The Fundamentals
ballerblogger.com 5/18/2009 — Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle: “Scola said it had nothing to do with energy or effort.‘No, no, no,’ he said. ‘No energy level. We played hard. They just played better. No excuses. They just outplayed us today. You got to be ready to compete against anybody. Sooner or later..."

The Fundamentals
ballerblogger.com 5/10/2009 — Terence Moore of FanHouse: “You don’t play the opponent. You play the game. That’s what Knight used to say, and that’s what these Cavaliers do, which is why only the Los Angeles Kobes will stand between them and the Larry O’Brien trophy in June..."

The Fundamentals
ballerblogger.com 5/26/2009 — Ken Berger of CBSSports.com: "Call them rugged, resilient, emotional, or whatever you want to call them after they evened the series at 2-2 with a 120-101 victory against the exhausted, dilapidated Lakers on Monday night. Just don’t call them classy..."

The Fundamentals
ballerblogger.com 6/8/2009 — Dave McMenamin of NBA.com: “Bryant has taken on the reputation as the game’s ultimate closer, and deservedly so, but it was Gasol who was 3-for-3 from the field and 5-for-5 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter and overtime, compared to Kobe’s 3-for-7 and 7-for-8..."

The Fundamentals
ballerblogger.com 6/2/2009 — Jonathan Givony for NBA.com: “As is often the case when you put every NBA general manager, head coach, director of player personnel and scout together in one small gym the conversations in the bleachers are often far more interesting than the action going on the court..."

The Fundamentals
ballerblogger.com 6/25/2009 — Ken Berger of CBSSports.com: “The NBA Draft is Thursday night, and how strange it is that these two kids — neither with a college education, one born an ocean away and the other one having crossed that ocean for his apprenticeship — hold the keys to the whole thing...”

The Fundamentals
ballerblogger.com 6/3/2009 — Johnny Ludden of Yahoo! Sports: "Assistant Brian Shaw, who also played under Jackson, has even told his old coach he’s grown soft. ‘He allows a lot more now with the guys in terms of talk-back and even just taking their opinions into account, more so than he did when we played,’ Shaw said..."

The Fundamentals
ballerblogger.com 6/19/2009 — Michael Lee of the Washington Post: "With Arenas already back to his playing weight from five years ago, maybe Grover can help him return to that all-star, all-NBA form again. And, given how Wade bounced back to the form that made him Finals MVP in 2006, this might be the best move for Arenas..."

The Fundamentals
ballerblogger.com 6/14/2009 — Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: "‘Right now,’ small forward Hedo Turkoglu said, ‘I’m just happy to be in this situation.’ See what we mean? The Magic have an unusual way of looking at things wrong side up..."

The Fundamentals
ballerblogger.com 5/25/2009 — Johnny Ludden of Yahoo! Sports: ‘There’s only one of me,’ James said in the locker room shortly before Game 3. ‘… If I could clone myself, we’d be all right.’ James laughed when he made the comment, but, still, no one believes in the greatness of LeBron more than LeBron..."

Nuggets-Lakers: Denver Down 0-1 But Hopefully Heed Lessons For Series — Bleacher Report - NBA 5/22/2009
In a game that was a slug fest, one defining of what makes basketball great, the Lakers had too much clutch execution for the Nuggets to handle. The contest was a back-and-forth affair in which Denver jumped on LA early, leading 31-23 after one, ...

Nuggets beat Lakers 106-103 in Game 2 — Examiner Sports 5/22/2009
Kenyon Martin hit a layup in traffic with 29 seconds left and Chauncey Billups made 3 of 4 free throws to give the Denver Nuggets a 106-103 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night to even the Western Conference finals.

Nuggets get first-ever playoff win over Lakers — Examiner Sports 5/22/2009
The Lakers' 24-year playoff dominance of the Denver Nuggets dissipated over the final 29 seconds of the fourth quarter. That's when Kenyon Martin hit a layup in traffic and Chauncey Billups made 3 of 4 free throws to give Denver a 106-103 victory in ...

Nuggets earn split in LA, win 106-103 (AP) — Yahoo! Sports - NBA News 5/22/2009
The Lakers' 24-year playoff dominance of the Denver Nuggets dissipated over the final 29 seconds of the fourth quarter. That's when Kenyon Martin hit a layup in traffic and Chauncey Billups made 3 of 4 free throws to give Denver a 106-103 ...

Denver ends misery in L.A. — SFGate: Top Sports Stories 5/22/2009
The Lakers' 24-year playoff dominance of the Denver Nuggets dissipated over the final 29 seconds of the fourth quarter. That's when Kenyon Martin hit a layup in traffic and Chauncey Billups made 3 of 4 free throws to give Denver a 106-103 victory in ...