As we wrote in Smack, Channing Frye surprised everyone last night with what was probably the best dunk of his career. But no one got caught slipping more than Samuel Dalembert. The best part of this though is the aftermath when Big Sam is so flabbergasted that you can see him in the background cheesing like Will Ferrell in Elf. Read More »

Beast of the Night: Stephen Curry finished with 32 points, six rebounds, seven assists, four steals and six three-pointers last night. He shot 63 percent (12-19) from the field, 67 percent (2-3) from the free-throw line and had just one turnover in 38 minutes of play. Curry has racked up 74 minutes of run in his last two games, which is a good sign that his ankle is fine for the time being. Barring any further setbacks, he’ll handsomely reward owners who bought low or exercised patience on him. Read More »

Oklahoma City didn’t play Thursday, but try telling Thunder fans it wasn’t a victory. Guard Russell Westbrook went all Boomer Sooner by signing a five-year, $80-million extension. The deal brought praise for GM Sam Presti and hailed Westbrook, slammed for being a “shoots-lots” guard, for his unselfishness: “Instead, Westbrook delivered to his teammates, his organization and this city a blessed gift. Expansion of the Thunder’s window of opportunity to turn Oklahoma City into Titletown. … No promises beyond 2016, but until then, barring catastrophic injury, an oil-and-gas bust or general manager Sam Presti losing his senses, the Thunder is set for five years of excellent basketball,” the Oklahoman columnist Berry Tramel wrote. Read More »

Beast of the Night: Joe Johnson posted 27 points, five rebounds, six assists, two steals, three blocks and three three-pointers last night. He shot 45 percent (9-20) from the field, 86 percent (6-7) from the free-throw line and turned the ball over once. Johnson has really turned things up a notch lately and is putting up top 40 numbers so far this season, a notable improvement from last year’s disappointing averages. There’s not much reason to think he can’t keep this up. Read More »

Weekend Wonder: Kyle Lowry averaged 29.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 9.0 assists, 1.5 steals and 3.0 threes in two games over the weekend. He shot 49 percent from the field and 92 percent from the free-throw line in that stretch. For the season, Lowry has maintained top three fantasy value, far exceeding even the loftiest expectations. Don’t be too surprised if he finished the 2011-12 NBA season with top 15 overall value. Read More »

Beast of the Night: Ty Lawson finished with 25 points, four rebounds, three assists, eight steals and two three-pointers last night in a loss to the Trail Blazers. He shot 63 percent (10-16) from the field, 75 percent (3-4) from the free-throw line and had two turnovers. Lawson is off to a very solid start in his first three games of the season. Though he’s not dishing out many assists (3.0 per game), he’s shooting like a center (62 percent from the field), hitting threes (1.7 per game) and thieving like a maniac (4.0 per game). There’s little standing in his way to giving his owners top 30 value this season. Read More »

Everyone wants to talk about super teams. Of course, the Heat, Knicks, Clippers, Celtics and all the rest of ‘em capture the imagination of the NBA fan base. There’s nothing quite like feeling the anticipation and excitement in the air when you see that news hit telling you Chris Paul has finally been traded and he’s going to the Clippers. What immediately follows is typically more invigorating than what eventually happens. The promise of what could be is almost always better than what is. Even here at Dime, we find ourselves talking about one third of the NBA about 80 percent of the time. That doesn’t mean we don’t care about everyone else. Read More »

Just this morning it was considered all but done that free agent center Samuel Dalembert would be joining the Sacramento Kings. But in the end, it looks like he’ll be taking his seven-foot frame to Houston. According to ESPN.com’s Marc Stein, Dalembert has signed a two-year, $14 million with the Rockets. Read More »

Didn’t we kinda sorta predict this? Stephen Jackson hasn’t been practicing up in Milwaukee because of some back spasms, but some are saying he’s been sitting out for entirely different reasons. Reportedly, Jackson isn’t happy with his contract, one that will pay him over $9 million this season and $10 million next season. He wanted an extension in Charlotte – as a 33-year-old, you know the guaranteed years are weighing heavily on him – and the Bobcats decided to ship him out instead of offering one. Jackson hasn’t said a word about it during training camp. Read More »

The top tier NBA free agents are signed, sealed and delivered, but there are still a handful of guys that can help impact teams this year. And with the season starting in nine days, it’s time to pull the trigger to get them into camp as soon as possible. With that, here are the Top 5 NBA Free Agents Available. Remember, spend your money wisely. Read More »