- Marc Berman of the New York Post: "Memo to Carmelo Anthony: Drop your trade demand, commit to trying to win a championship in your final year in Denver with a very talented cast. Then sign with the Knicks as a free agent this summer. Knicks president Donnie Walsh created maximum 2011 cap space just for you. Walsh said yesterday nothing had changed since Prokhorov took his toys and went home. A source with knowledge of the situation said a deal between the Knicks and Denver would be 'problematic.' If Anthony can wait, Donnie Basketball will save precious assets such as Danilo Gallinari, Landry Fields, Wilson Chandler and Anthony Randolph, who is 21 years old, 6-foot-11 and still capable of a solid career. If Anthony wants to win a title with the Knicks, why would he want Walsh to trade three of those four young assets?"
- Colin Stephenson of The Star-Ledger: "In the last three games, since owner Mikhail Prokhorov declared his team to be withdrawing from the Carmelo Anthony chase, Devin Harris has averaged 13.6 points, 9.3 assists and three turnovers. And the Nets are 2-1. And while Harris is reluctant to say that Prokhorov’s proclamation is the reason for his and the team’s improved play, clearly something changed for the better in the Nets last week. 'I can’t attribute it to one particular thing,' Harris said. 'It could be the talk we had about the halfway point in the season and what we need to improve on. Yes, it probably has something to do with the trade stuff kind of calming down, and guys getting focused.' The Nets remain buried in the depths of the Eastern Conference standings, with a 12-32 record going into Monday night’s game against the woeful Cleveland Cavaliers (8-35). But there is a different vibe around the team the last few days. Coach Avery Johnson said the players are talking more now, they are louder in the locker room. There is laughter coming out of there these days."
- Marcus Thompson II of The Oakland Tribune: "When Warriors owner Joe Lacob said he would trade point guard Stephen Curry -- or anyone else on the club, for that matter -- if it helped the team, those comments created a bit of a firestorm. It contradicted the popular belief that Curry was untouchable. Suddenly, a trade involving Curry became
a hot topic on national sports shows, sports talk radio, the blogosphere and fan forums. 'It's a bit of a shock, because you feel like you're doing everything else you were supposed to be doing,' Curry said Sunday. 'Especially since I've never been in a situation where me changing teams or being traded would be an option, it's kind of like a weird thing to think about. But they've been straightforward about what they see in us and it's all been positive for me, so I don't have any problem brushing that off.' If you call 66 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds over two games brushing it off, then Curry indeed dusted the rumors off his shoulder. He led a fourth-quarter comeback in Friday's win over Sacramento. He almost did again Saturday against the Clippers in Los Angeles with backcourt mate Monta Ellis limited by a sore ankle. Sounds like someone was motivated by his name and the word trade being used in the same sentence. Sounds like someone was bent on reminding everyone why he was once deemed untouchable." - Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: "It's one thing for Magic all-star Dwight Howard to plunder and pillage during a game. Teams defenseless in stopping him say now he's going too far in his recent tear through the NBA. Poor babies. Howard was toying with the Houston Rockets on Saturday night, and at halftime, had some fun with Clutch the Bear, the Rockets' mascot. He was squaring off against Clutch as they tried to make shots from half-court, throwing basketballs over their heads. Howard's playfulness upset Rockets point guard Kyle Lowry, who told reporters after the Howard-fueled Magic rout, 'It bothers you.' 'It's disrespectful a little bit but at the same time, hey, they were winning the game. They can do stuff like that,' Lowry said. What was disrespectful was the Rockets' defense against Howard, or lack thereof. The Rockets were in over their heads as is most everyone lately. Howard has averaged 22.2 points in 11 games this month, including three 30-point efforts. If anyone has been energized or benefited from the Magic's two trades, it's Dwight. Only a handful of clubs can handle Howard, to a point. There are more teams now like Houston, who can only finger rosary beads and say a prayer."
- Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News: "Whether the heavy workload this season has contributed to Manu Ginobili’s recent shootingwoes is a subject for debate. In the past five games, Ginobili has missed 45 of 60 field goals and is just 2 of 19 from 3-point range, sparking speculation that perhaps the minutes are catching up to him. Ginobili, who averaged 14.4 points during that span, doesn’t think so. 'I’m feeling good,' Ginobili said. 'As good as I’ve felt in a long time.' City-wide concern for Ginobili’s health is understandable. The last time he averaged more than 30 minutes a game, in 2007-08, he wound up needing ankle surgery that sabotaged the next two seasons. Ginobili chooses to frame his struggles as nothing more than a good, old-fashioned shooting slump. He aims to shoot his way out of it, beginning tonight at Golden State. Having hoisted an NBA-leading 271 3-point tries this season, Ginobili is on pace to shatter Chuck Person’s Spurs record of 463 set in 1995-96. He has made 96 of those attempts, third-most in the league. 'I think even though I’m not shooting that great of a percentage, it keeps my opponent honest,' said Ginobili, the Spurs’ leading scorer at 18.6 points per game. 'They know if I’ve got room, I’m going to shoot it.' After hitting 41.1 percent from 3-point range in November, Ginobili has declined in each month since. In January, he is making 28.3 percent of his long balls, and shooting 38.6 percent overall."
- John Rohde of The Oklahoman: "Blake Griffin leads all rookies in double-doubles (35), efficiency (26.5), rebounding (12.9), scoring (22.8) and field-goal percentage (.522) – ranking No. 2, No. 3, No. 4, No. 12 and No. 15 in the NBA, respectively, in these categories. Though he is a power forward in the truest sense of the word, Griffin also ranks fourth among rookies in assists (3.5). Last week, Griffin's consecutive double-doubles streak ended at 27. Griffin's legend no doubt will grow even more next month after All-Star Weekend is staged on his home court inside Staples Center, where he will compete in the rookie-sophomore game and slam dunk contest. He also deserves to be selected for the All-Star Game as a reserve. Again, no doubt about it, Griffin is having a scintillating rookie season. But is it historic? Where does it rank all-time? In terms of highlight footage, Griffin might beat them all as a rookie, including Jordan. Griffin's freshman season lacks immensely in wins and losses, however. The Clippers are improving and have won seven of their last nine, but they're still 17-26 and eight games out of the No. 8 spot in the West for the playoffs. As eye-popping as Griffin's numbers are, he would probably rank around No. 20 all-time statistically among rookies. The competition is stout."
- Mike Wells of The Indianapolis Star: "The hot topic surrounding the team is coach Jim O’Brien. Barring a sudden change of thought, the Pacers have no intention of replacing O’Brien, who is in the final year of his contract. They wouldn’t move any of the assistants up and there’s no point in bringing in somebody from the outside because the players would have to learn the new coach’s system on the fly over the final 41 games of the season. I said it last summer, and I’ll say it again, there’s only one person to coach this team if there’s a change. His name is Larry Bird. Bird has no intention of coaching."
- Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon-Journal: "The rumors about Charlotte Bobcats forward Gerald Wallace coming to Cleveland died as quickly as they started. The Bobcats are indeed interested in moving Wallace's contract, but they wanted a first-round pick from the Cavaliers in return, according to a league source. That's not happening. The Cavs are trying to acquire first-round picks, not trade them away -- and certainly not on a 10-year veteran like Wallace. ... Scuttlebutt around the league is that some lower first-round draft picks could be for sale for around $3 million. If the Cavs fail to acquire another first-round pick in this draft, purchasing one would be an option. Those types of deals can't be completed until draft day, however, and it may not be in the Cavs' best interest. Typically, the only picks that are for sale are in the mid- to low 20s. If the Cavs finish with the league's worst record, and therefore are selecting first in the second round (31st overall), it may not be a wise investment."
- Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle: "The mission, as with Chuck Hayes' occupation in the NBA itself, would seem to be impossible; stop the NBA's unstoppable scorers. In Hayes' case, he adds the task of doing it while giving up as many as six inches and rarely jumping more than a fist's width from the hardwood, but those details don't really matter. The job is to stop the players that cannot be stopped, with Hayes hit with a list of All-Star and MVP candidates stacked like the lineup of '27 Yankees. Beginning last week with the Bucks' Andrew Bogut and Knicks' Amar'e Stoudemire, Hayes would face the NBA's who's who of dominant low-post scorers. He would go against the four 20-10 players -- Zach Randolph, Dwight Howard, Kevin Love and Blake Griffin - in a row. He would move to more traditional powers Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzki and Pau Gasol. He would complete his personal gauntlet with the players he called his toughest matchups, Al Jefferson and a second go-round with Randolph. He would, however, not have it any other way. 'Ooh, I better bring my lunch pail,' Hayes said, with a night against Love, the league's top rebounder, awaiting him tonight. "It's cool. I look at it before the game, like, 'Oh man, I know what they're going to try to do.' But once I'm on the move and the game is going, I have a lot of fun out there.' "
- Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel: "Following last season's surprising run to 46 victories and an Eastern Conference playoff berth, there was plenty of talk about the upward-bound Milwaukee Bucks. The number 50 was bandied about as a reasonable goal. That's as in 50 victories, a magical mark in the NBA and a sure sign of success. But here the Bucks are at the halfway point of the season, mired nine games under the .500 mark at 16-25 and searching desperately for a winning formula. Injuries, offensive ineptitude and chemistry issues have conspired to keep the Bucks down, but will they be able to make a second-half charge and reach the playoffs for a second straight season? Much will depend on having a healthy roster and finding a way to get better production from the lineups used by Bucks coach Scott Skiles. The Bucks rank last in the league in scoring (91.2 points per game) and are last in field goal percentage (42.2%). They have relied heavily on a stingy defense that ranks fourth in the NBA in opponents' scoring (92.8) and eighth in opponents' field goal percentage (44.6%). 'We've got to be able to score more than 91 points a game,' Skiles said. 'We've got to be able to knock down shots more consistently; our chemistry has to improve. Get healthy. There's several things that would give us immediate help if we get those things done.' "
- Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune: "Since returning to action with the Wolves on Dec. 14, Jonny Flynn's comeback has been slower than everyone would have liked. He wasn't used to playing at less than 100 percent. His limited playing time forced another adjustment for a player not used to coming off the bench. 'It's tough knowing you can't go out and play the way you want to play,' he said. 'You're not playing a lot, so you feel you can't get back as soon as you would like. So it kind of got frustrating. But we have good guys in this locker room that kept at me to keep working hard to get back to being the Jonny Flynn you've always been. I'm inching towards that. It's just taking awhile.' He's been at it for more than a month now, working to get back, reading what people thought about the process. His performance has been critiqued. His future -- which some believe includes a trade -- has been much discussed. 'It will make it that much better when I come back 100 percent and do what I'm doing,' Flynn said. Wolves coach Kurt Rambis said Flynn's practices during the team's four-day break between games have been his best of the season."
- Jonathan Givony for The New York Times: "Though 28 games in the 2010-11 season, Ricky Rubio has continued to struggle. He is shooting just 32 percent from the field, including 11 of 61 from beyond the arc, and his team has lost more games in the ACB and in the Euroleague than it did all of last season. Why has Rubio’s development stalled? Will he be able to turn his potential into production? Always the youngest pro player on the court, Rubio found it natural to act as a selfless distributor and to defer to those with seniority. That is a defining characteristic of European basketball, particularly in Spain, where it is considered disrespectful for an individual to put himself above the team. Most Valuable Player awards are for the American leagues. All that matters are wins and losses. That mind-set was a big part of Rubio’s upbringing and could be a major reason he is having a hard time taking the reins for Barcelona. The concept of team has been so ingrained that he appears hesitant to put his teammates on his back. Among all the magical passes, the biggest complaint about Rubio’s game is that he is too unselfish for his own good."
- Ken Sugiura of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "One night after losing by 41 points to New Orleans, the Hawks made history on Saturday night in Charlotte. By beating the Bobcats 103-87, the Hawks became just the second team in NBA history to lose by 40 or more points at home and then follow it with a double-digit road win. The first was the 1996-97 Vancouver Grizzlies. 'When you lose a game like that, the next game usually takes a few days and it weighs on your mind, but to have the opportunity to play the next night I think worked in our favor,' Jamal Crawford said."
- Ronald Tillery of The Commercial-Appeal: "The Griz don't have an anti-3-pointer attitude, they just won't force that kind of action that far away from the hoop. 'Coach (Lionel Hollins) has his idea of how we should play and if we don't play that way he's going to say something about it,' Griz forward Rudy Gay said. 'So we just try to play the right way, and shooting threes isn't how we do it.' "
- Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman: "Thunder forward Serge Ibaka is on the verge of being granted citizenship in Spain. If Ibaka receives clearance as expected, it would allow him to join Spain's national team and compete for the country in international play. Ibaka, a native of the Republic of Congo, moved to Spain at 17 to begin his professional career and considers the country his second home."
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