Notes from NBA TV’s Coverage of the NBA Finals
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Game 3: Miami Heat (88) @ Dallas Mavericks (86)
Miami leads the series, 2-1
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AutoTrader.com Pre-game Show: Live at the Finals
Matt Winer, Kevin McHale and Chris Webber
Webber on what forward Shawn Marion means to the Dallas Mavericks: “He means everything to them. I think he is their unsung hero. We all know about Jason Terry, Mr. Sixth Man; we all know about Jason Kidd, But this guy, Shawn Marion has been the quiet killer the whole series, playing defense, switching out on guys and being able to rebound. To me, he has been the glue of this team. If it wasn’t for his late rebounding late in Game #2, they wouldn’t be in this position.”
McHale on Marion’s impressive scoring ability over LeBron James: “I’m more impressed that he can score. Marion is a great athlete, not the athlete he was younger in his career. But he is going against world class athletes in LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. He can score because he is smart. He goes to the open spot. He reminds me a little of Cedric Ceballos who you didn’t have to run any plays for, he just finds scenes. I’m impressed that he is able to score. He is a smart defender and he is going to play LeBron James as good as he can.”
Webber on the media sensationalism of Dwyane Wade and LeBron James’ celebration in the fourth quarter of Game #2: “This story has been created by people who don’t watch basketball or never played. You hit a home run, you can be happy. If you hit a three-pointer against your grandmama at the end of the game in the backyard, you are going to go crazy. This is how I know we have a double-standard because I’ve been on (Head coach Eric) Spoelstra and the Heat more than anyone else this year. When [Mavericks guard] Jason Terry does the “jet”, the commentators love it. Everything is the same, it is who you like and who you’re prejudice is against. It’s that simple. Miami and Dallas have the same number of guys who want it. Let’s just watch and see who wins and root for good basketball, all this other stuff is just fake. I enjoyed LeBron much better last year because he had fun. This year you can see the pressure on the face.”
McHale on the Heat’s mistakes in the last six minutes of Game #2: “I think most championship-caliber teams have that one guy they can throw the ball to. Miami doesn’t have that guy; they have to do it through movement and off the dribble. They have got to press the paint; the paint is the most dangerous part. If you win the paint, you usually win the game and they did not win that paint in the last six minutes.”
Former Dallas Mavericks guard Derrick Harper joins the NBA TV crew
Harper on what helped the Mavericks win Game #2: “I’ve been around this team. I’ve seen them come back from a lot of deficits. I think the thing that allows Dallas to come back is their ability to knock down shots. That three-ball is not a stranger to this team. There is something that is special about this team from the standpoint of believing in each other. These guys can attest to having chemistry that is solid throughout. As a result, they always have a chance to win.”
Harper on Ian Mahinmi replacing an injured Brendan Haywood for Game #3: “The experience is what you have to concern yourself with; obviously [Mahinmi] is a guy that doesn’t have that experience and hasn’t had the chance to play in the Playoffs. He’s a high-energy guy that will seize the moment of the opportunity that he is getting. Don’t be surprised if he comes in and does some good things with his energy.”
Harper on the defensive impact of Mavericks center Tyson Chandler: “Tyson has been the difference. When you start talking about defense, you have to talk about the verbal part of it. The guy really communicates and it has become contagious throughout this team. Now, everyone is talking. The knock on this team over the last couple of years was giving up a lot of points in the paint. With Tyson [Chandler] and [Brendan] Haywood’s presence, this team has been solid in those areas. That is a huge reason why they are where they are at right now.”
Harper on Jason Kidd’s influence for the Dallas Mavericks: “His savvy is unprecedented. He does some things at his age that I don’t think people can dream of doing. Just his understanding of when to go, when to slow and when to involve different guys, again is a reason the Mavericks have been so successful.”
Harper on the transformation of the Mavericks under the ownership of Mark Cuban: “Now, with Mark Cuban as an owner, he has brought a lot of energy. He is a tremendous owner to play for and just a guy that provides his team with everything they need to play.”
McHale on the strength of the Miami Heat defense: “Their defense has been solid all year long. They really hang their hat on their defense and they do it by movement. They do it by speed and they do it by closing out. They have everyone playing well defensively.”
McHale on what the Miami Heat need to do to win Games #3, #4 and #5 in Dallas: “If the Heat are going to win a game here in Dallas, they are going to have to play great defense because Dallas is going to score the ball here. [Jason] Terry shoots better at home; [Jose] Barea shoots better at home. Everyone shoots better at home.”
