Tom Enlund of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “The Boston Celtics have done the math and they like the result. In reaching the halfway point of the season, coach Doc Rivers and Co. have calculated that it took them 79 days to play those first 41 games. A much more leisurely schedule awaits the defending NBA champions, as they will play the final 41 games in 91 days. Boston has played four more games than the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Celtics think the schedule could work in their favor as they try to hold off the team that is most likely to challenge them for the best record in the Eastern Conference. ‘It’ll help us big,’ said Rivers. ‘It was just a tough beginning for us. We had a lot of games squeezed into a short period of time.’ There will be 10 times in the second half of the season when Boston has at least two straight days off. That includes a six-day layoff over the all-star break.”
Marcus Thompson II of the Contra Costa Times: “Golden State has used a league-high 26 starting lineups, with 12 including a rookie. That’s not to mention the drama surrounding Ellis’ injury — which was followed by a 30-game suspension for his participation in prohibited activities and lying about it — and the fallout from that. Nor the public beef between coach Don Nelson and starting forward Al Harrington, whom the Warriors wound up trading in November. Nor the behind-the-scenes clashing of team president Robert Rowell and Chris Mullin, who’s in a lame-duck year as the Warriors’ executive vice president of basketball operations . Nor the midseason change in coaching philosophy, which saw Nelson put the defense in the hands of two assistants. Still, the Warriors are bubbling with optimism in the locker room. While most see the 10 losses by 15 points or more, the Warriors choose to look at the eight defeats by five points or fewer.”
Chris McCosky of The Detroit News: “The Pistons now are 0-4 since Richard Hamilton returned and they went back to the three-guard lineup. The unit played better in stretches Saturday, but issues remain. They had too many bad defensive match-ups — Tayshaun Prince on David West or Tyson Chandler, Iverson on Rasual Butler. With the three guards, the Pistons still play a relatively low-possession game (85 shots, nine fast-break points), don’t get to the free-throw line (7-for-13) and don’t shoot a high percentage (42 percent from the floor, 31.6 from 3-point range). ‘We need to do whatever we were doing to win those seven games in a row,’ Iverson said. ‘Whatever we were doing back then, that’s how we have to get back to playing.’”
Kurt Kragthorpe of The Salt Lake Tribune: “‘I haven’t cried about us having guys out of the lineup as long as I’ve been here,’ Sloan said. ‘That’s part of the business. If you’re going to cry about that, then that’s pretty weak.’ So the Jazz have soldiered on, while Olympic players Carlos Boozer and Deron Williams have started only two games together. The Jazz went 11-7 without John Stockton to start the 1997-98 season, and that was with nobody else injured and an NBA Finals-level team in place. The current team is 16-13 without Boozer — and lot of other folks at various times, resulting in 13 different starting lineups. ‘These guys have hung in there pretty good,’ Sloan said. No kidding. They have been inconsistent and maddeningly soft on the road, but considering what could have happened under the circumstances, this first half has to be labeled a success.”
Mike Baldwin of The Oklahoman: “‘What I like about this team is we’re not happy about our record,’ said interim coach Scott Brooks. ‘We understand it should be better. We feel we’re a better team than the (eight) wins we have. That bothers them. That bothers all of us.’ Contrary to Parcells’ hypothesis, records can be misleading. . The argument for the Thunder is they’re 1-12 in games decided by six points or less. At some point, a young team should win its share of close games. Down-to-the-wire losses to San Antonio, Phoenix, Detroit, Phoenix, Houston and Denver gave players confidence they could play with the league’s elite teams. Oklahoma City has lost three buzzer-beaters, four if you include the Suns’ Matt Barnes’ dagger 3-pointer with 25.7 seconds left, a game in which the Thunder owned a 16-point, second-half lead. But it’s those agonizing losses that are helping a young team mature.”
Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal: “The jerseys say ‘Grizzlies’ at home games and read ‘Memphis’ on the road. Beyond that, it’s becoming more apparent that the players don’t know who they are and what they’re trying to accomplish as a team. Losses are mounting and now doubt about the team’s direction is creeping into the picture. ‘We don’t have an identity,’ rookie center Marc Gasol said. ‘We don’t have one. We run around like chickens with our heads cut off. Youth can be a good thing, but we use it as an excuse. We’re always making excuses. We make excuses to the referees and to our teammates. We make excuses in practice. That’s all some people want to do is make excuses. You’re never going to get anywhere like that.’ Nowhere is where the Griz are currently going.”
