Beast of the Night: Danny Granger shot 50 percent (12-24) from the field and perfect (5-5) from the line on his way to 31 points, 2 threes, 16 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks and 4 turnovers. The double-digit boards were out of the ordinary as Granger seems to be dealing with a sore heel quite nicely. He’s still a DNP risk but his owners have to be enjoying the ride so far. Read More »

Beast of the Night: Manu Ginobili was absolutely rabid last night, exploding for 36 points, 4 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 steal and 4 blocks, while nailing 6 threes and turning the ball over just once in just 32 minutes of work. He shot 53 percent (8-15) from the field and 88 percent (14-16) from the line. His owners have to be praying that Tim Duncan and Tony Parker take their sweet time recovering on the sidelines. Read More »

Is it possible the West is actually stronger than we all thought? No surprise that the Lakers, Nuggets, Spurs and Blazers have been solid, but not a lot of people expected Houston, Dallas and Phoenix to play so well coming out of the gate … The Suns are arguably the best team in the entire League right now, with Steve Nash putting himself in the mix for a third MVP and doing that thing where he makes fringe NBA players look like All-Stars. Last night Nash added to the resume, putting up 21 points and 20 assists in a come-from-behind win at Philly … Read More »

Judging NBA talent is in Ryan Blake’s blood. The NBA Assistant Director of Scouting is the son of legendary scouting guru, Marty Blake. On top of overseeing scouting reports for the NBA, Ryan can also be found on NBA TV around draft time, analyzing college and international prospects. Blake sat down with Dime recently and gave his two cents on which rookies you need to keep an eye on for the 2009-10 season. Read More »

As you know, Dime Magazine is a basketball lifestyle publication. We are all about giving you guys an all-access pass into the lives of NBA players, whether it’s showing you their cars, homes, jewelry and gear. Today, we’re going to tell you what players bring with them to the games. Prior to the Knicks/Sixers games on Tuesday, we asked a couple of guys: What’s in the bag? Read More »

Danilo Gallinari is still kind of a mystery to the basketball world. Because of a back injury, the 21-year-old forward was limited to just 28 games during his rookie campaign but he showed some flashed of promise near the end of the season. Word out of Knicks camp is Gallinari has been impressive not only as a shooter, but as a distributor and creator. Entering his second season in the League, big things are expected out of the Rooster this year. We were able to talk a little Knicks with Danilo at the EA Sports NBA Live 10 release party on Tuesday. Read More »

The NBA preseason is underway, meaning it’s time again for Dime’s team-by-team season previews. Last year we debuted the “Highs and Lows” system — predicting the respective ceilings and basements for each team. In other words, what is the realistic best-case and worst-case scenario for the 2009-10 campaign?

Added: Jordan Hill, Darko Milicic, Toney Douglas, Gabe Pruitt Read More »

Stephen Jackson’s trade demand was the big story coming out of the Protege Block Party on Friday. But we were also able to catch up with the Knicks’ Al Harrington. The 13-year vet out of St. Patrick’s High School in Elizabeth, NJ, is entering his first full season as a Knick. Harrington weighed in on the state of the Knicks as well as his mission to make quality and affordable shoes.

Dime: Tell the readers a little about Protege. Al Harrington: Well the shoes are great. They’re shoes that will immediately impact the community. It will empower kids and allow them to be able to afford sneakers themselves and not need their parents to buy shoes for them. The days of the $200 shoes are pretty much over. I think it’s unfair because shoes are made at a price that is way, way lower than that. We wanted to be able to put out a shoe that is quality and is just as good as other shoes on the market that are $100 and $200. Kids can look good and with me, Stephen Jackson and Fat Joe wearing them - it’s giving the line a lot of credibility. Kids can wear them and feel empowered wearing them. Read More »

Considering the level of celebrity involved, this D-Wade vs. Pat Riley game of million-dollar chicken hasn’t come close to owning the headlines like it would if Kobe and his front-office were at odds. (Good thing that’s never happened before.) If you haven’t been following, here’s the quick version: Wade’s contract expires in 2010, Riley wants Wade to sign an extension before then, Wade wants to make sure he’s not playing for a mediocre team before he signs anything, Riley says he won’t spend a lot of money to improve the roster until he knows Wade is committed. And aside from Riley making an honest run at Lamar Odom and showing interest in Allen Iverson, neither side has hit the brakes yet. Read More »

Has anyone bothered to find out what Al Jefferson thinks of all this? Friday’s NBA Draft aftermath still focused primarily on the Timberwolves, specifically on them picking Ricky Rubio and Jonny Flynn back-to-back. It’s to the point where Minnesota GM David Kahn wrote an open letter to Wolves fans explaining his actions, a classic example of a guy who still feels the need to prove himself. Could you ever see Larry Bird, Michael Jordan or even Rod Thorn doing that? Anytime Bird hears criticism for his player moves, we can imagine him thinking, “Why did I do that? Because I f***in’ felt like it. I’m LARRY BIRD, dammit!” … Read More »