Celtics vs. Pistons

• Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald: "Doc Rivers has been critical at times of Garnett's tendency to drift out to the perimeter, where he becomes a multi-millionaire bouncer, setting picks for others but leaving himself too far from the fray. Such was the case for a bit last night. But Garnett snapped back after a time, and the effect was written all over the Celts' 52.2 percent shooting night against a team that was allowing foes to shoot 44 percent in the playoffs. The Celtics' 44-22 edge on points in the paint was also rather illuminating. 'He's getting the ball in the right spots,' Rivers said. 'You know, I thought we went through one stretch in the second quarter where we went away from that and got jump shot happy, pick-and-roll happy. And Kevin was part of that. He was one of the guys running out, setting picks instead of getting back in our offense and getting down low. We wanted to get him down there more and we wanted to get Paul down there more.'"
• Dan Shaughnessy of The Boston Globe: "It is the mystery of the Celtics' playoff run. What happened to Ray Allen? Can the Celtics win the NBA championship with the Big 2 1/3? The Celtics stuffed the Detroit Pistons, 88-79, in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals last night, but once again, Allen's jump shot was MIA. He made 3 of 10 shots from the floor: All of his makes were layups. Allen did not connect on a jump shot. He could feel the crowd pulling for him, trying to will the ball through the basket when he launched from the perimeter. 'They're wondering why it's not going in -- just like I am,' said the ever-classy Allen."
• Drew Sharp of the Detroit Free Press: "Billups insisted afterward that his recovering hamstring held up well during his first game in nearly two weeks, but he wasn't convincing reporters as much as he attempted to convince himself. ... He rarely attacked off the dribble. Billups understandably looked out of sync, and it cost the Pistons the precision required for their half-court offense."
• Chris McCosky of the The Detroit News: "Assistant coach Dave Cowens didn't want any part of it. 'Get that (recorder) out of here,' he said. Cowens is one of the legendary Celtics. His jersey No. 18 hangs in the rafters of the Banknorth Garden. He's one of the 50 best players in NBA history and he won two championships with the Celtics. Heck, he was even a player-coach with the Celtics in 1978-79. But if you wanted to get him to wax nostalgic about his days in green, forget it. His current employer is the Detroit Pistons, and in case you missed it, there's this little matter of the Eastern Conference finals that he's rather preoccupied with."

Lakers vs. Spurs

• Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times: "In the San Antonio Spurs, the Lakers are playing the only Western Conference team they privately feel is capable of beating them in a seven-game series. This doesn't mean the Spurs will necessarily win the Western Conference finals beginning tonight at Staples Center. But they can. As eerie as a Tim Duncan stare, they have been hovering out there all spring as the Lakers' ultimate measuring stick."
• Buck Harvey of the San Antonio Express-News: "The Spurs don't talk about disrespect publicly, but they've had this kind of toughness all along. Now they've added another powerful layer. They've pushed with Shaq, won in double overtime, come back after being down 0-2, chased Chris Paul and pulled out a seventh game on the road. Going by that, a sleepover is nothing, especially if Popovich provides the pajamas. Spurs in six."
• Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News: "One of the most difficult playoff series of the Spurs' championship era was less than an hour behind him, but Bruce Bowen, the Spurs' defensive stopper extraordinaire, already was thinking about what lay ahead in the Western Conference finals. 'Kobe,' Bowen said. 'Kobe, Kobe.' As he offered his first thoughts about the challenge that awaits him against Kobe Bryant, the recently crowned MVP, a tiny smile worked its way from the corner of Bowen's mouth until his eyes widened and his voice rose. 'We're going to play as hard as we can against each other,' he said, 'but nobody is going to be giving ground.'"

