- Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: "The Orlando Magic strode in on the rise and on a roll, a youthful franchise already monitoring future playoff pairings, 'Going forward,' as Coach Stan Van Gundy likes to say. But Monday night, in a little more than two hours, the wily Detroit Pistons took them back in time, reminding them of a past they share. While Detroit's roster has changed and aged, the result was the same: Pistons 88, Magic 82."
- Sekou Smith of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "You'll have to forgive Al Horford for not being as overwhelmed by the Hawks' hot start as some of his teammates. Horford wasn't around for the leaner times, when reaching 20 wins was done in March or April, if at all. ... 'I still don't feel like we're playing our best basketball,' the second-year center said after the Hawks won their fifth straight game. 'We need to continue to defend and rebound and hit our shots on the offensive end.' Spoken like a man whose first full season ended with a playoff berth. But Monday's win was the surest sign that these Hawks have moved on from their tumultuous times of recent seasons."
- Chris McCosky of The Detroit News: "Rasheed Wallace picked up his 12th technical foul of the season. He will earn a one-game suspension for every other tech after No. 15."
- Sam Amick of the Sacramento Bee: "If home is where the heart is, then the Kings are currently homeless. That's how Mikki Moore sees it, anyway. A day after the Kings' 45-point loss to Boston -- their worst home loss in franchise history and 11th in their last 13 games at Arco Arena -- the team's veteran forward became the unofficial spokesman for frustrated fans. 'I wouldn't say we've quit, but it's like the wind is kicked out of us if we're down points going into halftime,' Moore said after Monday's practice. 'And it's frustrating, because we come in and we've got our heads down. Nobody's fired up. I try to get people fired up, but it's hard to get people fired up if you just don't have enough heart to go out there and compete. That's something you can't teach.'"
- Brian Windhorst of The Plain Dealer: "Just think, just one year from now LeBron James will actually be considered responsible enough to rent a car. On Tuesday, James will celebrate his 24th birthday on the same day, as many feature stories and TV specials have pointed out over the years, as Tiger Woods celebrates his. In basketball years it may sometimes seem like James is already middle- aged, but in reality he is still very much of a young man, even if it doesn't feel that way to many fans who have been following him for nearly a decade now. 'Someone asked me how old I was turning,' James said. 'I told them '24, I'm young but I have an old soul.'"
- Dave D'Alessandro of The Star-Ledger: "Young players, more often than not, are dumb players. There are exceptions. But by and large, there is a distinct difference between having physical talent and knowing how to play. One NBA head coach likes to call it his 'NRA analogy.' It goes like this: 'I can have a big gun that makes a lot of noise, which will scare the crap out of everybody,' he told us the other day. 'But if you don't have a sight on it, it ain't gonna hit (anything).' That's basically what the Nets have in Sean Williams, which is why they're sending him across the country - to get a clearer vision on his target, whatever that may be. World-class hops don't make you a player. Power dunks don't make you a player. Working on your skills until every movement becomes automatic -- leaving your mind free for the nuances you have to master on every play -- that makes you a player. We hope the kid gets there. No one knows how this turns out, however. He might have played his last game here, if some other team is willing to take a chance on him. But judging by the number of inquiries the Nets have received, there are 29 other teams that think he's hopeless - big-time athlete, small-time head, goes the old refrain."
- Kerry Eggers of The Portland Tribune: "In his hometown of Palma de Mallorca on Majorca, the largest of the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Rudy Fernandez and tennis star Rafael Nadal are las más populares celebridades (translation: the most popular celebrities). 'In Spain, there's a big difference,' Fernandez offers. 'In my city, everybody knows me. When I'm walking somewhere, they may say hello, but they respect my privacy. Here, it's, 'Hey, hey, hey.' I don't like that part so much.' Fernandez, 23, is unfailingly polite in public, though, in keeping with the players Portland's NBA franchise has brought in to win back fans who tuned them out during the 'Jail Blazer' era. But Rodolfo Fernandez Jr. is more than just a nice guy. He is an extreme talent."
- Kate Fagan of The Philadelphia Inquirer: "Andre Miller knows why the Utah Jazz dominate the Salt Lake City landscape along with those snow-capped mountains. 'Because there's no football,' explained Miller, who went to the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. 'They're passionate about their sports.' Miller, the 76ers' point guard, agreed that EnergySolutions Arena is one of the tougher places to play in the NBA. 'It's the crowd, the altitude, they just normally don't lose that often here,' Miller said."
- Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News: "Bruce Bowen, the Spurs' No. 1 Cowboys fan, said the demise of his favorite NFL team offered lessons for the Spurs and anyone else who understands what produces sports success. 'It's very disappointing,' Bowen said of Sunday's painful showing by his favorites, 'but character wins out over talent any day, at least in my book. You can see how infectious certain characters can be down the end of the road.' Bowen declined to name which of the Cowboys characters he considered "infectious,” but he made it clear he believed the Cowboys were doomed by self-centered players. 'In sports, we're constantly telling kids that you have to have the right attitude,” he said, "and this is something that magnifies when you don't have a team-first mentality.'"
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