Dwight Howard isn’t as brand-new as you think. Though it doesn’t seem like that long ago since he took the stage on NBA Draft night ‘04 with those braces shining on his teeth, and while his persona makes him seem younger than he is, Dwight is a veteran at 24 years old and now in his sixth pro season.

In other words, it’s not too early to discuss (or at least make realistic projections for) his place in history. Read More »

In the two-day break before Game 5, we’re thinking this is how it’ll go: Saturday will be devoted to figuring out ways the Magic can stay alive, while Friday was the time to talk about how dead they are. In the Game 4 aftermath, everybody had some blame passed their way: the refs for missing crucial calls (just don’t get the Lakers fans started on that), Dwight Howard and Hedo Turkoglu for missing free throws, Jameer Nelson for wandering into Derek Fisher’s sniper scope, Stan Van Gundy for having Jameer on the court, Rashard Lewis for playing ball like Carl Lewis — some were even blaming Nick Anderson for his mere presence in the arena … Read More »

Everybody has their opinion on how and why the Magic lost Game 4 and, ultimately, their shot at a championship. Take FOXSports’ Edgy And Controversial token Jason Whitlock, who echoes the most common reaction by putting the blame on Stan Van Gundy:

Van Gundy is responsible for one of the greatest choke jobs in NBA playoff history. If he had any pride, he’d resign today and let Patrick Ewing coach Game 5 on Sunday. Read More »

We’re pretty sure that when Courtney Lee visualized his first NBA Finals experience, this wasn’t how he thought he’d make headlines. Getting a heaping serving of blood pudding from Kobe Bryant? That honestly shouldn’t have been a stretch to see coming. But missing the biggest shot of his life and being called “The Next Nick Anderson“ for all the wrong reasons? That’s tough. In the aftermath of Lee blowing Orlando’s best chance at winning Game 2 the other night, opinions in the Dime office were split: Read More »

No sports lends itself to the “If” game more than basketball. Because so much of one man’s success depends on his teammates, because different eras are so hard to compare, and because none of us really knows as much as we think we do, basketball arguments almost always break down into a series of “If this” (If Kobe was on the Cavs…) and “If that” (If Stockton didn’t have Mailman…) and “What if?” (What if Mike hadn’t retired?) Read More »