Notes from TNT’s Coverage of the NBA – Thursday, March 4, 2010
TNT’s NBA Thursday coverage continues Thursday, March 11 at 8 p.m. ET with a doubleheader featuring the Chicago Bulls @ Orlando Magic followed by the Portland Trail Blazers @ Golden State Warriors.
CLIPS OF THE DAY
(click on link below to watch)
TNT’s Charles Barkley made his 2010 Academy Award predictions
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TNT NBA Tip-off presented by AutoTrader.com
Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Chris Webber
Barkley on the news that the Celtics will sign 37-year-old Michael Finley: “Boy, (the Celtics) are going to be big at Denny’s. They are signing all the old guys. I love Michael Finley, but they just get older!”
Barkley on the Lakers being a better team than the Cavaliers due to their supporting cast: “(Kobe Bryant) doesn’t have to play well for the Lakers to win. LeBron James has to play well for the Cavaliers to win. Kobe can sit out and they can still beat most of those teams. That’s how good they are with (Pau) Gasol, (Andrew) Bynum and (Lamar) Odom.”
Barkley on the strong reaction from Miami Heat forward Michael Beasley to his comment that Heat guard Dwyane Wade plays with a bunch of “Tito Jacksons”: “They are so sensitive down there in Miami.”
Smith: “There are a couple of Jacksons that didn’t even make the Jackson 5. He could have said one of their names. He could have been Rebbie.”
Barkley: “Michael Beasley had one point and one rebound in a game last week. If we had been on I would have called him Rebbie.”
Smith on how Heat guard Dwyane Wade has to play great for Miami to win: “The issue is (Dwyane Wade) can play great and they can still lose. They don’t have enough in a lot of different areas where he can still get 28 points tonight, eight rebounds and seven assists and lose by 10 points. That would never happen with Kobe Bryant. If he gets 28 points or over, that’s pretty much a given because of what they have around them.”
Barkley on the Miami Heat: “I love Dwyane Wade, but he’s playing with Rebbie, Randy, Marlon, Jermaine.”
Smith: “You can’t say Jermaine. He had his own album, he was the first to break out.”
Barkley: “He’s not even playing with a Janet.”
Barkley on how defense is helping the Phoenix Suns: “(I’m excited about) the Phoenix Suns. They are actually playing real basketball. They got rid of that little sissy ball they were playing. They are playing with a center in (Robin) Lopez, they moved Amare (Stoudemire) to his natural position which is the power forward, they are actually trying to play defense and they have a conventional lineup. I’ve got to give a shout out to Alvin Gentry, they are playing very well. They are actually playing defense and rebounding. I know those are foreign words in Phoenix, but they are actually playing basketball.”
Smith on why the Utah Jazz are the most underrated team in the NBA: “(The Utah Jazz are) the most underrated team in basketball. Give me a point guard that you’d rather have Deron Williams. Not many. What power forward is playing better right now than Carlos Boozer? Not many or any. You’ve got two guys who are the best for their position for this month and this part of the season and you’re going into the playoffs and no one even says they are a contender.”
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Game 1: Los Angeles Lakers (111) @ Miami Heat (114) – in Overtime
Announcers: Marv Albert, Mike Fratello and Reggie Miller with Marty Snider reporting
Miller on the number of fans that support the Lakers when they are on the road: “We heard the ovation for the Lakers during (player) introductions and it’s very much the same way as when (the Pacers) played the Bulls with Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman when they would come (to Indianapolis). They would take over our building. Early on, when Larry Bird was playing with the Boston Celtics and they would take over our building. That’s just the nature of the beast when you have some of these superstar, marquee players. They are going to get the benefit of the doubt and people are going to come out and support them.”
Miller on Lakers guard Kobe Bryant trying to recover from his injuries: “Working with a series of injuries, the back spasms, the finger, the ankle…it’s going to take you a while to get your rhythm back. If there is one thing I know about Kobe Bryant, he’s putting in extra work and extra time, coming early, staying late, coming to the gym on off days to get that rhythm back.”
