“It’s become like a forum. We’re just a couple of guys talking about ball. And people join in on the conversation.” – Tas Melas, in a profile in The Globe and Mail from April 18, 2008.

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I let myself down last night, failing to keep my eyes open after the Boston/San Antonio game tipped off. Apparently you shouldn’t go for late-afternoon/early-evening drinks with co-workers when you haven’t slept properly in weeks. After waking up on my couch at 12:00 AM with freaking hockey on the TV, lesson learned. I’m not going to compound this failure with a failure to complete the third BfB, though, so bear with me as I sort through last night’s action despite missing the majority of it live. (more…)

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This past week, I’ve been tweeting and League Passing my face off and loving every minute of it. I’ve seen buzzer-beaters, incredible dunks, and one of the most captivating individual performances I’ve ever had the pleasure of watching. Here’s a recap of the week that was, using selections from the Outside Twitter account as a guide. (more…)

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In our first podcast, Julian, Eric, and I discuss the Iverson/Memphis debacle, Earl Smith III, Stephen Jackson’s agent vs. Nellie, the ridiculousness of the Raptors, the success of the Suns and Nuggets, the failures of the Cavs and Hornets, and Kobe’s newfound appreciation for the post-up game. Oh, and we play a little game.
We recorded this yesterday, before watching the slew of awesome games covered here and here. So, we didn’t get to talk about Brad Miller’s near-buzzer-beater or Travis Outlaw’s vicious dunk on Rudy Gay. We’ve got you covered on Matt Bonner dunk analysis, though.

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Everyone expected this to be a crappy draft class, but everyone was wrong. Plenty of rookies have impressed in the early part of the season. Here are some of my favourites, along with some advanced stats that I hope you’re already familiar with, but might be completely meaningless given the small sample size we’re dealing with here. Apologies to Terrence Williams, Austin Daye, Taj Gibson, and a few others who may be deserving – it’s early, I’ll get to you guys eventually. (more…)

The Denver Nuggets were my guilty pleasure last year. My fling. Even in the game which cost Sam Mitchell his job as coach of the Raptors, I couldn’t be mad at them. Why? Well, there are a few reasons.
1: They call him Melo
Back in the old days, you know, 2003, there was a draft in the NBA that was kind of a big deal. I dunno if any of you remember it but it was quite good. Anyway, I was the idiot who said that if the Raptors got the first pick, we should take Carmelo. Okay, so I overrated him juuust a bit. (more…)

