Notes from NBA on TNT Playoff Coverage – Monday, April 20, 2015
TNT’s NBA coverage of the playoffs continues tonight, Tuesday, April 21, with doubleheader action featuring the Boston Celtics @ Cleveland Cavaliers at 7 p.m. ET and the Dallas Mavericks @ Houston Rockets at 9:30 p.m
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TNT NBA Tip-off presented by Autotrader
Ernie Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith
O’Neal on the Bucks’ ability to shut down power forward Pau Gasol in Game 1: “Pau is ok with that. When he gets double teamed, he is a great passer. They won’t slow him down the whole series. He has a championship pedigree. He knows what to do to get himself going.”
Barkley on the Chicago Bulls’ place in the Eastern Conference: “I think they are the best team in the Eastern Conference if they’re healthy. No disrespect to the Cleveland Cavaliers, but the Chicago Bulls have the highest ceiling. We’ve seen the Cavaliers play as well as they can play. If [point guard] Derrick Rose is healthy, the Chicago Bulls are the team to beat.”
Barkley on the most important question surrounding the Bulls: “They have terrific guards, a great bench and Joakim Noah and Pau Gasol down low. They have it all. It’s just the same question we’ve had all season; are they going to stay healthy?”
Smith on the playoff expectations of the Milwaukee Bucks: “They are happy to be there. This is an opportunity for his young players to gain some playoff experience. This is a great opportunity for Milwaukee.”
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Milwaukee Bucks (82) @ Chicago Bulls (91); Bulls lead 2-0
Brian Anderson (play-by-play) Steve Smith (analyst) with Allie LaForce (reporter)
Smith on Bulls point guard Derrick Rose’s Game 1 success: “All eyes are on Derrick Rose. He came out and played extremely well in Game 1. The gear in which he played was flashes of the old Derrick Rose.”
Smith on Bulls guard Jimmy Butler: “He is one of the elite two-way players we have in the game.”
Smith on Butler’s strengths on both ends: “Back in the day, we would label him one of those players that just doesn’t let you off the hook. Offensively he’s going to drive the basketball extremely hard, he’s going to cut, he’s going to keep his body moving. On the defensive end, he does not give up on plays. He’s a fabulous player to watch and I would love to be his teammate, the way he relentlessly keeps attacking on both ends.”
Smith on Butler: “You talk about setting the table. I love the way he approached this game. He didn’t take a lot of out-of-character shots. Defensively, he was fantastic. Beautiful job by the Bulls backcourt.”
Smith on Bulls center Joakim Noah: “You talk about the heart and soul of a team. Physically he looks much better [than the regular season]. He is locked in to these playoffs.”
Smith on the struggle for Rose to remain healthy: “He’s gone through three years of everybody breaking down his game and breaking down his body. He hasn’t been on the court that much. We understand his talent is there, but he has to get comfortable. I just look at the way he’s moving. He missed shots in the first half, but he’s moving well. That’s a good sign for the Bulls.”
Smith on the pace of the Milwaukee Bucks: “[Head coach] Jason Kidd is happy. The pace is to his liking. They are moving bodies, moving the basketball and moving around. They aren’t making shots, but their pace is wearing down the Chicago Bulls, which is what Kidd is trying to do.”
Smith on the defensive-minded coaching style of Jason Kidd: “Jason Kidd has this team on a string defensively.”
Smith on the experience the young Bucks team is gaining in the playoffs: “As a young team, you just want them to be consistent, knock down shots, make the right basketball play and move the basketball side to side.”
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New Orleans Pelicans (87) @ Golden State Warriors (97); Warriors lead 2-0
Kevin Harlan (play-by-play) Reggie Miller (analyst) with Tracy Wolfson (reporter)
Miller on the defense of shooting guard Klay Thompson: “Look at his body frame. He’s 6’7 with long arms. We know about his shooting, but to me, what has separated him as a shooting guard is his on-ball defense.”
Miller on the Warriors’ home court advantage: “Can the Warriors win a championship? Absolutely. All they need to do is win all their home games. Who cares what they do on the road?”
Miller on the dangerous shooting prowess of the Warriors: “They are just too good and too lethal when they get good looks.”
Miller on why Stephen Curry deserves the 2014-15 MVP: “He’s the best player on the best team, and there were six or seven games where he didn’t even play in the fourth quarter. His numbers would have been even more inflated if he had.”
Miller on the pressure surrounding the top-seeded Golden State Warriors: “The last two years the Warriors were the underdogs in the playoffs. Now they have a bullseye on their back”
Miller on Warriors veteran Andre Iguodala accepting his role as a bench player for Golden State: “How about a veteran being able to accept the role, and be the consummate professional coming off the bench. He’s No. 2 in the NBA in taking the charge, and he’s a role player on this Warriors team. It’s the type of player [head coach] Steve Kerr was…he was one of those role players. Yes, he made a lot of big shots in San Antonio and Chicago, but he did all the little things as well.”
Miller on Warriors forward Draymond Green: “I love me some Draymond Green. This guy gives you everything.”
Miller on the defensive approach by the New Orleans Pelicans: “New Orleans does a wonderful job of wanting you off that three-point line. The problem is, once they did that it was a layup drill [for the Warriors] in Game 1. They have to have multiple efforts on the defensive end.”
Miller on the Pelicans’ playoff inexperience: “Everyone is talking about the playoff inexperience of this young team. Yes, they scratched their way to get into that eighth spot, but they are here now. They were a little bit shell shocked in Game 1, until they came alive in the fourth.”
Miller on Pelicans guard Norris Cole: “He does have two rings last time I checked. He’s used to this kind of playoff atmosphere, playing on the road in hostile environments.”
Miller on Pelicans star Anthony Davis: “This kid is too good, too skilled and starting to understand the game. I think playing last summer for Team USA with all of those other great superstars really did a lot for his game.”
Miller on how the Pelicans should use Davis to punish opponents: “When you have such a prodigy and young talent in Anthony Davis… I know he’s young and this is his first time in the playoffs, but I would come down and make every single possession would have to run through Anthony Davis. He doesn’t have to shoot the basketball, but he makes the defense react in such a way where it would make the game so much easier for the other guys on the floor.”
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Inside the NBA presented by Kia
Johnson, O’Neal, Barkley, Smith
Barkley on the Warriors bench: “The difference in the game was the Golden State bench. That’s when they made their run in the second quarter. Barbosa was great.”
Barkley on why the Warriors are beatable: “People think I dislike the Golden State Warriors, but that is totally wrong. They have the best backcourt in the NBA, but Steve Kerr is concerned. They turn the ball over and they are great shooters who take bad shots. When they play against Memphis, Portland, teams like that…their flaws are really going to show. They don’t put fear in your heart. That’s the problem they are going to have in the long run when they start to play elite teams.”
Smith on the fear the Warriors Splash Brothers [Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson] put in opposing backcourts: “They could get punished. They might not put fear into guys like [Clippers center] DeAndre Jordan or [power forward] Blake Griffin, but I bet you there is fear in [Trail Blazers PG] Damian Lillard, [Clippers PG] Chris Paul and everyone who is in the backcourt. They will run a play, but they keep their dribble alive when most guards would have to pass. That causes the most unconventional defensive effort. That’s fear.”
Smith on the Bucks improvement in Game 2: “Did you not expect the Bucks to come out and play well? They lost Game 1. They are going to be focused in. This was a do or die type atmosphere.”
Barkley on Bulls power forward Nikola Mirotic: “He’s going to come in second for Rookie of the Year. They can’t afford to lose him. He’s a stud.”
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