Last week, an argument broke out in the Smack comments section that was started by Dime reader Chicagorilla:

“The one thing I don’t get about the Kobe as #1 argument is this BULL$H!T about him being fundamental. WTF? Have any of you actually watched him play? He does everything in his power to try and NOT be fundamental. … Everything (Kobe does) goes against basketball law. The fadeaway is a really low percentage shot, but (he) manages to hit them. The floater in the lane is not fundamental. The jump in the air, twist and turn, hang, then throw a no-look crosscourt pass for an open three (while entertaining and effective at times) is in no way fundamental.” Read More »

Crazy how perception can change so quickly. Even in the aftermath of LeBron‘s 2010 playoff exit, most people would still have considered him no lower than the 2nd-best basketball player in the world. When we did a “Who’s Better?” comparison between LBJ and D-Wade during the season, the heavy majority swung toward LeBron. But now? After LeBron joined the Miami Heat, our latest DimeMag.com poll asked “Who’s the better player?” — and results showed Wade with a 3-to-2 advantage. Looks like LeBron is gonna have to wait until they actually get on the court to get his crown back … In the meantime, we’re starting to get an idea what the Heat roster may look like: Read More »

If there was one standout shot from Kobe Bryant‘s 30-point near triple-double last night, it was the double-clutch jumper he hit off the glass over Goran Dragic after hanging in the air like Dwight Phillips. As TNT’s Doug Collins put it: “A great offensive play by the best offensive player in the NBA.”

Kobe has long been considered the best pure scorer and best clutch performer in the League, but is he the best all-around offensive weapon? It’s tough to argue against Kobe based on this Western Conference Finals series. Through five games, he’s averaging 33.0 points and 9.6 assists, hitting 53 percent from the field, 44 percent from three-point range, and 87 percent from the line. Read More »

OK, so it’s safe to say Vince Carter is back. After a terrible month of January that would’ve made bigger headlines had the Magic had been losing, Vince ran off two straight 20-point games over Super Bowl weekend, then last night he exploded on the Hornets like Shane Diesel at a cougar convention … Vince got going early, scoring seven of Orlando’s first 12 points after tip-off, but was fairly quiet the rest of the first half as the Magic got picked apart by Darren Collison (27 pts, 9 asts, 4 stls) and David West (27 pts) and gave up 70 points by halftime. The defense tightened up in the second half, though, and Vince went nuts. He finished with 48 points, six threes and zero dunks. Read More »

Call it a motivational tactic or simply of moment of brutal honesty, but Doc Rivers delivered what had to be a sobering blow for the Celtics yesterday: “One of the guys said, ‘We’re better than Orlando,’ and I said, ‘No, you’re not. They knocked you out of the playoffs last year.’ Orlando is better than us right now. Atlanta is better than us right now. L.A. is better than us right now.” (Notice how he didn’t include Cleveland, though.) … That quote was following Boston’s decisive loss to the Magic, one of just two NBA games on Super Bowl Sunday. Read More »

David Stern knew better than to seriously compete with the NFL conference championships on Sunday, putting only three games on the NBA schedule. And good thing the Vikings lost, because if Brett Favre had made the Super Bowl, the media hype over the next two weeks might lead the NBA to suspend their operation altogether until after the entire world hopped off Favre’s jock. Peyton Manning/Drew Brees — plus some Kim Kardashian sprinkled in — we can deal with; a 24-hour, 14-day Favre love fest would be too much to handle … The Mavs faced the Knicks at MSG, and, well, Dime reader JHUSTLE can explain it best: “Aight Dime the next post has gotta be how my Mavs just destroyed the Knicks by 50. FIFTY POINTS???!!! Woooooooow just burn the Garden to the ground after that one. That team should be ashamed of themselves. That’s a 2K10 score, not a real life NBA game score. SMFH.” … Read More »

Ranking the NBA from worst to first…

30. New Jersey Nets (3-30) Last week: Beat New York, lost to Cleveland. After closing out December by experiencing the thrill of victory for the third time, the Nets have a handful of winnable games coming up this month, including the Wizards, Pacers, Sixers, Bucks and Clippers at home.

29. Minnesota Timberwolves (7-28) Last week: Lost at San Antonio; lost to Utah; lost to Orlando; lost at Indiana. The League’s third-worst three-point shooting team (and 4th-worst in triples made) needs a shooter or two. Anybody know what Chuck Person and Anthony Peeler are up to? Read More »

Kobe Bryant vs. Dwyane Wade is the NBA’s answer to Peyton Manning vs. Tom Brady. While not necessarily a matchup of the two best players in the sport (that’s where LeBron comes into the argument), rather Kobe and D-Wade represent #1 and #1A in terms of who you’d want with the ball in their hands when everything is on the line in crunch time. What stood out from last night’s clash of the titans was D-Wade uncharacteristically choking at the free throw line at the worst time, and Kobe nailing a game-winner that — as far as the quality of the shot — was probably the worst dagger he’s ever attempted … Read More »

Who do you want your offense to run through with everything on the line? Counting down 30th to 1st (one per team), I’ve ranked the League’s go-to guys…

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#14: STEVE NASH, Phoenix Suns

First, for those thinking Amar’e Stoudemire would/should be holding this spot, an explanation for why Nash gets the nod: To ID Phoenix’s go-to guy, I had to go back to the football analogy I often used when the Suns were at their running, gunning, coulda-been-great peak. Read More »

While the Cavs figure out what they need to do about Delonte West and possibly keep some Plan B’s in mind, more details of Delonte’s arrest emerged yesterday. Most importantly from a basketball standpoint, Delonte’s first court date isn’t until late-November, about three weeks into the regular season. So it’s unlikely the NBA will take any kind of disciplinary action before then, and Delonte can start the season playing ball and keeping Anthony Parker away from his starting SG job. West is being charged with two misdemeanor concealed-weapon counts, which is about the best he could’ve hoped for … LeBron was in New York yesterday on the latest stop in his summer-long media tour, this time to promote his documentary More Than a Game. Read More »