Josh Smith is spoiling me rotten. Watching Hawks/Blazers last night and seeing Smith throw down at least two dunks that would normally make me (at least) sit up on the couch and make a “something stinks” face, I found myself not doing anything.

Smith is so good above the rim, he dunks so hard and makes it look so easy, that it’s getting tough to even be that impressed by his dunks anymore unless he’s dunking right on somebody. Read More »

For the last two years at Temple, Dionte Christmas was the stud of the A-10. After averaging a shade under 20 points a game his junior and senior seasons, Christmas surprisingly went undrafted in last June’s draft. Surprising, I note, because Goran Suton and Robert Dozier did get drafted. Until Wednesday, Christmas had caught on with his hometown Sixers, when he was cut along with Brandon Bowman to slim the roster to 13. Read More »

Nothing against LeBron and Josh Childress, but the unique selling point of last night’s Cavs/Olympiakos (Greece) game was Shaq vs. “Baby Shaq.” If you don’t remember, Baby Shaq is Sofoklis Schortsanitis, the big (6-9, 300-something) Tractor Traylor-looking dude who once upon a time gave Team USA problems but has since turned into the Blazers-era Shawn Kemp of the Euroleague, as his weight is a constant issue and sometimes gets in the way of his considerable skills … Big Shaq got the best of this one, putting up 12 points and five boards next to Baby Shaq’s four and five. Read More »

Even with training camp starting next week, there are still guys out there looking for jobs. And while the opportunity to get a non-guaranteed deal for the chance to even fight for a roster spot gets slimmer and slimmer, there are definitely more free agents left on the market than jobs available. Take a look at who’s left: Read More »

After an up-and-down couple of weeks that saw them perform up to their potential and down to some lesser competition, Team Spain is right where they’re supposed to be at the FIBA European Championships: playing for the gold medal. In yesterday’s semifinal, Pau Gasol scored 18 points and Rudy Fernandez added 14 and three steals to lead Spain in a blowout win over Greece, while Ricky Rubio continued his underwhelming (at least stats-wise) tourney with a 5-point, 3-assist effort. Spain will face Serbia in the final, the team that upset them on the first day of the tournament. In Serbia’s semifinal, Milos Teodosic dropped 32 points (6 threes), and Nenad Krstic had 18 points to lead them past Slovenia … Read More »

NBA training camp is still a few weeks away, so Saturday was all about college football. Some basketball-related notes from the day’s action: Greg Paulus lost his first game as Syracuse’s starting QB, racking up 167 yards on 19-of-31 attempts with one touchdown against Minnesota, but he threw a crucial pick in overtime (’Cuse was also 1-for-12 in converting third downs); Javier Arenas (Gilbert’s cousin) had a handful of kick/punt returns in fifth-ranked Alabama’s win over No. 7 Virginia Tech, but didn’t break any for a long gain … With Ramon Sessions spoken for, the only two point guards anybody is looking out for in free agency are Allen Iverson and Ray Felton, and the former’s eventual destination likely has a big impact on the latter’s next move. Read More »

Nothing happened in basketball yesterday. Really. The Celtics are still trying to find a way to make that sign-and-trade for Marquis Daniels work (a.k.a. ringing Chris Wallace’s phone off the hook), the Hawks are looking to add another big man (those auditioning for the role include Joe Smith, Jason Collins, Stromile Swift and D-League MVP Courtney Sims), and Linzas Kleiza is getting closer and closer to signing with Olympiakos (Greece) and making it official that the Nuggets really lost ground on the whole improving-the-team thing this summer. Other than that, most of the weekend was dead basketball-wise, with the first NFL preseason game, the Pro Football Hall of Fame, a Yankees/Red Sox series, and Tiger Woods involved in the last day of a tournament owning the headlines … Read More »

It’s kind of crazy to think the one man really standing in the way of Allen Iverson having a team right now is somebody’s whose previous claim to fame was being one of the NBA’s D-League success stories. Ramon Sessions is the hottest free agent PG available (the best available would be Ray Felton), and the same teams after him are pretty much the same teams who were or are still considering Iverson. The Knicks, Clippers, Bucks and another team that hasn’t been revealed (Miami?) are at the top of Sessions’ list, and he’s reportedly aiming to reach a decision within the next few days … If Sessions doesn’t return to Milwaukee, how should the team proceed with their PG situation? Read More »

Four words you’re going to hear more than “rumor” and “sign-and-trade” over the next 2-3 weeks:

It’s. Just. Summer. League.

Remember that when you see some of the stat lines coming out of Orlando and Vegas from rookies and guys trying to shoot their way into the NBA. Yesterday the PTP’er was none other than Ryan Anderson, the Magic’s throw-in of the Vince Carter trade who dropped 33 points (11-15 FG, 9-9 FT) and 14 boards on the Celtics. Read More »

Andrew wrote this morning that the Celtics should have been more patient, now having a shot at bigger frontcourt contributors Drew Gooden and Joe Smith, but with Mikki Moore and a full roster, Gooden and Smith will have to find another team to suit up for. Turns out, they’re not the only ones.

As GMs cut ties with players before Sunday’s deadline to still be playoff eligible, giving them a chance to participate in the postseason, who will snatch them up? Unless you’re contending, you’re not really looking to spend money, but if you have title aspirations, here are five guys who just became available (since the Knicks just signed Cheikh Samb) and where they’re most likely headed: Read More »