Dwight Howard isn’t as brand-new as you think. Though it doesn’t seem like that long ago since he took the stage on NBA Draft night ‘04 with those braces shining on his teeth, and while his persona makes him seem younger than he is, Dwight is a veteran at 24 years old and now in his sixth pro season.

In other words, it’s not too early to discuss (or at least make realistic projections for) his place in history. Read More »

In case you didn’t know, Scott Skiles holds the record for most assists in an NBA game with 30. Setting the record on Dec. 30, 1990 during the Magic’s 155-116 victory over the Nuggets, Skiles broke Kevin Porter’s previous record of 29 and went on to earn the NBA’s Most Improved Player award that season. Since then, no one has even reached 28 in the past 15 seasons. But who, if anyone, do you think has a chance to break it? Read More »

In all honesty, we’ll be surprised if Vinny Del Negro still has a job by the time the Dime crew makes it up to Madison Square Garden tonight for Knicks vs. Bulls. Just when you thought the Bulls were getting their act together and had put together some well-played games, they went out on Monday and — whatever you want to call it — did something that deserves a new word other than “collapse.” If it doesn’t ultimately cost Del Negro his job, it at least has the hot seat burning a hole in his drawers. (And remember, this is the same organization that fired Scott Skiles on Christmas Eve a couple years back. Don’t think Del Negro can use the holidays as a stay of execution.) … Here’s the scene: Coming off an impressive win over the Hawks, the Bulls were up THIRTY-FIVE on Sacramento, at home, midway through the third quarter. The announcers were running out of ways to call it an ass-whoopin’. Read More »

If you have tickets to the Bucks/Pistons game tonight at The Palace of Auburn Hills, you won’t be seeing Milwaukee head coach Scott Skiles roaming the sidelines. After not leaving the court in a timely manner following his ejection Wednesday night during the Bucks’ 104-102 loss to the Wizards, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President Basketball Operations, that Skiles has been suspended for tonight’s game without pay. While I have no clue what language they’re speaking, you can catch a glimpse of Skiles attempting to stay on the court for the final 29.7 seconds.

Two days later, Michael Jordan’s Hall of Fame speech is still the biggest topic in basketball. And for the most part, the reviews were not positive. Common accusations were that MJ was confrontational, bullying, petty, ungrateful, and that he primarily used his stage to settle old scores. Our take? It’s obvious who amongst the critics have never played sports, or is so far removed from playing that they forgot what it’s like to be competitive. True, Mike didn’t exhibit anything near the vulnerability of, say, Michael Irvin’s H.O.F. speech, but he wasn’t that bad. Read More »

When I heard this weekend that new Timberwolves coach Kurt Rambis was mostly likely going to add Bill Laimbeer and Reggie Theus to his staff, this got me thinking: If there was a 3-on-3 tournament amongst the NBA’s current coaching staff, who would win? Read More »

Thank Oscar that the program directors at NBA TV decided to start showing some of the best games from the ‘08-09 season in neat little one-hour increments this week, otherwise the general inactivity these days would draw a basketball fan stir crazy … The NBA free agent landscape is like combing through the used CD rack at a store that’s already been raided by the broke college students: There’s still some interesting, slightly attractive product, but nothing too great. Case in point: The most intense “bidding war” lately has been over C.J. Watson — a second or third-string PG on most teams — and that just ended since the Magic pulled out of negotiations and it’s looking like C.J. is headed back to the Warriors … Meanwhile, David Lee is the biggest name left on the board that anybody seems to want (sorry, A.I.). Read More »