Seven matchups to watch on Friday’s 13-game schedule…

Detroit @ Orlando: The Demons vs. Dwight Howard How else do you explain Howard consistently looking his worst against the Pistons no matter who’s on the roster or the coaching staff? Earlier this week, old nemesis Ben Wallace led a new unit of goons that limited Dwight to eight points and five boards, and fouled him out in just 17 minutes. How much money would Superman pay Krypto-Nate Robinson this summer not to sign with the Pistons if it looked like things were headed that way? 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: Randy Foye, Mike Miller, Fabricio Oberto, Paul Davis

Lost: Darius Songaila, Etan Thomas, Oleksiy Pecherov, Juan Dixon Read More »

With points, rebounds and assists covered, let’s move on to discuss some late-round thieves who could help your fantasy team with a steals deficiency. Again, these players are listed in no particular order. There’s much room for discussion here, so please populate the comments section below with your reactions. Read More »

With most of their guys back healthy from the flu and various other injuries, the Cavs smashed the Mavs by 30 last night at the University of Pittsburgh gym. (Since when do Cleveland teams get love in Pittsburgh?) Mo Williams had 16 points and 11 assists, LeBron put up 12 points on 3-of-13 shooting and seven dimes, and Big Z scored 16 off the bench … Dallas was the team playing short-handed, as Dirk, J-Kidd and Jason Terry were given the night off, and Josh Howard and Shawn Marion are still banged up. So the starting five looked like this: J.J. Barea, Matt Carroll, Quinton Ross, Drew Gooden and Erick Dampier. Pretty sure the Pitt Panthers squad would be able to give that lineup at least a decent run. Hell, put Sam Young and DeJuan Blair back on the squad and they might pull off a W … Read More »

You know the only way a preseason game between the Knicks and a team that isn’t even in the NBA would crack the sports highlights shows on an NFL and baseball playoffs Sunday is if something crazy happened. And in the third quarter of New York’s game against Maccabi Tel Aviv (Israel), things got appropriately insane. After Maccabi head coach Pini Gershon got himself ejected thanks to a couple of techs, he refused to leave the court — if you saw the Season 2 premier of “Tool Academy,” he pretty much acted like the dude who got kicked off that first week. The refs wouldn’t re-start the game until Gershon left, so it turned into a standoff. Read More »

As you know, Dime Magazine is a basketball lifestyle publication. We are all about giving you guys an all-access pass into the lives of NBA players, whether it’s showing you their cars, homes, jewelry and gear. Today, we’re going to tell you what players bring with them to the games. Prior to the Knicks/Sixers games on Tuesday, we asked a couple of guys: What’s in the bag? Read More »

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Madison Square Garden is my favorite place to watch basketball. The first time I’d been there was in the summer of 2003 when I was swindled by a scalper who sold me a fake New York Liberty ticket. Fortunately, a group of ladies had a soft spot in their heart for a naïve guy from Utah and gave me their spare ticket in exchange that I buy them a few beers. The second time was in 2006, where I caught a Knicks/Nuggets game that ended with the crowd chanting “Fire Isiah.” And the last time I went to a Knicks game at the Garden was last fall, which also coincidently ended with the crowd chanting “Fire Isiah.” Read More »

Danilo Gallinari is still kind of a mystery to the basketball world. Because of a back injury, the 21-year-old forward was limited to just 28 games during his rookie campaign but he showed some flashed of promise near the end of the season. Word out of Knicks camp is Gallinari has been impressive not only as a shooter, but as a distributor and creator. Entering his second season in the League, big things are expected out of the Rooster this year. We were able to talk a little Knicks with Danilo at the EA Sports NBA Live 10 release party on Tuesday. Read More »

One person most people didn’t expected to be donning a Knicks uniform this season is David Lee. The 6-10 rebounding specialist was supposed to be a hot commodity in this summer’s free agent market. But due to the recession, he was not able to secure the long-term, big money deal he was seeking. Right on the eve of training camp, Lee re-upped with the Knicks and is ready to prove he can help make a team a winner. We caught up with David at the EA Sports NBA Live 10 release party at the NBA Store in Manhattan. 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: Jordan Hill, Darko Milicic, Toney Douglas, Gabe Pruitt Read More »