Sekou Smith of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “James kept the Hawks on the end of his jab all night, working them inside and out from start to finish. He had 22 points on 7-for-12 shooting from the floor by halftime, much to the delight of the sellout crowd of 20,562 that turned out to see their team after the long layoff. ‘I’m just taking what the defensive is giving me,’ James said. ‘I wanted to be a little bit more aggressive with the time we had off. I wanted to get into a good flow, and we looked good.’ Cavaliers coach Mike Brown lauded his superstar for his effort more than anything, pointing to the way the 6-foot-8, 260-pound James hit the floor for a loose ball early to make clear that his team was coming to work with hard hats on. ‘LeBron, during the course of the game, he got on the ground I don’t know how many times,’ Brown said. ‘He came up with a 50-50 ball that set the tone. In the playoffs everybody knows what offensive plays you’re going to run. When you have him diving on the floor, getting after those 50-50 balls, it sets the tone.’”
John Schuhmann of NBA.com: “As anticipated, Cleveland was a bit rusty. It was a step slow defensively, allowing the Hawks to score on their first six possessions of the game and take an early seven-point lead. But the MVP kept them in it, getting in the paint and to the foul line. James scored 16 points in the first quarter on 5-of-6 from the field and 5-of-6 from the stripe. The Hawks built a five-point lead in the first quarter, but by the end of the quarter, Cleveland had a four-point lead. And even though they weren’t that sharp early on, the Cavs executed their game plan to a T. Coach Mike Brown’s priorities coming into the game were getting back in transition and keeping Atlanta off the offensive glass. In their seven games against Miami, the Hawks averaged 16.0 fast-break points and 14.2 second-chance points. Combined, almost 35 percent of their points were scored on the break or off the glass. In Game 1, Atlanta managed just six fast-break points, eight second-chance points and had six offensive rebounds (three of which came on one possession in the second quarter).”
Jeremy Wagner of Roundball Mining Company: “Unlike their efficient offense the Nuggets played their worst defensive game of the season. Dallas was much more aggressive with the pick and roll and they continually hurt the Nuggets in the middle of the paint on a handful of occasions. I think the Nuggets’ scheme played as big a role in the Mavs’ solid offensive performance as the Mavs adjustments did. Throughout the course of the entire season I have expressed my displeasure with switching screens. I am not saying switching should never be utilized, but when switching screens is your primary tactic in defending ball screens you are bound to play with less aggression. Karl likes to talk about how zone defenses are weak, but switching screens is every bit as weak as playing zone. The Nuggets switched screens more frequently than they did in the first game of the series. In fact they switched in instances where it was completely unnecessary and it cost them. The Nuggets’ 115.8 Defensive Efficiency was by far their worst of the postseason and it was the first postseason game where they gave up more than 95 points. The TNT analysts were still giving the Nuggets credit for their defense, but Denver will struggle to win a game in Dallas if they play defense like they did tonight.”
Jeff Eisenberg of The Press-Enterprise: “‘We’re not happy about losing, there’s no doubt about that, but the sky is not falling,’ Jackson said. ‘You guys can do that for us if you want, but we’re not at that level. We’re not ready to pack up and go home yet.’ Where the coaches believe the Lakers lost Monday’s game is by deserting the tenets of the triangle offense too quickly. Once they fell behind early and their outside shots stopped dropping, patience and crisp passing disappeared from the Lakers’ offense and they became too reliant on Bryant. Worse yet, Bryant had minimal success getting to the rim or the free-throw line against Shane Battier and Houston’s array of help defenders. He scored a game-high 32 points on 14-for-31 shooting, but 26 of those shots were jumpers and Bryant reached the free-throw line just once until the final three minutes.”
Frank Dell’Apa of The Boston Globe: “‘I asked the guys, how many defensive adjustments did we make at halftime?’ Rivers said. ‘And the answer was zero, not one. How many offensive adjustments did we make? And the answer was zero, not one. ‘For me, that comes from within. I told them after the game, you had a team that had a big lead, they let their guard down a little bit, and you made a big run. We’ve got to do that the first quarter, the second quarter, when the game is on the line.’ The first player required to use the fast-forward button is point guard Rajon Rondo. ‘He’s just got to use his speed,’ Rivers said. ‘His speed is power. I don’t think he did it in Game 6 or 7 [against the Bulls] and he didn’t do it in Game 1. When he goes into that mode, it’s very difficult for him to perform well and it’s actually very difficult for our team to perform well because then they use him as the guy they’re going to help off of all game.’”
Marcus Thompson II of the Contra Costa Times: “Having Riley as the top basketball executive has caused concern for Warriors fans. Many are skeptical about whether he is running the show or is just Nelson’s puppet. Nelson and Riley have been best friends for years, and Nelson brought Riley with him from Dallas to Golden State. But a team source said Riley’s promotion to assistant general manager — to replace Pete D’Alessandro, Mullin’s right-hand man who was fired in November — was Rowell’s idea. For his part, Nelson constantly has denied having involvement in matters ‘upstairs.’ Concern also exists over whether Riley has the necessary credentials. Riley has experience in the front office, working as director of player personnel for the Vancouver Grizzlies from 1994-2000 (which is more front-office experience than Mullin had when he assumed his current post in 2004). Riley also has more than a decade experience as an assistant coach and scout in the NBA. But whether Riley has the pull and connections around the league — which was widely regarded as one of Mullin’s strengths — remains to be seen.”
Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel: “The Heat’s patience in breaking two rookies into its playing rotation proved even more trying off the court. Forward Michael Beasley and point guard Mario Chalmers, who both received significant fines from the NBA before the start of the season, were continually fined by the Heat throughout the season for violations of team policy. ‘Part of being an NBA basketball player is being accountable at all times,’ coach Erik Spoelstra said. The number of fines not only caught the attention of Heat President Pat Riley, but had team staffers addressing the rookies during the season about the penalties that were subtracted from their paychecks.”
Stan Grossfeld of The Boston Globe: “Russell was an outspoken civil rights advocate who grew up with the pain of segregation. His father and grandfather taught him to stick up for himself. He did just that during his very first NBA game in 1956. Despite having an NCAA championship and Olympic gold medal to his credit, Russell wasn’t getting the ball. Auerbach called a timeout, and Russell stayed outside of the huddle. ‘I wasn’t [angry],’ he says. ‘I was assessing the situation. We had only three guys shoot the ball. I knew then that’s no way to win.’ Russell told Auerbach that he was the center and the ball should go through him, down low, so he could get rebounds. Auerbach listened and designed plays for Russell. It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”
Howard Beck of The New York Times: “Childress reportedly wanted $10 million a year from the Hawks. He balked at Atlanta’s final offer — $33 million over five years — and instead took a three-year, $32.5 million deal with the Greek team Olympiacos. The Hawks replaced Childress with two players: the veterans Mo Evans and Flip Murray. Both are playing major roles. Together, they made $4 million this season — about $2.6 million less than the Hawks would have paid Childress, and $6 million less than he demanded. ‘Sure, we lost Chills, which was I thought a tremendous loss at the time,’ Coach Mike Woodson said this week, ‘but Mo and Flip, they haven’t missed a beat.’ It is a lesson worth considering for free-agent role players — who may not be as indispensable as they think — and for general managers — who annually overspend on nonstars.”
