Beast of the Night: Elton Brand finally emerged and put up 19 points, 11 boards, 2 assists, 3 steals, 6 blocks and just 1 turnover while shooting 47 percent (8-17) from the field and 75 percent (3-4) from the line. This was vintage Brand and owners who have remained patient or bought low on him have to be giggling with joy right now. He’s not out of the woods just yet, but things look are looking way up for Brand and his owners today. Read More »

It took about 47 and a half minutes for Don Nelson to really miss Stephen Jackson. In the Warriors’ first game since trading Capt. Jack to the Bobcats, they were actually hanging with the Cavs on the road last night. On a critical possession with under a minute to go and Cleveland ahead by four, LeBron of course had the rock, a situation where S-Jack would normally have been guarding him. This time, however, Nellie had to enlist Vlad Radmanovic for the job. (Well, he didn’t have to; Anthony Randolph might have been a better choice.) To the surprise of no one, LeBron scored easily, sticking a pull-up jumper for the dagger … Read More »

Now that Stephen Jackson is gone, Monta Ellis is the last defensive presence on the Warriors. Well, according to Monta Ellis anyway. In an interview today with Marcus Thompson II of the Contra Costa Times, Ellis not only said that nobody on the Warriors besides him can play D, but he also said he doesn’t plan on taking on more responsibility or being more vocal now that Jackson is gone. Asked about whether his new teammate Raja Bell was a good defender, Ellis offered this, “I don’t know too much about dude. I mean (pause) it’s crazy, man.”

Source: Contra Consta Times

Beast of the Night: Dirk Nowitzki not only hit the game-winner in Milwaukee last night, he also finished with 32 points, 1 three, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 1 block while shooting 48 percent (12-25) from the field, 88 percent (7-8) from the line and didn’t have any turnovers. He’s the hottest fantasy commodity to come out of Germany since Heidi Klum. Read More »

Stephen Jackson finally got his wish. After enduring nearly two-and-a-half months of negative press for his trade demand, he was dealt to the Charlotte Bobcats yesterday. Almost immediately, you could already see Captain Jackson having a couple of issues with his new destination. One, the winning situation in Charlotte is not too much better than where he came from. And two, he’s going to be coached by Larry Brown. Read More »

As this edition of Smack is being written, ESPN’s 24-hour marathon of college hoops is underway. Writing about basketball in the middle of the night while live basketball is showing on TV with no end in sight for hours? This is the life … Are the Hawks really this good? When we ranked Atlanta 5th yesterday on Dime’s weekly NBA Hit List — maybe the highest we’d ever had them ranked, at least in the last 2-3 years — the response was surprisingly strong that Joe Johnson and Josh Smith and crew should have been in the top three, maybe even holding the No. 1 spot. True, the Hawks had won four straight going into Monday’s schedule, but they’ve always been one of those Zab Judah/Asafa Powell-type teams: Read More »

Ranking the NBA from worst to first…

30. New Jersey Nets (0-10) — During the lopsided part of the Pacquiao/Cotto fight, Jim Lampley enthusiastically said Cotto “almost landed a big left.” And he meant it in a good way. That’s how it’s been for the Nets; last week they almost beat Philly and Miami, so far the highlights of their season.

29. Minnesota Timberwolves (1-10) — The rest of November has them facing Houston, Denver and Phoenix at home, and the Blazers, Nuggets and Clippers on the road. It could be a long couple of weeks. Read More »

In honor of the first trade of the 2009-10 season, today’s Reebok Still Talkin Quote of the Day is a throw back. In 2006, the Suns were on the rise, coming into the playoffs as the number two seed. Kobe Bryant, on the other hand, was struggling to lead the Lakers, who were starting Smush Parker and Luke Walton at the time. The Lakers took a 3-1 series lead and it seemed that Kobe was going to single handedly lead the Lakers into the second round. Then the series turned physical and Raja Bell took charge guarding Kobe. Bell looked to frustrated the Lakers star and responded to Kobe’s physical play by clotheslining him. Raja earned a one game suspension but didn’t hold back when talking about Bryant. Read More »

Stephen Jackson finally gets his wish as he and Acie Law are being shipped to the Charlotte in exchange for Raja Bell and Vladimir Radmanovic. This means a ton of minute movement going on for both the Bobcats and Warriors. Here are the fantasy implications: Read More »

What started before the season in New York, has finally culminated: Stephen Jackson has been traded. According to ESPN.com’s Marc Stein, the Warriors completed a deal today that sends Jackson and Acie Law to the Bobcats in exchange for Raja Bell and Vladimir Radmanovic. I don’t think this is what S-Jax had in mind. Read More »