- Dave Krieger of The Denver Post: "The Lakers have already begun their campaign against the aggression of the aggrieved, the Nuggets' current calling card. Phil Jackson was complaining about the officiating as soon as Game 4 ended. Like New Orleans coach Byron Scott in the first round, the Lakers are now suggesting Nuggets guard Dahntay Jones is a dirty player for tripping Bryant near the end of the third quarter. The Nuggets shrugged it off. In fact, Karl likes to hear opponents complain about the officiating, as he mentioned when Scott did it in the first round. Generally speaking, it is a loser's lament. ... The NBA is supposed to be a star's league. Magic, Larry, Michael, Shaq, Kobe. These are the players that win titles. This is why LeBron is thought to have next. The Nuggets are still six wins away, but Monday's win put them in better position than they have been in 32 NBA seasons. ESPN's hype machine is doing its best to make them famous now, but they're a little late to the task. Good luck finding an unlikelier group of championship contenders."
- Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times: "On one end, the Nuggets' J.R. Smith was pounding his chest, cursing into the sky, and dancing in front of the Lakers' bench. On the other end, Ariza was requiring about an hour just to walk off the court. In one moment, the Nuggets' Chris 'Birdman' Andersen was inspiring the crowd to flap their arms as he leaped through Lakers statues for 14 rebounds. In the next moment, that crowd was raining down an obscene chant upon the cold-shooting Bryant, who could only grab his shorts, catch his breath, and shake his head. 'They just kicked our butt,' said Kobe Bryant, who was 10 for 26. 'They whupped us, period.' The Lakers seemed to try, and appeared to care, so this was not like the two postseason collapses at Houston. But this was directly connected to the two collapses in Houston. This is why it mattered that the Lakers mailed it in twice to a Rockets team they should have finished off much earlier. This is why, no matter what how flippantly the Lakers and Coach Phil Jackson acted about those losses, they might loom even larger later. By needlessly extending that series, the Lakers are now gassed in this series, having played 11 playoff games in the last 22 days. During that same stretch, the Nuggets have played eight games."
- Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel: "There has been much discussion about NBA officiating during these playoffs. Magic fans believe the officials are against them. Cavs fans think the officials are against them. Every set of fans I've ever known think the officials are against them. I don't buy it, not in professional sports. The only time I buy officiating bias is in college football, when officials who are employed and being paid by one league (usually a BCS mega-conference) officiate a non-conference home game (usually against a team from a non-BCS league). Too many times, I've seen the non-BCS team get shafted by blatant home-cooking (see phantom offensive pass interference call against UCF in a game against Georgia a few years ago). I don't believe that happens in professional sports. Not for a minute. I don't believe NBA officials are against the Magic, but I do believe this: They are for LeBron James. They are smitten by LeBron James. They are so enamored by LeBron James, they won't call anything against him for fear they might disappoint him. As I wrote in a column after Game 3, I think LeBron is fawned over by everybody in the NBA, including the officials."
- Mary Schmitt Boyer and Jodie Valade of The Plain Dealer: "He was goaded into it, but Cavaliers point guard Mo Williams still guaranteed a victory for his team in the Eastern Conference finals against the Orlando Magic. 'There's nobody on this team, definitely not myself, who feels we're not going to win this series,' said Williams, whose team trails in the best-of-seven series, 1-2, going into Game 4 here tonight. 'Yeah, it's going to be tough. Yeah, we know that. We'll get this game, go home. With our fans, we don't see ourselves losing two out of three at home.' That response came before the Cavs watched video at the team hotel Monday, when Williams was asked if he was guaranteeing a Cavs victory in the series. Williams appeared before reporters wearing dark glasses to cover the four stitches needed to close cuts above and below his left eye after an elbow from Anthony Johnson in the Game 3 loss Sunday. He said his head still was ringing and even mentioned checking with the team's doctors about a concussion. LeBron James had no problem with Williams' guarantee. 'He should,' James said. 'We should be confident. No other reason why we should be here. A guarantee or say you want to win the series, it is the same thing. I don't believe in pressure; we have to come out and play hard at both ends. If we do that, we'll give ourselves a chance to win. I think we're fine. I'm fine. I'm excited about Game 4. As long as I stay upbeat, we have a chance.' "
- Jeff Schultz of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "The NBA wants Kobe-LeBron. TV executives, sponsors and fans want Kobe-LeBron. Your mom wants Kobe-LeBron and she doesn't even like basketball. One-name stars have a certain cachet, especially when they're also the two best players in the league. But there's a decent chance the long-hyped, Stern-dreamt, take-that-mister-Magic-and-Bird-things-ain't-like-they-used-to-be, LeBron James-Kobe Bryant titanic finals collision just isn't going to happen. Leagues love stars. But if you're Orlando or Denver or any of the NBA teams whose season already is over, you love this. Why? Because it reaffirms that as much as the NBA is a star-driven league, one thing hasn't changed: Teams win championships."
- Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel: "Either you're all in, enduring full-fledged night sweats, or you're not sweating next year's potential free-agent free-for-all. The Cavaliers? They're sweating more than their 2-1 deficit to the Magic in these Eastern Conference finals, with 2010 the summer when LeBron James can become a free agent. That puts them in the same boat as the Heat, which could lose Dwyane Wade as a free agent a year from July. Because of that, both the Heat and Cavaliers have been hoarding cap space for the Summer of 2010, with visions of not only retaining their superstar but squirreling away funds to add a second star. By contrast, the Nuggets and Lakers, the Western Conference finalists, have operated unencumbered when it comes to saving for 2010. That meant no pause from Denver when it came to snagging Chauncey Billups in Detroit's salary dump, or from Los Angeles when it came to adding Pau Gasol or extending Andrew Bynum with eight-figure salaries."
- Michael Wallace of The Miami Herald: "It could be argued that one of the Heat's biggest weaknesses this season was the absence of a p
roven, veteran, play-making point guard it could bring off the bench or use to challenge rookie Mario Chalmers. Well, these conference finals, particularly in the East, are essentially a Point-Guards-R-Us outlet center. And it makes you wonder. Why does every other team in the league seem to have a spare Flip Murray on the roster, yet the Heat goes two seasons without one? Shaun Livingston didn't have the legs. Marcus Banks lacked the skills. And Penny Hardaway -- dare we say -- didn't have anything left other than pleasant memories of when he used to be somebody in this league. This Magic-Cavs series is stocked with serviceable, stop-gap type veteran parts at the point that Miami either tried to get and couldn't, parted with too soon or probably should have pursued harder when it had the chance." - John Reid of The Times-Picayune: "Despite a first-round exit from the playoffs that included a 58-point loss to the visiting Denver Nuggets, the Hornets have had 80 percent of their season-ticket holders renew for next season, team officials said. The team's encouraging numbers are despite a recession that has caused some NBA teams to experience a decline in renewals and trim staff. The team said it has no plans to lay off workers, as the Miami Heat did recently. 'Our fan support has been outstanding,' said Bill Bailey, the Hornets' vice president of ticket sales and services. 'They see that especially ownership, Mr. (George) Shinn, is putting a successful product on the court.' The Hornets rank among the top five teams in the league in renewals, Bailey said, and it comes after prices were raised for three seating sections in the lower bowl of the New Orleans Arena. The biggest jump goes from $25 to $33 per game in the lower-bowl section behind the basket."
- Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman: "Hours after last Tuesday's NBA Draft Lottery, the official Web site for the lottery-winning Los Angeles Clippers had already plastered a photo of Blake Griffin on its home page in hopes of generating season ticket sales. But by Friday morning, the team's site had adjacent shots of Griffin and Ricky Rubio, implying this year's top selection is a debate rather than the no-brainer decision that led general manager and coach Mike Dunleavy to pronounce, 'Clearly we're taking Blake Griffin.' It was a not-so subtle switcheroo that suggested Griffin might not find his way on the Clippers' roster after all come opening night, and the Thunder still has a shot at nabbing the homegrown star forward."
- Scott Powers of the Chicago Sun-Times: "Derrick Rose may have been the No. 1 pick in the 2008 NBA draft. He may have been named rookie of the year. He may have resuscitated Bulls fandom and captivated a nation of fans by putting on a show throughout the seven-game series with the Boston Celtics. But Rose still can't get out of doing dishes at family gatherings. 'We still make him take out the garbage and pick up the plates,' said Reggie Rose, one of Derrick's three older brothers. 'Just because he plays for the Bulls doesn't stop making him 'Little Pooh' to us.' In just three years, Derrick has gone from living at home and winning a state championship for Simeon to playing in a national-championship game for Memphis and starring in the NBA for his hometown team. But Derrick remains a kid in many ways. It will be another six months before he can legally purchase a beer. With Reggie leading the way, the Rose family has been guiding ''Little Pooh'' in his off-the-court affairs."
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