Hawks vs. Celtics

• Matt Winkeljohn of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "Following Monday's Game 4 victory, Josh Smith deferred to Joe Johnson when asked about their epic fourth-quarter rally. Despite scoring 12 points in Atlanta's 32-17 fourth-quarter blowout of Boston. You see, Johnson scored Atlanta's other 20 points. That's right, they scored every point for the Hawks in the period; no other teammate even attempted a shot. ... J & J were definitely dominant Monday, Johnson finishing with a game-high 35 points, Smith tossing in 28."
  
• Mark Bradley of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "The Hawks can win this series. They really can. They'll have to take a game in Boston to do it, but at the moment, nothing seems beyond them. At the moment, they look so good you can't believe they're the Hawks."
• Peter May of The Boston Globe: "Good grief, now what? The series with the Hawks is 2-2? The 37-win Hawks who looked clueless, hapless, and hopeless in Games 1 and 2? The Hawks who TNT's Mike Fratello said didn't even belong on the same court with the Celtics in the first two games? The Celtics couldn't get one win down here against that team? Yes. Yes. Yes. No. So, Doc Rivers, what do you tell all those people who are on the various bridge ledges in and around Boston? 'Don't jump,' the Celtics coach said."
• Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald: "The Celtics said that when Pierce put his thumb and forefinger into a circle and held the remaining three fingers up, it meant blood, sweat and tears -- a symbol used within the team this year. To the league, it meant $25,000. That's how much the Celtics captain was fined for what the NBA called a 'menacing gesture.' Sources said the signal was consistent with a gang-related threat, though the Celts debated that strongly. 'Watch what Paul does when hes introduced. He's done it for every game,' said Celtics director of basketball operations Danny Ainge. 'That's not anything related to gangs.'"
• Peter May of The Boston Globe: "David Stern wasn't buying it. 'I guess I would say that the league is sending a message that says, 'You're the best athletes in the world, play the game,' Stern said. 'And you know what? If you get baited, don't take the bait. And let's play. Let's show what you got, which happens to be the most extraordinarily gifted athletes playing a spectacular game. And we're not going to let it degenerate into something else. Period.'"

Nuggets vs. Lakers

• Gregg Patton of The Press-Enterprise: There was a scene at the end of those old 'Superman' television shows when the bad guy would empty his pistol at the Man of Steel's impermeable chest, then, in a comical twist, would throw the useless gun at him. Monday night at the Pepsi Center, the out-of-ammo Denver Nuggets heaved their ineffective regular-season-style game at the Lakers with similar results.
  
