TNT’s coverage of the 2011 NBA Playoffs continues on Tuesday, April 19 at 7 p.m. (ET) with a doubleheader featuring the New York Knicks @ Boston Celtics (Game 2) followed by the
Portland Trail Blazers @ Dallas Mavericks (Game 2);
NBA TV coverage tonight features Game 2 of the Atlanta Hawks @ Orlando Magic at 7:30 p.m. (ET)
CLIP OF THE DAY
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Game 1: Philadelphia 76ers (73) @ Miami Heat (94). The Heat lead the series 2-0.
Announcers: Kevin Harlan, Reggie Miller with Craig Sager reporting.
Miller on 76ers forward Elton Brand and guard Lou Williams serving as resources to coach Doug Collins: “Doug Collins has two [guys who have a locker room presence] on this team, a younger one and an older one. The older one, Elton Brand, leads by example. He comes to work early, [he’s] meticulous when it comes to game plans and he’s the voice of his team. The heartbeat and the pulse is Lou Williams. He’s the one who can tell the temperature and gauge what these younger players are doing. [Coach Collins] is always going to Lou Williams and saying, ‘What can I do to become a better coach to these younger guys?’”
Miller on the playoffs helping to lessen the scrutiny the Miami Heat have faced: “If anyone has welcomed these playoffs it’s him [Erik Spoelstra]. His team was under a microscope and everyone dissected everything that’s been said, that’s been written and how they’ve played. Now you’ve gotten to the playoffs where these guys can go out and play basketball and not worry about anything else.”
Heat forward LeBron James on the collective effort to win the series against the 76ers: “I don’t think there’s just one guy who can single-handedly stop me. I didn’t shoot the ball particularly well from the field, but I did other things to help our team win and that’s what it’s all about. It’s not about a one-on-one bout between me and Andre Iguodala, it’s about the Miami Heat and the Philadelphia 76ers.”
Miller on Heat coach Erik Spoelstra comparing the defense of 76ers forward Andre Iguodala to Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen: “That’s high praise. I understand where he’s coming from, but Scottie Pippen was in a different league defensively.”
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Halftime
Johnson, Barkley and Smith
Barkley on the Philadelphia/Miami series: “[The 76ers have] got no chance of beating Miami, they are going to get swept. They don’t have an advantage at any position. They can’t run with Miami, they can’t pound them inside, so they are 0-2.”
Barkley on being wrong: “I might be mistaken, but I’m never gonna be wrong.”
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Miller on the Miami Heat becoming the New York Yankees of basketball: “Overnight this Heat team became the New York Yankees of basketball, the most hated team in the league. Everyone jumped on board of this being the evil empire. [The Heat] struggled early, they found their way, but now that we get to the playoffs we get to see what the big hubbub was about.”
Miller on the impact of 76eres coach Doug Collins: “I applaud what Coach Collins has done. It’s tough to get young players to respond, but these guys have, they’ve done it all year. They got off to a slow start, but he stayed the course.”
Miller on the 76ers needing the offensive impact of guard Lou Williams: “[The 76ers] have to find a way to get [Lou Williams] going offensively. If they are going to win a game in this series, he’s going to have to play huge when this team gets back to Philadelphia.”
Miller on how he approached game two in a series: “Game 2’s were must wins, especially on the road. In Game 1, I liked to feel out teams and see how they’re playing certain things. Obviously, if you can win it you go forward, but Game 2 was the must win game for me.”
Miller on the 76ers needing to finish the game with a spark that will carry over to Game 3: “When you’re on the road and you’re getting beat like this in the playoffs your mind tends to wander especially for a young team like the Sixers. You’ve got to find a little spark, Doug Collins is looking for something to carry over to Game 3. You’ve got to have something on the mind of Miami. Right now Miami is thinking this is going to be a 4-0 sweep, you’ve got to find something to fall back on.”
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Game Break
Barkley on Pacers forward Danny Granger giving too much respect to Bulls guard Derrick Rose: “I would never give a guy I was getting ready to play against that type of respect with that stupid superhero type of question. I would say, ‘That guy is a great player, he’s going to be the MVP, but we can compete with him.’ I’d never give someone that type of power over me like they’re unstoppable.”
Smith on the Pacers needing to believe that they are better than the Bulls: “You always have to have a delusion of grandeur even when you’re not as good as people. You have to think you’re better.”
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Game 2: Indiana Pacers (90) @ Chicago Bulls (96). The Bulls lead the series 2-0.
