Lakers vs. Celtics

• Billy Witz of The New York Times: "[Inglewood Detective Scott] Collins had coached in the Police Activities League, a youth program where he had gotten to know [Paul] Pierce as a seventh grader. When he became an assistant coach at Inglewood High, Collins noticed that only 2 of the 15 players on the team had fathers at home. 'A lot of the kids I've dealt with had no male role model, nobody to look up to in order to see how to be a man,' said Collins, now an Inglewood detective. 'If kids respect us on the playground, they'll respect us on the street. At first, they're a little apprehensive - I'm a cop. Once you get in there, they get to trust you.' Inglewood is often in headlines for poverty, crime and corruption. In 1995, when Pierce was a senior in high school, Tupac Shakur sang with Dr. Dre on 'California Love' about the city: 'Inglewood, Inglewood, always up to no good.' For Pierce and his friends, that song resonated because a year earlier a friend named Howard Johnson was shot and killed. 'It's a cliché in Inglewood: you either bang or ball,' said Carlo Calhoun, a high school teammate of Pierce. 'As a basketball player you might be able to walk down a street that you might not be able to walk down otherwise. It's a different level of respect.'"
• Jan Hubbard of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: "Kobe is due for his Michael Jordan moment. If the Lakers are going to stay alive in this series, it has to happen tonight. And Kobe knows it."
• Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel: "For two years, Dwyane Wade said, it was almost as if the Heat was held up for ridicule for emerging from the middle of the pack to win the 2006 NBA championship. Now, he said, he finds it amusing that the Heat is being held up as an example for what the Los Angeles Lakers have to do to overcome their 0-2 deficit in the '08 Finals against the Boston Celtics. 'I mean, as much as we've been taking the hit over the years for losing the last few years, we took the hit over the years for winning,' Wade said Monday. 'I never quite got that. But I think what we did in the championship has to be respected. Because when you're down 0-2 in any series, it's tough to come back. But when you're down 0-2 in the Finals, it's even tougher.'"
• Patrick McManamon of The Akron Beacon-Journal: "Talk privately to the people with the Cavs, and they will say that they believed they had a team that was good enough to beat the Celtics. They not only believed they could win, they believed they would. Which was probably why James was so distraught after losing it was hard to believe. But the Cavs made the mistake of digging a hole in Game 7, which made their margin of error too thin. Which made those missed shots in the last couple of minutes bigger than big. But they could have won. Barring a Lakers shipment of bionic players, when all is said and done, the Cavs will be the only team to really give the Celtics a scare into the final minutes of Game 7 in the playoffs. Perhaps it's time to give the Cavs a little more 'due' than they're getting."
• Mary Schmitt Boyer of The Plain Dealer: "Ira Newble was all set to return to the Cavaliers last winter. Then Lakers coach Phil Jackson called from Los Angeles. Now Newble is the only player appearing in the NBA Finals for the second straight season. 'It worked out for the best,' Newble said, laughing over the phone. ... 'At the end of the day, I didn't have anything to lose signing with the Lakers,' said Newble, who will become a free agent after the season. 'How many people can say they had the opportunity to play with, arguably, two of the best players to play the game?'"
• Dick Heller of The Washington Times: "Jerry West, the Los Angeles Lakers' all-world guard, was named MVP of the 1969 NBA Finals -- the first time the award had gone to a member of the losing team. But as far as the appreciative Boston Celtics were concerned, it could just as well have been presented to Jack Kent Cooke. Yes, Jack Kent Cooke, the eminent Squire who years later presided benevolently over the Washington Redskins when they won three Super Bowls. But in 1969, he was owner of the Lakers and, at 57, not as wise as he later became. With the teams preparing to play Game 7 at the 'Fabulous Forum' he had built in Inglewood, Calif., Cooke had flyers placed on every seat that read, 'When, not if, the Lakers win the title, balloons [inscribed 'World Champion Lakers'] will be released from the rafters, the USC marching band will play 'Happy Days Are Here Again' and broadcaster Chick Hearn will interview [Lakers stars] Elgin Baylor, Jerry West and Wilt Chamberlain in that order.' This was a bad move on Cooke's part."