• Chris Dempsey of The Denver Post: "The main question with Allen Iverson will be as much the years as the dollars. At 32, the speedy guard isn't getting any younger and the concern for Denver is being tied up long-term to a player when his skills start to slip. That has not been the case with Iverson at any point during his tenure with the Nuggets. Other than Iverson, the Nuggets must once again decide whether cost-cutting will be major, minor or nonexistent. Center Marcus Camby was rumored to be traded, and the rumor mill may start again if the Nuggets are thinking of substantial changes. Mark Warkentien, vice president of basketball operations, declined to comment. He'll be one of the point men in making offseason decisions."
• Mark Kiszla of The Denver Post: "Trade Allen Iverson? Give up on Carmelo Anthony? Dump the salary of Marcus Camby? Any analysis of what's wrong with the Nuggets must start with George Karl. 'He's our coach. But I think we all should be evaluated in the offseason,' Nuggets vice president of player personnel Rex Chapman said. 'This is the second year in a row this same crew has come up short. Everybody needs to look in the mirror.' With two years remaining on Karl's deal and an aversion to buying out contracts, Kroenke has six million reasons to rationalize the retention of his veteran coach."
• Aaron J. Lopez of the Rocky Mountain News: "The road to forgiveness started early. Long before tipoff, as a matter of fact. Sitting about five rows up in Section 126, longtime season-ticket holders Jan and Jerry Selinfreund expected Carmelo Anthony and the Nuggets to redeem themselves in Game 4 against the Los Angeles Lakers. 'Pick yourself up, dust yourself off,' Jan said. 'It's a whole new ballgame.' When the capacity crowd gradually filed into the arena, Nuggets fans echoed that sentiment in unison, cheering Anthony wholeheartedly during pregame introductions. Apparently, there ain't no quit among the die-hard fans."
• Dave Krieger of the Rocky Mountain News: "The Nuggets' mix, like the Mavericks, was not only ineffective when it mattered most but also extremely expensive, increasing the urgency of the coming reassessment. The talent was there, of that there was little doubt. But the chemistry experiment was a disaster. The Nuggets became the first 50-win team to exit the playoffs without a single victory. The urgency finally arrived in Game 4, but it was much too late. Now it is up to ownership and management to figure out what comes next. One thing the Nuggets proved this season beyond any doubt: Talent is not enough." UPDATE: Not true! The Nuggets, it turns out, are not the first 50-win team to be swept in the first round. Not even the first 50-win team to be swept by the Lakers. The 2000-2001 Blazers did just that. There may be others.
• Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times: "What the San Antonio Spurs couldn't do, what the Boston Celtics didn't come close to doing, the Lakers have done, sweeping their first-round series against the Denver Nuggets on Monday with a 107-101 victory in Game 4 at the Pepsi Center. After which I asked the Nuggets' Allen Iverson a question that today permeates not only the Los Angeles basin, but the NBA landscape. Just how good are those Lakers? He looked at me scornfully, then laughed. 'We just got swept by them!' he said. 'I don't know what kind of question that is.'"
• Elliott Teaford of Los Angeles Daily News: "As promised, Lakers coach Phil Jackson kept Vladimir Radmanovic in the starting lineup and Luke Walton on the bench for Game 4 on Monday night. Radmanovic has struggled offensively during the playoffs, but Walton has provided a spark for the second unit. Jackson said he sought to inspire Radmanovic. 'I told him, 'As a coach you hate to see talented players not play up to their ability. It's my job to get you to play up to your ability,' Jackson said. 'Vlade, in his normal way, said, 'We'll talk about it in our exit meetings at the end of the season.'"

