- Geoff Calkins of the Memphis Commercial Appeal: "The fact is that the Grizzlies have a general manager (Chris Wallace), a president of business operations (Greg Campbell) and now a head coach (Hollins) who couldn't have been hired for those same jobs by any other franchise in the league. It doesn't mean they're bad people. But is it any surprise that the franchise is struggling? Spending money does not guarantee championships. See the Knicks. But refusing to spend money guarantees futility. See the Clippers, the Royals and the Pirates. Heisley's response is that he'll spend money when the team is ready to win. But when, exactly is that going to be? Every team in the league is going to have cap room in 2010. The Grizzlies are one of the few teams that have cap room this year. Will they use it to improve the team? Will they add a talented, young free agent to the mix? 'We will not spend money just to spend money,' said Heisley. C'mon, Mike. Give the coach a chance."
- Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: "Fans are noticing Dwight Howard's attitude with the referees. A local pastor, in an e-mail to the Sentinel, wrote, 'This big bad center of the Magic is turning into one of the whiniest players in the league. If he is called for a foul, you would think he is ready to cry. Dwight, I love you, but please grow up.'"
- Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star Tribune: "That 9-2 mark surpasses San Antonio's 9-3 record in the month, and Sunday's game was perhaps Jefferson's final statement -- a 39-point one at that, hobbling on a cramped leg at game's end -- that he deserves a place in next month's NBA All-Star Game. Western Conference coaches' ballots are due in Tuesday. 'I hope he gets in,' teammate Randy Foye said. 'He deserves it. He's the leader of this team. He's the leading scorer, the leading rebounder and we're one of the hottest teams in the NBA. All of us know he's an All-Star. If he doesn't get in, it's just probably because the other guys are on TV more.'"
- Mike Wells of The Indianapolis Star: "Indiana Pacers president Larry Bird and coach Jim O'Brien are doing their part to get forward Danny Granger selected as a reserve for next month's All-Star Game in Phoenix. Bird and O'Brien recently sent a packet, including a personal letter, about Granger to Eastern Conference coaches to get them to vote for the fourth-year forward. ... 'We wanted them to have information so that they would really look hard at what Danny has meant to the Indiana Pacers, along with every pertinent statistical category of things he has done this year,' O'Brien said. 'We're trying to do everything possible to make sure he gets the recognition he deserves.'"
- Greg Johnson of The Grand Rapids Press: "Part of it was the Rockets making 15-of-19 shots, including 7-of-9 from behind the 3-point line in the 108-105 win at the Palace on Sunday, but part of it was the Pistons looking confused on defense. At one point, Rasheed Wallace and Michael Curry had a rather heated argument about what was happening on the court. The Pistons, who have not played zone all season, looked as if they were in a zone, only one without regard for Luis Scola, the big center from Argentina who scored 10 of his 21 points in the first quarter. 'It was a little bit confusing,' Wallace said. 'We figured it out in the second half, but by then they had that big lead.' ... Allen Iverson laughed when asked if the Pistons were in a zone. 'If it looked like we were in a zone and we weren't, that ain't good,' he said."
- Dave D'Alessandro of The Star-Ledger: "There are worse things he faces in his job, but this is what he dreads the most. It's the part where Lawrence Frank is asked to talk about Lawrence Frank. 'Good luck with that,' he said. By now, it is clear that this is a guy who doesn't easily discuss trifling issues such as career milestones -- or days of the week, for that matter -- but as the fifth anniversary of his hiring as Nets coach arrives Monday, he is willing to concede that it is rare for someone to last so long in the predatory environment known as the NBA. That's all you get, however: a didactic lecture about the business at large, and sincere gratitude to be a part of it. He can't even use the first-person pronoun to describe his place in this milieu. He'd rather talk about Monday night's game against the Thunder, or the eight ways to defend a pick-and-roll. 'But it's humbling,' Frank admitted Sunday. 'If you look at it, you truly appreciate that we were able to stay in one spot for five years, considering the landscape of the business. And yet -- you don't want me to say this -- those things aren't possible without a bunch of factors. You need good players, a really good staff, great support from management, and great ownership. Look at it: There are far better coaches who have been let go, because they didn't have one of those four things.'"
