- David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune: "If you accept, as the Bulls' roster indicates the team has, that the purpose of the 2009 season is to prepare for 2010, then you lose the right to demand the club fire coach Vinny Del Negro now. As long as Del Negro is replaced by summer, when the Bulls' commitment to winning an NBA title resumes, there's no hurry. It really doesn't matter if the Bulls have a news conference to announce the firing of Del Negro on Friday, Christmas Eve or April 15. What matters is everybody who understands the Bulls' plan fully expects that news conference will come before the next draft and free-agent signing period. Understandably, nine losses in 10 games and three Tim Floyd Era-like blowouts have sparked urgent speculation that Del Negro's days absolutely, positively have to be numbered. Bob Stoops already has denied interest in the job, and Charlie Weis has told friends he would like to be considered. Sorry, wrong coaching searches. It's hard to keep these things straight."
- Ted Kulfan of The Detroit News: "How are the Pistons doing it? The more players they lose -- vital and important players -- the better they seem to do. Thursday, after finding out Will Bynum couldn't play because of a pair of twisted ankles, the Pistons defeated the Nuggets, 101-99. Charlie Villanueva had 27 points and Rodney Stuckey 25 for the Pistons (10-12), who've won four in a row and five of six. 'This group here, how much courage did they have today?' coach John Kuester asked afterward. 'They were phenomenal. What a great victory with all the things that were going on.' "
- Michael Lee of The Washington Post: "With the Washington Wizards trailing by two points, Gilbert Arenas stepped to the foul line and whirled the ball around
his waist three times, as he has done so many times in his career. He stared at the basket, knowing that his team needed two free throws to tie the game with 26.7 seconds remaining. He missed them both and the fans comprising the fifth sellout of the season at Verizon Center let out a collective gasp. The Wizards (7-13) had battled back from a 15-point first-half deficit and played the Celtics even for 47 1/2 minutes, but couldn't find a way to finish in the fourth quarter as they lost their third consecutive game, 104-102. Arenas scored a game-high 25 points, but he also missed 5 of 6 free throws and a potential game-tying three-pointer with less than 10 seconds remaining. If Arenas's free throws were the Wizards' only concern, they might be in a better situation, but as Arenas said afterward, 'We're a bottom feeder team until we start proving it.' " - Julian Benbow of The Boston Globe: "Ray Allen entered last night’s game against Washington on the cusp of joining one of basketball’s elite clubs. The 13-year veteran needed 14 points to crack the 20,000-point plateau, and in the third quarter became the 37th player (33d solely in the NBA) to reach the mark by sinking a straightaway 3-pointer. For Allen, looking back on the games, the baskets, the years, and the work that went into it was humbling. 'It’s interesting how basketball’s such a team sport, but it’s governed by so many individual statistics,’ Allen said. 'I’m just grateful I’ve had great teammates, I’ve had great coaches, and I’ve had pretty good organizations, and that’s helped me be where I am today.’ "
- John Shipley of the Pioneer Press: "How do we know Kurt Rambis' first game against his old team, the Los Angeles Lakers, is a special one? Because tonight's tipoff will be delayed one minute so the Timberwolves' coach can receive his 2008-09 NBA championship ring. 'A whole minute?' Rambis deadpanned. 'I'll have to shorten my speech.' Rambis earned the ring as a member of Phil Jackson's coaching staff last season, and it's a special one, he said, because the title came one year after the Lakers had lost to old nemesis Boston in the 2008 Finals -- and because before the season, Jackson had made him responsible for the team's defense. It was a symbolic moment for the first-year Timberwolves coach. 'Phil allowed me to put in a defense that I had been talking to him about for a few years," Rambis said. "He has been my mentor. He has taught me a lot.' "
- Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News: "Jason Terry once had a great vacation in Miami. But that was B.C. – before the collapse. 'I actually did have one when I played for the Hawks, and it was Memorial Day weekend, which meant we weren't in the playoffs,' Terry recalled. Since 2006, however, nothing about South Beach or Star Island or the Art Deco district does anything for Terry. And American Airlines Arena remains a demon pit for him, Dirk Nowitzki and the other Mavericks who went through the torturous fold that happened to the Mavericks in the NBA Finals against Miami. 'Every day,' Terry said when asked how often he thinks about it. 'The fire's definitely brewing in our bellies. Going down there, the weather's good. But getting back in that arena brings up old memories, and I don't think we'll ever get that taste out of our mouth until we get a championship here in Dallas.' "
- Garry D. Howard of the Journal Sentinel: "For my money, the surprise of this winter's holiday season is, drumroll please ... your Milwaukee Bucks, who will knock off the Portland Trail Blazers at the Bradley Center on Saturday to even their record at 11-11 after 22 revealing NBA contests, putting them ahead of Detroit, Chicago, Indiana, New York, Philadelphia, New Jersey, Charlotte, Washington, Memphis, Minnesota, Sacramento, Golden State and, of course, the Los Angeles Clippers at this point in the season. Raise your hand if you truly believed the Bucks would have the seventh-best record -- a playoff spot if the season ended today -- in the Eastern Conference at the quarter pole. Now sit your butt down because you know you're lying. Behind Scott Skiles, who is racking up Coach of the Year votes by the week, the Bucks have morphed into a more-than-solid team without their most talented player, Michael Redd, who is battling his way back after a nasty knee injury last year."