Leaguewide

• Michael Rosenberg of the Detroit Free Press: "When John Hammond speaks to groups of kids, or businessmen -- or anybody, really -- he usually talks about Michael Curry. He talks about a guy who showed up in Detroit on a 10-day contract and played another 10 seasons in the NBA. 'How do you do it?' Hammond asked. 'You do it with amazing heart and amazing leadership.' Is Curry the answer for the Pistons? Nobody knows for sure. But in all the areas that matter for a head coach, he is well-equipped."
• Rick Morrissey of The Chicago Tribune: "The search from hell is over. It took a turn toward strange a few months ago and ended at its appropriate destination, bizarre, with the tabbing of Del Negro. ... To put all of this in proper perspective, when Suns GM Steve Kerr recently whittled down his list of candidates for the Phoenix coaching opening, he didn't even have Del Negro's name among the final four. That is not to say Kerr is a genius and has all the right answers. That is not to say Del Negro will be a failure as Bulls coach. It's to say: What is going on here?"
• Mike Imrem of the Arlington Heights Daily Herald: "Sure Vinny Del Negro is an odd choice to be the Bulls head coach. You expected any less -- or more -- from club chairman Jerry Reinsdorf? The obvious first reaction to Del Negro is, you mean the Bulls needed since Christmas Eve to settle on this guy as Scott Skiles' successor? But the second reaction makes more sense: It's remarkable the Bulls found somebody so obscure in less than six months."
• Bob Young of The Arizona Republic: "If Terry Porter leads the Suns to a championship, that would be an upset on par with Big Brown turning into a Clydesdale at the Belmont Stakes or, say, Vinny Del Negro getting hired to coach the Chicago Bulls. We're not saying it can't happen. Hey, we're not sure if Big Brown has even finished yet, and Del Negro reportedly is Chicago's coach unless Jerry Reinsdorf waffles again. But expecting this team to suddenly become a contender again isn't really fair to Porter."
• Woody Paige of The Denver Post: "In this space, several proposals, including a couple involving a trade of Carmelo Anthony to Dallas or New Jersey, were advanced. Results in The Denver Post's poll showed that for the first time since Anthony was drafted by the Nuggets, sentiment to deal him has increased significantly. That discussion was followed by a preposterous report out of New Jersey that the Nets would send all their trash to Denver for Anthony. His agent claimed the Nuggets weren't actively shopping Anthony. 'Actively' is the key word because Anthony can't be traded until after June 30. Over the weekend, Post columnist Mark Kiszla wrote, credibly, from the NBA Finals that a league source said the Pistons might be interested in the Nuggets forward. ... So, a swap meet is in order. Truth is, the Pistons would be willing to trade 'Mr. Big Shot,' Chauncey Billups, and others, and the Nuggets are agreeable to listen to offers for 'Mr. We Quit' and others."
• Frank Zicarelli of the Toronto Sun: "Dumars, Bird, Ferry and Hammond each oversee teams in the NBA's Central Division, which easily could be renamed Rumor Central. With Chicago holding the first overall pick in the coming draft, changes are afoot with the Bulls. If Derrick Rose goes first overall, Kirk Hinrich becomes redundant. Call it the calm before the storm, but teams are weighing all options as the June 26 draft nears and as July free agency approaches. A lot of the talk will amount to nothing as is the norm in the build up to the February deadline. But league executives are talking nonetheless and deals will be made in the coming weeks, for that we are certain."
• Buck Harvey of the San Antonio Express-News: "His defense has the Celtics within two games of a title, and he deserved a chance to talk to the Chicago Bulls. Instead, the usual happened Monday, with the Bulls offering their head-coaching position to someone who has never coached on any level. That's the way this business is, and Thibodeau learned these lessons long ago. In San Antonio. Others share his story, such as a current Spurs assistant. Mike Budenholzer has been Gregg Popovich's external hard-drive for a decade, and it's a good life. Budenholzer says that often. But as effective as Budenholzer has been, he's still seen as Thibodeau is -- as a faceless worker bee without the punch to lead a locker room. Besides, how can a franchise sell someone no one knows?"
• Steve Luhm of The Salt Lake Tribune: "For the third time in the 13 months, Utah Jazz assistant Tyrone Corbin has failed to get a head coaching job after being interviewed. Barring an unexpected turn of events, Corbin will return for his fifth season as a member of Jerry Sloan's staff in 2008-09. Last year, Corbin lost out on the top job in Seattle to veteran coach P.J. Carlesimo. This summer, Corbin interviewed for vacant jobs in Phoenix and Chicago. ... According to Corbin, Phoenix general manager Steve Kerr explained that Porter got the job because of his previous experience as a head coach. 'He said everything else was the same,' Corbin said."
• Mike Wells of The Indianapolis Star: "Sam Perkins knows all about the numerous off-court incidents involving Indiana Pacers players the past few years. Perkins, who played on the Pacers' 2000 NBA Finals team, now plans to mentor players to make sure incidents don't happen again as part of his new role as the team's vice president of player relations. 'I'm aware of the things that went on,' Perkins said Monday in a phone interview. 'True, it's not all their faults. There's a lot reasons for some of the stuff, but there's no excuse for it. ... You just have to hopefully put it in the past and use that stuff as an example. I want to face the challenges in front of me and help the players mature in life.'"

