The marathon NBA season came to its end last week and for some, it’s a blessing in disguise. Everyone had players that didn’t live up to expectations this season. We are going to look at some of these poor souls with one minor disclaimer: The excessively injured will not be included. Read More »

We make jokes all the time about Kobe Bryant‘s evolution from “human being” into “basketball cyborg” but last night, all of these 48-minute nights finally took their toll. We’d list the leg injuries he packed on over the course of the game against Golden State, but screw it. Let’s just say the dude’s entire lower body was a mess (and he ended up leaving with what is probably the worst injury of his career). Read More »

Chicago was feeling good last night while stopping the Knicks’ 13-game winning streak. Nate Robinson, who had 35 points off the pine, was feeling so good he even started mocking Steve Novak‘s signature dance. Read More »

For the second time in the second half Sunday at Madison Square Garden, J.R. Smith passed the ball a little too casually from above the three-point line, allowing LeBron James to intercept it. The first time, about 16 game minutes earlier, LBJ went to the line for free throws in the middle of Miami’s comeback from 17 down to the Knicks. Uh oh. The second time, no one stopped him. And that was the story of the second half at MSG. Read More »

The NBA regular season stretches from Halloween until the middle of April. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. The Pacers and Knicks are both learning that quickly this year. New York, boosted by some incredible shooting and a rejuvenated Carmelo Anthony, sprinted out of the gates, starting 6-0 and eventually 18-5. Read More »

NBA All-Star Saturday Night’s signature events are, without question, the Foot Locker Three-Point Shootout and the Sprite Slam Dunk Contest. Dime Magazine was in Houston to check out the action live and have grades on the performances of each participant in both events (we can’t be the only other ones who nearly slept through the Shooting Stars and the Skills Competition). Be forewarned: this isn’t exactly a fair grading scale. Expectations played a role in their grades. Remember one of the worst things in the world is wasted talent – at least that’s what they say in the movie A Bronx Tale. Read More »

The Knicks have laid a tripwire around Madison Square Garden this season, staying undefeated there by springing a first-quarter trap on the Lakers en route to a 116-107 win. What brought this game to a near-blowout and a near-comeback was Carmelo Anthony. It must be frustrating for once-Knicks coach and now Lakers leader Mike D’Antoni to see how ‘Melo has changed since D’Antoni resigned, and it’s twist-the-knife cruel that after that pair’s time together was marked by inconsistency, ‘Melo’s smooth hand buried the Lakers for most this game. Read More »

When you’re going good, or you hit a big-time shot, you want to celebrate. It’s human nature to express our joy when we’ve accomplished something incredible. Nowhere is this more true than the NBA, where big shots are often followed by big celebrations; where players can get so hot everything starts to go in, and where a last second shot can birth new legends. With all that drama, there are bound to be some incredible celebrating. Read More »

The return of Carmelo Anthony to the Knicks’ lineup kicked into overdrive in the fourth quarter. That’s when he and Jason Kidd turned a game between a sluggish New York team and a Denver team that had a hard time missing (56 percent in the game) into another Knicks home win. They’re undefeated at the Garden after the 112-106 win, and sure, you can point to ‘Melo’s 34 points, several of which came in a 17-2 run in the fourth quarter that flipped the script on the Knicks’ fortunes with Rasheed Wallace sitting and unable to provide the same energy. Read More »

We discussed it Smack this morning, but you really need to see the evidence of the Knicks‘ murder in Miami last night to appreciate their work.

Here’s a quick compilation of New York’s 18 threes on the Heat, many of them coming from a swaggering Raymond Felton, who put on the shooting show of his life. You can hear Steve Kerr refer to Felton’s play as an “out-of-body experience.” Read More »