On one hand, you have Sunday being defined by a Seahawks team coming out of relative nowhere to crush the 49ers and become the NFL’s hottest team. In the NBA, its best team right now is on just the same kind of roll — 13 straight wins after Sunday — and even though you can say we’ve seen the Los Angeles Clippers coming for a couple of seasons now, it’s still remarkable that they’re the class of the West. Read More »

When most fans of the NBA think about reserve players, they think about the best sixth men. The role of the sixth man continues to grow as fans see guys like James Harden (pre-Houston), Jason Terry and Manu Ginobili “ball out” for their respective teams.

However, having super-subs doesn’t necessarily mean a team has a strong bench. Many times those elite sixth men primarily play with the starters, and don’t develop the same on-court chemistry with the other subs on the roster. Read More »

Brooklyn’s executives had to be happy with the Nets’ opening night at the Barclays Center. Not only did they get the Wizards, one of the league’s worst teams, but they got them with people like John Wall and Nene out in street clothes. Washington has more injury problems than perhaps everyone outside of their neighbors from Baltimore (the Ravens), so it wasn’t surprising to see Brooklyn open up the new arena (at least basketball-wise) with a 98-88 win behind 18 points and 11 rebounds from Brook Lopez. Read More »

Some of us in the Dime offices are super excited about the Sixers’ potential moving forward, and a lot of that stems from their offseason moves. They became more conventional, dropped the small-ball approach, and now have a legitimate post-up option. But that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll be as exciting. As this tape shows, they (which means “mostly Andre Iguodala“) put together some extra saucy highlights last season. Read More »

We’re all for pushing the limits. When Kobe said he was skipping college to test himself in the NBA, we said “Do you, kid.” When Dirk Nowitzki said he wanted to stop shooting threes and work to become more of a post player, we thought it was a great move. Even when Pat Riley tried to turn Anthony Mason into a point-forward, we thought the plan might have potential. We’ve supported nearly every basketball move outside of the “Andrew Bynum Three-Point Program” but this summer’s No. 1 pick might be thinking just a lil’ too high. Read More »

Leave it to my city to turn a friendly game of basketball into a political battlefield.

At the same time that a legitimate proposal to build a new NBA arena is being kicked around the Seattle City Council, an event like the Jamal Crawford Summer Pro Am All-Star Game takes on a heavier meaning: A community rally of sorts for arena supporters and starving Supersonics fans to point out basketball’s role in the fabric of the Emerald City, but also an opportunity for arena opponents to say, “Why do we need to build a $400 million basketball facility when you guys seem perfectly happy here?” Read More »

Spencer Hawes is returning to Philadelphia, according to Yahoo! Sports. The deal is worth a reported $13.1 million over two years. Read More »

As long as Rajon Rondo doesn’t have to shoot with the game on the line, he’s good money. We’ve constantly heard that the Celtics’ point guard is the John Nash – the genius – of the NBA. Maybe he just really is that smart. The dude fouls the Sixers up three, and then watches as Lou Williams botches it by making both instead of missing the second. Then, Doc draws up a spectacular play and Rondo runs into the backcourt all alone for a touchdown. Evan Turner couldn’t catch him for a foul, and that was that. Rondo bamboozled Philly’s whole team; Game 1 to Boston, 92-91. 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 »

Beast of the Night: DeMarcus Cousins finished with 25 points, 18 rebounds, three assists, six steals and two blocks last night. He shot 52 percent (11-21) from the floor and 75 percent (3-4) from the free-throw line, and had three turnovers. Cousins has been erratic lately, but he’s still averaging 19.7 points, 11.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.0 block per game so far this month. Read More »