TNT’s NBA coverage of the playoffs continues Monday, April 27, with doubleheader action featuring the Milwaukee Bucks @ Chicago Bulls (Game 4) at 8 p.m. ET and the Memphis Grizzlies @ Portland Trail Blazers (Game 4) at 10:30 p.m.
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TNT NBA Tip-off presented by Autotrader
Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal
Charles Barkley on what he expects from Bradley Beal: “He’s right there with James Harden and Klay Thompson; they’re the two best two guards in the league.”
Kenny Smith on Paul Pierce: “He’s done a great job. We expect Paul to be big in these big moments because; he will take the big shot. He will take momentum changing shots… He’s not afraid of the moment. He looks for that moment.”
Smith on a potential Game 7 between the Clippers and Spurs: “I wouldn’t want to play the defending champs in a Game 7, and this is where it looks like it’s going… As much I like the way the Clippers played today, they’ve shown me they’ll play a certain way against the Spurs as well. That could be alarming. There’s very few minutes in this game where you could say the Spurs are uncharacteristic… There’s many moments where you say the Clippers don’t look like a team that’s a championship team.”
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Toronto Raptors (94) @ Washington Wizards (125); Wizards win the series, 4-0
Ian Eagle (play-by-play) Grant Hill (analyst) with Kevin Ray (reporter)
Grant Hill on the Raptors struggles: “The Raptors have really struggled since the All-Star break. They’re 2-13 versus teams with a winning record since the All-Star break… It’s not like they’re playing poorly [just] at this point. They’ve struggled the last half of the season and it’s showing here tonight.”
Hill on Toronto’s offensive struggles: “Toronto, for a team that was so good offensively during the regular season, they have looked disjointed the majority of the time during the playoffs. [They] could never find a rhythm on the offensive end. You have to give some credit to Washington, with their defense.”
Hill on the Wizards playing well when they go small: “They’ve really thrived going small [this series], particularly in the second quarter… Nene’s minutes are down, [Marcin] Gortat’s played a lot, and played very well.”
Hill on Paul Pierce under Head Coach Randy Wittman: “He brings an edge. A guy who’s had a Hall of Fame career, a leader [that] some of these young players that watched and followed. You really got to give [Randy] Wittman credit as the team was struggling a little bit there at the end of the season, having the big picture mindset to rest him to make sure he’s fresh. He’s as good as he’s looked all season.”
Hill on the veterans stepping up for Washington: “We talk about the veterans, you talk about [Paul] Pierce, we talk about [Drew] Gooden, guys that didn’t get heavy minutes in the regular season. You want to keep them fresh, but now those two are playing at an elite level.”
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Houston Rockets (109) @ Dallas Mavericks (121); Rockets lead 3-1
Kevin Harlan (play-by-play) Reggie Miller (analyst) with Rebecca Haarlow (reporter)
Miller on Dwight Howard gaining confidence: “You can tell he’s gaining confidence. Remember, he’s missed so much time with injuries this year to that left knee.”
Miller on James Harden offensively: “All eyes will always be on James Harden because not only is he a great shooter, which he is, scorer, which he is, but he’s one of the best facilitators in our game. And when he is coming at you with a full steam downhill, he puts your defense in a very tough position.”
Miller on key players for the Rockets in the fourth quarter: “Corey Brewer along with Josh Smith in that fourth quarter did a great job for the Houston Rockets of getting back in this ball game and putting a lot of pressure on this Dallas Mavericks team.”
Miller on Dirk Nowitzki’s shooting prowess: “The best big man shooter this game has ever seen. And everybody will say, what about Larry Bird? I will take Dirk Nowitzki over Larry Bird, shooting wise; not player… shooting.”
Miller on J.J. Barea stepping up: “A guy that has championship experience. He was on that championship team as well under Rick Carlisle. So, he understands what it takes. For whatever reason, it didn’t work out here with [Rajon] Rondo. I’ve loved what J.J. [Barea] has brought to the table in his absence.”
Miller on Rick Carlisle finding a way for the Mavericks to survive: “I’m going to give Rick Carlisle and his coaching staff a lot of credit here. Obviously, with the drama surrounding [Rajon] Rondo, and with injuries to players like [Raymond] Felton, Richard Jefferson and Chandler Parsons, he’s found a way to extend this series.”
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Inside the NBA presented by Kia
Johnson, O’Neal, Barkley, Smith
Smith on defensive issues for Houston: “Defensively, the Rockets have always been a little bit challenged, but tonight they didn’t challenge at all, and that was the difference. That is going to be the separation if you’re going to want to be a championship team or not, is the ability to defend and not wait until Dwight Howard blocks a shot… They have to learn how to play front line defense.”
O’Neal on the Mavericks: “I think this game, Dallas came out, they played with a lot of effort, played with a lot of energy, they played desperate. I think Houston just took them lightly. The game really means nothing, except the point that for Dallas, we didn’t get swept… Dallas is done.”
Barkley on the Los Angeles Clippers and how they match up with the San Antonio Spurs: “The Clippers have outplayed them [the Spurs] three out of four games. They blew Game 2… They just got to get a little bit from J.J. Redick and Matt Barnes because they [the Spurs] have to double Blake [Griffin]… I think the longer this series goes, I think Blake and DeAndre [Jordan] are going to have a big advantage inside.”
O’Neal on the play that injured Kevin Love’s shoulder: “Did he tangle him up on purpose? Yes. Did he try to dislocate his shoulder? No. Was it a dirty play? No, it’s not a dirty play. You tussle, you grapple, you wrestle… It’s playoff basketball.”
Smith on what the Raptors need to do going forward: “They have to decide if Lou Williams, being Sixth Man of the Year, will have that kind of energy off the bench again. I think overall, DeMar DeRozan’s injury, when that happened earlier in the season, that was a big blow to them that messed up their continuity. I don’t know if they have a post player that you can consistently go to, and that perimeter offense is a little dated now.”
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