Raptors vs. Magic

• Bruce Arthur of the National Post: "Toronto's season did not end because they were not tough enough, or because they did not compete hard enough. It came because they cannot shoot the lights out every night, and that's a fatal flaw. And so, against a better team, Toronto needed its best player to rescue them. But the man who probably wanted it the most could not deliver. 'I'm just going to continue to get better,' said Bosh. 'I have a philosophy that you have to do it now. [As a team] you can't keep saying 'next time next time next time.'"
• Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun: "This isn't what a first-round playoff loss does to a world-class athlete: This is what a first-round playoff series playing head-to-head with Dwight Howard does to the best of the Raptors. It leaves you tender. It leaves you beaten up. It leaves you on the short end of a five-game first-round defeat. This didn't turn out to boy vs. man. The Raptors' first-round playoff series against the Orlando Magic turned out to be man vs. Superman. And the Raptors had no answer for Superman, with or without his cape."
• Doug Smith of the Toronto Star: "For the Toronto-Orlando series Bagnani was a non-factor. He didn't score in double figures in any of the five games, never got more than three rebounds in a game and never made his presence felt. 'He didn't shoot the ball as well as he would have liked and we would have liked (but) felt like he grew up a little bit,' said coach Sam Mitchell. 'He had to play against this young man every night, Dwight (Howard), and he competed and he battled and he didn't hang his head down.' But there is no way the Raptors are going to give up on him. 'He's 22 years old and the fortunate thing is he's been in the playoffs his first two years in the NBA which is a huge thing,' said Mitchell. 'Every year you go and every game you play, you're going to continue to get better.'"
• Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel: "Does the scoreboard really say Magic 102, Toronto Raptors 92? Is that really all the Magic players at midcourt hugging and high-fiving after their first playoff victory in a dozen seasons? Is that really team president Bob Vander Weide standing amid the chanting, ranting sellout crowd with a perpetual grin splashed across his face? 'Twelve years is a long time,' Vander Weide said. 'Too long.' No way. Not really. The Magic won a playoff series? Unbelievable. Inconceivable. Incredible. Unforgettable. Astounding. Confounding. Stop me, please. I'm delusional right now, I'm writing in rhymes, and I can't help it."
• David Whitley of the Orlando Sentinel: "As good as it was to beat Toronto, the best part for the Magic is what comes next. Or more specifically, what doesn't come next -- pressure. The Magic had to beat the Raptors. Their self-respect and much of their future depended on it. Anything less would have wiped out a 50-win season and all that came with it. The playoffs won't get any easier from here. But the Magic enter them knowing the image of the entire franchise is no longer riding on the outcome."
• Pete Kerasotis of Florida Today: "For the Orlando Magic, Shaq's weight was crushing their franchise. With each passing year, much like Shaq in real life, that weight was getting heavier and heavier, with Shaq's shadow looming larger and larger on Orlando. Twelve years. That's how long Shaq's been gone, bolting via free agency. Twelve years. That's how long it had been since the Magic won a playoff series. Coincidence? You betcha."
• John Denton of Florida Today: "Dwight Howard's Orlando teammate, Hedo Turkoglu, won the Most Improved award, becoming the fourth player in Magic history to capture the honor. Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy was somewhat miffed that Howard's growth from being simply a promising center to that of the game's most dominant post player wasn't acknowledged, but he has a theory as to why. 'He's just too good,' Van Gundy said. 'There's no doubt about it that he's made a big, big improvement this season, but I wondered how many votes he would get because of he's just so good. When you are an All-Star starter and likely a first-team All-NBA guy, voters just don't think of you in terms of being the most improved player in the league. But it doesn't diminish the fact that Dwight made a big improvement this season.'"

Suns vs. Spurs

• Scott Bordow of the East Valley Tribune: "As speculation about Mike D'Antoni's job security has increased the last few days, this is what we've heard from Suns owner Robert Sarver and general manager Steve Kerr: Nothing. They haven't rushed to D'Antoni's defense or offered assurances that he'll return next year. ... And there have been whispers within the organization that D'Antoni has been out-coached by San Antonio's Gregg Popovich. All of which means one thing: Tonight's Game 5 against the Spurs may be D'Antoni's final act as the Suns coach."
• Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News: "No team in NBA history has won a postseason series after falling behind 3-0, as Phoenix did in this series. The Spurs, now up 3-1, do not want to give the Suns reason to believe they can be the first. The Suns cracked the door open, however slightly, with a convincing 105-86 triumph Sunday in Phoenix. 'We don't even want to think about a Game 6 or 7,' Spurs guard Manu Ginobili said. 'Winning a Game 6 (in Phoenix) would be really tough. If we don't, Game 7, it's a lottery.'"
• Buck Harvey of the San Antonio Express-News: "When the Spurs didn't close out the Suns, guaranteeing an additional home gate tonight for Holt, worth about $1.5 million, it only looks intentional. But Robert Sarver, the Suns' owner, has to wonder. The Spurs didn't sweep the Suns on the court, but they have in the front office. If the Spurs go on to lose this series, they will still have their three stars in their primes. They also will be obligated to only $53 million in payroll next season. If the Suns lose? Steve Nash and Shaquille O'Neal are an aging part of an expensive core. The Suns are scheduled to pay six players about $68 million next year. Adding anyone of value will cost Sarver money he doesn't want to spend."
• Jerry Brown of the East Valley Tribune: "Boris Diaw's activity on offense and determination on defense in Game 4 allowed the Suns to avoid an embarrassing sweep at the hands of the San Antonio Spurs. But it's Diaw's domino effect on his teammates that gives the Suns a chance to pack a sliver of optimism in their bags as they try to extend the Western Conference semifinals one more day and turn what was an impossible situation into a workable scenario."
• Dan Bickley of The Arizona Republic: "Miracles happen in sports. The 2004 Red Sox broke out the whiskey bottle, threw back some pregame shots and pulled a backdoor sweep on the Yankees. The 1975 Islanders roared back from a 3-0 deficit against the Penguins in the NHL playoffs, and almost did it again in the next round against the Flyers. So, yeah, the Spurs are the defending champions and all, not likely to cough up a 3-0 lead to the Suns. But if Shaquille O'Neal can fit in the passenger side of a 1993 Honda Prelude 2-door coupe, anything is possible."
  

