Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports: “He had chased a wayward pass beyond the baseline, beyond reason, and the momentum of a ball, a season – a legacy – that had been spared thrust Ron Artest up the stairs between sections 101 and 126 and into the flailing arms of faithful Houstonians. The Rockets had the ball back on offense and were playing four on five because Artest had repackaged a journey into the heart of darkness and transformed it into something warm and wonderful. ‘I’ve been in the stands before,’ Artest said later with a sheepish smile. ‘A guy offered me a beer. He didn’t throw it at me.’ A long way from the Palace at Auburn Hills four seasons ago, a long way from NBA pariah, Artest sat down 10 rows back in the Toyota Center and let the love wash over him. He wanted to linger, commune, so Ron Artest just sat there. From the left and right, they quickly closed on him and he disappeared into wave upon wave of fans touching and hugging and thanking him. As security rushed to release Artest, the truth had never been so clear with him: Victory has long been confused with virtue in sports, but as a basketball star, Ron Artest was free again.”
Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle: “When the Rockets finished off their 92-76 rout of the Portland Trail Blazers, advancing to the second round for the first time in 12 years, defeating the ghosts of so many first-round disappointments, Yao raised his fists in the air triumphantly. So when he was asked how much all this had weighed on him, he finally exhaled, in some ways revealing the answer before he even spoke. ‘I cannot give you an example,’ he said. ‘I do feel the pressure.’ He then told of waking from his customary pregame nap 90 minutes early and the Xs and 0s dreams it had brought him. ‘That why I enjoy playing with him,’ Artest said. ‘He is always the first one in the gym, the last one to leave. He’s a real leader. Everybody knows that.’ No one is more committed. And it is in that way that Yao leads.”
John Canzano of The Oregonian: “Team executives shook hands in the locker room and said, ‘Great season.’ And it was some bang-up party watching this team compete, wasn’t it? It’s why Thursday’s flop was so disappointing, because just when they sucked you in, just when you believed they might do something special, just when you thought about the Lakers yourselves, they transformed back into the league’s second-youngest team. They brought pillows to a rock fight. Still, you wanted to meet them at the airport to let them know you loved what they did to your heart this season, didn’t you? The locker room ends up as some kind of sociological experience, doesn’t it? Because there were giggles and laughter coming from the Portland showers after the loss. But in one corner, Steve Blake stared off, refusing to let the season end. And in another, Fernandez said of the blowout loss, ‘I want to apologize to all fans of the Blazers.’”
Ben Q. Rock of Third Quarter Collapse: “The easiest explanation for the Magic’s dominance is low expectations. The odds were stacked against them: they were on the road, without two key players players, facing a team that refused to quit in the first 5 games of the series. All the pressure was on Philadelphia to even the series and head to Orlando for the decisive Game 7 this weekend. The Sixers, for possibly the first time all series, did not respond well to the pressure. They caved, in fact. Orlando’s slow start to the second quarter allowed the Sixers to get out in transition, but when the Magic got their offense back on track, Philly did not stand a chance. There was simply no intensity on the defensive end, and one wonders why coach Tony DiLeo did not assign ace defender Andre Iguodala to check Lewis when it became apparent Thaddeus Young didn’t stand a chance against him. But maybe it wouldn’t have mattered who guarded Lewis, because he was getting rid of the ball on double-teams and doing an otherwise brilliant job of fooling defenders with his series of post moves.”
Sam Donnellon of the Philadelphia Daily News: “Dalembert was a disaster, Theo Ratliff had more fouls (two) than points (zero) and Marreese Speights scored four points in almost 14 minutes of play, his largest chunk of time in this series. In contrast, Gortat scored 11 points on 5-for-8 shooting to go with 15 rebounds. And Battie had six rebounds and seven points in his 15:37. ‘They’re all laughing in there now, saying once we got rid of Dwight’s 24 points and 24 rebounds then we could really open up and play basketball,’ Van Gundy said. The grit the Sixers showed in turning this anticipated walkover into a series evaporated, horrifically. The suspension of Howard and the absence of key contributor Courtney Lee with a broken nose were supposed to give the Sixers an advantage in every phase of the game. Instead, they were outplayed in all phases. And worse, they were outhustled at home by a team that had a game to give and homecourt advantage. ‘I read Thaddeus Young’s comments saying that Dwight being out ‘will be huge for us,’ ‘ Van Gundy said. ‘You’ve got to watch all that stuff in this league. This league will bring you to your knees.’”
