- Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: "With the win, the Magic clinched their second consecutive Southeast Division title and eclipsed last season's record (52-30). 'The politically correct answer in the NBA is to say that we don't care about winning division titles and we're on to bigger things,' Coach Stan Van Gundy said. 'Hopefully, we are, but I do care. I'd rather it be us than anyone else. I think it's big.'"
- Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald: "When is a loss not entirely a loss? When you get to mess with the mind of a potential playoff opponent. The Celtics did just that last night, taking the Magic to the wire before succumbing, 84-82. Staring at a 16-point deficit when Kevin Garnett departed for the evening with 3:54 left in the third quarter, the Celts came back to give Orlando a little something to think about. 'I thought it was great,' said coach Doc Rivers. 'It was a great game. For us to come back with Kevin on the bench the whole fourth quarter and have several opportunities to win the game, we'll take that.'"
- Sekou Smith of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "Losses by Milwaukee, Charlotte and New Jersey on Wednesday night clinched the spot for the Hawks, who are 42-30 and still in possession of the fourth spot in the Eastern Conference standings, which guarantees home-court advantage in the first round. 'Now at least we know we're in, which is nice,' Hawks center Al Horford said. 'So we can just look ahead and keep trying to get better.' The Hawks had better get better in a hurry. They face Boston on Friday and the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday. 'We don't have any time to sulk,' Horford said. 'We have to snap out of it and get ready for the challenges that are coming. Because it's not going to be any easier.'"
- Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News: "Grounded since Feb. 11 by a stress reaction in his right distal fibula, Manu Ginobili played 14 minutes and two seconds. He made only 1 of 7 shots -- a layin off an out-of-bounds play that beat the first-period buzzer -- but nothing could dampen his enthusiasm on a night the Spurs scored a meaningful road victory over the Eastern Conference's No. 4 team. 'I was definitely rusty and slow,' Ginobili said, 'but no (ankle) problems. Besides, I wasn't expecting to have a great game, either. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich gave Ginobili's return a positive review. 'It's a good start, just to get him a couple of minutes,' Popovich said. 'He can start to get his timing back. Obviously, he needs time to get back into the flow. It's important to us, because by playoff time he's got to be whole for us to win.'"
- John DeShazier of The Times-Picayune: "Don't lay Wednesday night's loss to Denver at the feet of the Hornets' maligned, ridiculed, often under-producing bench. This one, a 101-88 decision in favor of the Nuggets at the New Orleans Arena, belonged to the starters, whom the Nuggets carved up en route to doing some serious damage to New Orleans (44-26) in the Western Conference standings. A win would've allowed the Hornets to keep pace with San Antonio (47-24) and Houston (47-26) in the Southwest Division, and it would've allowed the Hornets to close a five-game homestand with a 4-1 record. For the record, the loss didn't extinguish their hopes of winning the division or crawling up to the No. 2 or 3 seed in the playoff race, but it made a fall from fifth to sixth much more of a possibility, and a slide to seventh also in the picture."
- Ross Siler of The Salt Lake Tribune: "As agonizingly close as the Jazz came Wednesday night against the Phoenix Suns, the search for answers will have to continue when it comes to winning on the road and in the second game of back-to-back sets. The Jazz had the score tied in the final minute, but came away with a 118-114 loss at US Airways Center. They will play the Suns again Saturday in Utah, but only can hope Wednesday's game won't be the one that costs them a favorable playoff seeding."
- Brian Windhorst of The Plain Dealer: "Things have changed quite a bit since Ben Wallace broke his leg on Feb. 26 in Houston. For one, Joe Smith is now a part of the team and is playing quite well off the bench. The other is that Anderson Varejao has been strong starting in place of Wallace. Cavs coach Mike Brown's routine is to bring back an injured starter slowly, brining him off the bench first. Usually, though, players don't lose their starting job due to injury. However, circumstances may be different this time with what is sure to be a brand new rotation with Smith in the mix. Knowing it could be a tough decision, Brown is staying non-committal on the subject but certainly leaving the door open that Varejao could remain a starter. 'With the way the team is playing, I have to think about it,' Brown said. 'We don't have to deal with it right now. It's not anything to hide from. The team that is starting has played well, it's something we'll address as time goes on.'"
- Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times: "Of all people to take a shot at Kobe Bryant. Ryan Hollins is the backup to the backup center with the Dallas Mavericks, and yet he was trash-talking about Bryant. Hollins, who attended UCLA and Pasadena Muir High, appeared on Michael Irvin's ESPN radio show in Dallas and talked about how he could help the Mavericks win now and in the playoffs. If the playoffs started today, the top-seeded Lakers would face the eighth-seeded Mavericks. Hollins gave his analysis on how the Mavericks can win. 'Kobe Bryant is one of the greatest players in the game, and I think sometimes he has issues trusting his teammates,' Hollins said. 'Maybe we catch them off guard, kind of get Kobe into playing a little one-on-one or doing a little too much, I think we've got a shot at them definitely.' For the record, the Lakers are 3-0 against the Mavericks this season."
- Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel: "Tonight marks the first game against the Bulls since Heat guard Dwyane Wade stripped the ball from Chicago's John Salmons for his dramatic 3-pointer at the end of double-overtime two weeks ago. Asked if he felt for Salmons having his gaffe replayed on an endless loop, Wade said, 'It's pure competition. I don't feel for him at all.'"
