- Jerome Solomon of the Houston Chronicle: "Simply put -- and though it's been said many times, many ways -- when you are inconsistent at point guard, you will be inconsistent, period. Rafer Alston might as well have 'Inconsistent' put on his driver's license and stitched onto the back of his jersey. More people call him that than 'Skip To My Lou.' It is difficult to be as good as the Rockets want to think they are with Alston as the best point guard on the team. And by a wide margin. You get somebody else that is close to him (preferably better, of course) and is a better shooter, and you have a
shot at surviving on those nights that Alston doesn't bring his 'A' game." - Gary Washburn of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer: "Durant was 5-for-20 from the field in Sunday's 103-101 loss to the Sacramento Kings, and he was the lone Sonic to take more than nine shots. Durant's propensity for firing shots, the Sonics' losing streak and his declining shooting percentage is beginning to wear on some Sonics veterans, who believe the shooting wealth should be shared. The numbers show that Durant's offensive game is stagnating as the season wears on."
- Martin Johnson of The New York Sun: "I have a modest proposal. Start Jared Jeffries. No, he's not a diamond in the rough. Jeffries has little offensive skill, but he's a good defensive player, and there are too many non-scorers in the energy group. His presence on that unit sometimes forces Balkman to the bench which further diminishes the team. However, Jeffries could help the Knicks in the starting unit. He doesn't need the ball to be effective. He can guard the other team's best wing player, and with the Knicks deploying zone defenses more and more (in their 106–104 loss to Golden State on Sunday night, the Knicks used a zone for nearly a quarter-and-a half), Jeffries's length will become a potent weapon in creating turnovers. This week, the Knicks will face the following guards: Kobe Bryant, Ronnie Brewer, Brandon Roy, and Kevin Durant. Having a solid defender at the guard position could make a difference."
- John DeShazier of The Times-Picayune: "David West won't politic for a berth on the Western Conference All-Star team; he smiles and shrugs off even the thought of parting his lips to engage in any form of self-promotion. 'I don't worry too much about having my ego stroked,' he said. Besides, his game doesn't go begging. A season like his heralds itself. And if the seemingly endless barrage of midrange and fade-away jumpers, left-handed baby hooks and finger rolls and right-handed power dunks don't result in West standing alongside the stars on Feb. 17 at the New Orleans Arena, then you have to wonder what he's going to have to do to get the reward he deserves."
- Linda Hamilton of the Deseret Morning News: "Andrei Kirilenko is doing things he didn't do last spring in the playoffs. ... Utah's once-unhappy forward is as big a part of the Jazz team and its five-game win streak as anyone, and Monday's game may have been even better than the outstanding performance he had Friday night in the win over Sacramento, when he scored his season-high of 25 points, making 6 -of-8 shots and 3-for-4 on threes, or Sunday's effort, when he scored 17. Monday against the defending NBA champions in EnergySolutions Arena. ... 'Oh my gosh, I didn't even think he missed a shot,' said teammate Carlos Boozer. 'It seemed like all his balls were going right through the net, no rim, and that's three games in a row for him. That's the AK we've been looking for, and that's the AK we need to keep advancing.'"
- Sam Amick of the Sacramento Bee: "Brad Miller might still be partial to the team in his home state of Indiana, but the Kings' center was far from envious about its predicament. Indiana fell to Miami on Saturday, breaking the Heat's league-long losing streak at 15 games in what was the latest blunder in an already rough season for the Pacers. So when the Kings barely avoided losing to Seattle on Sunday and thereby pushed the SuperSonics' losing streak to a franchise-record 14 games, Miller was quick with the sigh of relief. 'I'm just glad not to be the Indiana Pacers,' he said."
- A. Sherrod Blakely of Booth Newspapers: "For Detroit, shipping away its top player has not been all bad in recent years. In the summer of 2000, the Pistons worked out a sign-and-trade with Orlando that sent All-Star forward Grant Hill to the Magic for Ben Wallace and Chucky Atkins. Two years later, Richard Hamilton was acquired from Washington in exchange for Detroit's top scorer at the time, Jerry Stackhouse. And, as part of a three-team, seven-player deal in 2004, the Pistons acquired Rasheed Wallace from Atlanta and Mike James from Boston. ... Joe Dumars, Detroit's president of basketball operations, pulled off all those deals with one goal in mind -- to make the Pistons a title contender."
- Ivan Carter of The Washington Post: "Even when he misses a free throw this season, which is not nearly as often as in the past, Wizards center Brendan Haywood doesn't worry too much about it. He simply waits for a chance to consult with assistant coach-player development Dave Hopla and makes the necessary adjustment the next time he steps to the line. Haywood, who is shooting a career-best 73.3 percent from the free throw line after making a career-worst 54.8 percent of his attempts last season, credits much of the improvement to work he's done with Hopla, a super-energetic shooting expert who joined Coach Eddie Jordan's staff over the summer."
- John Schmid of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "When he looks out at Lake Michigan, he thinks of the South China Sea of his boyhood. 'The lake is as big as an ocean,' Yi said in an interview available in video on the Journal Sentinel's newly launched Web site, YisWorld.com. 'When I came in October, I really liked going by the lake and feeling the wind come off the water.' The launch of the Chinese-language Web site, targeted at the world's largest emerging market, coincides with preparations for Saturday night's game at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee between the Bucks and Houston Rockets, who feature the biggest Chinese star in the NBA, Yao Ming."
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