We hate to keep leading Smack off with LeBron James, but it’s almost like we have to lock him in here on every night he plays. The dude is just too good. Check out some of these numbers. James was 11-for-15 shooting last night in the Heat’s 117-104 flaying of Portland, finishing with 30 points and nine assists. He’s made 60 of his last 80 shots overall. On NBA Coast 2 Coast, they showed a shot chart from his last few games, and every spot outside of the left wing and left corner was blaming red. Read More »

Many people agreed that the trade sending Rudy Gay from the Memphis Grizzlies to the Toronto Raptors on January 31 would not benefit the Raptors. They were buying low on a high-priced, high-usage, inefficient wing that would make them good enough to be average, but never great or bad enough to build through the draft. They traded their way into the place no NBA team wants to be, and they lost a talented young big in Ed Davis and Jose Calderon’s expiring contract to do it. Read More »

The trade that brought Rudy Gay to Toronto has been pretty good for the small forward so far. How good? We’ll be running something later today that will break it all down for you. In the meantime, check out this insane hammer dunk from Gay on Sunday against New Orleans. We would say this reminds us of LeBron‘s signature slam, but we’re not even sure ‘Bron ever cocked it back like this. Read More »

LeBron James is becoming his own hyperbole, his game better than anything performed at the Grammys on Sunday night. The real show has become what King James is doing every game, so fine tuned is his game right now with his fifth 30-point and 60-percent shooting game in a row. The Lakers held tough and made the game interesting, and Kobe kept up his end of the deal with 28 points, six boards and nine dimes in Miami’s 107-97 win. Read More »

The Heat-Clippers showdown got undermined in the last three weeks by Chris Paul‘s hurt kneecap and a flu strain that made most Miami players sick before the game. Still, even with the whole Clippers roster (Jamal Crawford had 13 points, Paul had 3 and Blake Griffin had 13 in their respective returns) mostly healthy, shorthanded Miami bludgeoned its way to a rout made almost unwatchable it was so lopsided if it weren’t for LeBron James’ hypnotizing skills. Read More »

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In the drama-filled aftermath of the Rudy Gay trade, something to keep an eye on is the development and usage of Ed Davis in Memphis. Should the ongoing discord between Grizzlies head coach Lionel Hollins and the front office continue, Davis may become collateral damage. Read More »

Someone forgot to tell Boston they don’t have Rajon Rondo or Jared Sullinger for the rest of this season. The Celtics ran off their fourth straight win after losing their All-Star starter point guard a week ago by devouring the short-handed Clippers, then holding on for dear life at the end, 106-104. One Caron Butler dunk aside (we’ll get to that in a second), the Celtics were clearly the dominant team in the first half and even led by 19. Read More »

Say what you will about the Heat’s rebounding problems against bigger teams such as Indiana this season, but the Heat’s turnovers are reliably the larger indicator for its wins or losses. That’s why its 102-89 loss to Indiana was a little worrisome even if LeBron (28 points) and Dwyane Wade (17 points) sounded afterward as if they’d just lost a charity game, insisting it’s no big deal at all. Read More »

After watching OKC steamroll Memphis last night, it’d be easy to say the Grizzlies screwed up by trading their best perimeter shotmaker, and the guy they normally go to in tight games. Then again, they saved money by giving away Rudy Gay, and got back a few decent pieces in Tayshaun Prince and Ed Davis. Read More »