- Frank Zicarelli of the Toronto Sun: "If the rumours are true and if the Heat are serious about acquiring O'Neal, the Raptors will get Shawn Marion's expiring contract and an onerous contract in the form of Marcus Banks. As of today, the Raptors should take O'Neal off the market, sit down with the proud veteran and tell him how important he is coming off the bench. In the off-season, there will be plenty of time to trade O'Neal, whose expiring contract in 2010 will be a huge trade piece."
- Scott Howard-Cooper of the Sacramento Bee: "The landscape on the Brad Miller trade front has been shifting. The Mavericks dealt DeSagana Diop to the Bobcats mostly for the perimeter depth of Matt Carroll, leaving Dallas shorthanded at center. And Alonzo Mourning's decision to retire rather than re-join the Heat was a hit to Miami with Joel Anthony as the starting center. Mourning would have come much, much cheaper -- salary wise and also in allowing the Heat to keep Shawn Marion or use him in another deal -- but Miller would be the dependable option, as much as people in Sacramento would find that hard to fathom. Miller is averaging 13.2 points and 9.7 rebounds in 11 games in January and will be in his contract year in 2009-10, meaning the Miller of next season will be motivated by a money drive if not a playoff drive wherever he is."
- Chris Tomasson of the Rocky Mountain News: "Guard Chauncey Billups is considered Denver's best All-Star hope, followed by forward Carmelo Anthony. But Nene sure looked like an All-Star in dominating Utah center Mehmet Okur, who once played in the midseason classic. Nene tied a team mark set when Bobby Jones shot 12-for-12 March 15, 1978, against Golden State, and
he equaled his career high set April 4, 2007, against Sacramento. While it was a mere footnote on this night, Nene also had four steals. 'He's very deserving,' Billups said of Nene -- he's averaging 15.1 points and 8.2 rebounds and leading the NBA in field-goal percentage, at 61.3 - being an All-Star. 'I've been saying that all along. He's on a really good team, and he's an unstoppable force.'" - Scott Souza of the MetroWest Daily News: "Fresh off a trip to the presidential inauguration on Tuesday, Ray Allen was ready to start another campaign yesterday. And it had nothing to do with his own candidacy to be named an All-Star reserve this week. 'We need to get Eddie House in the 3-point contest - that's what we need to do,' Allen declared after House hit seven 3-pointers in yesterday's 124-100 victory over the Mavericks at TD Banknorth Garden. 'That's something that needs to happen. He's never been in it. I think he's been one of the best shooters in the league over the last couple of years, so it's important that the league -- somebody -- put Eddie House in the 3-point contest because I think he can win it.'"
- Dan Shaughnessy of The Boston Globe: "While you were reading the Sunday papers in bed (do people still do that?) Ray Allen already was shooting jumpers in the empty Garden. ABC's cameras captured him on the parquet floor at 9:45 a.m., more than three hours before tipoff. Trust me when I tell you the Garden is meat locker cold when it's empty in January. Even the Celtic Dancers had to bundle up for yesterday's matinee. 'It's always cold in here,' Allen said, smiling. 'Today I was thinking about wearing two sleeves.' Ah, yes, the sleeve. Allen started wearing it when he was in a horrific slump during the Detroit series last spring. He wears the sleeve on just his left arm - sort of like Michael Jackson without the creepiness. 'Rip Hamilton grew his fingernails long and he was scratching me,' explained Allen. 'I needed the sleeve to shield me from those nails. And I've stayed with it.' No sense changing now. It's part of the routine."
- Mark Heisler of the Los Angeles Times: "The most impressive thing about their 35-8 record is that they've done it with a minimal Bynum, coming off surgery, eager to justify his new $57-million deal and dismayed to find he had fallen from the No. 2 option on offense last season to No. 4, 5 or 6. On a per-minute basis, that 7.6-rebound average Bynum took into last week's breakout game against the Clippers was worse than the 5.9 a game he took in 22 minutes in his second season, when he was 19. So, Bynum had either A) forgotten how to play, or B) had some things to sort out, mentally and physically. Happily for the Lakers, the answer was B. The amazing thing about Bynum, the chunkball who played the equivalent of one varsity season in high school, is his ability to make constructive use of criticism, no matter how pointed, be it one of Phil Jackson's jibes, or Kobe Bryant's famous rant."
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