I never called Nick Van Exel shy. Too many jumpers early in shot clocks proved he had no conscience. I never called him timid either. Too many arguments with Del Harris proved that. I also never called him faint-hearted. He had enough street cred to get name-dropped in a song by Jigga. I figured he had a little Cypress Hill in him when he shoved Ron Garretson into the scorer’s table. And busting out “the monkey” midgame, against the Jazz no less (I doubt anyone on that team had even heard of “the monkey”), should’ve been all the evidence needed to sum it up: Van Exel had himself some big ol’ Sam Cassell-sized balls. Read More »

From the moment Game 1 was in the books until the last 3-4 minutes of the fourth quarter of Game 2, it was shaping up to be one of those games the Spurs always win when they’re in danger of a deficit. But on those possessions where they usually hit daggers, Tony Parker and Tim Duncan bricked free throws. And on those possessions where they usually get defensive stops, Amar’e Stoudemire dominated the paint and Jason Richardson was slinging jumpers. Unable to make the plays they usually make late in big games, the Spurs fell behind 0-2 in the series as it heads to their gym … Read More »

It doesn’t matter if you’re a fan of the NBA, NCAA or high school – great basketball is great basketball. And yesterday has to go down as one of the greatest days in hoops history. Ever. Take for example the first four games of the day: you had a one point game, a buzzer beater for an upset, an overtime scare and a double overtime thriller. Only if Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery called all four games, could you have asked for anything better … If you were on the site at all yesterday, then you know the Dime crew was on top of everything. So we’ll try and bring some new thoughts and observations to Smack … Let’s start with BYU’s Jimmer Fredette. Read More »

Even with training camp starting next week, there are still guys out there looking for jobs. And while the opportunity to get a non-guaranteed deal for the chance to even fight for a roster spot gets slimmer and slimmer, there are definitely more free agents left on the market than jobs available. Take a look at who’s left: Read More »