- Geoff Calkins of the Memphis Commercial Appeal: "Yes, the Grizzlies fired Iavaroni and replaced him with Hollins Thursday. Anyone think the problems might still remain? I mean, LIONEL HOLLINS? That's it? That's the answer to this mess? The good, gracious Grizzlies assistant who served as interim coach when Brian Hill was fired and Hubie Brown resigned? Hollins' record as interim head coach of the Grizzlies: 18-46. So, by all means, let's give him the job full time! And, yes, that's probably an unfair shot. Hollins might well do better as the permanent guy. But for an organization that has a hard-earned reputation for doing things on the cheap, replacing Iavaroni with Hollins seems decidedly, oh, what's the word I'm looking for ... Cheap! As in, why pay an extra penny when the franchise is going to lose three out of every four games anyway? ... So was Iavaroni the problem? Or is maybe the organization the problem? And if the organization is the problem, what does that makes Hollins? It makes him the next one to blame when it all goes bad, of course. At least his severance will be cheap."
- Chris Herrington of The Memphis Flyer: "For what it's worth, Hollins never impressed me as promising head-coach material in his stints as a Grizzlies assistant and this hire, if it does indeed happen, is not a move that inspires much confidence. I did think it was time for Iavaroni to go, provided the team could hire a permanent coach to replace him rather than turning the team over to an in-house interim for the season. A change was needed, but a Hollins hire sure doesn't feel like a step in the right direction."
- Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald: "Initially, even the Celtics were starstruck as Orlando's pre-eminent basketball fan took his courtside seat. Glen Davis pointed like a little kid, and Paul Pierce and Ray Allen walked over to Tiger Woods, perhaps in search of pointers. But Woods wasn't there to work. Like everyone else in Amway Arena last night, he was drawn by another Eastern Conference marquee moment, another potential conference final preview. In that regard the Celtics feel some vindication today. After losing their first two supremely hyped road games this season in Los Angeles and Cleveland, the Celtics put a big one on the board with last night's 90-80 win over Orlando. 'This was very big,' said Pierce. 'You hear about the way that Cleveland and Orlando have been playing, and it's important for us to get some of those wins. Hopefully we'll get two more against them and win the season series. That's going to be big.' Indeed, the stakes are already big."
- Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel: "In the grand scheme of a long NBA season, this game really meant nothing as far as seedings and standings. And it's a good thing because Boston made Orlando look ordinary, ending the soaring Magic's seven-game winning streak and holding them to their lowest point total of the season. But it's like Magic Coach Stan Van Gundy pointed out: This isn't college football where one loss can determine who wins the national championship. 'At the end of the day, [it's] one win or one loss,' Van Gundy said 'We're not the BCS, where the polls and the power ratings and all of that ridiculous stuff matters. This is a legitimate sport.' Van Gundy is absolutely right, but, still, it doesn't seem quite right to call this simply one of 82 games. Not if you were at the arena Thursday night. Not if you saw scalpers trying to get a couple of hundred bucks per seat from fans who braved the cold and showed up hours before the game in search of tickets. Not if you saw Tiger Woods sitting courtside high-fiving Stuff the mascot before tipoff."
- Rick Telander of the Chicago Sun-Times: "When Ben Gordon angrily confronted the coach Thursday over a fine for being late for a team flight, swearing within earshot of the media, you know it's a sign the inmates are starting to run the asylum. Del Negro, who never had been a coach at any level, is almost a clone, career-wise and attitude-wise, of John Paxson. Pax was a scrappy shooting guard who played 11 NBA seasons, averaging 7.2 points; Vinny was a scrappy shooting guard who played 12 NBA seasons, averaging 9.1 points. Paxson could be comfortable personally with Del Negro, but could the new guy coach? The answer right now, with the hand he has been dealt, is not real well."
- Frank Zicarelli of the Toronto Sun: "Alonzo Mourning, whose perpetual scowl was matched only by his ego, called it a career yesterday in Miami, where he achieved the ultimate prize in helping the Heat win the NBA championship in 2006. He is revered in South Beach because he has given so much of his time and so much of his money to local charities. For that, he should be applauded. He's an icon in Miami, but ask people in Charlotte and in Toronto and to some degree in New Jersey and the perception is a lot different. Greed and envy led to Mourning's exit in Charlotte, where the one-time expansion team had the building blocks to contend for a title. When Mourning was traded to the Heat, in part because he feuded with Larry Johnson and with team management over money, fans of the Hornets were left in Mourning, metaphorically speaking of course. The team never recovered, triggering a series of setbacks that ultimately led to the franchise relocating to New Orleans."
- Tom Sorensen of The Charlotte Observer: "The Hornets had an opportunity to be one of the league's best teams, but coach Allan Bristow couldn't sell his stars -- Mourning, Larry Johnson and Kendall Gill -- on the concept of teamwork. Finally, Mourning and owner George Shinn got in a war. Shinn wouldn't pay Mourning what he could make elsewhere and the Hornets traded Mourning. When I think of the all-time Charlotte Hornet greats, I think of Johnson and Muggsy Bogues and even Baron Davis. Had Mourning stayed, he, too, would have been one of the greats. There is no way to think about those teams without imagining what could have been."
