Dime is the premier basketball magazine, covering the NBA, NCAA, High School, Playground and International basketball - as well as sneakers, fashion and music.
Issue link: http://dimemagazine.epubxp.com/i/130678
KYRIE IRVING & THE NBA'S Whether you have access to League Pass or can only watch the games on cable TV, there are always a few players that you plan your schedule around. In this era of on-demand viewing, to be an appointmentviewing player may be the ultimate compliment. These 10 ft that bill as the ultimate NBA showstoppers of the season's frst half. TOP 10 SHOWSTOPPERS 10 CARMELO ANTHONY Led by Mike Woodson persuading Carmelo to play the four spot this season while remaking the team's offense in the mold of his best player, the Knicks have been a Broadway success. 'Melo's per-game average of more than 28 points hasn't been because of a personal transformation; he's still the jump shot-shooting savant with the step-back and step-through up his sleeve. That grew old in Denver and stagnant last season in New York. However, this season, Anthony opened excitement because now he forces an opponent's hand by choosing whether a big man or smaller wing will check him. That, in turn, can make for awkward defensive strategies that open the foor for everyone else — or, just 'Melo. One of our favorite memories was watching Orlando stick — almost as if on a dare — Josh McRoberts on him for nearly an entire fourth quarter in January. With glee, Anthony fnished with 40 points. 9 STEPHEN CURRY Golden State has long been the NBA's funhouse distortion mirror. Players go there and use the Warriors' bizarro pace and style of play to put up numbers that don't resemble anything they'd do almost anywhere else. Steve Nash and Kevin Durant are headed for hallowed 50/40/90 percentage seasons from the feld, three and free throw line but Curry might still be the NBA's purest shooter. The team's three-point percentage jumps by fve percentage points, and eight more points are scored when he plays. A number of young guards could have taken this spot — Rajon Rondo's injured knee left him off, while Jrue Holiday and Paul George's sample sizes of excellence need to increase a bit — but Curry's output is historic. Only two other guards in NBA history have averaged at least 20.0 points and 6.5 assists while shooting 44 percent from deep. He'll pull from anywhere, and it makes the always fun Warriors looking like a legitimate playoff threat. 61 8 DeMARCUS COUSINS WORDS. ANDREW GREIF PHOTO. SKULLCANDY It's an absolute shame that Cowbell Kingdom has become a wasteland of bad decisions on and off the court just a decade after Vlade, C-Webb, White Chocolate and Adelman made the Kings the best show in the whole league. But while we don't blame Sacramento fans from staying away from the evening news' latest report on the team's possible move, there's no excuse for not watching DeMarcus "Boogie" Cousins get 17.2 points and 10.0 rebounds per game. That's not the whole truth, though. His fuse is as short as his talent is limitless. Whenever the Kings are on, it's hard to know if he'll blow up in a good or bad way. Whatever happens, he usually leaves you shaking your head.