Miller on wanting the Miami fans to rally behind Dwyane Wade for MVP: “You’ve got Dwyane Wade, who is an NBA Finals MVP. Even though his team is 30-31, he’s won an NBA ring, shouldn’t these great Miami South Beach fans be shouting a little MVP? Where’s a little bit of loyalty?”
Miller on the tough defense of Lakers forward Ron Artest: “People always ask me what makes Ron Artest a great defender? He has the three t’s, tenacity, timing and toughness. Look at the defense, look at the roaming arms, he is here to lock down the shooting guards and small forwards on the opposing team. Since the All-Star break he has done a fabulous job of shutting down some unbelievable scorers and he relishes in this position.”
TNT’s Marty Snider interviewed Lakers center Andrew Bynum at halftime.
Bynum on having a good first half: “We’re winning it in the trenches and we’ve got to keep it up. We’ve got to keep attacking the offensive boards and everything.”
Bynum on the recent defensive performance of teammate Ron Artest: “Lately his defense has really stepped up. He’s been locking guys down all throughout the game.”
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Halftime
Johnson, Barkley, Smith and Webber
Barkley on the Cavaliers needing center Shaquille O’Neal more than they need center Zydrunas Ilgauskas: “The Cleveland Cavaliers are the best team in the East, but forget about (Zydrunas) Ilgauskas. They’ve got no chance of beating the Lakers without Shaquille O’Neal. They need to quit sleeping on Shaq, he’s a big body, he’s active, he’s a tough match-up. That’s the only way they can beat the Lakers in a championship.”
Webber on why Cleveland needs both centers Shaquille O’Neal and Zydrunas Ilgauskas: “You have to look at what Ilgauskas brings to the table. When you come off the pick and roll with Shaq it’s easy to converge because he’s not as athletic as he used to be and you know where he’s going. One thing that (Ilgauskas) does do is that now Dwight Howard has to step out and make sure that he watches for (Ilgauskas’) jump shot off the pick and roll. How many options does the best player in the game in LeBron James have? So when you know his option to go around the post and around the dotted circle, it’s easy to converge on guys like that. Not easy to stop him, but easy to have a game plan and having (both) Ilgauskas and Shaq mixes it up. They can’t win without Shaq and they can’t win without Ilgauskas either.”
Barkley on Chris Bosh being the most underrated player in the NBA: “The most underrated player in the NBA to me is Chris Bosh, he’s a quiet superstar. If you can, get him. If not him, get Amare Stoudemire.”
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Miller on the Lakers taking this game for granted: “When are the Lakers going to wake up? It’s almost like they are out here just coasting. This Miami Heat team has been up and down, there have been a lot of changes in the line-up and the Lakers thought they were just going to walk in here and get a ‘W’.”
Lakers forward Pau Gasol on being involved with Hoops for St. Jude, meaning he will donate one dollar for every point he makes this season: “It does a great job in research and treatment of cancer patients, especially children, not just in the state but internationally as well. It’s got a great outreach program. I’ve been a witness for years in Memphis so I was thrilled to have the opportunity to be a part of this program.”
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Game 2: Utah Jazz (116) @ Phoenix Suns (108)
Announcers: Kevin Harlan and Doug Collins with Craig Sager reporting
Collins on Jazz forward Andrei Kirilenko: “When (Andrei Kirilenko) was healthy we were talking a few years ago about Defensive Player of the Year with his shot blocking, his steals and all. He’s bigger and stronger this year and Jerry Sloan said that’s really helping. He’s trying to finish much more with strength around the basket.”
Collins on Suns forward Grant Hill: “Grant Hill will sacrifice his body. For a guy who missed seven seasons with all the ankle problems he had, staff infections all the things he struggled through, he will step in there and take the contact. He takes the hardest falls of any great player I’ve ever seen.”
Collins on a close knit team being an important element to Suns guard Steve Nash’s game: “Friendship is very important to (Steve Nash), the camaraderie of being a part of a team that is connected. He feels very connected to this team. I think you can see that in his play, he’s very happy and the team has responded this year. Many people felt this team might be an eighth, ninth or tenth seed. If they take care of business at home and continue to do the things that they are doing, who knows? Maybe they can get up into that four spot and get home court advantage.”
