As we wrote in Smack, Memphis locked up the Hawks in the middle portions of their big win last night. The game eventually turned into their own mini dunk contest. On this play, Mike Conley and Rudy Gay combined for their own bit of Showtime on the break. Hit the jump for maybe the best dunk of the night. Read More »

Nothing hurts more than losing your spot at the gym because you lost to a bunch of random dudes. That’s what happened to the Lakers last night in Milwaukee. With Stephen Jackson corporate thuggin’ it off-court (suspended for verbal abuse of an official), Andrew Bogut out with his yearly injury and Brandon Jennings playing more passively than at any point over the past month, the Lakers took body blows from Drew Gooden, Mike Dunleavy and Ersan Ilyasova before finally falling 100-89. Read More »

Ranking the NBA from worst to first …

30. New Orleans Hornets (3-15) Last Week: 25, -5 Since they started off the year 2-0, the Hornets have lost more than just their sting. They’re 1-15 since and haven’t sniffed an ounce of winning. One thing you can say about them is they fight. Their last nine losses have all been by 10 or less against teams sporting a .606 winning percentage. Read More »

Beast of the Night: Joe Johnson posted 27 points, five rebounds, six assists, two steals, three blocks and three three-pointers last night. He shot 45 percent (9-20) from the field, 86 percent (6-7) from the free-throw line and turned the ball over once. Johnson has really turned things up a notch lately and is putting up top 40 numbers so far this season, a notable improvement from last year’s disappointing averages. There’s not much reason to think he can’t keep this up. Read More »

Just when we were set to believe in Atlanta, they collapsed, fell apart, couldn’t make a free throw and now everyone in Chicago is probably sending Jeff Teague thank you cards. Derrick Rose reached out and ripped out the Hawks’ heart before Luol Deng put the winning touches on top in the Bulls huge come-from-behind win (the Hawks led by 19) at home against Atlanta, 76-74. How did the final few possessions go? It was a lot of Rose vs. Teague. First, with about a minute left, the MVP blew by Teague and nearly elevated to Mars at the rim. After the Hawks’ point forced Rose (30 points, seven assists) into an ugly miss on Chicago’s next possession, Teague came down and with tap water in his veins, missed both freebies. So just to rub it in, Rose came down and sped past Teague again to score at the rim. 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 »

UPDATE: Chad Ford is reporting that Rodney Stuckey is “balking at the Pistons’ 5-year, $40-$45 million offer.”

As a guard and then a Pistons executive, Joe Dumars is experienced at building Detroit into a winner and what parts such a run require. Not all of those parts are always easy to work with, and Dumars understands that playing with Isiah Thomas. But he’s proven his savvy as a GM in that same regard, turning Chauncey Billups from a journeyman to a building block after his arrival in 2002.

If he wants to turn Detroit, 30-52 during a contentious 2010-11 season, into a contender again for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot, he knows a first step would be keeping Rodney Stuckey as his premier guard. But at what cost? Read More »

So they think they need a committee to study this stuff huh? It shouldn’t take a genius or even a formulation of a number of basketball minds to figure this one out, but as Yahoo! Sports is reporting, the NBA and the Player’s Association are discussing whether to form a committee to study the age minimum for the NBA draft with “the possibility that no immediate changes to the ‘one-and-done’ rule will come in the finalization of the new collective bargaining agreement.”

Good. Maybe they’ll finally discover what I’ve been saying all along. Read More »

The Memphis Grizzlies proved to be a pretty solid source of fantasy value last season, even after one of their stars went down with a shoulder injury. With just one significant free agent (a restricted one at that), this squad should be mostly intact for another run at NBA (and fantasy) relevancy whenever the season starts. Read More »

Z-Booooooooooooo. If you wanted to watch the story of Zach Randolph, just check out the tape of the Grizzlies come-from-behind 101-93 overtime win over Oklahoma City. He wrapped his entire basketball career up in one 53-minute autobiography, being selfish and disruptive early before redeeming himself late in ways no one thought possible. Oklahoma City led by 16 points in the third quarter and were on their way to a series lead. But Kevin Durant (22 points, 12 rebounds) and Russell Westbrook (23 points, 12 assists) started filming Episode VII of Star Wars and slowly let the Grizz inch closer and closer. Then in overtime, Memphis pushed the Thunder all over the court, ending the extra frame without any more drama … Read More »