- Greg Stoda of the Palm Beach Post: "It's good to have been so wrong about Alonzo Mourning, who announced his once-and-for-all retirement from the Miami Heat and professional basketball on Thursday afternoon. Now, he can take strides greater, deeper and more powerfully into a purposeful life as a man of consequence. His footprints are already there. Fare thee well, and my apologies. There was a time when Mourning seemed less than genuine to me. The muscular preening and posing he regularly demonstrated on the court to the very end of his career appeared too frequently to mirror Mourning's look-at-me attitude. It wasn't unusual for Mourning to act and sound thoughtful and gracious when the cameras were focused on him, but surly and confrontational otherwise. He often was unnecessarily combative or defiant in casual situations. He cultivated anger and belligerence, but struck me as insecure. Somethi
ng happened, though, and whatever the epiphany, there were increasing glimpses of Mourning's basic goodness, decency and generosity. 'Who I was then and who I am now, it's like Jekyll and Hyde,' Mourning said of his maturation." - Chris Tomasson of the Rocky Mountain News: "If President Barack Obama can fix the economy, talk of another NBA work stoppage might subside. For now, it's quite prevalent among survivors from the 1998-99 lockout. 'In two years, it'll be no because they'll be another,' Houston guard Brent Barry said when asked if what emerged from the lockout helped the NBA. There are 55 players on NBA rosters having remained active since the lockout. It was 10 years ago this month commissioner David Stern and union director Billy Hunter met all night in New York and came up with half a season. The Rocky talked to four holdover players from that 50-game campaign. All four -- Barry, Nuggets guard Chauncey Billups, Sacramento guard Bobby Jackson and Kings center Brad Miller -- believe another lockout is very possible in 2 1/2 years, and players must do what they can to avoid it."
- Mark Hale of the New York Post: "Last week Mike D'Antoni mentioned Lee as a possible All-Star, and with his performance, he's simply raising his stock for the upcoming offseason. A restricted free agent, Lee probably is putting the Knicks in a position where they will have to match another team's offer. Other than right after the season opener, when he had 16 points, Lee's scoring average is higher now than it's been at any point this year. And it's way higher than it was his past three seasons - it peaked with a 10.8 ppg average last year. 'I'm just trying to remain aggressive,' he said yesterday. 'When I go out there, I'm not thinking about '[Wednesday] night I need to go score 25.' I'm thinking I've got to find a way to get 12 or 15 rebounds, 'cause this team [the Suns] is a big team inside with [Shaquille O'Neal] and Amare [Stoudemire], and we ended up beating them on the boards by six [Wednesday] night. That's my thought process going into the game -- to play great defense, continue to improve that, and to get every rebound that goes up on both ends. And really, the scoring is going to take care of itself by me playing with that kind of effort.'"
- Don Seeholzer of The Pioneer Press: "Al Jefferson has been putting up all-star numbers for the Timberwolves, but even he needs an assist now and then. Enter the team's public relations department, which has mounted a campaign to get the Wolves' star center selected to the NBA All-Star Game on Feb. 15 in Phoenix. The Wolves on Wednesday sent an overnight package to each of the other 14 Western Conference coaches who will vote on reserves for the game. Included in 'Big Al's Road Trip' is a foldout map featuring some of his notable performances and a head-to-head comparison with four Western Conference centers: Houston's Yao Ming, Phoenix's Shaquille O'Neal, Golden State's Andris Biedrins and the Los Angeles Lakers' Andrew Bynum. Last but not least, each coach received a GPS device with a highlight video of Jefferson, who said he's grateful for the help. 'It means a lot,' he said. 'Hopefully, it will convince these coaches to get me in.'"
- Jeff Eisenberg of The Press-Enterprise: "If Pau Gasol makes the all-star team as a reserve, it won't be because of a last-ditch campaign from Phil Jackson. The coach acknowledged it's "pretty obvious" the impact Gasol has made on the franchise since coming over via trade last year, but said he'd prefer the big man make the team on his own merit."
Sort comments by: Most Recent | First Posted
Comments that include profanity, or personal attacks, or antisocial behavior such as "spamming" or "trolling," or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. We will take steps to block users who violate any of our terms of use. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
TRUEHOOP CONTRIBUTORS
Henry AbbottTrueHoop ESPN Archive |
J.A. AdandeTrueHoop ESPN Archive |
Kevin ArnovitzTrueHoop ESPN Archive |
Chris BroussardTrueHoop ESPN Archive |
Chad FordTrueHoop ESPN Archive |
John HollingerTrueHoop ESPN Archive |
Chris SheridanTrueHoop ESPN Archive |
Marc SteinTrueHoop ESPN Archive |
