So who’s ready for a sh*tstorm of drama over the Knicks (mis)handling of Carmelo Anthony’s knee injury? In this NY Daily News article, Frank Isola details the unsurprising lack of transparency the team employs with relaying information between their medical staff and the public, as well as the notion that ‘Melo’s knee injury is worse than previously thought. Isola talked to another orthopedic surgeon who speculates that ‘Melo Read More »

We feel like we’re at a basketball buffet this time of year. Between conference tournaments and early NBA games, we could easily have our fill by 7 p.m., and yet there we go, back for seconds and thirds as the night goes on. Given that many choices it truly means something when a game can hold our attention and Miami’s 21st win in a row, 107-94 over Milwaukee, kept us zoned in. Read More »

The NBA is notorious for having a small number of teams with realistic championship expectations. While nearly half of the NFL can claim to be in the running, the NBA normally only has a handful of true contenders. Read More »

We fell asleep at some point in the third quarter, and when we woke to see the Lakers were back in it, we thought it was an entirely different game. In a way, it was. L.A. overcame a 25-point deficit in New Orleans last night to beat the Hornets, 108-102. They scored the game’s last 20 points, and held the hosts scoreless for the final 6:47. It felt more like a month. Read More »

The top eight seeds in the Eastern Conference appear set and ready for the playoffs. And among them we aren’t expecting much suspense until the Eastern Conference Finals. The Western Conference is a different story, and if you needed some confirmation you can look at the 6 games separating the sixth- through 10th-best teams or just Friday’s Nuggets-Thunder classic in the Mile High. Read More »

Into the Indiana vacuum left by Danny Granger‘s knee injury has stepped Paul George, a player whose ascension and fit have been so fast and so seamless he’s drawn many an endorsement to be an All-Star reserve (Dime has, too). George can leave you with a sense of wondering where the Pacers would be without his 16.9 points and 7.6 rebounds per 36 minutes, his Dunk Contest-worthy athleticism and fearlessness to guard an opponent’s best player. But just as George should be recognized for his role in keeping the Pacers afloat, so too should be Lance Stephenson. Read More »

Even after Chris Paul’s right kneecap conspired to scratch Tuesday’s most intriguing point-guard matchup from the schedule — CP3 and the Clippers facing Jeremy Lin and the Rockets — the NBA still delivered a gem by giving us Ty Lawson versus Damian Lillard. In a style clash of playmaker versus scorer, power versus skill, fast versus fearless, the four-year vet Lawson got the best of the rookie Lillard, dropping 24 points and 12 assists as the Nuggets edged the Blazers in overtime. Read More »

The Indiana Pacers only scored 81 points last night, but they still managed to beat the Carmelo Anthony-less Knicks by five. The Pacers are ugly to watch, and their highest-paid player is a seven-footer that’s shooting less than 40 percent from the floor, while averaging just 9.6 points per game. They can’t score, and their bench is awful. Read More »

Portland fell into a lull for a quarter and a half — usually a death knell against a team like Miami — but still knocked off the Heat, 92-90, because they awoke twice at key moments to get back into position to stuff the champs at home. The first came to end the third quarter to slice into Miami’s 12-point lead, and then another finished the fourth. Read More »

Boston had every right to lose this game. They didn’t get into Atlanta until 4 a.m., and they fell behind big in the first half. By the second quarter, the Hawks’ announcers were asking, “Lets blow ‘em outta the building. Whadda ya say?” Lou Williams (28 points) came out and dropped 11 in the game’s first four minutes while hitting three triples, and Atlanta had the Celtics’ offense in a vice grip. Read More »