Rockets vs. Jazz

• Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle: "They have come to think of themselves as a team that has been best when the situation was at its worst. So they treated their plight as no different from the many others they had overcome. 'You look at our shootaround right now,' Shane Battier said. 'We have guys pretty loose, still playing the same games we have all year long. Practice was competitive, and guys were going after it. If you didn't follow our team all year, you'd think this was the first week of the season and optimism is still high. That's the good thing about our team."
• Gordon Monson of The Salt Lake Tribune: "Welcome to the NBA postseason, where basketball is transformed into meatball. Exhibit A: the Jazz and Rockets. Watching this playoff series is a little like watching one of those old cartoons where the good guy gets in a fight with the bad guy, a huge cloud of dust stirs up around them, and, then, at the end, one of the two reappears out of the dirty ball of dust, limping away. That's the hallmark -- and, for some, the bane -- of the NBA playoffs. As the stakes are raised, so is the violence."
• Steve Luhm of The Salt Lake Tribune: "Since the Houston-Utah playoff series started, the Rockets have complained about the Jazz's aggressive defense on All-Star Tracy McGrady. Now, coach Rick Adelman has upped the ante. Adelman wants the NBA to look at what he considers the Wrestlemania-type tactics that have limited McGrady's success, especially in the fourth quarter."
• Jody Genessy of the Deseret News: "Before every basketball game, players from the Utah Jazz huddle up outside of their locker room, jump up and down, get a little crazy and then head into the arena pumped full of adrenaline. And that is just the opening ceremony for these players' pregame rituals. From the time they get dressed until tipoff, members of the Jazz have all sorts of things to do besides stretching and shooting layups and 3-pointers. Some are playful. Some are simply habitual. And all, of course, are critical."
• Fran Blinebury of the Houston Chronicle: "Several members of the Jazz's roster have gotten their NBA baptism on one end of Sloan's short rookie leash -- from Brewer to Paul Millsap to Jarron Collins to Kirilenko and even the elite-level Williams. 'Oh, no,' Williams said. 'It's not easy, and I can't say that I enjoyed all of it. As I look back, I can understand some of it, I guess. But, nah, I didn't like it.' If Williams, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2005 draft had to endure it, then Brewer, chosen No. 14 in 2006, had to endure it. Playing time for rookies is parceled out sparingly by Sloan and only when he believes you can handle it. It's part basketball, part boot camp, a gauntlet thrown at your feet"

