Hornets vs. Spurs

• John DeShazier of The Times-Picayune: "Know what? The Hornets actually are behaving like the playoff kids they are, no matter how much they'd rather not see or hear something like that written or said about them. They're refusing to share their shiny, new toy -- the national spotlight. They've been terrible about deferring to the older kids on the playground. They're filled with so much adrenaline it looks like a sugar rush. They keep sticking their hands near the flames, even though everyone warns them the postseason is hot and the careless will get burned. And given the results, we hope they never grow up."
• John Reid of The Times-Picayune: "The Hornets have never advanced beyond the conference semifinals, but are now only two victories from playing the Los Angeles Lakers-Utah Jazz winner in the Western Conference finals. 'I'm proud of the way this team has played,' Hornets Coach Byron Scott said. 'We've had a heck of a season. We still got a lot of people out there that doubt us. I think that's what fuels these guys.'"
• Mike Finger of the San Antonio Express-News: "Snarling and outraged, Tim Duncan stood up for Fabricio Oberto. Now someone needs to stand up for Duncan. If the Spurs are going to do what they've never done before -- if they're going to win a playoff series they trail two games to none, and stem this tide of alley-oops and layups and shockingly thorough blowouts -- then a few guys have to do for Duncan what he's so often done for them. This time they have to be the difference-makers."
• Buck Harvey of the San Antonio Express-News: "Manu Ginobili doesn't have to be good now. He has to be better than that. He has to become what he was earlier in the season. He has to be what he was the last time the Spurs beat the Hornets, and before he landed badly in the Phoenix series. Against these Hornets, good isn't good enough. Being down 0-2 doesn't mean this series is over, and the historical data doesn't mean much, either. But losing by 19 and 18 points here qualifies as failure by any measure."

Pistons vs. Magic

• Bob Wojnowski of The Detroit News: "When it was over, Billups looked half-relieved and half-pained, with a giant ice pack on one leg and a sore spot on his head. The Pistons won 100-93 Monday night, but really, it was an escape, an escape orchestrated mostly by Billups, who scored 28 points and hit all 10 of his free-throw attempts, including 8-for-8 in the fourth quarter. Before the Pistons sealed this one, they had to swipe one, a big 3-pointer by Billups at the end of the third quarter, when the clock didn't move with 5.1 seconds left. Officials couldn't overturn it, though TV timing showed the play consumed at least 5.2 seconds."
• Mitch Albom of the Detroit Free Press: "... this was about Tayshaun Prince, skying for rebounds, blocks and a monster jam that he pulled out of the sky. It was about a rookie backcourt, Rodney Stuckey and Arron Afflalo, holding its own while the starters rested. It was about having not one, not two, but four big guys to cover the mountain called Dwight Howard. And it was about Billups hitting, yes ... his free throws."
• David Whitley of the Orlando Sentinel: "The best shot clock operator might make a couple hundred bucks a game. The best players make a couple hundred thousand. Neither earned their money Monday night. If you're seething over Clock-gate this morning, channel some of that emotion into what followed. All Chauncey Billups' shot did was give the Pistons a two-point lead at the end of the third quarter. What gave them the game were all the shots Orlando missed in the fourth. It wasn't just the missing. It was how they missed that left you scratching your head. At least if your head was attached to Stan Van Gundy's body."
• Lynn Hoppes of the Orlando Sentinel: "As they flew back to Orlando late Monday, the Magic's corporate jet -- a Boeing 737-300 that holds 42 passengers -- had mechanical problems and an engine oil indicator light came on. 'We encountered a mechanical problem after departing from Detroit, and as a precautionary measure we landed in Cincinnati where we spent the night,' said Joel Glass, vice president of communications for the Magic. 'Everyone is safe and we look forward to returning home this morning.'"
  
• Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: "Magic Coach Stan Van Gundy said before Game 2 against the Detroit Pistons that the minimal trash-talking going on between the teams was 'amusing,' particularly when it comes to who's doing the talking. Pistons reserve center Theo Ratliff called the Magic a 'finesse team' and said he didn't need any teammates to 'rescue' him from any confrontation with forward Rashard Lewis. 'It's not only amusing what's said, but it's amusing to me who talks,' said Van Gundy, who was targeting his comments at Ratliff without saying his name. 'I'm not saying any names, but sometimes it's pretty amusing to me the guys who talk are sometimes not exactly real key players.'"
• John Denton of Florida Today: "Injured Orlando Magic power forward Brian Cook could practice with the team today for the first time in more than a month, but coach Stan Van Gundy still has doubts about his availability in this playoff series. ... Cook got the hard cast off his hand last Wednesday and has worked in individual drills every day since. A lack of strength in the wrist still is an issue for Cook. He worked out hard before Monday's game on post moves and interior defense with reserve center Adonal Foyle and showed progress shooting the ball with the soft brace strapped to his hand."

Lakers vs. Jazz

• Mark Heisler of the Los Angeles Times: "How many of the fans who'll be chanting 'MVP!' booed Bryant on opening night last fall? However many there were, they will have been entitled in both cases. Given Bryant's greatness and dedication, this starry night is the way it should have been all along ... and the way it still could be."
• Janis Carr of The Orange County Register: "Before signing with the Lakers this season, Ira Newble often was the guy assigned to guard Bryant no matter what team he was playing on. Newble calls himself a 'Kobe Troublemaker.' 'I'm not a Kobe Stopper,' he said. His experience going up against Bryant, though, made Newble the perfect candidate to guard him in practice. But practice doesn't make perfect. 'What makes Kobe so tough to guard is that he shoots the ball so well under pressure with a hand in his face,' Newble said. 'There are not many guys like him. He is one of the best scorers ever. He makes every shot tough to guard, and you're not going to stop him.'"
• Andrew Aragon of the Deseret News: "The Jazz will be counting on another bounce-back performance from Deron Williams, and so should the Lakers. Don't forget, Williams has been at his best when his team has needed him the most, evidenced by a 31-point, eight-assist effort he had against the Spurs in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals last May. 'I want to get back out there,' Williams said. 'It's a seven-game series. We haven't lost the series. We lost one game. There's no reason to panic. We just got to stay poised and try to get this next one.'"
• Kurt Kragthorpe of The Salt Lake Tribune: "Just for fun, try suggesting to Jazz coach Jerry Sloan that this Western Conference semifinal series with the Los Angeles Lakers is another chance for him to exorcise part of his history, to slay a personal dragon, to vindicate himself in the profession or any such thing. Oh, yeah. You know what's coming: Blank stare. Wry, partial smile. Awkward silence. ... Yet these convergences of coaches from the past keep coming for Sloan in the NBA playoffs. It started last May with a series victory over Golden State's Don Nelson and continued last week with a defeat of Houston's Rick Adelman. Now, 10 years after losing to Chicago in the NBA Finals for a second time, Sloan is paired against Phil Jackson of the Lakers. The casts of characters are different -- Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer in place of John Stockton and Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant substituting for Michael Jordan -- but otherwise, not a lot has changed."

Celtics vs. Cavaliers

• Bob Ryan of The Boston Globe: "The Next Great Thing never turns out to be quite that, unless, of course, it does, and then it has a distinct, unforgettable name: LeBron. 'Le' means 'the' in French. ... after watching him play basketball for several years, I hereby declare that 'Bron' means 'Chosen.' Check out that birth date. LeBron has embedded himself into our consciousness so deeply that we feel as if we've known him for at least a decade. But LeBron James is only 23, and if you'd like to put his accomplishments in perspective, consider that Larry Bird turned 23 a little under two months into his rookie year. And at the end of that season, as great as he was, we knew he had a lot to learn."
• Rich Thompson of the Boston Herald: "Coach Doc Rivers is factoring James Posey into the defensive arrangements he hopes will contain Cleveland All-Star guard LeBron James when the Celtics host the Cavaliers in Game 1 of the conference semifinals tonight at TD Banknorth Garden. 'His role hasn't changed. He's going to be one of the defenders on LeBron and others,' Rivers said after yesterday's 90-minute practice session at Healthpoint in Waltham. 'He's just a great role player off our bench. He's the sixth man, but his role will not change much from what he's done in the past. We use him a lot of ways, and he'll do the same thing is this series.'"
• Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer: "When LeBron James steps on the court in Boston tonight, the Cavaliers star doesn't want to just chase history -- he's out to make it. He'll see the 16 championship banners hanging in TD Banknorth Garden. He'll look at the retired numbers for Larry Bird, Bill Russell, Kevin McHale, Bob Cousy and the rest of the Celtics greats with appreciation, having watched them play in highlights films. Unlike many of his NBA peers, he understands the accomplishments of those men -- as well as K.C. Jones, Sam Jones and some Celtics Hall of Famers who are not as well-known. Yes, James knows his hoops history, but he also has a sense of destiny."

