Every year, NBA players, owners, coaches and general managers donate hundreds of thousands of dollars to charity. Not all of their philanthropy is voluntary. In the NBA, it’s a fineable offense to wear a headband upside down, to publicly criticize an official, or to execute a chin-up on the rim. As you can imagine, some of these things happen quite frequently. Read More »

I’ve come to the conclusion that Dwyane Wade is the best player in the NBA at blocking shots at the rim. Read More »

In the fourth quarter in South Beach last night, Tracy McGrady outplayed even LeBron James. We shouldn’t have to remind anyone it’s 2012 and not 2003. But watching T-Mac bang threes (he hit a trio of big ones in the fourth quarter), grab rebounds in traffic and close out the Heat for their first loss of the season, we caught a serious case of deja vu. Miami, after looking invincible at times through their first five games, controlled the game throughout the first three quarters. But with McGrady (16 points, seven rebounds, four assists) turning back the clock, Dwyane Wade (12 points, 10 assists) scoring only three points in the second half, and Atlanta shutting down the fast break with a zone defense, the Hawks walked out with a 100-92 win. Read More »

The rich keep getting richer. The Heat have a new toy and last night, he dropped 14 points in the fourth, drugged the crowd into chanting MVP for him at the line and used his Sam Cassell in ’94-sized balls to hit two straight jumpers in the final minute against the Celtics. Boston had to endure the wrath of D-Wade (24 points, eight assists, four blocks) and LeBron (26 points) for three quarters, but some great shooting and a zone defense brought them all the way back. Too bad Norris Cole wasn’t having it. Read More »

The Golden State Warriors have perennially been one of the more favorable NBA teams for fantasy basketball fans. The arrival of new head coach Mark Jackson may mean more energy spent on the defensive end of the court, but make no mistake – the crew from Oakland still has plenty of appeal for fantasy purposes. After all, not many teams boast four players who can potentially be drafted in the first three rounds of drafts whenever the NBA resumes. Read More »

It’s crazy the difference a year makes. Last year at this time, the media attention swirling around the NBA was actually picking up steam. Game 7 of the 2010 Finals was an afterthought compared to the free agency craze. Atlanta got so hyped up, they threw Birdman money at Joe Johnson. Cleveland got so hell bent, they were ready to tear down buildings. We were throwing July 8th office parties. Miami was throwing “We are gonna win 10 championships” parties. And LeBron nearly ruined himself. Read More »

After the Knicks inked Amar’e Stoudemire, it was pretty clear that they weren’t going to make another move until LeBron signed on someone’s dotted line. But while reports surfaced earlier in the week that the Warriors would have to give up Monta Ellis in order to acquire a big man, now it appears they don’t. And instead of David Lee ending up in Minnesota, he very well could end up in the Bay. Read More »

Beast of the Night: Vladimir Radmanovic tore it up last night, finishing with 20 points, 4 threes, 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals. He shot 62 percent (8-13) from the field and had just 1 turnover. This is an eye-opening from a player who’s owned in very few leagues right now, but Radmanovic, whose three-point shooting fits the Warriors’ system, is getting minutes in Golden State and has started almost every game since he’s been there. He deserves a look in most leagues. Read More »

Beast of the Night: Nene put up a monster line with 20 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals, 4 blocks and 2 turnovers while shooting 62 percent (8-13) from the floor and 80 percent (4-5) from the line. It was his finest game of the season so far and his owners have to be hoping that he stays healthy. Read More »

It took about 47 and a half minutes for Don Nelson to really miss Stephen Jackson. In the Warriors’ first game since trading Capt. Jack to the Bobcats, they were actually hanging with the Cavs on the road last night. On a critical possession with under a minute to go and Cleveland ahead by four, LeBron of course had the rock, a situation where S-Jack would normally have been guarding him. This time, however, Nellie had to enlist Vlad Radmanovic for the job. (Well, he didn’t have to; Anthony Randolph might have been a better choice.) To the surprise of no one, LeBron scored easily, sticking a pull-up jumper for the dagger … Read More »