2008 NBA Draft

• Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal: "An NCAA Final Four rematch ensued Monday in FedExForum as the Grizzlies continued their draft workouts. For Love and Dorsey: Mission accomplished. Love, projected to be selected in the upper half of the draft lottery, emerged as the top participant, while Dorsey more than held his own in producing the second-best workout among four big men. The six-player session also included centers DeAndre Jordan (Texas A&M) and JaVale McGee (Nevada), and guards Kyle Weaver (Washington State) and Jeremy Pargo (Gonzaga). The focus, though, was on the big men, and Love asserted himself as an above-average passer, perimeter shooter, post scorer and athlete who has enough lateral quickness to avoid being a defensive liability."
• Geoff Calkins of the Memphis Commercial Appeal: "And after watching it all unfold, there can no longer be any doubt as to what the Memphis Grizzlies have to do this offseason. They have to forget about Dorsey and Love and and figure out a way to get Michael Beasley. Hey, someone has to be the killjoy here. I'm all for sentiment and symmetry and giddy days at FedExForum watching two likeable players compete against each other. But neither Love nor Dorsey will fundamentally change the enterprise that is the Memphis Grizzlies. Neither one will cause disillusioned fans to say, 'Hey, maybe they're building something down there.'"
• Marc Berman of the New York Post: "Premiere Arizona point guard Jarryd Bayless and Indiana shooting guard Eric Gordon will perform drills as the New York Knicks resume pre-draft workouts today at their Westchester campus. Bayless and Gordon will not work out against each other, each going solo, which is unusual. And, according to Danillo Gallinari's father, the 19-year-old Italian Stallion is flying to New York today and will work out for the Knicks later this week. The hot-shot 6-foot-10 forward is considered a mid-lottery pick, and the New Jersey Nets have interest, too."
• Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer: "When the Charlotte Bobcats' Larry Brown started coaching more than 30 years ago, most of the first-round picks were seniors and juniors -- relatively finished products. Now they're typically college freshmen who need a lot more coaching. Prime example: Syracuse's Donte Greene, who auditioned for the Bobcats on Monday. 'We have to coach them up now. We get a lot of kids who are young, who (choose not to) play four years in college, and so it's vital you have a group that wants to get better -- kids who are motivated to learn,' Brown said. ... Greene and West Virginia's Joe Alexander were the most prominent of six players who auditioned Monday. The others were Memphis's Robert Dozier, Georgetown's Patrick Ewing Jr., UNC Greensboro's Kyle Hines and UCLA's Luc Mbah a Moute."
• Mike Jones of The Washington Times: "The Wizards held their third predraft evaluation session with another six players -- including North Carolina's Ty Lawson -- in attendance. Butler guard Mike Green, Ohio State forward Othello Hunter, Clemson forward James Mays, UAB forward Walter Sharpe and Indiana forward D.J. White also worked out for Wizards officials. Lawson's workout was cut short when he sprained his left ankle. But the Clinton native said he still felt good about his performance up to that point. Monday's workout was Lawson's first since being arrested and charged with driving after consuming alcohol early Friday morning. He was scheduled to attend a session in Denver that day, but he had to reschedule. ... 'I saw the headlines, and it sounded worse than what it was,' the 20-year-old said. 'I blew a [0.03], so it wasn't [that] I was being irresponsible. It was just not being 21.'"