Celtics vs. Cavaliers

• Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald: "The Celtics appear to have most everything they need to deal with this kind of game, most importantly accomplished veteran players. But they were sorely lacking in one critical area in last night's 88-77 defeat that evened the series. Poise. Yes, the Celtics still are capable of losing a close game in the playoffs, but they shouldn't be scoring just two points in the last 2:55. They shouldn't be dozing to a dozen in the last 12 minutes."
• Tony Massarotti of the Boston Herald: "For all that has been made of the Celtics' road struggles in the earlier stages of this NBA postseason, the problem seemed to be league-wide following the Celtics' 88-77 loss last night to the Cavaliers in Game 4 of Eastern Conference semifinal series at Quicken Loans Arena. In the current round of the playoffs, road teams are 1-15 in the first 16 contests, the only victory being Detroit's 90-89 win against Orlando Saturday in a game decided in the final seconds. In that game, too, the Pistons had to overcome a 15-point deficit midway through the third quarter. Get the picture? It ain't easy."
• Dan Shaughnessy of The Boston Globe: It was the latest chapter in an annoying postseason in which the Celtics suddenly can't win on the road. The NBA's best regular-season road team is 0-5 away from home in the 2008 playoffs. They resume tomorrow night at the Garden and, of course, they are expected to win. Then they must return to Cleveland Friday. 'We can play better at home, then break the road streak and get everybody to stop talking about it,' said Pierce. The talk will not stop until the Celtics win one away from home.
• Jodie Valade of The Plain Dealer: "When Celtics forward Paul Pierce wrapped up James in a bear-hug foul near the end of the second quarter during Monday's Game 4 at The Q, the two tumbled into the first row of fans ... and into James' mother, Gloria. As players ran over to prevent any tempers boiling over, the petite Gloria jawed and pointed at 6-11 Celtics forward Kevin Garnett. Her famous son and Pierce eventually untangled, but not before her efforts were noticed. While LeBron James told his mom to 'sit down,' Cavaliers forward Wally Szczerbiak trotted over and grinned, holding out his hand for a high-five - though Gloria James was still too preoccupied with the scuffle to notice. 'She was fired up,' Szczerbiak said. 'It was great. She was animated, she was pumped up. She's LeBron's mother, she was obviously amped up like the rest of the crowd.'"
• Jodie Valade of The Plain Dealer: "The Cavaliers can call off the search party. Anderson Varejao has been found. The old moppy-haired Wild Thing the Cavaliers love so much for his passionate play, the one who plays physical defense with a balance of reckless control appeared for the first time in these playoffs in Monday's 88-77 Game 4 victory over the Celtics. Combined with another solid effort from power forward Joe Smith, the Cavaliers forwards off the bench formed a one-two punch that knocked Boston's Kevin Garnett off his game in the second half, and supplied a steady dose of active offense."
• Bob Finnan of The News-Herald: "Cavaliers forward LeBron James has come a long way on the defensive end. He's gone from seeming to be completely lost at times to being one of the team's top defenders. James earned a few votes by the league's head coaches, including one first-team nod, on Monday when the All-Defensive team was announced. James didn't make either the first or second teams, but it's only a matter of time ..."
  