Sixers vs. Pistons

• John Smallwood of the Philadelphia Daily News: "Yes, with the series tied, 2-2, whoever emerges tonight as the victor at the Palace of Auburn Hills, will be only one win away from moving on in the playoffs, and the loser will be one game away from calling it a season. But no matter how high the stakes, it's still the same game -- played under the same rules, on the same size court, with the same basketball -- the Sixers played 82 times during the regular season. To view it as more than that only adds another layer of anxiety to what already is the most anxious moment of most of these young Sixers' basketball lives. 'Don't get me wrong, because it's definitely a different level,' said Thaddeus Young. 'The guys are much more aggressive and going at you every play. But it's just a matter of going out there and trying to match [the Pistons'] intensity and be as aggressive as they are.'"
• Mitch Albom of the Detroit Free Press: "Antonio McDyess was stuffed-up, puffed-up and fed-up. So he spoke up. Dice gave a halftime speech? 'It wasn't a speech,' he said Monday, almost embarrassed. 'It was basically the truth. I just told them it looked like we were the team that was the seventh seed and they looked like the two seed. I just let them know we were way better than this. ... Why are we playing like we're scared? We didn't play all this way and go this long to give it up right now. I guess everyone kind of heard me.' Uh, yeah. The Pistons emerged, had their best quarter of the playoffs, turned a 10-point deficit into a nine-point win and tied the series."
• Rob Parker of The Detroit News: " 'We're just going to play,' Rasheed Wallace said. 'We've been in a situation like this before.' Who can forget, with a series hanging in the balance, Mr. Big Shot stepping up and delivering. In life, they say timing is everything. This would be the perfect time for Chauncey Billups to return to form."
• Drew Sharp of the Detroit Free Press: "An icon passed away Monday. 'Icon' is a word used liberally these days to describe an individual's contributions, but it isn't a stretch when talking of Will Robinson's impact. Robinson died at age 96, leaving an enduring legacy that extends beyond becoming the first black Division I men's basketball coach in 1970. His legacy is also seen in the lives of hundreds of young men, who got an opportunity at a college education because Robinson equally balanced lessons of basketball with instructions about life."
• Terry Foster of The Detroit News: "Caregivers at the Belmont Nursing Care facility in Harper Woods always knew where to look when the wheelchair with the Pistons blanket was missing from the dining room. More often than not Will Robinson would be perched at the front door, trying to make one of his great escapes. Robinson never did like barriers. He spent much of his life breaking them down."

Hornets vs. Mavericks

• John DeShazier of The Times-Picayune: "When Byron Scott is officially announced as NBA Coach of the Year today, and his trophy is presented in front of a sellout crowd at the New Orleans Arena, the Hornets' coach might utter a few words of appreciation, could say he only is as good as his players, and may add that Hornets majority owner George Shinn has given him an opportunity to shine. But the Hornets play Game 5 of their first-round, best-of-seven series against Dallas tonight. And as sure as he's breathing, the only thing concerning Scott right now is how New Orleans can transform its 3-1 lead into a 4-1 conclusion. So others should celebrate for him, because he deserves it."
• Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News: "After Game 4 confirmed suspicions that this season just isn't meant to be, it seemed clear that the only thing left for the Mavericks was to close ranks and pull together. Instead, they might be pulling apart as the season's end lurks as early as tonight. The players stepped out on their own Monday afternoon. After coach Avery Johnson spoke briefly with the team at American Airlines Center, he canceled practice and said he would see everybody at the team plane for the flight to New Orleans. But several players said that they wanted to practice. So they did, without the coaching staff."
• Jan Hubbard of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: "By the end of Game 4 Sunday, this team looked equally troubled. And then Monday, for the third consecutive year, Avery Johnson made a major change at the most critical time of the year. Two years ago, he changed hotels in the middle of the NBA Finals with the Heat. Last year, despite winning 67 games, he changed starting lineups before Game 1 with the Warriors. Neither of those moves worked out. Monday, Johnson decided to give the players a day off and meet on the plane, but they apparently figured they needed work and called a players-only practice. You have to wonder how Mavericks owner Mark Cuban will respond to Avery not wanting to practice on the eve of an elimination game."

