- Marc Berman of the New York Post: "'My father is looking down on me,' Stephon Marbury wrote in an e-mail to The Post last night. 'I know he is proud of the way that I'm trying to be a better man. I'm not perfect and I'm trying to be better than what I was yesterday. I want to say to all of the people who sent their condolences last year, thank you and God bless. You will always have a place in the Marburys' heart.' Marbury still is trying to stay in shape and did all sorts of exercises -- dumbbell work, nautilus, ab hangers, knee thrusts -- at the White Plains gym in his first day in exile. It is an awkward time for Marbury, who is hoping the Players Association has the ban lifted. The union believes such discipline needs 'just cause.'"
- Chris Perkins of the Palm Beach Post: "Attitude is what it's all about with the Heat. 'Guys on the team have a chip on their shoulder for whatever reasons,' coach Erik Spoelstra said. 'I don't know if that comes individually. I don't know if that comes from me, but it's a good dynamic to have.' It's a dynamic that has enabled the upstart Heat to post a surprising 2-2 record on this five-game West Coast road trip, a swing that ends with Wednesday's 9 p.m. game at Utah. That same stubborn pride makes Miami think it should be even better. 'We should be easily 3-1 on this trip right now,' forward Shawn Marion said."
- Michael Lee of The Washington Post: "DeShawn Stevenson broke his normal routine and took some extra shots before the game. He also heeded the advice of his mother, who told him he needed to grow back his beard to regain his shooting touch. The beard hasn't grown back fully, but for at least one night, Stevenson proved to children everywhere that you should listen to your mother. 'Yes. I'm keeping the beard,' Stevenson said. 'We got one on the road against a team we thought we gave away the first game. This is a new month. We are 1-0 on this month.'"
- Bob Finnan of The News-Herald: "Delonte West is putting up some of the best numbers of his career: 11.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 0.9 steals per game. His shooting accuracy has been uncanny: 51.4 percent from the field, 43.7 percent from the 3-point line and 75 percent from the foul line. 'We've come together sooner than expected,' West said. 'The entire team has meshed well.' He said the Cavs have not only played well, they genuinely like each other off the court. 'We have a team full of comedians,' West said. 'We have some kindred spirits on this team. The coaching staff is the same way. With a mixture like that, it's fun to come to work.'"
- Michael Hunt of the Journal Sentinel: "Disjointed offensively, the Bucks desperately need Michael Redd's scoring. But they also need the spacing he will provide with the three-point threat they have lacked to begin the season. As for whether Redd is too selfish offensively for a tighter framework, he was never willfully selfish. Besides, who other than the departed Mo Williams was going to score before? Redd did throw up a bad shot in the fourth quarter when he returned off the bench Saturday against Cleveland, and Scott Skiles talked to him about it. 'A guy who can score always has a tough balance, when to score and when to pass,' Skiles said. 'It can be very simple. If you're open you shoot and if you're covered you pass it.' This is a crucial opportunity for Redd to show he can be that guy."
- Chris McCosky of The Detroit News: "A defensive player? If the Grizzlies thought they were getting a physical defender when they signed Darko Milicic in 2007, they must not have watched him play. He can contest the occasional shot and even block a few -- he's an adequate defender -- but he's not getting dirty down on the block. ... Milicic always has fancied himself as a 7-foot facilitator, more of a point-forward than a center. Here's what this is really about: Darko wants to play in Europe because the game is more open and flowing. There is less physically demanding, half-court play. He can run up and down, dunk, hit those stand-still jumpers off kick-outs and not get beat up. In the NBA, Milicic takes a beating. He tries to play that finesse game around the rim and defenders just pound him. They would rather send him to the free-throw line than let him lay in a finger roll."
- Martin McNeal of the Sacramento Bee: "Before Reggie Theus gets toasted, here's a little butter: The Kings are the softest team in the league. For a moment, there was a thought of softening that statement. On second thought, that statement is on point. For those who believed Ron Artest had to go, well, here is what's left. No doubt, the injury-related absences of Francisco García and Kevin Martin have hurt the Kings. Yet there's no way a team permits the opposition to score so many easy baskets unless it is soft. Neither the presence of García nor Martin will affect that. It's not about a scheme or a system. It's about having tough players on your roster."
