- Mark Bradley of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "The franchise that didn't draft Chris Paul and saw its owners sue another over a trade with Phoenix; the franchise of the wayward bird mascot and Cliff Levingston's running lefty hook; the franchise that hadn't won a Game 7 since it was based in St. Louis and a best-of-seven series since 1970 … That franchise stands among the NBA's elite eight. Admit it. You laughed at these guys. Heck, we all laughed. But go ask the preening Pat Riley and the illustrious Dwyane Wade how funny it is to play these reborn Atlanta Hawks. Because they're different. They're the kind of team we Atlantans don't see very often. They're the kind that rises to its moment."
- Greg Stoda of the Palm Beach Post: "There's no date with LeBron. Nor should there be one. Atlanta 91, Miami 78, and it wasn't close to being that close. The better team won. That doesn't mean the Heat's season, which ended this afternoon in Philips Arena with the Game 7 loss to the Hawks in a first-round NBA playoff series, wasn't a success. It was, and that remains so despite Miami's meek surrender in being eliminated in the ultimate game of a seven-game series. The Heat still achieved beyond reasonable expectation. A disappointing and disheartening defeat as the finish doesn't, or shouldn't, change the evaluation. Who could have guessed at the beginning of the regular season that Miami would compile a 43-39 record and earn the Eastern Conference's fifth seed for the playoffs?"
- Bob Finnan of The News-Herald: "The Hawks and Heat played a very physical seven-game series, as did the Celtics and Bulls. There were several flagrant fouls in the first round, and Orlando center Dwight Howard was suspended for one game for throwing an elbow at 76ers center Samuel Dalembert in their first-round series. 'Obviously, the flagrant fouls -- the ones where you go for the head -- that's an automatic suspension,' Ilgauskas said. 'Everybody knows that. If you're not going for the head, you just don't want to give up the layup. No one tries to hurt anybody.' Ilgauskas and forward/center Anderson Varejao aren't afraid to dish out a hard foul. Neither is Hawks center Zaza Pachulia, who's been known to mix it up during games. Those antics won't bother LeBron James, who said he doesn't care if the Eastern Conference semifinals get physical. 'It doesn't matter,' he said. 'Whatever it's going to be, we look forward to the challenge. It's a brand new series, a brand new season.'"
- Woody Paige of The Denver Post: "There's no way not to like the way Chris Andersen plays. The Nuggets' forward-center afternoon delight truly was worth the price of admission Sunday. 'Birdman was his usual,' Chauncey Billups said. No triple-double, but a triple ice cream cone ... with a cherry on top. Andersen played 28 minutes, 17 seconds against Dallas in Game 1 of the Western Conference semi- finals. The Nuggets outscored the Mavericks by 24 points during the time he was on the floor. 'Now that's a fun fact,' Andersen said afterward. Andersen tied his postseason high with 11 points. He also had six rebounds. But he finished with a playoff personal-best six blocks, the most for a Nugget since a guy named Dikembe Mutombo rejected seven in 1994. To the Mavs, Andersen was a road rash. Dirk Nowitzki felt like he had fallen into a briar patch, and then attacked by killer red ants."
- Jean-Jacques Taylor of The Dallas Morning News: "Jason Terry brings so much more to the Mavericks than statistics, so don't look at his 15 points and assume he played a decent game in Denver's destruction. He didn't. It's not that Terry was awful in the Nuggets' 109-95 win in this Western Conference semifinal; it's that he was a nonfactor. That won't get it done. The Mavs need more from their emotional linchpin. When Jet is draining jumpers and running down the court with his arms extended as though they were airplane wings, these Mavs defend better. And rebound better. And shoot better. When he's not, the Mavs often receive a butt-kicking like the one Denver delivered in Game 1, because these Mavs feed off the enthusiasm that comes with Terry's shot-making."
- Marc J. Spears of The Boston Globe: "Six feet 10 inches. Six feet 11 inches. Six feet 10 inches. No, that's not the depth chart at center for the Orlando Magic. Rather, those are the heights of the tallest and most challenging starting front line in the NBA - forward Rashard Lewis, center Dwight Howard, and forward Hedo Turkoglu. With the Celtics thin up front because of the loss of Kevin Garnett and Leon Powe to knee injuries, they will have to figure out a way to slow the Magic's giant front line if they hope to win this playoff series and return to the Eastern Conference finals. 'They're a tough matchup at the [forward spots],' Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. 'That's the toughest matchup for us. That Howard guy's pretty good, too, obviously.' ... Paul Pierce and the Celtics respect the Magic. But the champs are confident they will figure out a way to get past their latest big challenge - 6-10, 6-11, and 6-10. 'It's going to be tough,' Pierce said. 'So definitely we've got our work cut out for us. But, hey, you know, we still are the champs until someone knocks us off.'"
- John Denton of Florida Today: "Many of the Orlando Magic's players gathered at Dwight Howard's palatial, $8 million estate Saturday night to watch the Boston Celtics take on the Chicago Bulls and also see the boxing match between Manny Pacquiao and Ricky Hatton. And, like with the fight, where Pacquiao knocked out Hatton before Howard even finished his burger, the decision coming out of Howard's house was unanimous: The Magic are actually glad that they will be playing the defending champion Celtics in Round 2 of the playoffs. Almost to a man, the rally cry goes something like this: To be the champs, you have to beat the champs. 'We wanted the champs and the better team,' Magic point guard Rafer Alston said. 'If Chicago would have won the series, they would have been the better team. But I don't know many people on our team that wouldn't say they don't want Boston. I think you do want to go through the champs.'"
- Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle: "Since Tracy McGrady's season was taken over by his knee troubles, the Rockets have not had the closer to trigger the offense if opposing defenses load up to render them unable to get the ball to Yao Ming. The Rockets have hoped to have enough ball movement to find a shooter left open by the extra attention paid to Yao, but the Lakers have been effective at cutting off ball movement. The Lakers counter with the ultimate closer and let him go to work. 'Kobe,' Yao said when asked how the Lakers have o
wned games down the stretch. 'That's the answer right there. In the late game, he always controls the game. He has the ball in his hands, gets multiple scores, and tries to finish the game off.' The option to trust Bryant with the game tends to simplify things for the Lakers. It also makes the key to those close games clearer for the Rockets defensively than offensively, where they must search for the best option from possession to possession." - Elliott Teaford of the Los Angeles Daily News: "Kobe Bryant is a Philadelphia guy. Ron Artest is a New Yorker. So, right away you know there are going to be differences of opinion. Big ones. Huge. Beyond calculation. It goes light years past rooting for the 76 ers or the Knicks, or the Eagles or the Giants, or the Phillies or the Mets. Or preferring mustard on your soft pretzel, for that matter. It's a pride thing. Bryant seeks his fourth NBA championship and Artest and the Houston Rockets stand in his way. Artest seeks an upset of Bryant and the Lakers. Bryant and Artest will clash starting tonight in Game 1 of the second-round playoff series."
- John Jackson of the Chicago Sun-Times: "If the Bulls want to make a major step up the Eastern Conference ladder next season, they'd be wise to keep Ben Gordon in the fold. There's no way they would've extended the Celtics to seven games if not for the 24.3 points Gordon averaged in the series -- despite playing the final 3½ games with a strained left hamstring. ... Gordon is a hard worker, and you won't find a player who represents the team in a classier fashion off the court. And remember, 20-point scorers -- even ones who sometimes have defensive liabilities and ballhandling issues -- are far from plentiful in the NBA. The Bulls would be smart to re-sign Gordon and put him in a backcourt rotation with Derrick Rose and John Salmons. Even though Gordon started this season, I would start Rose and Salmons and bring Gordon off the bench. All three players would play starter's minutes -- Salmons also can split minutes at small forward with Deng -- so being a starter mostly would be about ego.
- John Smallwood of the Philadelphia Daily News: "But here is the dilemma facing Sixers president/general manager Ed Stefanski as he decides Tony DiLeo's fate: The question for Stefanski is not whether DiLeo has earned the opportunity. The question is whether he believes DiLeo is the coach who can lead the Sixers to an NBA championship. That's the mind-set this franchise has to have in moving forward. Everything it does has to be directed toward bringing a championship to Philadelphia within 3 to 5 years. That's what Stefanski was brought here to do. That's why he committed nearly $200 million in salary to Brand, Andre Iguodala and Lou Williams. That's why he's going to pour a ton of cash at the fabulous potential of forward Thaddeus Young, why he'll make a run to keep point guard Andre Miller, and negotiate the waters of the salary cap to acquire more talent through creative trades and free-agent signings. This is Stefanski's organization. He has a vision for what he thinks it is capable of and how he can get it there. That's why the decision on DiLeo has to be looked at in a much colder view. It's not about what DiLeo has done. It's about what you think he can do."
- John Canzano of The Oregonian: "Interesting development coming from the vote for the NBA's exec of the year. Mark Warkentien, Denver Nuggets Vice President of Basketball Operations, won the award. But would anyone have guessed that Portland's Kevin Pritchard wouldn't garner a single vote from his peers? I wrote early on that Pritchard's peers weren't fond of his success, and there were a lot of them sneering at the Blazers' overachievement. It manifested itself in this vote. ... Don't get me wrong, Warkentein, a former Blazers executive, did a fantastic job. And he'd get my first-place vote, but Pritchard shutout? Really? Seriously? All that "Pritch slap" business must have rubbed people the wrong way. It's why I think Pritchard pulled back in the latter half of the year and was less talkative with the media. He's one of the most active --- if not THE most active execs around the draft. Still, great year for the Blazers, and Pritchard, I think."
- Buck Harvey of the San Antonio Express-News: "France has always had a love-hate with Tony Parker, and the split is attributable to his half-American, half-Euro heritage. The love is as obvious as his advertisements in the Metro. When the Spurs trained in France in 2006, the Parisian newspapers called the excitement around him 'Le Parkermania.' The hate is less clear. Maybe because of his NBA life, they see someone not like them. With his games played in the middle of the night in Europe, they hear more about his success than they see it. Parker has tried to mend this. He went to Singapore in 2005 with the French delegation in an attempt to land the 2012 Olympics. Still, he's seen as a product of America. He's in Los Angeles now, living a Hollywood life. Is the only thing French about him the language? The best way to change this: lead an underachieving French team to some respectability."
- Frank Zicarelli of the Toronto Sun: "Now comes the moment of truth of whether the Raptors are willing to take a gamble on Jamaal Magloire. One of the NBA's unwritten rules of thumb is to avoid, if possible, signing players who live in that team's city. There are too many headaches associated with such a reunion, but there are exceptions. The Raptors should at least look at Magloire, whose stock isn't exactly high. But by no means is Magloire a priority in an off-season filled with far greater concerns. But when the off-season moves are made and the need for a veteran post player who will rebound, defend, bring an edge off the bench and won't demand touches remains, why not consider Magloire?"
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 |
