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Hoopla / Apr 28, 2008 / 3:30 pm

Pat Riley out; Erik Spoelstra in

D-Wade’s got a new coach.
The Miami Heat just announced that, to no one’s surprise, Pat Riley has stepped down as head coach. They also announced that, to a lot of people’s surprise, assistant Erik Spoelstra will take over.
First off, did anyone not see this coming from Riley? This has been his pattern every since Dwyane […]

Smack / Apr 8, 2008 / 3:31 am

One Shining Moment

Darrell Arthur (photo. KU)
No need for the NBA last night, as Kansas and Memphis gave us one of the best national championship games we’ve seen in a long time. The two deepest and most talented teams in the country got major contributions from a lot of guys, but the night will ultimately be remembered for […]

Smack / Apr 7, 2008 / 4:38 am

You’re Better Than That

Dirk (photo. Monte Isom)
The main reason it still seems so strange that the Mavs are battling Golden State and Denver for those last couple of Western Conference playoff spots isn’t because Dallas won 67 games last year; it’s because they’re pretty clearly better than the Warriors and Nuggets this year and shouldn’t be underachieving like […]

Smack / Mar 27, 2008 / 3:04 am

Focus Factor

Kevin Garnett (photo. Gary Land)
Before the Celtics and Suns tipped off last night ,we went over the many reasons why the C’s, despite having locked up the Atlantic, shouldn’t take the game lightly. Turns out there was nothing to worry about, as Kevin Garnett (30 pts) and crew were extra-focused, jumping out to a double-digit […]

Smack / Mar 17, 2008 / 5:06 am

Skip Hop

Skip (photo. Jack Thompson)
Remember 4-5 years ago when Rafer Alston went from a journeyman to a legit NBA player? Balling with the Heat that year, Skip was able to shed the streetballer rep by protecting the ball and knocking down threes like he’d been watching Mark Price tapes. That version of Skip was the Skip […]

General / Mar 12, 2008 / 12:40 pm

Pick Your Poison

Gerald Wallace (photo. Mike Carroll)
Five players I often hear compared to each other are Andrei Kirilenko, Shawn Marion, Tayshaun Prince, Josh Smith and Gerald Wallace. All are long, rangy, natural small forwards who can play multiple positions. All excel at defense, can guard multiple positions and are just as adept at blocking shots as a […]

General / Feb 29, 2008 / 10:08 am

Match Game

CP on Dime #23
Five matchups to look forward to on Friday’s NBA schedule…
Wolves @ Cavs: Al Jefferson vs. Ben Wallace
In his first real test as the Cavs’ starting power forward, Big Ben kind of got the business from Kevin Garnett. Jefferson (21.4 ppg, 11.8 rpg) is a bit more ground-bound and theoretically easier to guard; […]

Smack / Feb 22, 2008 / 6:00 am

Deal With It

Larry Hughes (Photo. David Deal)
The biggest trade deadline deal from yesterday saw the Cavs finally do something to prove the lights are still on up in the front office. And fitting that it would take Cleveland — who slow-walked on taking care of business with Anderson Varejao and Sasha Pavlovic this summer — up until […]

Hoopla / Feb 19, 2008 / 3:10 pm

2008 Free Agents

Photo. Stephen Hill
If your favorite team hasn’t (or doesn’t) make a significant trade before this week’s deadline, maybe they’re holding out for this summer’s free-agent period. Some of the significant names who will/could be available…
The Josh Twins (Atlanta) — Josh Smith and Josh Childress will be restricted free agents. The trade for Mike Bibby shows […]

Smack / Feb 13, 2008 / 5:36 am

The Long Road Back

D-Wade (Photo. Mannion)
With each passing game, dealing Shaq looks like a genius move for the Heat. Dwyane Wade and Shawn Marion look like they’ve been playing together for months rather than days, and although Miami is 0-2 since Matrix first suited up, they’re playing with more energy; like they actually care about winning or losing. […]

General / Feb 11, 2008 / 10:51 am

Cuban Embers

Did Mark Cuban spark the Shaq/Marion deal?
What got the ball rolling in the Shaq-for-Matrix deal? The Miami Herald’s Dan LeBatard reported on Sunday that the trade originated from a conversation between Mark Cuban and Miami owner Micky Arison. Ten days ago, Cuban asked Arison whether the Heat would buy O’Neal out of the remaining $100 […]

Smack / Feb 11, 2008 / 5:32 am

Stay for the Fourth

Ray Allen (Photo. Jordan Brand)
There’s really no point in watching a Spurs game until the fourth quarter, is there? No matter how bad Tim Duncan and Co. might have played in the first 36 minutes, those last 12 is when they’ll hit that “Champions” switch and either win or fall just short. Yesterday in Boston […]

Smack / Feb 10, 2008 / 3:18 am

Insane-O-Meter

S-Jack (Photo. Eriberto Oriol)
With Ron Artest and Stephen Jackson sharing the court, the Insane-O-Meter at Oracle Arena was in danger of going on overload. The damage wasn’t too bad: Ron-Ron picked up a technical foul in the first half, and S-Jack probably should have gotten one when he went temporarily ballistic on ref Violet Palmer […]

General / Feb 8, 2008 / 8:00 am

Hoop Links, 2/8

* Chris Webber’s return to the Warriors wasn’t much of a celebration. Last night’s 114-108 loss to the Bulls served as Chris Duhon’s coming-out party. Webber’s scoring output matched his number, four. Duhon posted 34. “I thought it would be a great opportunity for the team to go out there and really show some […]

General / Feb 7, 2008 / 8:00 am

Hoop Links, 2/7

* Shaq sent out two text messages yesterday after the swap for Marion was finalized. The first to Amare Stoudemire read: “You ready to win a ring?” Then another to Steve Nash pledging, “I will not let you down.”
* While the Suns organization can’t wait for Shaq to suit up, their equipment manager is […]

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