Leaguewide

• Mike Downey of The Chicago Tribune: "Mike D'Antoni's team last season had a record of 55-27 and Avery Johnson's went 51-31 ... yet John Paxson has been given a pass by Phoenix and Dallas to take a shot at the open man of his choice. These are not has-beens. They aren't damaged cans from the recycling bin, nor are they nobodies. These are bona fide NBA head coaches -- not too old, not too young, not a Larry Brown looking to relieve his boredom, not a green assistant looking to prove he can run a team, but two active and genuinely successful men. Which means the Bulls have gone from being in a mess up to their hooves to smelling like roses. D'Antoni would be a steal. Johnson would do just fine."
• Scott Bordow of the East Valley Tribune: "When he acquired Shaquille O'Neal, Steve Kerr said, 'If it works, I'm a genius. If it doesn't, I'm a moron, I guess.' He could use the same line for D'Antoni's impending departure. If Kerr strikes gold and the Suns win a title, he'll be hailed as the GM who had the guts to let a successful coach go. But if D'Antoni's replacement strikes out while D'Antoni is winning 60 games with the Bulls, Kerr will be ripped for not letting the coach have his way. Whatever happens, one thing is clear: It's Kerr's team now. His responsibility. His burden."
• Bruce Arthur of the National Post: "Sources suggest that, in a season-ending meeting between GM and coach, Colangelo pushed for changes from Mitchell in numerous areas, including his handling of Bargnani. Both have said the meeting was productive and healthy. But as the Raptors spin into an important summer, the question will be whether the relationship between coach and front office is as solid as it seems, or whether it is falling out of orbit. That is how D'Antoni hit the market in the first place. To succeed in this league, it helps mightily if everyone pulls in the same direction. Cracks like these need to be filled, and fixed. Otherwise, they only grow."
• John Hollinger in the New York Sun: "If regular-season win-loss records are misleading, the postseason takes it a step further. Fans to tend to judge how 'close' a series was by how many games the winning team needed to wrap things up, but this is an extremely sloppy indicator that can be greatly distorted by one or two last-minute finishes. In the first round, for instance, the Spurs and Hornets both won their series in five games, making it seem as though both played about as well. In reality, their performances were quite different. San Antonio beat Phoenix in five, but nothing about that series was indicative of the 4-1 final margin. The Spurs won once in double overtime and twice in the final minute; they could just as easily have lost the series 4-1. Over the five games, three of which were at home, they outscored Phoenix by a total of 10 points. New Orleans, meanwhile, played five games against the Mavericks, but Dallas only had a chance in two of them. The Hornets registered three double-digit wins, including a 24-point rout in Game 2, and held a +44 scoring margin for the series."
• Mark Bradley of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "Thirteen hours after the Hawks made their latest and last return from Boston, they gathered at Philips Arena to clean out lockers and to make sense of what they'd just done. And, more to the point, what they might do. 'We can do something special,' said Josh Smith, who will have to be re-signed for this buzz to linger. 'We've always been a team at the bottom of the totem pole, but now we've been in the playoffs and been successful.' Here, however, is where it gets tricky. As this suddenly buoyant franchise sails on, does ownership judge the Hawks on what happened over a six-month regular season that ended with the team 37-45, or does it take the stirring events of 15 spring days as the new reality?"