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: James Harden, Byron Mullens, Serge Ibaka, Etan Thomas, Robert Vaden, Kevin Ollie

Lost: Desmond Mason, Earl Watson, Damien Wilkins, Robert Swift, Malik Rose, Chucky Atkins Read More »

After an up-and-down couple of weeks that saw them perform up to their potential and down to some lesser competition, Team Spain is right where they’re supposed to be at the FIBA European Championships: playing for the gold medal. In yesterday’s semifinal, Pau Gasol scored 18 points and Rudy Fernandez added 14 and three steals to lead Spain in a blowout win over Greece, while Ricky Rubio continued his underwhelming (at least stats-wise) tourney with a 5-point, 3-assist effort. Spain will face Serbia in the final, the team that upset them on the first day of the tournament. In Serbia’s semifinal, Milos Teodosic dropped 32 points (6 threes), and Nenad Krstic had 18 points to lead them past Slovenia … Read More »

Two days later, Michael Jordan’s Hall of Fame speech is still the biggest topic in basketball. And for the most part, the reviews were not positive. Common accusations were that MJ was confrontational, bullying, petty, ungrateful, and that he primarily used his stage to settle old scores. Our take? It’s obvious who amongst the critics have never played sports, or is so far removed from playing that they forgot what it’s like to be competitive. True, Mike didn’t exhibit anything near the vulnerability of, say, Michael Irvin’s H.O.F. speech, but he wasn’t that bad. Read More »

Not much happening basketball-wise on this side of the ocean for Labor Day, but in Europe it was all about the FIBA European Championships. And right away there was a huge upset, with Serbia knocking off Spain on the first day. It’s pool play, so Spain isn’t eliminated or anything, but it’s still and alarming loss for a squad that’s a favorite to win the whole thing. In Spain’s defense, Rudy Fernandez didn’t play, and Pau Gasol (9 pts, 7 rebs, 1-8 FT) is dealing with a broken finger on his left hand. (Ricky Rubio had six points and three assists.) Serbia made a big run at the end of the first half and led by 15 at the break, eventually winning by nine. Nenad Kristic led the winners with 17 points and six boards … Read More »

Mondays are all about decisions. And this week there are serious, serious, decisions to be made. The playoffs are a coming and you need your roster and starting lineups on point. This week has plenty of injury risks in it and as long I had a decent back up, there are only a few of the risk starts that I would actually make. Read More »

We clearly need two Co-Fantasy MVP’s for last night. D-Wade and LeBron were straight filthy in what really should both an instant classic and an fantasy instant classic. Put the turnovers aside for a minute (14 combined) and let’s admire both players stats for a second. LeBron – 42 points, 6 threes, 8 boards, 4 dimes, 1 absurd block, 1 steal, 62% from the field and perfect from the line. Honestly though, Wade’s might have been better. Wade had 41 points, 2 threes, 9 assists, 7 boards, 7 steals, 1 absurd block 54% from the field, and 78% from the line. Crazy night. But those aren’t the players you guys really care about at this point of the season right? Here’s who you should be keeping an eye on today. Including a possible early return from Kevin Durant. Read More »