtiest, a.k.a. The Wood Harris All-Stars: Read More »

Yesterday was weird. For the last year or so, one of the running jokes in the Dime office has been that the Magic are collectively too jacked for one NBA team. We’d already nicknamed Dwight Howard “The Centaur” for obvious reasons, then you got J.J. Redick looking like an MTV “True Life: I’m a Jersey Shore Bodybuilder” alum, Pietrus and Jameer on swole, Anthony Johnson dunking on cats at 49 years old, and even Skip seemed to get more cut-up as soon as he got to Orlando. When they picked up Brandon Bass, it kicked up the too-diesel talk all over again. But then yesterday, when news broke that one of the Magic players had tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug, it turned out to be one of the guys we never talked about: Rashard Lewis … Read More »

In his introductory presser with the Orlando media, Matt Barnes answered the biggest question we’ve had about the Magic given the events of their offseason. Barnes said Stan Van Gundy told him that he’ll be competing for a starting job with Mickael Pietrus, with the rest of the first five filled out by Jameer Nelson, Vince Carter, Rashard Lewis and Dwight Howard. With Hedo Turkoglu going and Brandon Bass coming, we were wondering what Van Gundy would do with his lineup. Read More »

Although the ‘09 NBA free agent class isn’t as stacked as in years past — not to mention the League is being more thrifty than ever due to the slumping economy — teams still have holes they want to plug, and players have moves they want to make. Here, we break down all 30 NBA teams’ free agent strategy… Read More »