Draft Lottery 

• Rick Morrissey of The Chicago Tribune: "Derrick Rose seemed to come from nowhere for a rebound against Michigan State, and he arrived at the height of his jump so quickly you were left to wonder if some sort of air-speed record hadn't just fallen. Zero to 48 inches in half a second? That might not be what you look for in a point guard, but it illustrated a few of the things the Memphis star and Chicago kid has going for him: Incredible power and high entertainment value. Oh, and he's unselfish, a great passer and a scorer. Did we mention he can play defense? Yes, that too. And he's a leader and a winner too. He's sort of a souped-up Quinn Buckner, high praise indeed. If the Bulls don't take this kid, they are absolutely out of their organizational minds."
• Jay Mariotti of the Chicago Sun-Times: "His name is Derrick Martell Rose. He's from the guns-and-blood neighborhood of Englewood, deep on the Southwest Side, where he avoided trouble growing up because a protective family knew basketball was his destiny. Chicagoans were irked when he fled the state to play college ball at Memphis, where he became the face of March Madness and came within a couple of missed free throws of a national championship. But fret no more. Unless John Paxson screws this up -- and he won't -- Rose is about to rescue professional basketball in his hometown."
• Dave Hyde of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel: "Oh, come on, we're not going to have this discussion, are we? We're not really going to talk about trading the pick, right? It takes longer to microwave popcorn than it took for the Heat to revive the franchise Tuesday night. Ten minutes, 12 open envelopes and it got the second pick in a two-pick draft. After the worst of seasons, Heat fans finally had a hallelujah moment. And Pat Riley said he could trade the pick? He's joking, right? You don't trade the second pick in the NBA Draft. This isn't pro football, where a handful of players might be worth the second pick. This isn't hockey or baseball, where you balance youth and dollars against future impact. This is basketball, where one player changes everything, especially at this draft slot."
• Greg Stoda of the Palm Beach Post: "Can anything else go wrong for the Heat? It couldn't win Tuesday night, either. A little more than a month after it finished making a 15-67 mess of the 2007-08 NBA season, Miami couldn't cash in on the reward of having compiled the league's worst record. Instead, the Heat is left to depend on the whims of the Chicago Bulls in next month's NBA Draft, which amounts to a Derrick Rose-or-Michael Beasley Sweepstakes. It's an adding-insult-to-lots-of-injuries kind of thing for the Heat. The good news for Miami is that it will get one of the two aforementioned players no matter what the Bulls do if it keeps the second pick. Yes, a trade is a possibility."
• Jim Souhan of the Minneapolis Star Tribune: "Wolves exec Kevin McHale didn't whine. 'I'm very happy with third,' he said. 'I personally feel it's a very good draft ... We have eight players in this draft we really like.' He was sitting in the Wolves coaches' office. On the flat-panel TV in the corner, Kevin Garnett was scoring the first four points of the Eastern Conference finals. Garnett was taken with the fifth pick in the draft. 'It's supposedly a two-man draft,' McHale said. 'I love being third.' I would have preferred to see Beasley playing in Target Center, but history says the Wolves can land a star at No. 3. Their luck is what they make of it."
• Jerry Brewer of The Seattle Times: "It is a strange, joyless time. Even if the Sonics had won the lottery, the upcoming court battle over the KeyArena lease would've stifled any celebration around here. The trial is scheduled to begin June 16, 10 days before the draft. By the time David Stern announces the Sonics' No. 4 pick, the team could either be gone, or at best, mired in two more lame-duck seasons. It's a good thing the Sonics didn't luck into the right to draft Michael Beasley or Derrick Rose, the two can't-miss prospects of this class. The news would've been more depressing than exciting. But there goes hope of getting a reprieve to talk basketball."
• Ronald Tillery of The Commercial-Appeal: "Chris Wallace and Rudy Gay agreed to look on the bright side after landing the fifth pick as the Chicago Bulls leaped over eight teams to win the right to select first -- a position that will likely produce Kansas State's Michael Beasley or University of Memphis guard Derrick Rose. Wallace's take? 'Rose and Beasley are in the Eastern Conference now,' Wallace said. 'If we couldn't win I didn't want them out West. That's the only positive. And we only lost one spot.' As for Gay? 'It's on us,' the runner-up for Most Improved said. 'We have to get better as players, and the organization has to work its magic.'"
