In the last decade, the NBA has transformed from being a big man’s league into a guard’s league. Although frontcourts have always, and will always be the foundation of a winning team, recently franchises have found it much more difficult to build an elite frontline than putting together a competitive 1-2 punch. Ultimately, putting together a dominant frontcourt is what separates the good teams from the great ones, because in today’s game every team has talented guards. Frankly, each team has a backcourt that can outplay its opponent on any given night, which is why it is so difficult to pick five particular tandems as the best up-and-comers in the League. Read More »

Is this the year for Miami’s redemption? The year LeBron turns it all around and rids himself of those evil demons? We may never know for sure. But at least in the video game world, 2011-12 is all about South Beach and LeBron James. Without the real NBA, I simulated a season to see what would happen. Of course, gamers know with stuff like this, there are always oddities (How did Antawn Jamison make an All-NBA Team? Or Dirk an All-Defensive Team?). But they seem to get the majority of stuff right. If we’re relying on NBA 2K12, then this year would’ve been all LeBron’s. Read More »

The Oklahoma City Thunder are not like a box of chocolates. You know they’ve got four fantasy studs that can feasibly be drafted in succession in the first four rounds of standard-sized drafts. Truth be told, no one else on this roster really matters. It will be interesting to monitor how the team’s mercurial point guard adjusts to having a more prominent mate in the backcourt. Read More »

The most common criticism that people have had against the Bulls this season has been their lack of a true scorer outside of Derrick Rose. Never was that more evident than in the last five minutes of regulation and overtime of Game 4, when Rose essentially went one-on-one with a much bigger LeBron James because nobody else on his team could create any shots without his help. The most glaring weakness is at the two guard spot, where the Bulls currently have a flawed three-man rotation there. Read More »

When C.J. Watson replaces Derrick Rose, Chicago fans collectively hold their breath. While their star briefly recharges the batteries, they can only hope that he does not shed his offensive leash. In a structured offense, an overconfident backup can singlehandedly ruin the dynamic. Think Jamal Crawford when he’s ice cold. This, in a nutshell, is C.J. Watson. But the emotional rollercoaster that is Watson’s game does not provide a concrete answer to the following question: How much do the Bulls actually miss Rose when Watson is on the floor? More generally, how great a difference is there between a starter and a backup in the playoffs? Let’s find out. Read More »

This much we know. Behind Kevin Durant acting as the “one” in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s one-two punch is Russell Westbrook. But to make a run in the playoffs, the other, other guy that could punctuate OKC’s ascent to elite heights is James Harden; the lightening bolt that could roll the Thunder deep into the playoffs.

He’s smart. He’s savvy. He’s hardworking. He’s unnoticed. A No. 3 overall draft pick (he went a pick ahead of Sacramento Kings guard Tyreke Evans, by the way), the shooter/slasher is averaging 15.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists since the All-Star break. Read More »

All die-hard NBA fans look forward to Christmas Day games because of the numerous storylines, as last year’s games had a similar star-studded lineup to this year’s games. With all of this hoopla in the holiday atmosphere, we decided to take a look at the Top 10 storylines to follow today. Read More »

Ranking the NBA from worst to first…

30. Cleveland Cavaliers (7-17) Last week — Lost at Philadelphia, lost to Chicago, lost at Houston, lost at Oklahoma City They could snap this eight-game losing streak at Miami on Wednesday. And Brett Favre could go one week without appearing on SportsCenter, and Mel Gibson could actually respect people who aren’t like him. Read More »

It’s officially Back to the Future time for the Hornets. After starting the season winning 11 of their first 12 games and eliminating all of the persistent rumors about Chris Paul leaving, they’ve since lost four out of five and reality is beginning to set in. Last night in Oklahoma City — 24 hours after blowing a 17-point lead in a loss to the Spurs — the Hornets led for much of the second half until a flurry of OKC awesomeness sent N.O. home with another loss … Late in the fourth quarter, the Hornets were up by four before Russell Westbrook (25 pts, 11 asts) hit a foul-line jumper. Read More »

It would be so much more scandalous had the Celtics/Cavs pre-game predictions floating around the Dime office actually come true — that Boston would let Cleveland win just to mess with LeBron James’ head. But realistically, The Replacements knocked off the C’s for simpler reasons: They caught an old team on the second part of a back-to-back, Ray Allen‘s inconsistency reared its ugly head (4-13 FG, 0-5 3PA), Paul Pierce missed shots down the stretch he usually makes, and more importantly, this game meant everything to the Cavs. Read More »