While I missed the majority of Lakers/Celtics Game 6 for my cousin’s high school graduation, everyone I know who watched the game had to come up with something to talk about during L.A.’s cold-blooded beatdown.

During the third quarter, one of my boys texted me: “Best role player ever in the NBA? Pippen?”

Depends on how you define a role player. To me, Scottie Pippen doesn’t count because he was too good. Read More »

The thing about Robert Horry that a lot of people didn’t appreciate: He wasn’t just knocking down one huge shot here or there at random intervals, he could take over an entire fourth quarter of a game by hitting multiple huge shots. As the 2010 version of Big Shot Rob, Derek Fisher reached that next level during the Lakers win over the Celtics in last night’s Game 3 of the NBA Finals … Kobe dominated the majority of a disjointed, ugly game that would have driven some basketball purists to hit the Crown Royal pretty hard, but for the first 10 minutes of the fourth quarter, Kobe couldn’t make a shot. That’s when Fisher (15 pts) took over, scoring 11 in the quarter on a series of fullback-style drives and last-ditch jumpers to beat the shot clock. Read More »

If you can’t teach height, then you can’t coach height, and so in that case you can see why the Celtics are in trouble. Remember how every Lakers fan claimed the ’08 Finals would have gone their way had Andrew Bynum been healthy, and every Boston fan responded by asking how their ass tastes? Last night we all saw what happens when L.A.’s big men are healthy and playing like they have some hair on their chests, before Kobe came in and delivered the fatal shots … Right off the bat L.A. looked to go inside, while Kobe looked to drive and put pressure on Boston’s defense. Read More »

The Suns vs. Spurs is one of the most underrated rivalries in sports, and it even flies under the radar as an NBA rivalry. It seems that every year now we have a Spurs vs. Suns bloodbath to look forward to, although under different circumstances each time. Read More »

Watching “SportsCenter” run their Top 10 NBA plays of the decade the other night — where the top three coincidentally involved LeBron and Kobe directly — I officially ran out of patience for this “decade” stuff. I know it seems fitting to have the best plays of the decade topped by (depending on who you ask) the best player of the decade, but was Kobe’s game-winner against the Suns in ’06 really the best play of the last TEN years? (I would have put Derek Fisher‘s 0.4 shot ahead of Kobe’s shot.)

So I have just one more piece to add to the decade celebration, then I’m done. Read More »

Contrary to what Chris Webber said last night, the Celtics are not going to win the 2010 championship because they picked up Rasheed Wallace. While ‘Sheed will definitely play a role, Boston isn’t winning jack (or Larry) unless Paul Pierce performs up to Paul Pierce standards. Last night was vintage Truth, as Boston downed the Cavs in the opening game of the new season, a rare home loss for Cleveland. With a little over a minute remaining in the fourth and the Celtics up by four, Pierce (23 pts, 11 rebs) ran a pick-and-roll with KG near midcourt against LeBron and Shaq. Advantage: Boston. Shaq reached, Pierce teached, then stuck a jumper from the top of the key that was essentially the dagger. 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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#7: BRANDON ROY, Trail Blazers

The best part is that he’s just getting started. The progression of Brandon Roy’s NBA career is hurtling toward H.O.F. status faster than the beaten paths of Kobe Bryant, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, among other legends. Read More »

Principal D-Stern had to have been pleased with his product yesterday, as two of the NBA’s three preseason games took place outside the United States. In Taiwan, the Pacers blew out the Nuggets: Troy Murphy put up 20 points with four threes, and Brandon Rush (20 pts) knocked down six triples, but the real story was Roy Hibbert. The kid was a BEAST, going for 20 points, 11 boards and eight blocks. Granted, Nene being out meant Denver started Johan Petro at center, but he only played 10 minutes before Birdman and K-Mart assumed most of the duties inside. It’s just preseason, but in the Nuggets‘ two games against NBA teams (they smashed a team of kids from Belgrade), they haven’t looked good at all … Read More »

Sometimes you forget how good Shawn Kemp was. This will make you remember.

With Bruce Bowen retiring last week and John Stockton headed for the Hall of Fame this week, the concept of the “dirty” basketball player has been in discussion around the Dime office.

Even the casual NBA fans knows about notorious thugs like Bowen, Bill Laimbeer and Ron Artest, who wind up on “SportsCenter” with every elbow, slide-under ankle-breaker, hip check and hard foul they deliver. But you really have to watch the games to point out the guys who are sneaky-dirty; the ones less like Bowen and more like Stockton, whose slight-of-hand acts don’t get as much attention as the guys with reputations that precede them. Here are 10 of the sneakiest/dirtiest, a.k.a. The Wood Harris All-Stars: Read More »