Announcers: Dick Stockton, Chris Webber with Jaime Maggio reporting.
Webber on Pacers forward-center Jeff Foster: “[Jeff Foster] is one of the best offensive rebounders I ever had the privilege of playing against. This guy really loves staying around the board sniffing out that ball.”
Webber on needing to engage the crowd: “There’s definitely a special relationship between a team and its crowd. The crowd sometimes wills the team to win. You have to get that crowd back in the game, dive on the ground, get an and-one, play so that these people support you.”
Webber on his reaction to his former coach Rick Adelman not returning to coach the Houston Rockets: “I’m really surprised that Rick [Adelman] won’t be returning to Houston. Anytime you can win more games than you lose, when one of the biggest big men in the world -Yao Ming – is not on your team and to be able keep that team after losing Tracy McGrady…[I’m] just a little bit amazed that would happen. With that situation of no Yao Ming, I’m surprised you can get rid of your one constant.”
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Halftime
Johnson, Barkley and Smith
Barkley on Indiana Pacers VP of Basketball Operations Larry Bird putting together a good team: “I’ve got to give a shout out to Larry Bird. [The Indiana Pacers] have got a bunch of good players. They are missing one great, great player. They are like the Denver Nuggets, they’ve got a bunch of good players at every position. Larry Bird did a good job, they made some good trades and they’ve had some good drafts. If you were to put LeBron [James] with this supporting cast they would have a chance of winning because they are loaded at every position.”
Barkley on the fifth game of the Philadelphia/Miami series: “When is Game 5 of that series? I just want to make sure I plan something that night because we’ll be off.”
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Webber on the Pacers not being intimidated by Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls: “A lot of times when you have a great MVP, players and defenders are like deer in the headlights, scared to make a move. [The Pacers] at least have a blindfold and cigarette and say, ‘Do to us whatever you want to do because we are playing hard tonight.’ I love seeing that intensity from point guards.”
Webber on Bulls veteran Kurt Thomas inspiring his teammates: “A lost commodity in this game is the veteran. If you really want to know why guys play so hard, talking to Derrick Rose, talking to [Carlos] Boozer, it’s because they hear the stories of a guy like [Kurt] Thomas who’s been in the league 15 years and hasn’t been able to get a championship yet. He inspires them.”
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Inside the NBA
Johnson, Smith and Barkley
Barkley and Smith on playing on the road during the Playoffs:
Barkley: “Maybe it will be good for [the Bulls] to get on the road. I loved travelling on the road during the Playoffs because it’s just you and the city. When you walk around, everybody is just screaming stuff at you…”
Smith: “Well, they do that to you when you weren’t playing in the Playoffs.”
Smith on why the Chicago Bulls have not found their rhythm against the Indiana Pacers in the Playoffs: “Their concentration is different. This is the first time they’re the one getting chased. They’ve always been the chaser. They’ve been the guys that can upset someone, the ‘Upstart Bulls.’ Now, they are the best team in basketball, they have the best record in the NBA and everyone is expecting them to get to the Finals. That’s a different expectation and pressure that I don’t think they’re used and now they’re becoming used to it.”
Barkley on his upset picks for the NBA Playoffs: “You look at the eight matchups [and] Atlanta, Memphis and Denver were the only three teams that I thought could upset teams and win the series. I’m not talking about winning one game; I’m talking about beating a good team four times. The Atlanta/Orlando series is going to be difficult. The Spurs [versus Memphis Grizzlies] series is going to be very difficult. I don’t see Dallas losing to Portland.”
Barkley on why Dallas will win the series against the Portland Trail Blazers: “When you look at the matchups on paper, Dallas has a better team than Portland. Portland wants to get up and down the floor, so does Dallas. The difference to me in the games will be who is better in the half-court. [Dallas] has Dirk Nowitzki and he’s the best player on the floor. He’s going to get those other guys involved. He has an advantage every single night on the offensive end. That’s why I like Dallas to win that series.”
Smith on referees admitting they made a wrong call after a game: “There are numerous calls that are questionable and have been mistakes throughout a game. There is a human error factor to the referees. To come back after a Playoff win and say that was a mistake, that doesn’t do anything for the game and it doesn’t do anything for the validity. We understand now that there is an integrity that is part of the NBA. When they admit their mistake, I think they are saying, ‘Hey, we want to keep our integrity [by] saying that we do make mistakes,’ but it doesn’t change the ending to the game and it doesn’t really help.”
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