Webber on Pistons reliving John Kuester of his head coaching duties: “I had a chance to play for Kuester as assistant coach in Philly. You hate to see a thing like this, when you have veterans that have won a championship there, they get threatened with suspensions. It is just a tough situation. But for Detroit they should be happy, they have new ownership in Joe Dumars. A steady rock for Detroit hopefully he will make some great decisions and get Detroit back on its feet.”
McHale on the potential new coach for the Detroit Pistons: “I wouldn’t be surprised with this new era of Detroit Positions basketball that Joe D. goes out and gets a hard-nosed guy that is going to come in and lay down the law and lay down a foundation that these young guys can play through the next 8-10 years.”
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NBA Game Time presented by Hyundai: Finals Edition
Winer, McHale and Webber
McHale’s on the performance of the Dallas Mavericks in Game #3: “I thought Dallas would come out with a lot more energy and be up and down and really put more points on the board. Miami deserved to win. It never felt like Dallas got their hands on the game.”
Webber on Heat forward Chris Bosh getting hit in the eye by Mavericks guard Jason Kidd: “That’s the Finals, that’s what happens. He can still see, he’s not blind and he kept playing. That’s what happens. Good thing it wasn’t a big deal, good thing he is safe and okay.”
Webber on Heat forward Udonis Haslem defending Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki: “You can only play “okay” defense against Dirk no matter how good you are.”
McHale on the Mavericks’ challenge of coming from behind: “Playing from behind all the time is playing with fire; you are always going to get burned on it. It’s like they are in a hole and constantly trying to climb out. They never really got out and got established and got ahead in this game. Playing from ahead and getting the ball and letting the crowd relish in it, never happened.”
Webber on the impact of Brendan Haywood’s absence on the Mavericks loss: “I think Brendan Haywood does a very good job behind the basket but I don’t know what impact he would have had [if he had played]. I still say it comes down to the energy in this game. That’s a tough one because of the way this team goes, he’s just a fixture sometimes.”
Webber on the offensive chemistry between Dwyane Wade and LeBron James: “These two were sticking together. To me Dwyane Wade has turned back into Flash [when Shaq used to call him that]. When these guys attack, they vow to go to the hole. They are two of the best finishers in the game. They were attacking the basket today and as a basketball fan, that’s great to see.”
Miami Heat guard Mario Chalmers joins the NBA TV crew via ArenaLink
Chalmers on a stronger performance in Game #3 vs. Game #2: “I worked hard yesterday to get my rhythm back after shooting terrible in Game #2 and I was able to go get that tonight.”
Chalmers on the Heat working on being more judicious on taking three point shots: “We watched a lot of film and figured out the areas that we needed to attack. Tonight we were able to do that. The people that needed to spot up spotted up and they were hitting the shots.”
Chalmers on the Heat building off the momentum from winning Game #3: “Tonight we played the same way we did in Game #2 but they were able to come back. I think the main thing is to look at that and figure out how to stop letting them come back.”
Miami Heat forward LeBron James joins the NBA TV crew via ArenaLink
James on the Heat being able to get to the rim: “Our team is an attack team. We are at our best when we are getting our points in the paint. It starts with me, D-Wade, CB. Tonight we had 40 points in the paint and that’s when we are the best.”
James on looking for signs from the Mavericks: “They do a good job of putting two on the ball, anytime I post up they try to bring another defender. My teammates did a great job of knocking them down. Me being a facilitator at times, I’m okay with that. If I also got it going, I can score as well. Whatever the defense gives me.”
James on his personal development defensively: “I understand that the defensive side is just as important as offensive. I take more pride [like I said before] defensively than I do offensively, that is where the games are won. Games are won with defensive rebounds and getting stops. It starts with me and trickles down to our team. That is what it is about.”
James on the mentality of the Heat between Game #2 and Game #3: “I saw a team that was ready for the challenge. We have had some games this year where we let it get away, but that next game we were able to bounce back. We are a desperate basketball team and that is the way we approach every game, any time we have any adversity. It was a great feeling to see that we always stayed confident, stayed positive, even though we let a game slip away in Game #2. We came in here tonight and got a huge road win in this building.”
McHale on Miami Heat forward LeBron James: “He is so talented. He is the best basketball player in the NBA overall. His ability to pass, assist and attack the rim. He can get 30 points any given night, he can get 15 rebounds. The guy is really amazing.”
Webber on Miami Heat forward LeBron James: “This guy is Michael Jordan with Magic Johnson’s mentality.”
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