Notes from NBA TV’s Fan Night presented by Sprint – Tuesday, November 13, 2012
San Antonio Spurs (84) @ Los Angeles Lakers (82)
Voting is open on NBA.com, the NBA Facebook Page, Yahoo.com, mobile web, mobile Game Time app and Twitter for next week’s Fan Night match-up which will air Nov. 20 on NBA TV
Fans can select between the following games:
Toronto Raptors @ Philadelphia 76ers
New York Knicks @ New Orleans Hornets
Brooklyn Nets @ Los Angeles Lakers
**** **** **** ****
AutoTrader.com Pregame Show
Ernie Johnson, Chris Webber and Greg Anthony
Webber on the Lakers hiring Mike D’Antoni as their head coach: “When you think about what’s at stake– basketball world domination – if that is the goal, why wouldn’t you go with Phil Jackson? Hiring Phil would have put pressure on one man – Phil – and players could have hid under his umbrella and under the fact that he has won championships and navigated this ship before. Now all the pressure is on this team.”
Webber on D’Antoni: “I love [Mike] D’Antoni. He is an offensive genius. Before we beat up on Coach D’Antoni, he must have players to put in this system. He didn’t have a training camp. He must have time to build his process. I would love to play for the guy. It’s going to be interesting.”
Anthony on the Lakers hiring D’Antoni: “From what this team [L.A. Lakers] needs offensively, he is a good coach. He can improve them offensively. It’s still a big picture issue. Are they going to be good enough to dethrone the defending Western Conference champs, the Oklahoma City Thunder? Are they going to be good enough to be the best team in L.A.? There is still a lot to be determined over the course of this season.”
Anthony on the Los Angeles Lakers success with Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash vying for control of the ball: “He [D’Antoni] wants to give the keys to Nash, but how do you take the ball out of Kobe’s hands? How these two co-exist is going to say a lot about how far this team will go in the postseason.”
***** ***** *****
Sprint Halftime Report
Johnson, Webber and Anthony
Anthony on the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Lakers benches: “This Spurs team, from a bench standpoint, is not as effective as they have been in the past couple of years, but they still should be more effective than the Lakers who haven’t had a bench this season.”
***** ***** *****
NBA GameTime presented by Hyundai
Johnson, Webber and Anthony
Anthony on playing with Kobe Bryant: “The advantage you have with Kobe is he is one of the few guys in the league that doesn’t have a sweet spot. You just try to get him the ball. But at the same time, you need to execute.”
Anthony on San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan: “It’s not always about the stats it’s about the impact. Making those plays when it matters most, that’s what the great Tim Duncan continues to do.”
San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker joined GameTime crew following the game
Parker on how well Duncan is playing: “He’s playing great basketball. He looks like a young Timmy. He’s being very aggressive with quick moves and going to the basket. That’s the Timmy we need. If he can stay healthy and play like that in the playoffs, I like our chances.”
Parker on the Spurs’ goals for the year: “It’s a championship for sure. But our biggest goal this year is to improve defensively. We are always going to play great offense. We are going to execute, get great shots and share the basketball. Defensively, we need to get back to where we were to win championships.”
Anthony on the differences between the 1994 New York Knicks and this season’s 5-0 start: “We [Anthony and the 1993-94 Knicks] felt we were the best team in the league and we expected to get off to a fast start. This Knicks team was built to play the Miami Heat as the defending World Champs. They are a team that’s built to attack Miami’s weaknesses. The question is, ‘Are they going to be healthy and have enough at the end of the season to compete?’”
-30-
Recent Comments