- John Canzano of The Oregonian: "Brandon Roy has a scratch on his left cheek from the fingernail of an opponent. The pinkie finger on his left hand is taped, and sprained. And his left knee, chr
onically sore for as long as he can remember, is 'aching' lately. Also, last Saturday against Milwaukee, Roy was kicked in the calf, which he said is painful. And against the 76ers on Monday, he rolled his left ankle in the first half. 'I'm not 100 percent, but I still should be able to play through all of that,' he said. "I also know if I don't play well, I know I'm hurting our chances of winning.' The Blazers can't do this without him. And if they do the unthinkable, melt down and fail to reach the playoffs, the disappointment would be catastrophic. Which is only to say, for all the growth he's demonstrated, for all the personal accomplishments he's piled up, for all the goodwill he's built in the community, Roy's time has officially arrived. The opposition knows this. They're focused on trying to take him away and force someone else to try and beat them. It's why the 76ers trapped him in the overtime, forcing him to give the ball up." - Vittorio Tafur of The Examiner: "Check out all the various Warriors blogs and chat rooms, and alot of the criticism for a disappointing year falls at the feet of Bobby Rowell and Don Nelson. Third up seems to be Stephen Jackson, for his questionable shot selection. Well, you won't have Jackson to yell at for a while. He is getting his painful toe checked out and all indications are that Wednesday's blowout loss in Dallas was his last game of the season. Has he taken some bad shots? Sure. But you gotta remember that he played most of the season without Monta Ellis."
- Mike McGraw of the Arlington Heights Daily Herald: "Asked about the wisdom of giving Luol Deng a six-year, $71-million contract last year, John Paxson decided that quality small forwards are difficult to find in the NBA: "We kind of looked at is as, 'In paying Lu, we think he has value now and will have value down the road.' Sometimes that's how you have to look at it. You've got to say to yourself, 'If we pay this guy, there may come a time down the road ... ' We don't have any intention of moving Luol Deng, but that's how you look at it. One of Lu's great strengths is his ability to move without the ball. I still think he will become a very, very good player.'"
- Shannon Ryan of the Los Angeles Times: "Blake Griffin is widely considered the top pick if he decides to leave Oklahoma after his sophomore season. But then? 'Close your eyes, put your finger on a name on the list and you'll see,' the scout said. 'I couldn't tell you any more than the man in the moon. Last year, we all had a pretty good idea.'"
- Stan Olson of The Charlotte Observer: "Should he stay or should he go? For Davidson all-America guard Stephen Curry, the decision whether to enter the NBA draft or to return to Davidson for his senior year remains a tossup. 'I'm 50 percent in the middle,' he said Wednesday afternoon. 'Every five minutes I'm thinking one way and then I'm thinking the next way. So I'm just playing mind games with myself right now. 'Once I get out of the meetings with my parents and my coaches, then I can give you a better judgment of where I am right now.' ... Curry is concentrating on schoolwork this week, but said he plans to speak with his parents this weekend. '(I'll decide) pretty soon, because if you decide to go, there's a lot of things you have to do to get ready for that. The quicker I can make that decision, the quicker I can prepare. And then people are going to be affected by this decision, my teammates here at Davidson. If I'm coming back we can start our process of getting better for next year.'"
- Phil Richards of The Indianapolis Star: "It changed basketball. The 1979 NCAA Tournament grossed $5.2 million. Its current TV contract is an 11-year, $6 billion deal that began in 2003. The Bird-Johnson rivalry moved on the next year to rejuvenate the NBA. Indiana State shot poorly, fell behind and never caught up that March night. Magic and Michigan State were triumphant. Bird was held to 19 points. Afterward, he slumped on the bench, weeping into a towel. The hurt is still evident, 30 years later. 'It's a killer,' Bird said, shaking his head. 'It's a killer. That game was special, and it broke my heart.' Three decades have passed, and that game remains special. No team since has reached it undefeated. No mid-major has gone so far. No team making its first tournament appearance has come so close. The dream was dead: 33-1. Long live the dream."
- Michael Wilbon of The Washington Post: "Magic Johnson and Larry Bird did this. With all due respect to John Wooden and his 10 championships at UCLA, the Bruins dominated what was then merely a basketball tournament. But Magic and Bird, 30 years ago Thursday night, gave us March Madness. The game itself, on the evening of March 26, 1979, wasn't the best championship game ever. Playing for Indiana State, Bird missed 14 of 21 shots and Michigan State was in control for essentially the entire game. Magic's greatest performance had come two days earlier, in the national semifinals, when he ran the University of Pennsylvania off the court with a triple-double. But no basketball game, before or since, college or professional, produced the anticipation, television ratings, impact or reaction of Indiana State-Michigan State, Bird vs. Magic."
- Brad Rock of the Deseret News: "Here it is, 30 years today since Salt Lake hosted the NCAA championship game. Those who were at that Final Four knew it was special, but only in a sense. The actual game was no Rembrandt. Yet some call the Indiana State-Michigan State championship pairing the greatest of all time. It remains TV history's highest-rated college basketball game. I had been at the Deseret News just over a year, when I was assigned along with Bill Ewer, Linda Hamilton, Ray Grass, Lee Benson and Doug Robinson to cover the 1979 Final Four. We were kids, all of us still in our 20s or 30s. I remember thinking, yeah, this would be cool, but not an all-time moment. I had my whole career ahead. I'd see a lot of stuff like that. And I did: other Final Fours, Super Bowls, NBA Finals, Olympics, major bowl games, championship fights. Still, little did I know I was watching the game that saved the game."
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 |
