Carmelo Anthony did everything he was supposed to do against the Rockets on Monday, except win the game. All night long ‘Melo was proving why Clyde Drexler called him “probably the best — no, he IS the best offensive player in the game,” scoring 45 points on 18-of-35 shooting to go with 10 rebounds and only one turnover … ‘Melo was clutch in the fourth, dropping 15 of Denver’s 28 points and putting the Nuggets up double-digits. But next thing you know, Houston hit a few threes and suddenly it was a one-possession game. And every time ‘Melo seemed to stick the dagger, somebody would respond on the other end. Read More »

There is a buzz circulating around NYC as of late. For the past week, the Knicks have actually been playing some decent basketball. They’ve won three in a row and four of their last five (three of which were against winning teams). Coach Mike D’Antoni’s troops have definitely played harder and more importantly, they’ve been playing some defense. Last night against the Blazers, the Knicks forced 19 turnovers and blocked six shots. By the third quarter, New York was blowing out Portland. Read More »

The Knicks play in one of the biggest cities in the world, in the most famous arena. And as of now, the Knicks have a better record than the Nets and even beat them yesterday 106-97. But for some of the biggest names in this summer’s highly-touted free agent class like LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh – the Nets might be the better short-term and long-term option. Read More »

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 »