Chris Perkins of the Palm Beach Post: “For the Heat, which trails in the best-of-seven series 3-2, it’s a win-or-it’s-over game. Perhaps realizing he has nothing to lose, Wade unloaded Thursday. Wade said the Hawks have some ‘unprofessional’ things they need to address. He said Hawks roughhousing center Zaza Pachulia is ‘knocking people out.’ And said he wants to see more out of his young teammates, particularly rookies Michael Beasley and Mario Chalmers. ‘If it seems like I’m calling them out, I’m not calling them out,’ Wade said, ‘but I want to see our young guys play like it’s Game 6 of the playoffs. If ‘Rio says he’s won a national championship (at Kansas), well, I want to see him play like it. I want to see Michael play. It’s not about making shots. It’s about your intensity. It’s about your focus. And I want to see our young guys focused and playing with energy.’”
Sekou Smith of the Atlanta Journal Constitution: “Good luck enjoying yet another entertaining playoff series that’s being marginalized by the news of the weird that seems to be the flavor of every day this time of year. And in true ridiculous fashion, verbal shots are being fired across the floor before the opening tip (and no, I’m not talking about the faux furor over Josh Smith’s missed dunk at the end Game 5).Apparently Heat star Dwyane Wade didn’t appreciate Mario West’s version of the Ray Lewis dance at the of the possession just before halftime of Game 5. The HP (Hypocrisy Police) might point out that Wade doesn’t seem to have a problem with jumping up on the scorer’s table and pounding his own chest after hitting game-winning shots or staring Joe Johnson down after making a deep shot off the glass in Game 2 or screaming for one of his teammates take Flip Murray out on a baseline drive for a dunk late in Game 5.”
Eddie Sefko for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: “‘They can push that ball in the open court,’ the scout said. ‘And when you get guys like Carmelo Anthony and J.R. getting space while playing in transition, they are really tough to deal with. It’s hard to set your defense because they are so fast.’ However, the good news for the Mavericks is that they are a deeper team than the Nuggets. Both benches produce offensively, but the Mavericks have more functional manpower in reserve than the Nuggets do. ‘If Dallas can keep the game up-tempo, but under control, I don’t think Denver has the depth to go with Dallas on that,’ the observer said. ‘Dallas will play 10 guys now. And Denver is going to play about seven or seven-and-a-half. They come off with Anderson and J.R. Smith and that’s really about it. I think Dallas is going to throw numbers at them. In a series, over the long haul, that should have an effect.’”
Mike McGraw of the Arlington Heights Daily Herald: “A photo from Game 5 that made the rounds appeared to show injured Celtics all-star Kevin Garnett screaming from the sideline in the ear of Bulls guard Ben Gordon. At least 25 times per game, the cameras catch Garnett either cheering on his teammates, sticking his chin out or mouthing some R-rated language. Bulls reserve forward Linton Johnson says Chicago fans shouldn’t worry, because the No. 7 seed bench is holding its own in this series. ‘Actually, we’re leading. We’re ahead in this thing,’ Johnson said Thursday. ‘It’s just that KG is Kevin Garnett and they give him more airplay. But we’re killing him on the other end. We had him so quiet when we were up 10 (in the fourth quarter of Game 5), he had to put his head down. He’s Kevin Garnett, but if you look on the other end, we’re giving it to guys. We’re winning this battle of the bench, I’m telling you.’”
John Schuhmann of NBA.com: “The staff prepares ‘playoff books’ and video edits for each of the players, as well as video edits for the team to watch together. And all of these are ready to go. Brown says his staff would be ready if the next series started right away. The Hawks and Heat have some similar characteristics, but each poses distinct challenges. If the Heat advance, the game plan starts with defending Dwyane Wade. ‘You’ve just got to hope that you can make him work for his shots,’ Brown said. ‘And if you can do that, you have to make sure that you respect everybody else and know who the different individuals are when it comes time to trying to close out.’ It’s the other side of the floor that concerns Brown with the Hawks. Atlanta has great length and athleticism and switches on almost every screen.”
Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register: “Artest and Battier go about their business in such different ways that it makes for a game within the game for Bryant. This is like going up against the intensity of Mike Ditka and the acumen of Bill Walsh. Or trying to escape Ray Lewis and Zach Thomas. Or having to predict what Tony Romo will do and then outmaneuver Peyton Manning, too. On a related note: Artest now weighs 260 pounds, which easily qualifies him for gridiron duty. The buzz entering this series is going to be a lot about Artest, because he has that reputation for being a little crazy. And the last time the Lakers played in Houston, Artest was a little crazy – talking a truckload of trash down the stretch to Bryant, who rallied the Lakers to victory. Here’s the reality: Rockets coach Rick Adelman erred in that March 11 game by not going back to Battier after Bryant took it to Artest most of that fourth quarter. Battier is the better defender now, and Bryant will need to prepare much more for Battier’s intellectual positioning than Artest’s manic reaching and grabbing. When it comes down to it, there is no greater storyline in this series to come than Battier vs. Bryant.”
