What makes NBA games so special and electrifying are the epic in-game dunks. Of course, we love the flashy passing and heart wrenching buzzer-beaters, but to be capsulated in a moment where someone gets posterized is beyond blissful. Let’s start by saying shout out to Brandon Knight as he valiantly didn’t give up on the play last night when he could have. He could have dodged DeAndre Jordan and let Lob City get away with another alley-oop. He didn’t. It’s okay. Read More »

With New York mourning the 16th anniversary (are we really that old?) of the death of Biggie Smalls yesterday, the Knicks gave the city something to celebrate. But fittingly, on this day, they also announced another injury to a major star, one that might murder the rest of his season … J.R. Smith had 24 points, and Steve Novak added another 20 off the pine in New York’s 29-point dismantling of Utah, a game that was never close after the first quarter. Read More »

One of the best games all season went down in Milwaukee last night. With both the Bucks and the Jazz literally playing for their playoff lives, they staged a wild back-n-forth overtime matchup that ultimately swayed Milwaukee’s way because of one man: Monta Ellis. Read More »

You want to know why that Lakers win in Dallas was so big? Any sensible L.A. fan knows whenever they go to Denver, they get spit back out like spoiled food. With time running out and Houston not looking like they’re going to fall apart anytime soon, the Lakers can’t afford anymore mishaps. Their 119-108 loss to the Nuggets doesn’t count as as screwup – Denver just had it rolling. Read More »

We hate to keep leading Smack off with LeBron James, but it’s almost like we have to lock him in here on every night he plays. The dude is just too good. Check out some of these numbers. James was 11-for-15 shooting last night in the Heat’s 117-104 flaying of Portland, finishing with 30 points and nine assists. He’s made 60 of his last 80 shots overall. On NBA Coast 2 Coast, they showed a shot chart from his last few games, and every spot outside of the left wing and left corner was blaming red. Read More »

In fantasy, the trade deadline is one of the most crucial moments of the year for your team. Guys who were once buried on the depth chart can all of a sudden become starters, making the waiver wire considerably deeper in the blink of an eye. If you do enough research, you can have an idea of who might be getting moved where ahead of time, allowing you to be a move ahead of the rest of your league. Read More »

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While things are getting dicey in Los Angeles because the Lakers will rely on D-League call-ups and 10-day contracts to get them through the next few weeks, it’s the opposite in Utah. It has been all season. Before the year began, I noted that Utah’s imposing frontline was a double-edged sword: too much talent, too many bodies, not enough playing time. Read More »

On a night where we all tried to watch a BCS championship that got so bad – think Spike running over the Little Giants – that Brent Musburger needed a hall pass by the end of the first quarter because he was getting distracted by A.J. McCarron‘s girlfriend, we saw more than enough upsets in the NBA to hold over even the most raucous Notre Dame fans. In the Mecca, Paul Pierce oiled up the machine, got the creaky gears working together again, and put on his “professional scorer” face in the fourth quarter of Boston’s 102-96 “don’t believe the hype” win against the Knicks. Read More »

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