TNT will be the exclusive home of the 2014 NBA Western Conference Finals when the San Antonio Spurs face the Oklahoma City Thunder beginning with Game 1 TONIGHT, Monday, May 19, at 9 p.m. ET. TNT’s Sports Emmy® Award-winning NBA Playoffs coverage will open with a one-hour NBA Tip-Off presented by AutoTrader.com pre-game show at 8 p.m. – hosted by Ernie Johnson with analysts Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith – on-site to preview the series.
Below, TNT NBA analyst Reggie Miller, who will all be a part of the network’s game coverage, offers his breakdown of the series:
| Reggie Miller on the backcourt battle between the Spurs and Thunder | “Spurs point guard Tony Parker vs. OKC’s Russell Westbrook is a ‘pick-em’ match-up. There isn’t a clear advantage between the two.” | |||||
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| Reggie on the match-up between the two front courts | “Any time your front court has the reigning league MVP [Kevin Durant] in it, you’re going to have the advantage. The edge goes to the Thunder.” | |||||
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| Reggie on the benches | “In my opinion, the Spurs have had the strongest bench throughout the regular season. They led the league in bench scoring by averaging more than 44 points per game.” | |||||
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| Reggie on the coaching match-up: Gregg Popovich vs. Scott Brooks | “Future Hall of Fame coach Gregg Popovich has seen just about every scenario in his storied career. Because of that, the Spurs head coach has to take the advantage here.” | |||||
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Additionally, some notable quotes from NBA on TNT analysts Greg Anthony, Charles Barkley, Steve Kerr, Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith and Chris Webber on the Spurs and Thunder throughout their respective playoff runs:
| Chris Webber on the Spurs bench:
“The Spurs have the best bench in the league. They rely on their bench. Why did Tim Duncan have such a healthy season? Because the bench played more than he did. Why did Manu Ginobili have such a healthy season? Because the bench held things down. Their bench has allowed for Coach Popovich to rest their team, have great practice time and come into the playoffs healthy and ready to go.” (April 26, 2014) |
Greg Anthony on Kevin Durant: “He is such a gifted scorer. He has range — his back to the basket, off the dribble, mid-range — and [gets to] the free throw line. He’s the total package offensively.” (April 21, 2014) | |
| Kenny Smith on the Spurs:
“You have to beat the Spurs in the last two minutes of every game. They live on the fact that they are going to execute, knock down free throws and make the right play.” (April 28, 2014) |
Kenny Smith on Kevin Durant not commanding a double team:
“Kevin Durant needs to take a page out of LeBron James’ book…he [Durant] is the MVP, however, he’s not the best player in the world. He is second. For a guy who scores 30 points, he doesn’t really get double teamed because he stays [on the] perimeter so much. His inability to get double teamed doesn’t allow other guys to get shots.” (April 29, 2014) |
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| Webber on the Spurs’ defense-first mentality: “That is the mantra of San Antonio: ‘We play defense.’ [They are] the fourth best defensive team efficiency wise in the NBA, because they believe that if you play the way the system allows, it doesn’t matter if the bench production isn’t there or if you have a slump…the system is a failsafe so you can get your game going at any time. That’s San Antonio Spurs basketball.” (April 30, 2014) | Charles Barkley on Russell Westbrook:
“He’s so athletic. He can get a shot anytime he wants to. He just hasn’t learned how to play the point. He plays the game 100 percent on talent. He’s a terrific player. He doesn’t realize that he is a point guard.” (May 1, 2014) |
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| Kenny on the Spurs’ successful game plan:
“They dissect your offense and get your defense; they understand what you’re trying to do. Very rarely do the Spurs adjust as the game is going on because they already have a clear idea of [both] what you’re doing and they’re doing. Everyone [on the Spurs] is in tune to everything going on. It’s a difficult task for Portland because of their inexperience. Experience is going to beat talent.” (May 6, 2014) |
Barkley continues on Westbrook:
“He’s a terrific player but he’s never going to learn how to play the point [guard position]. He plays the exact same way he did three or four years ago. He’s so explosive but he hasn’t crossed that bridge where he makes the players around him better.” (May 7, 2014) |
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| Reggie Miller on why head coach Gregg Popovich rests his stars during the regular season: “Everyone talks about him resting the ‘Big Three’ [Duncan, Parker, Ginobili] for San Antonio, but what he was doing was experimenting with lineups. Seeing who plays well with one another so that when its playoff time and he goes to a [different] lineup…the trust is there.” (May 12, 2014) | Steve Kerr on Kendrick Perkins:
“He’s done a nice job for [the Thunder]…Perkins is at his best when he’s given the assignment to guard a low-post scorer like Dwight Howard or Tim Duncan. That’s not the case in this series because he’s guarding [DeAndre] Jordan, so there will be times during the series when he will not play much…when he’s active defensively and scoring a few hoops around the court he can stay on the court.” (May 7, 2014) |
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| Charles Barkley on the team effort of the Spurs: “It amazes me how everyone they put in the game contributes. It’s just remarkable.” (May 14, 2014) | O’Neal on Kevin Durant needing to take over games: “I would like to see Kevin Durant take over a game more…Forget the play [that’s called], you have to say give me the ball and take over and make the smart play.” (May 11, 2014) |
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