In the past, you could usually find Ryan Anderson on the road with his teammates in airports or buses playing Words With Friends or Draw Something on his phone, his competitive streak coming out. That is… until he made his own app this year. Read More »

Damian Lillard is the best thing about Portland right now – and that includes its legendary breweries. It would be a big upset to see playoff basketball in the Rose City come May, but the rookie point guard is what is keeping that city’s hoops hopes from wilting altogether. Read More »

BUY LOW Dwyane Wade After almost a decade of brilliance, it looks like Wade’s game is slowly starting to decline. Right now, he’s averaging just 19.4 points (his lowest since his rookie season), 3.9 rebounds and 4.5 assists. Most of his past fantasy value had come from a guarantee for 100 steals and 100 blocks per season, but 17 games into Miami’s season, Flash has a measly 17 steals and nine blocks. Read More »

Holy three-point shooting, Knicks. Of all the places to go on a heat check that lasted a whole half, the Heat’s own court was the backdrop of New York’s statement win Thursday night by handing LeBron, Wade and Bosh their worst home loss together, 112-92. Read More »

Struggle is a part of life. Sometimes we forget that when we’re looking at professional basketball players. They make so much money, they’re so talented, and there’s so much hype around players changing teams that it’s easy to overlook how much harder a transition can be than just putting on that shiny new jersey. Read More »

When we talk about the NBA’s biggest enigmas, why doesn’t anyone ever mention Tyrus Thomas? He’s a 6-9 freak of an athlete who showed in college he’s good enough – when he cares – to make a big difference. So far in the NBA, he’s displayed a decent skill set when he’s healthy. He’s not a liability on the line, doesn’t need the ball to be effective and can play in a number of different systems. He even started for a playoff team in Chicago. Of course, it’s hard to stay relevant when your best friend on the team is the trainer, but we think Thomas deserves a little more shine as one of the NBA’s biggest underachievers. Read More »

We never thought we’d hear MarShon Brooks and Dwight Howard linked to each other this much. You’d think they were either bitter enemies or recruiting each other through free agency to hear about them in the same sentence as much as they have been this offeseason, but anytime a deal to send Howard away from Orlando, Brooks is a sticking point in the asking price. The newest rumors ESPN is reporting is that Cleveland has been coerced into getting in on a three-team deal that would send Howard to Brooklyn, Kris Humphries to Cleveland plus a few more parts. Read More »

Wasn’t this Manhattan/South Beach matchup supposed to be the best series of the first round? Um, what happened? It’s a colossal mismatch, and a 2-0 lead doesn’t do justice to Miami’s dominance through eight quarters. Game 1 felt like murder. In last night’s 104-94 Miami win, the Knicks were better. They played a little harder. Defended a little better. Actually made a few shots. And yet it seemed like the Heat had set their sliders to the Rookie level. Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and LeBron James combined for 65 points on 48 shots whereas Carmelo Anthony was struggling against everyone besides old man Shane Battier (‘Melo was unleashing hell on him in the first quarter), forcing his way to 30 points on 26 shots. Read More »

Beast of the Night: Al Jefferson took full advantage of a triple-overtime marathon against the Mavericks, posting 28 points, 26 rebounds, one assist, one steal and two blocks in more than 54 minutes of burn. He shot 56 percent (14-25) from the floor and had one turnover. For the season, Jefferson has exceeded expectations by producing top six averages. Barring major changes in the Jazz’s roster or Jefferson’s health, he should be viewed as a first-round player in next year’s drafts. Read More »

You can’t disrespect a Derrick Rose-less Chicago team that’s still leading the East despite him being gone for 20 games now this season with injury. The Heat couldn’t stop the Bulls without their MVP a couple weeks back, remember? This is to say that when West-leading Oklahoma City met East beast Chicago on Sunday in OKC, you knew the Thunder were going to give the Bulls a full run no matter what. That run turned out to be a 14-point win that came with serious style points. Read More »