- Mark Kiszla of The Denver Post: "This is how basketball legends are born, athletes become friends for life, the momentum of a playoff series turns and a team begins to believe championship dreams can come true. 'Keep fighting,' declared Carmelo Anthony, his determination exploding with a curse word between his two-word plea, as he ran past actor Tom Cruise and all the beautiful people cheering the Lakers. This best-of-seven series between the mighty Lakers and the upstart Nuggets to determine the Western Conference's representative in the NBA Finals is tied 1-1. Both contests have been classics worthy of framing. Game 2 was not decided until a desperate 3-point attempt by L.A. guard Derek Fisher in the waning seconds failed to find the basket. There appears to be almost nothing to choose between the teams. Except one thing: The Nuggets have so much fight no sane man would want to mess with them."
- Jeff Miller of The Orange County Register: "Now we know for a fact the Lakers can lose. And we mean more than just a game. We mean a series. This series. That's the message to take from Thursday, which appropriately ended with a desperate and hurried three-point shot by the shortest Laker on the court over the tallest Nugget on the court. The result of that shot: Airball. Nothing but not. Not now. Not here. Not Game 2. On a night when the Lakers led by as many as 14 points, they eventually lost by three -- 106-103 -- and now they have to win at least once in Denver. That's on the road, where they flopped their past two times out."
- Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: "Rahsard Lewis turns 30 in August. More and more, he now notices the clock is ticking on his career. He had a sense of timing Wednesday night at Quicken Loans Arena. With the Magic trailing the Cavs by two at 106-104, Lewis provided an exclamation point on their comeback from a 16-point deficit, hitting a go-ahead 3-pointer with 14.7 seconds left. He had given the Magic a 104-103 lead with another jumper, and outscored Cavs superstar LeBron James in the fourth period, 12-10, making all five of his shots. As has been well-documented, Lewis is paid like a superstar (six years, $118 million), but seldom receives the acclaim. He plays within the system. 'Rashard has not gotten enough credit for his competitiveness,' Coach Stan Van Gundy said of his 6 foot-10, 230-pound power forward. 'He's a guy who's been at his best in some of the biggest games. What happens is he's not a big, physical guy, knocking people around, so they don't take notice of his effort plays on the floor. It's unfortunate, because he's a great, great player.'"
- Patrick McManamon of the Akron Beacon-Journal: "They say defense wins championships. In this case, it's going to have to win the East. The formula that the Magic like to use to win games was never more evident than in the last three quarters of Game 1. Once the Magic got their legs, they started making shots that they missed in the first quarter. And when the Magic are making shots, they are very difficult to defend. Zydrunas Ilgauskas went as far as saying, ''Sometimes there's not much you can do because they shoot the ball extremely well.'' Rashard Lewis made 9-of-13, including every big shot in the final quarter. And Hedo Turkoglu had nine points and seven assists in the fourth quarter -- meaning he was involved in 26 of the Magic's 29 fourth-quarter points. This pair presents serious matchup problems, not just for the Cavs but for every team, because of their size. Both are 6-foot-10. Both can shoot over the defense. Both can handle the ball."
- Tom Sorensen of The Charlotte Observer: "Since Bob Johnson is willing to sell his basketball team, one of us should be willing to buy it. Wouldn't you love to see Felix Sabates as the majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats? How about Rick Hendrick? How about George Shinn? Yes, Shinn made many mistakes before his Hornets fled Charlotte for New Orleans, the foremost of them a refusal to apologize. But he cared deeply, and I suspect he cares still, about our city. He has assembled a first-class operation in New Orleans. He delegates. And he returns phone calls. Johnson has been the worst owner in the history of Charlotte and one of the worst in the history of professional sports. He came into a bad situation and, through arrogance and consistency, made it worse. Fans don't go to games because of the owner. But if they're peripheral fans, the owner is enough to keep them away. ... The next owner of the Bobcats should be from Charlotte or willing to become part of Charlotte. I know how small town that sounds. But if the owner isn't going to show up to watch his team lose, why should we?"
- Tom Powers of The Pioneer Press: "Acting quickly and decisively, Glen Taylor hired David Kahn to be the Minnesota Timberwolves general manager before Kahn had a chance to withdraw his name from consideration. Kahn was believed to be the only external candidate remaining. The other three came to the conclusion that they weren't interested. That's what you get for dragging your feet, Mr. Kahn. Now you're stuck. Also, Kahn apparently answered the key job interview question correctly. When asked how he felt about the organization's albatross, Kevin McHale, returning as head coach, Kahn no doubt replied: 'Whatever.'"
- Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman: "A Web site report on Thursday suggested Oklahoma City might now be facing a sizeable concern regarding 18-year-old Spanish point guard sensation Ricky Rubio. But the Thunder is in the process of scheduling workouts with all the players it is considering with the third pick in next month's draft, including Rubio. The Thunder has not encountered any issues with Rubio or his representatives regarding playing in Oklahoma City. Aaron Goodwin, the agent who represents Kevin Durant and projected lottery pick DeMar DeRozan, said the Thunder likely should never be affected by public stances from draft-eligible players who say they don't want to play in the city. 'A general manager and an owner are not going to succumb to an agent saying, 'If you select my player he's not going to come here,' ' said Goodwin, co-founder of Seattle-based Goodwin Sports Management. 'If a GM does, he won't be a GM much longer.' Dan Fegan, however, is the same agent who represented China's Yi Jianlian and informed the Milwaukee Bucks in 2007 to refrain from drafting him. Fegan said the city didn't have a sufficient Asian population. Nonetheless, the Bucks drafted Yi, and he played in 66 games for them before being traded to New Jersey last summer."
- Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee: "Jrue Holiday, the first player to visit, would rather pass than shoot, prefers fundamental to flamboyant, and believes his questionable perimeter skills will improve when he shifts from shooting guard to his natural point guard position. He also hopes to be drafted No. 1 by his home
town Los Angeles Clippers, which suggests a terrific sense of humor, an inflated sense of his value, or an innocent's flawed perception of L.A.'s weaker NBA sibling. He really doesn't want to play for the Clips, although he doesn't know that yet. He's only 18. He'll figure it out. Meantime, he will work out for several NBA teams to gain a sense of where he would be selected June 25, then decide whether to return to UCLA. Here's a hint: Based on his chat with reporters at the Kings' practice facility, Holiday sat up straight but definitely leaned toward the pros. And he won't be discouraged when he hears Geoff Petrie's public summation. After Holiday's two-hour audition that consisted of psychological tests, shooting and passing drills, agility exercises and three-on-three scrimmages, Petrie made it abundantly clear that he was impressed. 'He had great size and strength,' Petrie said. 'He shot it really well in the drills. He was really attentive, obviously well coached to this point. He was very good.'" - Sekou Smith of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "What looks like pressure to some people looks like an opportunity to Hawks coach Mike Woodson. That's why he was undeterred Thursday after it became clear he'll enter next season in the final year of his contract. 'There's always pressure, if you want to call it that,' Woodson said after a day filled with meetings with Hawks officials and ownership. 'I don't look at it as pressure because I'm not made like that. All these people talking about fire Woodson and all that stuff, it's never entered my mind. I swear. The chatter is what it is. But we're not going to do anything but keep pushing ahead trying to take another step next year.' Neither Woodson nor general manager Rick Sund broached the subject of a contract extension for the coach when they met."
- Alan Hahn of Newsday: "I've heard some chatter about Tyrus Thomas wanting out of Chicago and more and more we're now seeing reports that the Bulls are already putting out feelers to see what they can get for him. Thomas has one year left at $4.7M before he becomes a restricted free agent. He has the athleticism and shot-blocking abilities the Knicks need and he showed this season (and in the playoffs) that he can hit the mid-range jumper. The question about Thomas is his attitude. The Knicks would prefer to avoid sour-puss types with a misguided sense of entitlement. But they do like guys who can get up and down the floor, block shots and rebound and shoot. The issue here is the Knicks would likely have to take on a contract to get the Bulls to want to make a deal. Kirk Hinrich, perhaps? With three years and $26.5M left on his contract, I think I'd have to pass on that one, but perhaps something else could be worked out. It's funny, but maybe the Knicks could also take Tim Thomas and his expiring contract back (again) to make the money work for an expiring contract such as Al Harrington or Quentin Richardson."
- Mike Wells of The Indianapolis Star: "Of the 10 prospects the Pacers have worked out so far, Arizona's Chase Budinger and Pittsburgh's Sam Young are the only players expected to be drafted in the first round, which means a guaranteed contract. 'Everybody wants and loves security,' said Young, who is projected to be a late first-round pick. 'To have that in your back pocket will mean a lot to me and my family. Me as a player, I feel like if a team shows they have that much confidence in me to pick me in the first round, I'm going to take that on and work as hard as I can for them.' Guaranteed contracts aren't mandatory for second-round picks, though some players get them. Washington's Gilbert Arenas, Milwaukee's Michael Redd and Utah's Carlos Boozer are former second-round picks who became All-Stars. 'I'm not worried about getting drafted. My biggest thing is where I'm getting drafted,' said DeMarre Carroll (Missouri), MVP of the Portsmouth Invitational in April. 'I'm relentless, tough, I come in and never get tired. I'm one of them guys that, if you bring me off the bench, I'm going to bring energy. You look at a lot of teams like Denver, they've got (Chris Andersen). It's a common thing in the league these days.'"
- Steve Yanda of The Washington Post: "Demonstrative as always, Maryland guard Greivis Vasquez aimed to clarify a few points of discussion surrounding his status in the NBA draft yesterday following a workout at Verizon Center with the Washington Wizards. According to Vasquez, he is nowhere near making a decision on whether to remain in the draft or return to Maryland for his senior season, he is not considering opportunities to play professionally overseas in the slightest and he is a point guard -- or at least, he would prefer to be. 'This is the time for me to get better as an individual,' Vasquez said. 'It's summertime, you know? It's not about me going and leaving; it's just about me getting better. If something comes up, it's time for me to go. But, you know, if I don't have to, I'm going to stay. But it's tough to say right now.' ... 'I'm a point guard; that's another thing that I want to make it clear,' Vasquez said. 'I'm not a shooting guard. I'm a combo guard. I'll do whatever the coach wants me to do, but I'm a point guard. It's not me trying to be cocky or anything like that. It's just me telling people the position that I play.'"
- Michael Wallace of The Miami Herald: "Alonzo Mourning, who announced his retirement in January after 15 seasons, said Thursday that being away from basketball has allowed him to devote more time to his foundation, which has raised more than $7 million for youth charities. 'I'm happy that I have the time to do this even more now, because there are so many other needs that we need to address now,' said Mourning, who began co-hosting the events with Dwyane Wade's foundation last summer. 'This time of year excites me more than any rebound, blocked shot or anything I've done on the court.' Mourning said Miami Gardens has agreed to provide the land for the youth center, which Mourning hopes to have built within three years. Mourning said he has meetings scheduled in the coming weeks in New York with the Rockefeller family and NBA officials to form partnerships with Alonzo Mourning Charities. 'We know our efforts aren't done in vain,' Mourning said. 'We know we are changing lives. We're affecting generations of people.'"
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