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Halftime
Johnson, Barkley, Smith and Webber
Barkley on why he has stopped criticizing the Phoenix Suns lately: “I criticized that little sissy ball (the Suns have) been playing for the last few years where you just try to outscore people. That’s never going to work. I want to take my hat off to Alvin Gentry, he’s changed their mindset. He brought in (Robin) Lopez and I love watching Lopez, he’s just plays defense and rebounds. If I’m going to look at a stat after every game for a good team, it’s turnovers and rebounds. The Suns turn the ball over way too much and they don’t rebound the ball. They went to a conventional lineup so Amar’e can cheat a little on rebounding. Lopez does a great job on the board. When you try to play small, you give up a lot of shots and a lot of shots around the basket. But the main thing you can’t do is you can’t rebound the ball. I take my hat off to Alvin, it’s about time he stopped playing girlie ball. The toughest team in Phoenix was the (WNBA’s) Mercury, but not anymore!”
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Collins on Suns guard Steve Nash’s off court conditioning: “Steve really prides himself on his conditioning, no one works harder off the court on his conditioning. The core strength of his back, he has a condition in his back that he had to be very careful if he gets a little bit out of synch, he gets muscle pain and pain his hips. These Suns doctors and strength and conditioning coaches have done a wonderful job with him. If you could just go and see the things he does off the court with this strength and his balance and that’s a really big part of his game.”
Collins on Jazz center Mehmet Okur making two three-pointers, including a crucial shot near the end of the game: “Where has that been all year for Okur? That is two threes here tonight. The weight of the world has to be off his shoulders now, he’s such a proud guy.”
Collins on the Jazz keeping the games close with a Suns team who played better for most of the game: “This would be a huge win for the Utah Jazz because I thought of the first three quarters that Phoenix had dominated the game but Utah hung around enough.”
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Inside the NBA presented by Hyundai
Johnson, Barkley, Smith and Webber
TNT’s Marty Snider interviewed Heat guard Dwyane Wade following their win over the Lakers
Wade on the Heat playing well and needing to be consistent: “If we play with that resolve and that fight, we’d be a pretty good team. We have to do that and be consistent. That is a good Lakers team that gave us every shot but we didn’t want to lose tonight.”
Webber on Kobe Bryant being the only Laker playing with a sense of urgency: “To me, it looks like Kobe (Bryant) is the one with the most passion (on the Lakers). (Head coach) Phil (Jackson) is a little laid-back. That’s why I think that when Kobe got hurt, it was good for this team. They are very talented but maybe it’s the zen-factor of Phil Jackson and maybe he keeps them calm but it looks like the only one with a sense of urgency is Kobe with the way he is playing. Maybe that’s because everyone else knows they’ve got that big, bad man behind them.”
Smith on the arrogance of the Lakers being an advantage and disadvantage: “(The Lakers) are almost arrogant. They have an arrogance that is sometimes annoying and sometimes it’s intimidating. I think at the same time, you look at the way they play and the way that they approach the game, they don’t have that sense of urgency and it’s because of their arrogance.”
Webber on how to shut down the Phoenix Suns: “As great as Steve Nash is, if he doesn’t get you the ball, these guys aren’t one-on-one players. When teams recognize that, they can shut them down late in the game.”
Smith on how the Utah Jazz could get the #2 seed in the Western Conference Playoffs: “Best regular season team out of all of them. They are going to play consistently the entire (season). Dallas might have nine wins (in a row), then falter. Denver goes up and down. Utah just keeps coming. They can get the two (seed) because they are a better regular season team. They might not be a better playoff team but they are definitely a better regular season team.”
TNT’s Charles Barkley made his 2010 Academy Award predictions
Actor in a Leading Role: Jeff Bridges in “Crazy Heart”
Actor in a Supporting Role: Christoph Waltz in “Inglorious Basterds”
Actress in a Leading Role: Sandra Bullock in “The Blind Side”
Actress in a Supporting Role: Mo’Nique in “Precious”
Best Picture: “The Blind Side”
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