Magic vs. Pistons

• Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel: "Can we unanimously agree that the Magic accomplished far more this season with Stan Van Gundy as coach than they would have with Billy Donovan? I know it. You know it. And, most of all, Billy Donovan knows it. 'As far as getting that team to take the next step, I don't think there's any question Stan Van Gundy was the right coach for the job,' Donovan said from his office in Gainesville. 'You have to have a level of humility in this situation and face facts. And the facts are Billy Donovan has never coached an NBA game in his life. There was obviously going to be a learning curve for me. The job Stan has done this year has been phenomenal, and the job he did with the Miami Heat doesn't get talked about enough.'"
• Tim Povtak of the Orlando Sentinel: "Rasheed Wallace is in Detroit this morning, quietly laughing to himself. Dwight Howard has more technical fouls than Wallace does in this Pistons/Magic series, which is why it is expected to end tonight. Despite his history of coming unnerved, despite a well-deserved and career-long reputation for controversy, and despite opposing crowds that always try to incite him, Wallace has been the stabilizing influence for the Pistons in both this series, and in Detroit's long-running success."
• John Denton of Florida Today: "Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy has seen the footage of Hedo Turkloglu's final shot in Saturday's Game 4 -- more than a few times to say the least -- and he's convinced that a foul would have been called had the play not come in an end-of-game situation. And what absolutely infuriates Van Gundy is that referee Mike Callahan, positioned along the baseline, seems ready to whistle Detroit's Jason Maxiell for a blocking foul for having one foot clearly inside of the restricted area, but inexplicably drops his arm and makes no call at all."
• Mitch Albom of the Detroit Free Press: "Prince's ascension this postseason is welcome news for the 6-foot-9 forward, who wasn't happy with the way last season ended. His numbers dwindled in each of the four consecutive losses to Cleveland, and in the season finale, he had just one basket in 10 tries, as LeBron James triumphed. 'The thing that has stayed with me is how we lost,' Prince said. 'I think we were too concerned with how we were going to defend LeBron and not what we were going to do on our offensive end. Going into these playoffs it's been on my mind to be concerned about what we have to do and make them have to defend us.'"
• Rob Parker of The Detroit News: "When Prince was asked Monday which clutch play in his career did he relish the most -- the 2004 block on Reggie Miller's shot in Game 2 of the conference finals or Saturday's winning basket in Game 4's huge road victory in Orlando -- Prince didn't hesitate. 'I'll take that block anytime of the day,' Prince said after practice. 'It's more special. I don't care if the block was Game 1 of 82 games, the last game of 82 games or in the playoffs. That's more important than anything to me. It's satisfaction to get a defensive stop to win the game.' It's for that reason Prince often is overlooked and not as big of a fan favorite as other players. Defense might win you championships, but fans always will take offense."
• A. Sherrod Blakely of Booth Newspapers: "Richard Hamilton is on the verge of becoming the franchise's all-time leading scorer in the playoffs. Making the record all that more improbable is the fact he has been able to do it in just six postseasons. He needs just 10 points to tie Isiah Thomas' franchise record of 2,261 postseason points. 'To me, it's crazy,' Hamilton said. 'Zeke is Detroit. If you get an opportunity to pass him ... I don't even feel as though I've been here long enough. It's a great honor, a great accomplishment. I wouldn't be able to do it without winning games. That's the great thing about it.'"

Jazz vs. Lakers

• Jody Genessy of the Deseret News: "Mehmet Okur has been bothered somewhat lately in the Utah Jazz's playoff run by his Achilles tendon. Just so happens, containing Okur has been somewhat of an Achilles' heel for the Los Angeles Lakers' defense at times during this Western Conference semifinal series, too. That was an especially sore subject for the Lakers in overtime Sunday, when Okur hit back-to-back long jumpers to give the Jazz the lead for good in their 123-115 victory."
• Mark Heisler of the Los Angeles Times: "Kobe Bryant will play Wednesday, I learned Monday. Actually, I didn't learn it as much as divine it from years of watching Bryant, who would play if they had to wrap him from head to foot like a mummy. Two things are certain with Bryant: 1) he's the gamer of gamers and 2) he'll never take a breath without creating a controversy, as he did once more Sunday. Only one thing kept Bryant's performance in Game 4 from rising to the mythic level of Willis Reed limping out for Game 7 in 1970 and the flu-ridden Michael Jordan beating the Jazz in 1997 ... The Lakers didn't win."
• Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Daily News: "Phil Jackson said he was firm Monday with several players who needed to 'straighten' their games out. He shows no signs of slowing down. If anything, he appeared more animated and active on the Lakers' sideline Sunday in Utah than ever. This remains important to him. In his eighth season with the Lakers -- one less than his Chicago run -- this team needs his direction more than ever. The Lakers are good enough to win the whole thing. Yet not so good they couldn't lose this series. And that could come down to coaching."
• Broderick Turner of The Press-Enterprise: "Lakers forward-center Ronny Turiaf, who was ejected from Game 4 because of a flagrant foul penalty II on Utah's Ronnie Price, doesn't expect to be suspended for Game 5. Lakers public relations director John Black said General Manager Mitch Kupchak spoke with Stu Jackson, the NBA's executive vice president of basketball operations in charge of doling out fines, Monday by phone. 'We'd be shocked if there was a suspension,' Black said."

