- Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic: "They can get every first but for their first win on TNT since the 2007-08 regular season and their first road win in December. The TNT curse lives on, growing to 17 on Thursday night when the Suns blew a 15-point second-half lead and an 81-70 one entering the fourth in a 105-102 loss at Portland. It was the Suns' sixth consecutive road loss. Phoenix was beat by its town's own, second-year guard Jerryd Bayless, who stepped into the opportunity to score a career-high 29 points that went well with 27 points from Brandon Roy, who got his 11 biggest points during the fourth-quarter comeback."
- Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times: "After 14 years of publicly questioning and challenging and wondering about the Lakers' bewildering star (Kobe Bryant), it has finally sunk into my brain like that jumper sank into the hearts of the Milwaukee Bucks. Goodness, the guy really can do anything. The guy is the best player in the NBA, and, sorry, LeBron James, you have to wait. The guy may be the best clutch shooter in Lakers history, and sorry, Jerry West, but the evidence is irrefutable. The guy is not yet Michael Jordan, but long after he retires, we'll remember these days as if he were."
- Kevin Ding of The Orange County Register: "Phil Jackson’s genius in designing the play will go unnoticed by the masses. His life, though, has been all about being the man behind the man anyway. Asked about the Bucks not double-teaming him, Bryant said: 'Phil caught them off guard by having us take the ball fullcourt. I think that threw them for a loop.' And because they’re now an old married couple, Jackson poked some fun afterward. He noted Bryant’s miss on a similar jumper at regulation’s end and asked him: 'Why’d you keep us waiting?' "
- Jonathan Abrams of The New York Times: "There appears to be standoff developing between Mike D’Antoni and Nate Robinson, a popular players among
the fans. D’Antoni has fretted over Robinson’s maturity, including shooting at the wrong basket just after the first quarter expired in a victory over the Nets. D’Antoni generally uses a short rotation, which expanded at the start of the season only to narrow when point guard Chris Duhon improved his play. 'That was the reason behind it, and it’s still behind it,' D’Antoni said. 'It hasn’t changed. I wanted to give more minutes to Larry, who’s played real well.' D’Antoni added: 'So the minutes just dried up.' D’Antoni said he would use Douglas over Robinson because a rookie is better equipped to handle playing time in three-to-four-minute spurts, while a veteran like Robinson usually needs minutes to find a healthy rhythm." - Dave Feschuk of the Toronto Star: "Trade the constants of this near-constant misery, especially Chris Bosh, who was taken out of a crucial stretch of Wednesday's embarrassment in Orlando because he was, to use Triano's word, 'tired.' (The all-star, as much as he is putting up great numbers on a bad team, is 25 years old, couldn't lead a Cub pack, plays defence like it's optional, drags around a massive knee brace and, come summertime, will be asking for a six-year maximum-dollar contract worth more than $130 million. I say trade him to the team that thinks that's a good bet.) String up the GM by the virgin-emu-leather soles of his $1,000 loafers ... figuratively, of course. Bryan Colangelo has been here nearly four years and won three playoff games. He is, like Bosh, in a contract year (although fans will be comforted to know that the deal gives CEO Richard Peddie and his esteemed board of directors an option to employ Colangelo for another season). Colangelo has said it himself this season: 'If you want to blame someone, blame me.' Fair enough.
- Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle: "Though he has taken just three shots, making one, in his two games back, Tracy McGrady said that just playing both ends of a back-to-back with no knee pain or physical difficulties was progress in his comeback from microfracture surgery. 'Considering we played (Tuesday), I think the biggest question is can I come out and get up and down the court without pain in my knee,' McGrady said. 'I felt fine. I wasn't favoring it. My knee was holding up fine. I tend not to think about it when I'm out there playing. More than anything, mentally, trying to get over it, knowing that I played a whole half a season (last season) favoring my knee and thinking about it every time I stepped out on the basketball court. It was a mental block.' "
- Brian Windhorst of The Plain Dealer: "There was a time when LeBron James was nervous, scared and even intimidated before a game. 'I mean I was nervous as hell,' James remembered. 'Like, scared nervous, shaking nervous.' It is hard to believe, even for James himself, that it was 10 years ago this month that he first stepped onto the basketball scene in this area. Now known worldwide, in December 1999, James was a lanky 14-year-old with incredible skill, but a dearth of experience. And he felt it. Which is why he sat in the bleachers on the night of Dec. 3, 1999, at Cuyahoga Falls High School with his stomach churning and his mouth dry. He looked up at the large gym, which had rows of seats high up into the ceiling, and felt uncomfortable and worried. In an interview recently, James reflected on the night that effectively was his introduction to Northeast Ohio fans -- a night that has reached its first significant anniversary. 'As I look back on it now, making that jump from middle school to high school is just as big of a jump for someone as going into the NBA,' James said. 'Because when you look at the other kids, some of them were three years older than me, and that was the first time I'd experienced that. They were bigger and more confident than me.' "
- John Reid of The Times-Picayune: "On their last visit to the New Orleans Arena, the Denver Nuggets left a franchise humiliated after routing the New Orleans Hornets by 58 points in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series last April. Dominated by the Nuggets in just about every phase during the five-game elimination, the defeat forced the Hornets to change their course of direction. Instead of pushing themselves as a serious contender in the Western Conference, the Hornets had to retool their roster with six new players in the offseason. And when they did not get the results expected at the start of this season, they fired Coach Byron Scott after a 3-6 start. Tonight, the Nuggets return to the Arena for the first time since their Game 4 rout. At 19-7, the Nuggets have the second-best record in the Western Conference. The Hornets, on the other hand, remain a work in progress under new coach Jeff Bower with an 11-13 record. 'We've got to step up to the challenge,' small forward Peja Stojakovic said. 'That was an embarrassing loss at home, and they really outplayed us in that series. It was something that wasn't good.' "
- Ronald Tillery of The Commercial-Appeal: "As a rookie,O.J. Mayo operated mostly as a gunner without much team success. As a sophomore, the 6-4 guard has crossed over into a glue guy who gladly holds back his individual talent to satisfy the Grizzlies' mantra: One Team. Memphis enters its game tonight against Indiana with a 10-15 record -- slightly ahead of last season's pace. The Griz haven't gotten less Mayo; rather, they've enjoyed a well-adapted new version. 'I just want to win,' said Mayo, whose scoring average (17.6 points per game) is on par with what helped him finish as the runner-up to Chicago's Derrick Rose for the 2008-09 NBA Rookie of the Year award. '... As a competitor you want to do well. But I will take winning over me averaging 30 points any day. Our team has that mind-set. We just have to keep it that way.' "
- Mike Wells of The Indianapolis Star: "Memphis Grizzlies guard Jamaal Tinsley has no animosity toward the Indiana Pacers. It dissipated after the 2007-08 season, when his former employer told him to stay away. The Pacers then removed any traces of Tinsley from the locker room and media guide and instructed employees not to mention his name on radio or television broadcasts. They forced him to sit out last season. Tinsley, who played seven seasons with the Pacers, knew it was best for the parties to part. 'It didn't hurt my feelings at all,' Tinsley said during a phone interview Thursday. 'I gained a lot of stuff out of the situation. You realize and learn more stuff as you get older. I can't control how they feel about me. I have no bad feelings about them.' "
- Ray Richardson of the Pioneer Press: "Timberwolves forward Damien Wilkins does not believe in players-only meetings. Wilkins is in his sixth NBA season, with his third team, and he has yet to see the benefit of such gatherings. If Wolves players considered a get-together without the coaching staff, Wilkins would be the first to say it's unnecessary -- no matter how much the team is struggling. In Wilkins' opinion, any soul-searching conversation should include the coaches. At the end of Thursday's practice, after Wolves coach Kurt Rambis had his say, Wilkins kept everybody in the huddle and reiterated that the team is better than its 4-22 record -- and that a smile can go a long way in soothing frustrated feelings. 'I told the guys to keep their heads up, have fun and enjoy this journey,' Wilkins said. 'It seems like we're not having fun when we play. We're not smiling. We're not getting up and down the court throwing lob passes (for alley-ooop dunks) to each other, getting the crowd involved.' "
- Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel: "The Bucks (11-12) have lost close games to elite teams, including a 100-98 home loss to Orlando, a 115-113 overtime home loss to Dallas and a 98-89 loss at Boston in a game that was extremely tight until the final minutes. The only truly embarrassing defeat came when the Bucks were routed by Cleveland, 101-86, earlier this month at the Bradley Center. Now the Bucks will get another chance at LeBron James and the Cavaliers on Friday night and try to gain a bit of redemption for the 29-0 run reeled off by Cleveland in that first encounter. 'There are a couple schools of thought there,' Bucks coach Scott Skiles said. 'Remembering it motivates you or remembering it makes you feel like you can't go in there and win. Nothing against Cleveland -- it's another high-level team. But during that (29-0) stretch, we had opportunities to score. We just didn't make shots. We started to loosen up and they started to go wherever they wanted to with the ball; both things happened at the same time.' "
- Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News: "Jason Terry has a unique commentary on defenses he is seeing this season. Terry is gettng more attention since he became the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year. 'I haven't seen any looks where I've been buck-naked, wide-open,' Terry said. Terry undressed opponents so many times last season with his quick-trigger offense that they have no choice but to cover him with layers this season. ... 'They're double-teaming, both on pick-and-rolls and on pin-downs,' coach Rick Carlisle said. 'When that happens, he's got to be a facilitator for us and he has to have a level of patience. He's got to stay aggressive to score when the opportunities are there. But when people commit two to him, he's got to drag those guys, and then make the pass leading to a bucket.' "
- Ted Kulfan of The Detroit News: "One thing rookie Austin Daye has shown the Pistons this season is his ability to score. He did it again Wednesday in the 95-87 loss to the Hornets, igniting a 10-run in the second quarter with consecutive 3-pointers. Daye finished with nine points in 25 minutes, and had three rebounds and a steal. There simply aren't many 6-foot-11 players who have his unique offensive gifts: The ability to hit a 3-pointer comfortably, put the ball on the floor or use his tall frame in a variety of ways against smaller opponents."
- Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman: "The dispute between Thunder coach Scott Brooks and star Kevin Durant started in Denver, on a cold Monday night with the media before Oklahoma City faced the Nuggets this week. The point of contention: Durant’s defense. 'I don’t know if he could have guarded me his first year,' quipped Brooks, the 44-year-old coach. Let’s just say Durant didn’t mince words Thursday when retorting to reporters. 'He’s lying,' Durant countered, only half jokingly. 'My first year, they put me on everybody. I was guarding Kobe, LeBron, D-Wade. And I was doing decent.' Said Brooks: 'Kobe had 48 against him!' But on this, the coach and the player, as well as anyone else who has paid attention over the Thunder’s first 24 games agree; Durant’s defense is markedly more impressive in his third season. Durant has bought into playing on both ends in an attempt to morph into not only a complete player but also one who is recognized alongside the game’s elite."
- Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald: "There are many quality guards in the Eastern Conference, and now that sentimental favorite Shaquille O’Neal is with Cleveland, the competition for an All-Star spot at center is thick as well. But in the biased view of their teammates and coaches, Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins are as worthy of a trip to Arlington, Texas, for the Feb. 14 game as Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. 'Our starting five should go,' coach Doc Rivers said after yesterday’s practice. Funny how that sentiment has spread. 'He means so much to this club,' Pierce said of Rondo. 'But our starting five should be in the All-Star Game.' As for Perkins, Pierce added: 'But you’ve seen it coming. He’s showing ya’ll what his improvement is.' Rondo was eighth among East guards after the first returns of All-Star voting, released Dec. 10. Perkins was ninth among centers."
- Brian T. Smith of The Columbian: "And in a positive sign that signaled the Blazers’ recent ability to adapt and adjust to adversity on the fly, Jerryd Bayless has temporarily become the team’s third-best scoring option, behind Roy and Aldridge. 'Me and Brandon talk about it a lot,' Bayless said. 'We feel like he’s the LeBron (James) and I can be the Mo Williams off him.' His energized performance followed what was a season-high 14 points during Portland’s home win Tuesday over the Sacramento Kings. And the second-year guard’s confident, spark-filled game Thursday night highlighted a Blazers effort that saw five different players hit double figures in scoring. But no one’s performance was more integral than Bayless, who has suddenly found a bright, positive outlet for what was previously a season filled with little more than frustration and regret."
- Ken Sugiura of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "There is a misconception that this method of analysis is new, Hawks general manager Rick Sund said. Sund said that when he worked for Milwaukee in the mid- to late-70's, then-coach Larry Costello advocated plus/minus rating as a tool to evaluate players. When he was GM of the then-Seattle Sonics from 2001 to 2007, Sund used a software program developed by Rich Cho – now the assistant GM for Oklahoma City -- that measured players using metrics that weighted statistics differently for each position. 'Statistics and analysis and plus/minuses and efficiency ratings and formulas have always been a part of the process,' said Sund, who has worked in the NBA since 1974. 'It's just now with the Internet and computers, the accessibility is a lot easier, so it's getting a lot more attention.' Sund said he considers the various numbers when evaluating players for acquisition. For instance, he said guard Jamal Crawford's statistics in the final five minutes of games helped sway him to trade for him over the summer. But he calls the data 'just one other tool that goes in the hopper' to judge talent and is not the final arbiter."
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