Beast of the Night: Donte Greene went nuts against the Knicks last night, posting 24 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal and 6 blocks while hitting 6 threes and shooting 69 percent (9-13) from the field. It’s tough to remember the last time a player hit 6 threes and blocked 6 shots in the same game, and it goes without saying that this was a huge night for the second-year player. Greene’s value won’t get higher than it is right now, but he deserves attention in most leagues. Read More »

The Detroit broadcast of last night’s Pistons/Cavs game had one of those text-in polls: Who is the Pistons’ perfect rival: Cavs or Celtics? One announcer argued it was the Cavs, “whether they want to admit it or not.” After re-signing Ben Wallace, sticking to the idea that Rip Hamilton could lead them to the promised land, being hesitant to start an official rebuilding project, and thinking last year’s team would have been a contender if not for Allen Iverson, that statement was probably the greatest indication that Detroit is living in the past. The Cavs ain’t worried about the Pistons; they’ve got real contenders in their path. Read More »

Last year we debuted the “Highs and Lows” system — previewing the NBA season by predicting the respective ceiling and basement for each team. Same theme, different season…

Added: Shawn Marion, Drew Gooden, Rodrigue Beaubois, Kris Humphries, Quinton Ross, Tim Thomas

Lost: Brandon Bass, Antoine Wright, Jerry Stackhouse, Ryan Hollins, Devean George, Gerald Green Read More »

Of course the games don’t count in the standings, and not everybody is going all-out although they’re still getting paid (it’s like Tim Thomas‘ fantasy land), but one of the biggest misconceptions about the NBA preseason is the idea that you can’t learn anything from these exhibitions. If a guy can’t hit a shot in the preseason (e.g. Peja Stojakovic right now), it’s not like he’s going to automatically become more accurate when the games count. And if he’s busting the defense’s ass and making it look easy in the preseason (e.g. Kobe every year), it’s not like he’s going to suddenly turn into a scrub when it matters. Look at the Orlando Magic: Read More »

A couple months ago, one of our writers picked the Wizards to make a return to the playoffs in 2010, slotting them eighth or ninth in the East. A lot of readers thought that was way too low; they had the crew of Caron Butler, Antawn Jamison, a returning Gilbert Arenas and Brendan Haywood, new pickups Randy Foye and Mike Miller, and young’uns Andray Blatche, Nick Young and JaVale McGee finishing as high as fourth in the East. Now Jamison is taking it a step further. In yesterday’s Washington Post, Jamison said he believes the Wizards can win a championship next year. Read More »

In a way, it must be nice playing for an NBA organization that barely seems to know up from down, and for a coach who delivers his rendition of the “Inches” speech while drinking a Bud Lite. Who else but the Warriors would have their most high-profile player, Stephen Jackson, make a very public trade demand and insult the franchise at the same time, and not only do they try to spin it as a positive, the coach also keeps him in place as the recognized official leader of the team. When Jackson said he wanted to be traded because, basically, Golden State sucks, team GM Larry Riley actually tried to sell it as Jackson committing to making the Warriors a contender. Read More »

Since Lamar Odom is waiting for some NBA team to discover 10 million extra dollars in their couch cushions, and the Knicks and Allen Iverson still haven’t realized they’re perfect for each other, there wasn’t much happening around the League yesterday … The Emeka Okafor/Tyson Chandler trade was made official. In an interview with the Charlotte Observer, Chandler said his toe and ankle are healthy (“For the first time in a couple of years, I’ve got good movement in my toe.”), and Larry Brown said Chandler will help the Bobcats be more of a running team. Read More »

Dating back to the failed ’09 deadline trade that was supposed to send Tyson Chandler to Oklahoma City for a package headlined by Chris Wilcox, every rumored deal we heard involving Chandler had the Hornets getting short-changed. Names like Rasho Nesterovic and Didn’t You Used To Be Ben Wallace were among those being thrown around, but if the trade that was reported last night to be close to happening actually goes through, the Hornets would be big winners. The rumor has Emeka Okafor headed to New Orleans in a trade for Chandler, and last time we checked, several sources are saying it’s just about complete … Read More »

Look at it this way: If the Rockets offered Ron Artest to the Lakers for Trevor Ariza straight-up and the money was even, wouldn’t L.A. jump on that in half-a-second? Of course. That’s basically what happened yesterday, when Artest agreed to a three-year, $18M deal with L.A., and an allegedly pissed-off Ariza turned right around and reached a deal with the Rockets. (Ariza was already believed to be upset that the Lakers hadn’t made him more of a priority in the beginning stages of free agency, so he might have left anyway.) The younger Ariza will get an estimated $33 million over five years … Read More »

We’re pretty sure that when Courtney Lee visualized his first NBA Finals experience, this wasn’t how he thought he’d make headlines. Getting a heaping serving of blood pudding from Kobe Bryant? That honestly shouldn’t have been a stretch to see coming. But missing the biggest shot of his life and being called “The Next Nick Anderson“ for all the wrong reasons? That’s tough. In the aftermath of Lee blowing Orlando’s best chance at winning Game 2 the other night, opinions in the Dime office were split: Read More »