Mark Murphy, Boston Herald – “The cast will be removed from his wrist Dec. 30, and West has set an ambitious target for a return. He hopes to be back on the floor between mid- and late-January. … ’You would like to get guys back as much as possible to get the starters some relief,’ West said. ‘Unfortunately the starters are the ones playing most of the minutes. If we can get Paul (Pierce), Ray (Allen), (Kevin Garnett) and Rondo some time just to give their legs rest — even six minutes a game more — they’ll definitely benefit going into the stretch run. Winning right now is nice, but we want to be winning heading into June,’ he said. ‘I get this off the 30th (of December), so I can think about January. A bone takes 4-6 weeks to heal, and I’ve already put three weeks in. I’ll get tests on the 30th, and then I can do some rehabilitation.’”

Ben Rohrbach, WEEI – “In somewhat of a footnote in his most recent Sports Illustrated column, Ian Thomsen listed the records of NBA teams against oppoenents with a .500 record or better. You’ll never guess which team ranked atop the list. Every day, people are coming up with new ways to capture how impressive the 2010-11 Celtics have been despite injuries that are piling up faster than my Christmas shopping list. But the fact that the Celtics are 10-2 against above-.500 teams while no other Eastern Conference club has a winning record against those same squads might tell us all we need to know about the C’s chances of returning to the NBA Finals. Against the best, the Celtics have been the best.”

Chris Forsberg, ESPN Boston – “Playing with the first unit is also rebuilding Robinson’s confidence, which might have eroded a bit during his struggles to adapt last season. ‘You have to have confidence,’ Robinson said. ‘When I shoot the ball, I feel like I can make every shot. I feed that into my brain every day — night in, night out. That’s how I play the game. I feel like I can’t be stopped and I have to keep that mentality, always be aggressive, on offense and defense. It’s something that I think guys should think more about themselves: That nobody can stop me, no matter what.’”

John Schuhmann, NBA.com – “There’s no doubt that Shaq adds to the entertainment value of the Celtics’ roster, but he’s actually only part of the show. ‘This is the funniest team I’ve been on all my life,’ he said this week. ‘I even told KG, ‘I had no idea you guys were this funny.’ ‘ Maybe Shaq and Robinson have brought out the inner-goofball in the rest of the Celtics, but the idea of Garnett being a character is a little hard to accept. This is the guy who talks to the basket stanchion before every game, barks at opponents non-stop, and seemingly lets out an expletive with every breath he takes. ‘On game day, don’t mess with KG,’ Shaq said. ‘But on practice day, he’s the funniest guy ever.’”

Jessica Camerato, CSNNE – “Europe boasts some of the best fashion in the world. But at seven-feet tall, Erden often has trouble fitting into the latest trends. Now that he is shopping in Boston, he is able to find threads that fit his size and style. ‘I go to Newbury Street,’ he explained. ‘I like Louis Vuitton, Gucci. Shopping is better in Boston. In Turkey, I’m really tall so we can’t find some things. It’s too hard. But I have a lot of friends in Turkey so they make the clothes special for me. But I like the shopping in Boston more.’ … While Erden likes to soak up the sights and sounds of Boston, he also enjoys a quiet day at home. When he has a rare day off, Erden skips the city scene and sticks with his couch instead. ‘[I] just rest at home, play PlayStation 3,’ he said. ‘Now I play ‘Call of Duty’ and soccer, but not American soccer. This is European soccer.’”

Jeff Caplan, ESPN Boston – “”The Mavericks spent the two days leading up to Monday’s showdown talking endlessly about everything the Miami Heat had done right in rattling off 12 wins in a row since losing three weeks ago in Dallas. The list was long and stunning: running more, playing all-world defense, playing off each other, shooting the lights out of the 3-ball. LeBron James and Dwyane Wade were practically walking on water. Mavs coach Rick Carlisle went so far as to say Miami was doing ‘unprecedented things.’ Then the Mavs — as Carlisle will say — systemically took it all away. The NBA’s streak-busters did it again, holding Miami to 40.5 percent shooting by mixing in doses of a now-clockwork zone defense that the Heat couldn’t counter. Dallas allowed just five fast-break points, held Miami’s big three to mortal performances (60 points combined on 22-of-49 shooting) and then won it 98-96 with 10 minutes of lockdown fourth-quarter defense and a 33-point final period spurred by Jason Terry’s 19. So add the Heat to the San Antonio Spurs (12-game win streak), New Orleans Hornets (eight), Utah Jazz (seven), Boston Celtics (five) and Oklahoma City Thunder (five) on the list of hot teams the Mavs have stopped cold.”

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