Marc Berman of the New York Post: “The banished Marbury told The Post yesterday his $1 million giveback is back on the table. Marbury said he’s waiting to hear back from Knicks president Donnie Walsh on his proposal. Marbury, who is training in Los Angeles, says he has a firm offer from at least one club, allowing him to change his negotiating stance for the first time in seven weeks. The Celtics are the leading candidates to sign Marbury, according to a source. Marbury had taken the $1 million giveback off the table during their stormy Dec. 1 meeting. Marbury put it back in play because at least one team has now made a commitment to him, allowing him to make the $1 million back. Walsh last offered Marbury to take $3 million less. Marbury has been told by Knicks officials the matter is in owner James Dolan’s hands and he’s been awaiting word for several days.”
Marc Berman of the New York Post: “Sky, an Italian sports station, added extra Knicks games to their NBA package. Alessandro Mamoli, a commentator for Sky, said he spoke to Gallinari’s personal trainer, Simone Laffini, who enlightened him on the matter. ‘The body of Danilo is peculiar, and he needs personalized training,’ Mamoli said. ‘But the Knicks trained him as any other NBA player.’ Francesco Casati, an Italian journalist from American Super Basket, said he believes Gallinari’s introduction to weightlifting days after the June 28 draft could have caused the issue. ‘In Italy there is no habit for the weightlifting,’ Casati wrote in an e-mail to The Post. ‘The Knicks’ medical staff should have paid more attention during the training camp, especially after the heavy contact with [Cleveland's] Robert Traylor during the July summer league in Las Vegas.’”
Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News: “I sat in the front row at an impromptu news conference where the Rockets’ scoring star took umbrage at suggestions he was either ‘washed up’ or not giving an honest effort. He promised to work hard to restore his conditioning and get back to being an All-NBA player. Then David Aldridge, as plugged-in as any NBA reporter I’ve ever known, penned a column on NBA.com that asserted that McGrady and Yao Ming no longer speak, and that Yao wants McGrady to be traded. Yao’s response to the ‘they don’t speak’ claim was to tell the Houston Chronicle: ‘This (news) is fake.’ He did not exactly shoot down suggestions he would prefer McGrady be gone. Here is what I know: Some within the Rockets’ locker room believe McGrady lacks the requisite competitive drive that separates great players from good, winners from losers.”
Percy Allen of the Seattle Times: “Of course, the NBA’s biggest trash talker would find his way behind a microphone once he spent a year away from basketball and realized no championship-caliber team would give him a chance to win another ring. And just like his playing days, his foray in front of the television cameras would include a few minor controversies, verbal altercations and some good old-fashioned trash talking. Take for instance his incessant nit-picking of Boston Celtic Rajon Rondo or his scalding critique of Milwaukee guard Luke Ridnour, the former Sonic, which caused the Bucks to voice complaints to Payton’s employers that he had gone too far. Of course, this is just what the producers at NBA-TV had in mind when they put Payton alongside Ahmad Rashad and Chris Webber to resuscitate ‘NBA Gametime Live’ and a network that has been struggling to find an identity and an audience since it began a decade ago.”
Mary Schmitt Boyer of The Plain Dealer: “For all their similarities, James and Bryant have different strengths, Collins said. ‘The thing I love about these guys the most is that they love to play basketball,’ he said. ‘There’s no place they’d rather be. I’ve never seen a great player who didn’t have a great motor and incredible energy, and both these guys have that. Kobe is precision and LeBron is power. I feel Kobe is a guy who, for the most part, is going to be scoring big points in the fourth quarter. I’ve always felt LeBron is more comfortable making plays for other people.’’Yet, they’re different. Kobe is precision and LeBron is power. I feel Kobe is a guy who, for the most part, is going to be scoring big points in the fourth quarter. I’ve always felt LeBron is more comfortable making plays for other people. I’ve always said he’s more like Magic Johnson, and Kobe’s more like Michael [Jordan]. I’ve always said I think the fact that LeBron, early in his career, was counted on to score so many points, I think people didn’t realize what I’ve always felt were the best aspects of his game — No. 1, how unselfish he is, and No. 2, what a good passer he is.’”
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports: “Miles never wished ill will on Portland. His comeback never has been about costing them salary-cap space on his injury retirement case. Management wanted out of his $48 million contract in Portland and found a way. All along, Miles told the Blazers he would try to play again. He honored his word. And the better he has looked, the worse it has reflected on Portland GM Kevin Pritchard. As much as anyone, this mess has exposed him. He wanted to be the star in the good times in Portland, wanted all the bouquets and bows for his work on the job. He started to believe his own clippings, his own mythology, and he thought he could get away with anything. From the start, Pritchard stumbled into the one rabid NBA market where a general manager can aspire to celebrity. Portland declared Pritchard the Golden Boy, the Gambler, and played songs about him on the radio. Never once did he seem embarrassed. Never did he do much but furiously feed the rush to declare him a genius.”