• Geoff Calkins of The Commercial-Appeal: "Fans could point to the Detroit Pistons and the New Orleans Hornets as franchises that built winners not by getting lucky in the lottery, but by making bold trades and smart draft picks. But when have the Grizzlies ever been smart or bold? With all the focus on how unlucky the Grizzlies have been over the years, we tend to overlook their stupidity."
• Alan Hahn of Newsday: "There was no frozen envelope, no conspiracy. But now, after the Knicks wound up with the sixth pick from the NBA draft lottery Tuesday night, there are many options for Donnie Walsh in what he calls the 'second stage' of the Knicks' rebuilding process. 'Now,' Walsh said, 'our work starts.' It starts with shopping the pick with the intention of packaging it with one of those hefty contracts on the team's bloated payroll in an effort to get some desperately needed salary-cap relief, which, for Walsh, is always Job 1. 'I think we'll look at everything,' Walsh said."
• Jonathan Abrams of the Los Angeles Times: "The Clippers, who were slotted sixth heading into the lottery, fell to the seventh overall selection after they were bumped by Chicago. From that position, they probably will evaluate a number of guards, including Indiana's Eric Gordon, UCLA's Russell Westbrook and Texas' D.J. Augustin. The decision will also hinge on the health of point guard Shaun Livingston, who is still rehabbing after a serious knee injury and expected to begin playing one-on-one soon after spending more than a year sidelined."
• Tom Enlund of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: '"I guess we're disappointed to a certain extent but it could be worse,' said general manager John Hammond, who represented the Bucks on the stage during the televised portion of the program. 'Slipping one slot, you know ... we'd have loved to have had seven but we feel OK about having eight, that's for sure." ... Hammond conceded that it was difficult to see a Central Division rival claim the No. 1 spot. 'That makes it sting a little more,' he said. 1But you have a hard time complaining when someone else has good luck. What can you do? It was a huge surprise that Chicago went from nine to one. But what do they say? It's the luck of the draw?'"
• Dave D'Alessandro of the Star-Ledger: "'I think we'll see a good player at 10,' said an unfazed general manager Kiki Vandeweghe. 'Potentially, if all the underclassmen stay in, this could be a deep draft. Right now it looks like we'll keep the picks. We'll use the picks. But you're always looking for ways to improve your team. And if that means utilizing your draft pick in a different manner (as a trade tool), then that's what will happen.' ... 'We didn't go down, so that was a positive," Vandeweghe said. "Look on the bright side. I do think it's a deep draft. We'll be looking at a good player at 10 and at 21 and possibly at 40. There are a lot of interesting players in this draft.'"
• Mike Wells of The Indianapolis Star: "Maybe Indiana Pacers president Larry Bird should have carried something lucky with him to the NBA draft lottery in Secaucus, N.J., on Tuesday. Indiana wasn't fortunate enough to land one of the top three picks in next month's draft. The Pacers, who had a 0.8 percent chance at the No. 1 pick, will select 11th on June 26. They'll have the No. 41 pick, too."
• Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee: "Margie Parilo, the season-ticket holder who represented the Kings at the NBA draft lottery Tuesday night in Secaucus, N.J., provided cell-phone updates and a personal account of her experiences. No, she didn't improve the team's No. 12 draft position. But Parilo dined in fine restaurants, stayed in a five-star hotel, went to a spa, had her hair styled, shopped at Macy's and mingled with Larry Bird, Mitch Richmond, David Stern and Jay-Z. Not a bad 24 hours. And though she failed to beat the odds, no one was forced to take the Greyhound back to Sacramento."
• John Canzano of The Oregonian: "There was no awkward goodbye. No lingering words. There was no turning back for one last look. The action was gruff and shrewd, and as farewells go, Tuesday was perfect. So long, NBA draft lottery. Here's hoping Portland just dumped the lottery for good. The Trail Blazers deserved, and received, the No. 13 pick in the 2008 NBA draft. And as long as management doesn't muck up all the good traction, what Blazers fans really witnessed on Tuesday wasn't justice but the end of a five-year relationship between a rebuilding franchise and the league's unequal welfare program."