For a franchise that supposedly doesn’t have any money, the Grizzlies went all-out for their home opener. After introducing the Pistons to the theme from Beverly Hills Cop (cute), the Jumbotron showed a dramatic over-the-top video where Allen Iverson and Rudy Gay talked about “Grizz Nation” and defending homecourt. Then the DJ put on a Michael Myers/Halloween-inspired track, and the Jabbawockeez appeared at midcourt to dance. THEN they brought out Three Six Mafia, wearing Memphis jerseys and performing “Stay Fly” to bleed into the player intros, complete with smoke machines and everything else. Read More »
As we anticipate the commencement of the brand spanking new 2009-10 NBA season, let’s take a look at a handful of fantasy “gangs.” To be more specific, let’s give fun names to certain groups of players who have similar attributes — for fantasy purposes, of course. Hopefully, this post will do two things: offer you some helpful glimpses into what you should expect from these players heading into the regular season, and present you with an amusing read to help you rediscover your smile (especially if you drafted Blake Griffin) and regular breathing patterns amid all the tense eagerness for tonight. Read More »
After a solid 12-year career, veteran guard Bobby Jackson has decided to retire according to the Sacramento Bee. Jackson, 36, who played for the Sacramento Kings last season, has also suited up for the Nuggets, Timberwolves, Grizzlies, Hornets and Rockets. His best year came during his first stint with the Kings (2000-05), where he averaged a career high 15.2 ppg and won the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award during the ‘02-03 season. Read More »
Of course the games don’t count in the standings, and not everybody is going all-out although they’re still getting paid (it’s like Tim Thomas‘ fantasy land), but one of the biggest misconceptions about the NBA preseason is the idea that you can’t learn anything from these exhibitions. If a guy can’t hit a shot in the preseason (e.g. Peja Stojakovic right now), it’s not like he’s going to automatically become more accurate when the games count. And if he’s busting the defense’s ass and making it look easy in the preseason (e.g. Kobe every year), it’s not like he’s going to suddenly turn into a scrub when it matters. Look at the Orlando Magic: Read More »
Nothing against LeBron and Josh Childress, but the unique selling point of last night’s Cavs/Olympiakos (Greece) game was Shaq vs. “Baby Shaq.” If you don’t remember, Baby Shaq is Sofoklis Schortsanitis, the big (6-9, 300-something) Tractor Traylor-looking dude who once upon a time gave Team USA problems but has since turned into the Blazers-era Shawn Kemp of the Euroleague, as his weight is a constant issue and sometimes gets in the way of his considerable skills … Big Shaq got the best of this one, putting up 12 points and five boards next to Baby Shaq’s four and five. Read More »
The NBA preseason is underway, meaning it’s time again for Dime’s team-by-team season previews. Last year we debuted the “Highs and Lows” system — predicting the respective ceilings and basements for each team. In other words, what is the realistic best-case and worst-case scenario for the 2009-10 campaign?
Added:Jamal Crawford, Joe Smith, Jeff Teague, Juan Dixon, Courtney SimsRead More »
When you work in an office with basketball junkies, the conversations sometimes can get very heated about very specific things. For example, yesterday the trivia question floating around out there was seeing if you could name all 14 active NBA players that are in the Top 100 on the all-time scoring list. While there are definitely some obvious ones (Shaq, Iverson, Kobe), there are others that took us a minute to figure out (Finley, Stackhouse, Juwan Howard). While we jokingly put it out there that LeBron could be in the Top 100 despite just playing six NBA seasons, we decided to look it up and see where he stands. The results are kind of amazing. Read More »
The basketball gods were kind to Jamal Crawford this offseason. After enduring a decade of playing for drama-filled, losing franchises (i.e. Isiah), the Hawks rescued Crawford by aquiring him from the dreadful Warriors. Jamal, as we know is infamous for his 10-year old playoff drought - currently the longest for active players. Assuming injuries and/or a major meltdown in A-Town, ‘Mal should see what it’s like for the first time to work past April 14. Read More »
Here we were, glad to see Isiah Thomas handling everything perfectly so far in his tenure at Florida International — even going above and beyond in recruiting — and then the reminder comes along that scandal (even if it’s silly) just seems to follow Isiah around like that jheri curl aroma followed A.C. Green for so many years … Here’s the story: FIU was scheduled to play in the early-season Coaches vs. Cancer tournament, and initially believed their first opponent would be Ohio State. But then they found out the tourney schedule had been changed, and OSU was replaced with North Carolina. Now FIU is pissed, and threatening to pull out of the tourney. Read More »
BARON DAVIS (by Ben York)
When he wants to be, Baron Davis can be an elite player in the NBA. Judging by his trips to India that culminated in his recently found enlightenment, it’s my belief that he wants to be a threat again in ‘09-10.