Wizards vs. Cavaliers

• Ivan Carter of The Washington Post: "Despite LeBron James's assertion that the Wizards can't come back from a 3-1 deficit and win their first-round playoff series with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Washington guard Gilbert Arenas and his teammates will show up for Game 5 tomorrow night anyway. 'We're up for the challenge,' said Arenas, who has been slowed by a left knee injury throughout the series but has no intention of sitting out a game now. 'We gotta keep our cool. When we get down there, it's going to be hostile because they are going to think the series is won. That's the advantage we gotta use. We have to stick together and go play hard.'"
• Mike Jones of The Washington Times: "Although they are 0-4 at Quicken Loans Arena this season and have lost five straight playoff games there the last three years, the Wizards believe they can steal a road win and return to the District on Friday for Game 6. 'We feel good about ourselves,' Wizards coach Eddie Jordan said after yesterday's practice. 'It was a tough loss. It hurts from within. But we all knew to win the series, we had to win a game in Cleveland, just as simple as that. We had to win in Cleveland. "We expect to win the series, and we expect to win [tomorrow]," Jordan continued. And coming back here, we're going to play as well as we've played all year in Game 6. And then Game 7, I have no prediction. But by then, I think we'll have the momentum.'"
• Bob Finnan of The News-Herald: "It all starts with No. 23. It's of the utmost importance that Cavaliers forward LeBron James maintains his focus. 'With me being the leader, if I don't stay focused, the whole team will unravel,' he said. The Wizards have tried to attack James' manhood. They want to provoke him into taking a swing at one of their players. James keeps getting knocked down, but he has jumped up for more."
• Branson Wright of The Plain Dealer: "'None of that would have happened if I was playing because they would have got it the other way,' Charles Oakley said. 'If [James] was fouled hard with me on the court, it would've been taken care of, no matter how many fines [NBA Commissioner] David Stern would've given me. I once told [Stern] that I have a job to do and he has a job to do, and my job is to do whatever I can to help my team win, including protecting my teammates.' Despite the hard fouls on James, so far his teammates have not exactly retaliated, and that made Oakley laugh. 'I guess they don't have anyone cut like that,' said Oakley, about the Cavs' non-response for James. 'But LeBron is big enough to get back at them, but they can't ask him to fight, score, sell tickets, sell popcorn and park cars, too. Somebody else has to do something.'"
• Mary Schmitt Boyer of The Plain Dealer: "Brendan Haywood, the Washington Wizards starting center, was drafted by the Cavs with the 20th pick in the 2001 draft. By the end of the evening, the Cavs had traded his draft rights to the Orlando Magic for Michael Doleac. Later that summer, Haywood was traded from Orlando to Washington. 'I was happy to be a Cavalier for 20 minutes,' Haywood said. 'At the time, you have to realize I was in the green room, and it was the 20th pick. I was ready to go. I didn't care if I was a Cleveland Cavalier or a Utah Jazz. As long as somebody called my name I put a hat on, because I was starting to get nervous. At the time, I was just happy to be out of the green room.'"

• Tom Enlund of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "NBA owners this month quietly tweaked the league's revenue-sharing plan, a move that should provide some financial assistance to small-market teams like the Milwaukee Bucks. The new plan, approved April 18 at the NBA owners' meeting, covers three years, and begins next year. Under it, qualified teams would receive a maximum $6 million a year. That number would increase over the three-year period. ... Before the owners' recent move, Sen. Kohl at a press conference praised the revenue-sharing programs in baseball and football. And he reiterated his hope that a better revenue-sharing program could be implemented in the NBA."
• Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times: "Although USC freshman Davon Jefferson never publicly announced whether he had made himself eligible for the NBA draft, school spokesman Dave Tuttle said today that a representative from the league office recently called asking for biographical information, meaning Jefferson declared prior to the Sunday evening deadline. ... 'I think it's a terrible mistake, and whoever convinced him to leave should be ostracized,' said Rick Isaacs, Jefferson's former AAU coach. 'If he stayed, he'd have a chance to be a top-10 pick and maybe as high as five or six [next year]. I hope he goes in the first round because if he doesn't, it's an utter mistake. At the same time, I'm going to support the kid no matter what.'"