Notes from TNT’s Coverage of the NBA Playoffs
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Game 1: Miami Heat (100) @ Philadelphia 76ers (94), The Heat lead the series 3-0
Game 2: Dallas Mavericks (92) @ Portland Trail Blazers (97). The Mavs lead the series 2-1.
TNT’s coverage of the 2011 NBA Playoffs continues on Saturday, April 23 at 2 p.m. (ET) with the NBA Tip-Off pre-game show, followed by a doubleheader featuring the Chicago Bulls @ Indiana Pacers (Game 4), 2:30 p.m. (ET), and Dallas Mavericks @ Portland Trail Blazers (Game 4), 5 p.m. (ET)
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Link to: Notes from NBA TV’s Coverage of the NBA Playoffs – Bulls @ Pacers – April 21, 2011
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TNT NBA Tip-off presented by AutoTrader.com
Announcers: Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith
Barkley on 76ers coach Doug Collins comments in the press conference that if the Heat play their best the 76ers cannot beat them: “I like Doug Collins, I think he’s done a great job, but I do not think he should have said what he said in the press conference. You don’t ever tell a team we can’t beat that team if they play well. You always say if they play well we’ve got to play better. You always think you can win, that’s what sports are about, competition. I would never want my best players saying it and I definitely don’t want my coach saying if they played well we can’t beat them.”
Smith on the 76ers having a style of play that is welcomed by the Heat: “When the Philadelphia 76ers play their best it’s actually the style that Miami wants to play. He envisions his team to look like the Miami Heat, up tempo, guys slashing to the rim, but he’s [facing] the two best slashers to the rim in basketball in LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. So you can’t play that way. The only way [the Heat] lost this year is when teams slow it down which Doug Collins says we can’t do.”
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Game 1: Miami Heat (100) @ Philadelphia 76ers (94). Heat lead series 3-0.
Announcers: Marv Albert, Steve Kerr, with Craig Sager reporting.
Kerr on the Heat’s ball movement improving: “I am impressed with [Miami’s] ball movement. It is so much better than it was earlier in the season. They were really stagnant for much of this season.”
Heat forward LeBron James on the response of crowds on the road: “I think early on it was an adjustment. But as the season went on we started to adjust to it. We started to use it as motivation, use it as energy every time we go out on opposing floors. That’s why we have one of the best road records in the NBA. We used all that…I don’t want to say hatred, hatred is such as a bad word, but we used all that talk as fuel and it’s helped our game.”
Kerr on great teams feeding off the energy on a crowd on the road: “I think the great teams always feed off that energy from a road crowd. Michael Jordan was the best at it, using that fuel. Sometimes you get a little complacent at home and I think that happened at times with Miami. They led all NBA teams in road attendance so everybody was waiting for them. I think they enjoyed it.”
Kerr on the 76ers needing to add a star player to their roster: “Everything went wrong for the Sixers a year ago. Elton Brand was injured quite a bit. They didn’t have the point guard play following Andre’s Miller departure a couple of years ago. The drafting of Jrue Holiday was really critical for this team. He was just a rookie last year, now he’s ready to go and he’s given this team some direction. Their future is pretty bright, but they need a star. They’ve laid a foundation. Doug Collins has laid a foundation in terms of team and defense and playing together, but you’ve got to have a star in this league and they don’t have a true star. They have a group of really good players, but no star.”
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Halftime
Johnson, Barkley and Smith
Barkley apologizes to Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni and president of basketball operations Donnie Walsh: “I have a rule, I try to always be honest and fair on TV. I screwed up the other night when I said something about Mike D’Antoni that wasn’t cool. I want to apologize to Mike D’Antoni and Donnie Wash. When you’re on television you should never talk about someone getting hired and fired. That’s inappropriate. I made that mistake. I want to apologize personally to Mike D’Antoni and Donnie Walsh. I’ve got great respect for Donnie Walsh and Mike D’Antoni. I want to apologize. That’s all I can do.”
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Kerr on 76ers forward Elton Brand: “[Elton Brand] has had such a great season, what a great bounce back for him. Last year a lot of people thought his career might be done because of the knee injury, he was slow and really didn’t play very well. But he’s come back and really had a very productive season for Doug Collins this year.”
Kerr on the playoffs exposing players’ weaknesses: “The pressure steps up [in the playoffs] and your weaknesses are really exposed. Iguodala is such a good all-around player and defender, but not a shooter. And this Miami defense is terrific.”