Blazer’s Edge: “One of the things I’ve noticed about the media covering this situation is that there’s a huge gap. Either they don’t cover it at all or they cover it like it’s the Most Important Story Ever. Neither one of those is fair. This is an unusual case…unprecedented, even. It’s newsworthy and it’s gotten plenty of publicity. This is also a case with a lot of gray area which always makes for more excitement. Nobody’s hands are clean and it’s fair to point that out. But this is not the end of the universe as we know it. This is not the end of a franchise, the end of a General Manager, nor the end of Darius Miles. Even if the absolute worst is true, it’s money in Darius’ pocket and the wrong is compensated for. This happens in businesses all the time. Black marks arise, intentionally or not, and they get erased. This isn’t a Ponzi scheme, or even a Bonzi scheme. It certainly doesn’t rise to the level of defining this era of the team nor the job that Kevin Pritchard has done.”
Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman: “In a 23-day span of November and December, six NBA head coaches were fired. Nuggets coach George Karl was not pink-slipped but was PO’d. ‘I just wish I could be in the meeting with the owner when that GM who is firing them is guaranteeing, ‘We’re going to be better by making this change,’’ Karl told the AP, ‘because I don’t ever see it getting that much better.’ Then open your eyes, George. Changing jockeys in mid-stream is working famously throughout sports. In the NBA, four of the six franchises — including the Thunder under Scott Brooks — have improved dramatically under new coaches. All three NFL teams that switched coaches in mid-2008 improved. All four major league baseball teams that installed new managers during the season got better — some of them remarkably. ‘It’s a fresh start,’ said the Thunder’s Desmond Mason. ‘A new change. Different guys getting opportunities. Sometimes you need a little change to fire things up.’”
Gary D’Amato of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “Mbah a Moute wasn’t some precocious phenom discovered in middle school, coddled in high school and polished in summer camps. He didn’t tour with an AAU team or make Sports Illustrated’s ‘Faces in the Crowd.’ Mbah a Moute’s game was soccer and he was pretty good, tall and gangly but fast and athletic. When Cameroon won the gold medal at the 2000 Olympic Games, he stayed up all night, celebrating in the streets with his friends. If he wasn’t playing soccer, he was helping plant corn or cassava on his grandparents’ farm in Bia Messe, a village on the outskirts of Yaounde, or hunting rabbits or swimming in the river. To go from there – halfway around the world, living in a country where 48% of the population is below the poverty threshold and 30% are unemployed – to here – 22-year-old rookie starter for the Milwaukee Bucks, making more money in one year than his childhood friends will make in their lifetimes – well, it boggles the mind.”
Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic: “Steve Kerr feels a rush of joy when watching his oldest son play basketball, making him think how special it would have been for his father, Malcolm, to have seen his games with the University of Arizona and in the NBA. Today, Kerr’s dad would see his son becoming more like him. Kerr’s personality emanated from his father, but the job of Suns general manager has put him in a leadership role for the first time, and he has drawn on his father’s life lessons in human relations. Kerr’s goals are the same ones his father had as president of American University in Beirut, Lebanon – galvanize people, motivate them and aid their ability to succeed. ‘There are a million things that would’ve been great,’ Kerr said. Twenty-five years ago today, Kerr’s world was tragically altered. He received a 3 a.m. call in his UA freshman dormitory room from a family friend at American University in Beirut. Malcolm Kerr had been murdered for doing the job he once said was the only thing that could make him happier than watching Steve play basketball.”
Doug Smith of the Toronto Star: “The highly respected executive serves as a senior advisor to the Raptors but it is his accomplishments long before he landed in Toronto, accomplishments sometimes given short shrift in the context of these times, that are to be celebrated. He broke down barriers and shattered stereotypes, succeeded when failure could have set a cause back years, and did his own small part to lay the groundwork for what will transpire in the next 48 hours. ‘Wayne was the first walking, talking, breathing African-American who showed he could run not just a basketball team but multimillion-dollar businesses,’ said Sam Mitchell, the former Raptors coach who calls Embry his mentor. ‘He took that stereotype about the dumb jock not being able to do anything away. He smashed it. Wayne showed that people, all people, who are given an opportunity can be successful.’”
Bob Kravitz of the Indianapolis Star: “Specifically, Granger is from Metairie, La., just outside New Orleans, and it is by almost every account one of the most miserable, hopeless, dangerous places in this country. Senior had his own business rebuilding backhoes, forklifts and anything else those big, greasy hands could recondition, but still, the Granger family — Senior and the three kids living together after the mother, Janice, left when Junior was 12 — was stuck in the neighborhood. ‘Wherever you’ve been, our neighborhood was worse,” he said, laughing. ‘Most of the roads aren’t even paved; just rocky gravel. Lots of run-down houses. You knew which houses were crack houses. My dad, before I’d ride my bike, he’d tell me, ‘You’re not riding down this street or this street’ because they were so dangerous. We had train tracks that ran through the neighborhood, maybe 200 yards from my house, a small, grassy area, and people were always finding bodies there.’”
