Maybe it’s just us, but it seems O.J. Mayo has been playing noticeably better ever since the whole USC thing finally came to a conclusion. Since the turn of the new year, around the same time the ‘SC sanctions were handed down, O.J. has been averaging 20-plus points per game and seems like he’s literally had a weight lifted off his shoulders — getting up for more dunks than usual and showing more hang time and creativity in the air … Mayo scored 19 last night in an upset win over San Antonio. The Grizzlies were in control most of the second half, but the Spurs chipped away and cut the lead to one on Roger Mason‘s jumper with 41 ticks left. Read More »

By now most of us have heard about Blake Griffin’s season-ending knee surgery that will knock him out of action for four to six months. It’s a frustrating situation that has to have many patient fantasy owners cussing at their computer screens, and rightfully so. Not only was he an extremely promising rookie for the Clippers and the NBA, but Griffin had a real shot at averaging some nice fantasy stats. He was also set to return in about two weeks. Read More »

Weekend Wonder: Kobe Bryant delivered two nice presents to his fantasy owners this past holiday weekend, averaging 36.5 points, 2.5 threes, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals and 4.5 turnovers. He shot 44 percent from the field and 100 percent from the line in those two games. Kobe played a whopping 96 minutes in those two contests, thanks to a double overtime game on Saturday. Read More »

Here’s the thing with Baron Davis: He’s good enough that you can’t hold a full discussion about the NBA’s top point guards without at least mentioning his name — but he’s not that good often enough for you to really figure out where he should rank. The fact that he’s got as much raw talent as Deron Williams, and yet a lot of people would rather have current-day Mike Bibby on their squad should tell you a lot … Last night was one of those where Baron looked like a Top-10, maybe even a Top-5 PG, outplaying Rajon Rondo and handing the Celtics a loss at Staples Center. Read More »

Beast of the Night: Andrew Bogut had his best game of the season so far, putting up 31 points, 18 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 3 blocks against the Pacers. He shot 74 percent (14-19) from the field, 43 percent (3-7) from the line and had 3 turnovers. Bogut has been a fantasy gem so far this season, save for his abysmal free-throw shooting (54 percent). Read More »

It’s safe to say that things are bad in New Orleans. Byron Scott is gone, Chris Paul is hurt and now their big free agent acquisition of the summer is already the subject of trade rumors. According to Sam Amick of The Sacramento Bee, a source with knowledge of the situation says the Kings are discussing a trade with the Hornets that would send veteran Kenny Thomas (and his $8,553,125 expiring contract) to the Hornets and in exchange for Emeka Okafor. Read More »

Beast of the Night: Kevin Martin finished with 48 points on 52 percent (14-27) shooting from the field and 72 percent (13-18) from the free throw line, hitting 7 threes and adding 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals, 1 block and 3 turnovers. He was toying with O.J. Mayo during parts of the game, hitting a variety of difficult shots over his outstretched hand. K-Mart’s picking up right where he left off last season and the only major limitation to his value is his health. Read More »

Breaking down the first-week performances of the serious 2010 title contenders, Spurs announcer Sean Elliott messed up his words and said the Lakers took an “old-fashioned butt cooking” from the Mavs on Friday night. As it turns out, that was the best way to describe what the Spurs were about to do to the Kings on Saturday … Despite Sacramento starting probably the worst frontcourt in the League (Jason Thompson, Sean May, Desmond Mason), it was one of those nights where Tim Duncan didn’t have to do much and could let the smaller guys go to work. 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: Blake Griffin, Rasual Butler, Sebastian Telfair, Craig Smith, Kareem Rush

Lost: Zach Randolph, Mike Taylor, Fred Jones, Paul Davis Read More »

With no more preseason games and just a few days until the NBA regular season starts, all that’s left to do is iron out some position battles and figure out who among the banged-up is healthy enough to suit up for Opening Night. There was an outside chance that Shaq, among others, would be suspended for the Cavs/Celtics opener after he left the bench during Mo Williams and Shelden Williams‘ altercation a few nights ago. But the NBA ruled that since the scrap happened technically at halftime, guys who left the bench won’t be punished … Read More »