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Game 2: Dallas Mavericks (92) @ Portland Trail Blazers (97). The Mavs lead the series 2-1.
Announcers: Matt Devlin, Kevin Harlan, with Marty Snider reporting
McHale on Mavericks guard Jason Kidd: “[Jason] Kidd has been phenomenal. At 38 years old, what he’s been able to accomplish, he handles the ball, he’s had a few turnovers today, but he’s taken good care of the ball all series long and brings scoring that Dallas needs desperately. At 38 I was three years retired.”
McHale on Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy apologizing for not putting the team first: “[Brandon Roy] did the one mistake you can’t make, he put himself before the team. He started talking about how he felt. It’s all about the team first. Nate McMillan, who is a great coach, he came out and said ‘We’re going to put the team first. It’s all about winning this series.’ Brandon Roy is a tremendous player, he’s fighting through some injuries. He has no cartilage left in one of his knees, it’s bone on bone and they don’t really know how he’s going to play from night to night when he steps on the floor. Brandon is a quality young man, really a good kid. I was happy to hear him say, ‘I am sorry, I put myself before the team and I shouldn’t do that.’ That’s really not his personality. He’s really a quality young man, a three-time All-Star and he’s trying to figure out his new role with knees that just aren’t reacting to the NBA season well.”
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Halftime
Johnson, Barkley and Smith
Barkley on Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy suffering from injuries: “When you’ve been a great player and you start losing your skills, it is devastating. He was a great player and he’s a great kid. Basketball players, their legs are like cars. You don’t drive around on flat tires. He’s never going to be the same player again. You don’t get healthier once you have problems with your legs.”
Barkley on the Indiana Pacers: “That Indiana team can be proud, they competed. Larry Bird has done a good job there, they’ve got some good players. I like their coach [Frank] Vogel. They’ve got a bright future.”
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McHale on Mavericks guard Jason Kidd’s attributes: “The ageless wonder! Jason Kidd has great hands, I think of all the attributes he has – he’s got great vision and he’s always had great hands. That’s why he has so many steals and he makes so many things happen.”
TNT’s Marty Snider interviewed Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy following the Blazers victory over the Mavs.
Roy on his feelings following the Game 2 loss to the Mavericks: “It was tough for me. We were leaving Dallas and we were down 2-0. I didn’t feel like I was part of the series. I was really emotional after the game and showed some frustration. But the biggest thing is we’re trying to make something positive out of this. I got a chance to come out and play and I want to do my best to help this team win.”
Roy on the support he has received: “I felt good all game. I have a lot of support, especially here in Portland. A lot of people called and said keep your head up. I’ve got to say thanks to Chuck [Barkley], he texted me saying keep my head up and stay positive. I’m a guy who feeds off fans and I felt good and I just wanted to come out and help the team.”
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Inside the NBA
Johnson, Smith and Barkley
Barkley on reaching out to Portland Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy: “He’s a great kid and has been a great player. Unfortunately, he’s having some injury problems right now and I just wanted to reach out to him and tell him to keep his head up, be a good teammate and do the best he can.”
Barkley and Smith on the frustration of being injured:
Barkley: “It’s frustrating, Ernie. Injuries didn’t end my career; I just got old and couldn’t play anymore. But from an ego standpoint, it just sucks. That’s the only way I can explain it. When you want to do stuff, you just can’t do it [when you’re injured].”
Smith: “Brandon Roy wasn’t an average player, he was a very good player, an All-Star maybe trying to reach the next step. When your mind thinks it, but your body can’t make it happen and then all of sudden when guys that you used to really go at [are] having the best of you, that is the most frustrating thing. Or even guys on your team that you used to play over, now you don’t play over them anymore. That is a humbling experience for anybody. Any athlete that’s ever been worth anything understands that.”
Barkley on the depth of the Dallas Mavericks: “The Dallas Mavericks, to me, is probably the deepest team in the NBA… They’re too deep at every position. It’s all hands on deck and it’s going to be a long, drawn out series.”
Smith on the Dallas Mavericks taking something away from their loss to Portland in Game 3: “I think that one thing that Dallas can still be encouraged by is that they got beat. They didn’t give the game away. There weren’t erroneous plays that you can point to and say, ‘wow, if we would have done this differently we would have [won].’ No, the Portland Trail Blazers played a great game and they were able to get the key stops and make key shots. Shake their hand and say see you in Game 4.”
Barkley on the 2011 NBA Playoffs: “If you don’t like the Playoffs this year, you don’t like basketball.”
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