- Doug Smith of the Toronto Star: "It wasn't just that they lost 132-93 -- the fifth-biggest margin of defeat in franchise history -- but how they had lost that irked Sam Mitchell and the players. From the first minute of the first quarter, it was if they couldn't be bothered to compete and that's what was so galling. 'We have to get our heads out of our butts and go play,' said the coach. Mitchell was speaking but he was echoing sentiments that had surfaced in a players-only session immediately following the game. The coaches gave the room over to the players, who aired out some of their grievances. 'As professionals, we should be ashamed of ourselves,' said Jermaine O'Neal, the veteran centre who returned after a three-game absence."
- Geoff Calkins of the Memphis Commercial-Appeal: "Yes, the Grizzlies are piling up losses. Yes, some of the players are -- let's put it nicely -- equivocal in their support of Marc Iavaroni and his staff. But what did anyone expect from this team, exactly? What part of three-year plan didn't you understand? The Grizzlies start THREE ROOKIES, remember. They'd struggle to win the Sophomore-Rookie Game. It's not some accident that the Grizzlies are terrible. It's a direct result of the team's considered decision to build for three years from now. ... Of course it is. Hard, as in impossible. But right now some of you are saying, 'OK, I knew they'd be bad. But why do they look so dysfunctional?' Answer: Because bad always looks dysfunctional in one way or another. If the Grizzlies weren't dysfunctional -- if they had a cohesive offense, for example -- they wouldn't be bad."
- Bob Kravitz of The Indianapolis Star: "The ball just sat there, kissing one side of the rim and then the other, two, maybe three excruciating seconds that felt like an hour. Marquis Daniels' desperation reverse layup ne
ver had a chance, but now, with the Indiana Pacers-Los Angeles Lakers game in the balance, Troy Murphy's tip was bouncing on the iron, almost lounging there, teasing ... And then it dropped in. Mayhem. Did he say mayhem? With the Pacers? At Conseco Fieldhouse, a place that has lately been to mayhem what Amy Winehouse is to sobriety." - Scott Souza of the MetroWest Daily News: "The Celtics now have an astounding 39 techs in 19 games. The Suns are the next closest team in the league at 25, and only four other teams even have half as many. The Spurs and Jazz have only four. While technical foul talk has quickly become an exasperating topic - just ask Kendrick Perkins (league-leading 9 techs, including one Monday night for reacting to a call that actually went in his favor) -- it has been a persistent, and bizarre, chain around the ankles of the conference's best team (17-2) which is now riding the league's longest winning streak at nine games. 'I don't know what it is,' said Celtics coach Doc Rivers, at a loss as he tiptoed the line between accountability for his team and unspoken frustration with the officials, following a short workout yesterday. 'We just somehow have to do a better job ... (Monday) night was just ... anyway.'"
- Jason Quick of The Oregonian: "While many Blazers couldn't wait to take in the sights and sounds of New York, Joel Przybilla couldn't wait to leave. 'I hate New York,' he said. 'Can't do anything without bumping into someone. Like today, we leave shootaround and it takes us 45 minutes to get back to the hotel.' But what really gets Przybilla's goat is how much everything costs. For example, on Tuesday morning, Przybilla ordered room service for breakfast. 'Ordered pancakes, a plate of fruit, an orange juice and a pot of coffee,' Przybilla said. 'My bill was $126. I'm not kidding you.' It may have cost him $126, but whatever was in the pancakes worked. Przybilla was one of the most valuable Blazers in Tuesday's 104-97 win."
- Jerry Greene of the Orlando Sentinel: "Here's the deal: Each person (while supplies last from Friday through Sunday) who purchases a Subway $50 gift card or multiple cards that total $50 from a participating Subway store will receive one adidas sneaker signed by Hedo Turkoglu. ... When asked if he could have dreamed of people wanting his shoes when he was young, Hedo said, 'As a kid you just thought about having one pair of shoes for yourself.' What about growing up to be a celebrity? 'I don't like calling it 'celebrity.' I respect the fans and feel fortunate that people like watching what I do,' he said. 'And it's not just the holidays. I'm thankful all the time. Thankful for the support of the fans, thankful for it all.'"
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