Hornets vs. Spurs

• James Varney of The Times-Picayune: "The Hornets have a basketful of things to work out before tonight's Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals against San Antonio, but among the most pressing is this: Peja Stojakovic must shoot more. ... Coach Byron Scott said Monday he's not sure what kind of tactical changes might help Stojakovic get back in the flow. 'They're doing a good job; they're sticking like glue on Peja,' Scott said. 'The (shots) that he's getting right now, all of them seem to be under duress.' Point guard Chris Paul said the slipping numbers don't reflect a drop-off on Stojakovic's part."
• Jeff Duncan of The Times-Picayune: "The club's deepest playoff run in six years will help the Hornets' organization come close to breaking even this season, an almost unimaginable prospect six months ago, when the team was struggling to sell tickets and generate fan support."
• Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News: "When the Spurs came back from New Orleans behind 2-0 in their Western Conference semifinal last week, they knew they were essentially one loss from seeing their season shift from the sports pages to the obituaries. 'You understand what you are facing,' Spurs forward Tim Duncan said. 'You understand that if we lost one of these (two) home games, you are facing elimination, and for the most part, the series is over.' Channeling Mark Twain, reports of whose ultimate demise were also once greatly exaggerated, the Spurs are not only still alive in this series. They are kicking. 'Kicking our butts,' Hornets coach Byron Scott said."
• Buck Harvey of the San Antonio Express-News: The fury inside of Chris Paul should scare the Spurs tonight. It should scare the Hornets, too. Paul has long had a temper. Once, famously in college, the temper erupted in a cowardly and embarrassing way. Paul hasn't done anything like that since, suggesting he learned something. But he's also never faced in his pro career what he faces tonight. Then, he will be asked to do more, with more pressure, against a title-tested defense known for frustrating the best."
• Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News: "Fresh off the Spurs' third championship in six years, Popovich told Finley the hard truth: That as much as the Spurs would love to have Finley, there would be no promises whatsoever. He would have to earn his spot in the regular playing rotation. Candor prevailed, and Finley chose the Spurs because he believed they afforded the best opportunity to win a championship. His first season with the club ended in playoff frustration, but he took the game ball from the Spurs' NBA title-clinching victory over the Cavaliers to bed with him after finally getting his first championship ring last June."

Leaguewide

• Scott Bordow of the East Valley Tribune: "There is one coach out there for Steve Kerr, one coach who is available and would be a home-run choice for the Phoenix Suns: Byron Scott. I know what you're thinking: Doesn't Scott already have a job coaching the New Orleans Hornets? Yes, he does. But Scott can opt out of his contract after this season. And while he has professed his desire to remain in New Orleans, you never know if a few flattering words -- and a fat contract -- would change his mind. Scott would seem to be everything Kerr wants in a coach. ... Chances are that Scott won't trade jambalaya and Paul for chicken enchiladas and Shaquille O'Neal. But the Suns won't know unless they ask."
• K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune: "The Bulls now face a challenge in the court of public opinion overcoming the perception they dawdle and/or can't pull the trigger on major decisions. D'Antoni's defection comes on the heels of the Bulls failing to acquire Kevin Garnett or Pau Gasol in trades and -- in an incorrect perception since the Lakers never seriously entertained trading him -- whiffing on Kobe Bryant. 'I can't worry about perception,' Jerry Reinsdorf said. 'I have to worry about making the right decision. This is a very critical hire. If you make a mistake, you set yourself back. Tim Floyd didn't work out, Bill Cartwright. Scott Skiles, we thought we had a good one, but he's gone with two years left on his deal. We've been set back.'"
• Mike Imrem of the Arlington Heights Daily Herald: "What is general manager John Paxson thinking while searching for a new head coach? What is club chairman Jerry Reinsdorf thinking when he gets involved? Most of all, what was Mike D'Antoni thinking when he spurned them? D'Antoni might have signed in New York because new Knicks president Donnie Walsh is more experienced at running an NBA front office than Paxson is. Or he might think LeBron James will prefer New York when he becomes a free agent. But here's another possibility: D'Antoni didn't trust what his long-term security would be with the Bulls."
• Percy Allen of The Seattle Times: "The Kings have fought for a new arena since 2003, however, the NBA will not abandon Sacramento. At the behest of the Kings owners, the league took over negotiations in December 2006 and last Friday, the NBA and Cal Expo agreed to a move forward on a joint project to build a $650 million arena at the state fairgrounds. That's downright insulting to Sonics fans who wish Commissioner David Stern would put half the effort to resolving the arena situation here that he's given to the Kings."
• Dave Krieger of the Rocky Mountain News: "David Stern claims he and NCAA president Myles Brand plan to study the whole sordid system, from the summer leagues on up, to see what might be done about it. Until something comes of that, you can expect the Reggie Bushes and O.J. Mayos of the world to continue to take the blame for a corrupt system built on a lie."
• Barbara Barker of Newsday: "In less than two months, the Knicks have hired Donnie Walsh as team president, removed Isiah Thomas as coach and outbid the Bulls to get Mike D'Antoni. That's more good moves in six weeks than the franchise has made in the past six seasons. Yes, the Knicks are still stuck with a disjointed, strange and unaccomplished roster. But for the first time in years there is solid reason to believe that they are past the bottoming-out point, that they are formulating a plan and that the plan has a realistic chance of working."