Here’s the new reality: Do not make Nate Robinson angry; you will not like him when he’s angry. C.J. Watson got Nate angry in the first half of yesterday’s incredible triple-OT Bulls/Nets game with this altercation that very nearly erupted in an all-out brawl (and sent Robinson to the locker room to clean up a cut), sowing the seeds for an all-time Nate eruption later in the game: Read More »

Elite basketball players are physically evolving faster than any creature to ever walk the earth … and the next level of the species has arrived. Meet Giannis Antetokoumpo, an 18-year old, 6-10 Greek point guard with Nigerian roots. Recently discovered by NBA GMs, he could suddenly end up being the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft. Read More »

Give NBA uber-dork Daryl Morey some credit. The Houston general manager somehow took the Rockets through the final bitter months of the Tracy McGrady era, beyond the retirement of Yao Ming, and even on past the whole Dwight Howard saga. All along, the Rockets stayed competitive. No one’s talking championships in H-Town, but they’re always a solid team, and that’s more than the have-nots in Charlotte, Sacramento and New Orleans can say. Read More »

Fellow Dime colleague, Dylan Murphy, is right. No one’s talking about Sam Presti picking Serge Ibaka over James Harden. And there are plenty of reasons behind the continued silence. The entire topic is a moot point. It’s clearly apparent to every basketball fan that James Harden should’ve been the choice for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Read More »

Let’s say, for argument’s sake, that the Oklahoma City Thunder do not attempt to re-sign James Harden next offseason. Before you scoff at that possibility, know this: OKC has approximately $58.5 million committed to six players in 2013-2014: Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Serge Ibaka, Kendrick Perkins, Nick Collison and Thabo Sefolosha. Read More »

If we listened and took Rajon Rondo‘s word as gospel then we’d probably already be calling him the GOAT point guard. He never misses a chance to stake his claim to the title as the best lead guard in the game, and sometimes treats the competition like an annoying little brother. We once asked him if he could beat any point guard in the league one-on-one. He said yes. Then, we asked who he would beat in a make believe one-on-one tournament championship and he said, “Whoever gets there.” While Ray Allen might tell him to shut his Sidney Deane-ass up, Rondo has backup. Read More »

This according to ESPN’s Henry Abbott and luxury tax guru Larry Coon. The latest collective bargaining agreement was designed to keep teams under the salary cap – while going over is permitted under the “soft” cap rules, mostly to re-sign superstars and keep teams together for years, ultimately any team with the money can go well overboard. And that’s what the Lakers have done this season. Read More »

Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Serge Ibaka have grown up together on OKC, forming a young, athletic and cohesive core capable of winning multiple championships down the road. Except, this isn’t baseball, and that pesky old salary cap could put a dent in their championship plans. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are both locked up long term, and James Harden and Serge Ibaka are up next in the 2013 offseason when both players will become restricted free agents. Read More »

Talk about an awkward triangle. Rumors have it that Phil Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy are next in line for the Oklahoma City Thunder job if Scott Brooks doesn’t get the new contract he wants. Brooks’ deal runs out at the end of the month, and some think he could parlay an NBA Finals coaching job into a fat new deal no matter where. Some even might think that group includes coaches looking for new jobs, but here’s what’s wrong: This whole rumor rests on the assumption Brooks would bolt for more money anywhere. Read More »

“I’m peaking … It’s my time now. It’s our time. … We’re coming out! Guns blazing!” – Al Pacino, Devil’s Advocate

Lucifer’s soliloquy doubles as the mantra for the avid sports hater during championship competition.

Anybody with an acquired distaste for a particular athlete, team, coach, owner, media member, fan base, school or city – even an entire sport itself – should be hitting their peak form when a title is on the line and the rest of the world is watching.

You want to deliver boxing’s eulogy? You don’t do it during ESPN2’s “Friday Night Fights.” You save it for a Mayweather or Pacquiao pay-per-view. You want to shred to pieces the idea that Eli is better than Peyton? Do it during Super Bowl Week, not preseason or the Pro Bowl. Read More »