- Geoffrey C. Arnold of The Oregonian: "The combination of mounting losses and frustrated owners has already resulted in two head coaches losing their jobs early in this NBA season. The firings -- likely just the beginning -- illustrate a shifting NBA environment in which team owners and executives exhibit a 'win now' mentality and are less tolerant of losses regardless of other factors influencing the team's competitiveness. The executives' shrinking patience is driven by revenue considerations, a desire to retain star players and a 'Why not here? Why not now' ethos stemming from quick turnarounds elsewhere, such as the one Boston pulled off last season en route to an NBA championship."
- Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News: "Kiki Vandeweghe won't speculate on where Devin Harris ranks among Eastern point guards. But he leaves little doubt he regards the 6-foot-3, fifth-year player from Wisconsin as nearly untouchable, were any team to inquire about a trade. 'We're very happy to have him,' he said, 'very, very happy.' The migration of Jason Kidd and Chauncey Billups to the Western Conference has left the East without a signature point guard. Mike Bibby has helped to keep the Hawks among the conference's leaders, and Mo Williams looks a lot like the perimeter scoring threat LeBron James has begged Danny Ferry to bring to Cleveland for the past couples of seasons. Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce lobby for recognition for Rajon Rondo, and Derrick Rose already has shown he is a future star at the point. Right now, though, there is no Eastern point guard you'd rather have than Harris. It is no wonder former Mavs coach Avery Johnson was so adamantly against the February trade that sent the talented 24-year-old to New Jersey in exchange for Kidd, who was 34 when the deal went down. 'When we made the trade,' Vandeweghe said, 'we could see Devin was very fast and a very good defender. When given the opportunity to play consistently, he always scored.'"
- K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune: "You've probably watched multiple times highlights of Derrick Rose's victimization of Andre Miller with a spectacular block and again on a crossover dribble. If not for a team film session held early Monday, Rose wouldn't have seen either highlight at all. 'I don't even watch 'SportsCenter' or none of that stuff,' Rose said. 'I stopped watching that ever since (Memphis) played Tennessee in college because you can't believe that hype.' Rose was just warming up. 'I just did a simple move and he fell,' Rose said. 'I've done that before. It's just that's the first time it happened in a game. I just thought it was a regular play. It just naturally happened. I just wanted to score and I put myself in a situation that I could get to the basket. That's how I've been playing my whole life. I just try to win. For those plays to happen, it just takes a will. I just wanted those plays to happen.'"
- Chris Lau of the Detroit Free Press: "Michael Curry said Monday that he expects his starters will continue to play fewer minutes than they are used to. ... Curry's goal is to keep everyone fresh for the stretch -- which wasn't always the case during former coach Flip Saunders' three-year tenure. 'Young guys haven't played,' he said. 'At the end of the year, guys are tired. Y'all tell me all the excuses -- I've read all of them over the years. We're going to play our young guys. If our young guys are playing well, they're going to stay in the game. They deserve it, they've earned it, and that's what we're going to do.'"
- Bob Finnan of The News-Herald: "Many around the league think the Cavaliers will attempt to deal guard/forward Wally Szczerbiak at the trade deadline in February. The thinking is they might be able to use his $13 million contract in a deal for a big man. A few things could foil that master plan. One, the Cavs are playing so well right now, it might be extremely risky to break up the team. Second, Szczerbiak is making a strong impact right now off the bench with his outside shooting. And third, rookie J.J. Hickson might evolve into the kind of player for which they might trade. The Cavs (14-3) are just starting to realize Hickson's vast potential."
- Bob Young of The Arizona Republic: "But in the NBA, it still comes down to having talent first and then hoping you have a coach who can get the most out of it. That's why it's time for the Suns to quit whining and pining. Stop worrying about the offense, and try to run the dang thing. Forget about free agency in 2010 and try to do something special in 2008-09. In other words, don't grouse, just play. There is plenty of talent on the Suns roster. And we'll never know whether Terry Porter's approach works if the players don't buy into it. So far, they really haven't. ... If the Suns aren't going to buy into Porter's system, if they're going to abandon the us-against-the-world mantra that they have rallied around in the past and adopt instead this 'me-against-the-system' approach, then Robert Sarver might just as well blow this team up at the trading deadline. And if that happens, don't blame Porter."
- Ivan Carter of The Washington Post: "DeShawn Stevenson's phone started ringing off the hook shortly after he missed a pair of crucial free throws late in Saturday night's 102-98 home loss to the Atlanta Hawks and the veteran guard, who is trying to work his way out of a 30 percent shooting slump, has been getting advice from all quarters lately. 'My mom said I need to grow my beard back,' said Stevenson, who played with a beard all of last season but cut it off over the summer. 'Somebody else said I have to bring my hand gesture back, but to do that, I have to make a shot. So, when you're losing, that's how it is man. What I'm trying to do is stay focused, keep a smile on my face and be DeShawn and try to get my swagger back on the court. It will come.'"
- Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: "Boston Celtics Coach Doc Rivers, who still has a home in Orlando from his days as Magic coach, said winning the NBA title last season allowed him to finally touch the hallowed trophy. 'I did have it in Orlando for a couple of days,' Rivers said. 'I set it at the breakfast table every morning. I didn't have a party or anything; I just had it at the house. I wanted to look at it and be very close to it. I had refused to touch it up to that point in my life. I never touched that trophy. I had been in a room with it a lot before. I just didn't think you should touch it unless you win it.' Rivers, fired in 2003 by the Magic, was asked if winning a title changes the perception of a coach. 'I don't know ... that's up to you guys [media] to say, but I'm sure it does. I don't take it lightly,' he said."
- Bruce Jenkins of the San Francisco Chronicle: "The atmosphere at Oracle Arena had the feel of a big-time prizefight, full
of desire and sweet anticipation and full-throated roars for the deserving. This was Oakland's greeting Monday night for a team that had lost six in a row and seems headed down an utterly aimless path. It's not merely forgiveness that characterizes the Warriors' fan base, but true appreciation of the NBA as a showcase for the best players in the world. There's an unconditional love in the building, tested through countless episodes of futility, and it stands in stark contrast to struggling franchises dealing with empty seats and apathetic souls." - Ramona Shelburne of the Los Angeles Daily News: "Lamar Odom is averaging a career-low 7.5 field goal attempts this year in a career-low 25 minutes a game in his new role as the Lakers' sixth man. But after taking just three shots in 29 minutes in Sunday's win over the Raptors, Odom said that was less about playing time and more about the way the Lakers have been sharing the ball this season. 'The game is called basketball, not shoot,' he said. 'You can play a complete basketball game without shooting a lot of shots. There aren't too many guys that can do it, I just happen to be one of them.'"
- Martin Frank of The News Journal: "Sixers president and general manager Ed Stefanski wouldn't comment Monday, saying he planned to answer questions about the team Wednesday. But Stefanski can't be happy after watching the team he built during the offseason suffer its second straight lopsided defeat."
- Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal: "Griz point guard Mike Conley said the effect of losing five of the past six games at home isn't lost on the players. 'A lot of guys took that loss (to Oklahoma City) personally,' Conley said. 'We're going to be more prepared, mentally focused, and cut out the outside forces and try to win people back.' One word in every Grizzly vocabulary is effort. Nothing will change unless they get more of it."
- Richard Walker of the Gaston Gazette: "Larry Brown would like to see the NBA adopt some of the world's basketball rules and force a more up-tempo game. The reason is quite simple he says. 'We're a global game now and I think we need one set of rules,' Brown said. 'I'm watching old-time games and if you didn't get off 100 shots, it was a bad outing. Nowadays, it's 80 or 81 shots per game."
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