- Brian Windhorst of The Plain Dealer: "In a certain way, the Cavaliers owe the Grizzlies and the Rockets a measure of gratitude. The losses over the last two games have given the team valuable information it now has a chance to apply. With trends established, likes and dislikes established, a book has formed throughout the league on how to play the Cavs. Now it's time for the team to adjust, perhaps starting Friday when the wounded Portland Trail Blazers come to town. Both Memphis and Houston were provided three days of preparation leading up to their games and the matchup held value to both teams. Some Grizzlies said the win was the biggest in the past three seasons. Rockets coach Rick Adelman said beating the Cavs 'makes a huge difference in our confidence.' There were several obvious points of emphasis from both opponents that worked. The Cavs can expect a lot more of it until they stop the bleeding, because advance scouts are scribbling furiously as they watch."
- Geoff Calkins of The Commercial-Appeal: "When Hamed Haddadi walked into the Flying Saucer in Downtown late Tuesday night, a remarkable thing happened. 'People clapped,' said Haddadi. Actually, they stood and clapped. Haddadi got a standing ovation. For knocking down LeBron James with a hard pick. For dunking on Shaquille O'Neal. For being a member of the suddenly rampaging Memphis Grizzlies. 'I was proud,' said Haddadi. Proud and maybe a little stunned. A standing ovation for Hamed Haddadi? Can Grizzlies fever be far behind? ... It seems almost silly to attach so much significance to a single NBA game, but that remarkable night at FedExForum has produced the first genuine burst of enthusiasm for the Grizzlies in at least three years."
- Kate Fagan of The Philadelphia Inquirer: "You knew the buzz wouldn't last forever. It couldn't. But this seemed especially abrupt. On Wednesday night, for the game after Allen Iverson's emotional return, the energy at the Wachovia Center regressed to pre-Iverson levels. On Monday, a sold-out crowd of 20,664 packed the arena for Iverson's 'debut.' Two nights later, 12,136 people watched the Detroit Pistons beat the Sixers, 90-86 - a difference of 8,528. Iverson's effectiveness dropped, too. He scored 11 points both nights, but on Wednesday, he had six turnovers and performed as he had warned, needing to knock the dust off. When the Sixers signed Iverson, their losing streak was at eight games. Since then, they have played three more -- one without Iverson at Charlotte -- and the streak has reached 11."
- Gordon Monson of The Salt Lake Tribune: "The Jazz haven't had a winning road record over the past eight seasons, and it's likely the current one will make it nine. They rang up 25 victories against 16 losses in 2000-01. Since then, in chronological order, they've gone 19-22, 18-23, 14-27, 8-33, 19-22, 20-21, 17-24, and 15-26. This season, they are 3-6. Over the past two seasons, and now this limited one, they've gotten worse each year. Youth is often blamed for the inability to win away games, but as the Jazz get older they seem less capable of winning on the road. Rings around the trunk aren't getting them any closer to rings on their fingers. And victory on the road is a prime indicator for and identifier of legitimate title contenders. The last team to heft the Larry O'Brien Trophy without a winning road record was the Washington Bullets -- in 1978, back before the hardware was even named after O'Brien. In actuality, it was known as the Walter Brown Trophy. So, no team has hefted the Larry O'Brien without a winning record on the road. It is a bare minimum for big dreams."
- Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: "Dwight Howard believes that friendly fraternization before a game has no impact on how players perform or how they should be perceived. Nate Robinson was reportedly benched by coach Mike D'Antoni for joking with Howard before the Knicks faced the Magic Dec. 2 in Orlando. 'We were just having fun. It shouldn't matter what you do before the game; it should matter what you do during the game,' Howard said. 'I want Nate to play.' Howard said he has tried to encourage Robinson through text messaging. 'I just told him to keep going and not let anything affect him, whether he gets five minutes or 25 minutes, just do it to the best of his ability,' he said."
- Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer: "Know yourself. That's not the first chapter of the new self-help bestseller. It's what center Nazr Mohammed said is the prerequisite to the Charlotte Bobcats staying in the playoff hunt. 'So many teams have good players, but they haven't established their style of play – they haven't learned how they win games,' he said. 'The teams that understand what they did when they won, they're still going to be around' for the postseason. ... The Bobcats are on a two-game winning streak and were seventh in the Eastern Conference standings through Wednesday's games. Who are they? 'We're starting to understand it's not a fluke that we're a good defensive team,' Mohammed said. 'And we're starting to understand we're not going to be a fast-paced, up-and-down team. So why fool ourselves?' "
- Peter Vecsey of the New York Post: "What in the good name of Sharpe James is going on here? Seems a truce is in the works between New Jersey's two major sports arenas -- the Izod and Pru dential centers -- in an effort to keep the Nets from exit ing the Garden State. The two venues would form a ven ture called Jersey Presents, with the Nets and Devils playing in Newark, and concerts, circuses, etc., playing exclusively in East Rutherford. Sounds good except for one nitpickin' nuisance -- the Nets are Brooklyn- bound. No matter how grand the dreams and schemes of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, it's (over) time to believe the franchise will be over the bridges or through the tunnels at some point during the 2011-12 season. All that remains officially uncertain is when the Nets, who face a Dec. 31 evidently flexible deadline to give notice, aim to leave the Izod."
- Bob Cohn of The Washington Times: "The news about James Lang drew scant attention nationwide, and some who did hear about it were not completely surprised. He has, after all, fought his weight nearly his entire life. But it still jolted those who came to know Lang during his far-ranging basketball travels. A 6-foot-10, 280-pound center whose NBA career was limited to 11 games with the Washington Wizards in the 2006-07 season, Lang suffered a stroke the day after Thanksgiving at his grandmother's home near Mobile, Ala. It came nine days after the Utah Flash of the NBA Development League released him for 'medical reasons.' He is 26. Lang is recovering at the Mobile Infirmary Medical Center and has begun therapy. It could have been much worse."
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