Notes from TNT’s Coverage of the NBA Playoffs – Tuesday, May 15, 2012
TNT’s coverage of the 2012 NBA Playoffs continues Wednesday, May 16, at 7 p.m. ET with a doubleheader featuring the Boston Celtics @ Philadelphia 76ers (Game 3) followed by the
Los Angeles Lakers @ Oklahoma City Thunder (Game 2)
***CLIP OF THE NIGHT***
EJ, Charles, Kenny and Shaq debate whether or not LeBron James was too passive at the end of Game 2
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Indiana Pacers (78) @ Miami Heat (75) – Series tied 1-1
Announcers: Marv Albert (play-by-play) and Steve Kerr (analyst) with Cheryl Miller (reporter)
Kerr on Miami missing Chris Bosh due to his injury and what it means to the Heat: “This is about defense…and Bosh is a big part of that.”
Kerr on the difficulty of playing the Heat: “You cannot beat Miami when they’re playing fast.”
Kerr on how difficult it is to play against the Miami Heat: “You cannot really sense how fast Miami’s defense is until you play against it. Indiana has to rely on its execution to try and create offense and I’m not sure if they [Pacers] are good enough.”
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Sprint Halftime Report
Johnson, Barkley, O’Neal and Smith
O’Neal on the Indiana Pacers 7’4” center Roy Hibbert: “He should be devastating with his moves. His attitude should be ‘I’m dominating.’ He should be more demonstrative with his moves. He should be more aggressive and he should go up to dunk it every time.”
Barkley on the key to the Pacers success in the series: “The key to the series [for the Pacers]…unless Danny Granger and Paul George play better, this team is not going to win.”
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TNT’s Miller interviewed Indiana Pacers forward David West following their win:
West: “We can’t celebrate over this. Our mindset is to win the series. We’re going to remain aggressive.”
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Los Angeles Clippers (92) @ San Antonio Spurs (108) – Spurs lead the series 1-0
Announcers: Matt Devlin (play-by-play) and Mike Fratello (analyst) with Marty Snider (reporter)
TNT’s Snider interviewed Clippers head coach Vinny Del Negro following the first quarter of play:
Del Negro on the Clippers first quarter: “We don’t want to get into a track meet with them [San Antonio]. We’ve got to be smart.”
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Sprint Halftime Report
Johnson, Barkley, O’Neal and Smith
Barkley on the Spurs mental toughness: “The Spurs are not going to make many mental mistakes.”
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Fratello on the Spurs pace and acumen of play in Game 1: “When you [Clippers] are running low on energy, low on gas, it’s tough to keep up with the passing [of the Spurs].”
Fratello on the heightened expectations of the L.A. Clippers after acquiring Chris Paul: “He was the big reason why they have become so much tougher mentally and physically…once they acquired Chris Paul everyone expected, ‘Wow, Chris Paul, we’re going to win the whole thing.’”
TNT’s Marty Snider interviewed San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan following his 26-point, 10-rebound night in the Spurs win:
Duncan: “We expected to go ahead and attack the basket. Early on I was just trying to get the rust off and get it going.”
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Inside the NBA presented by Hyundai
Johnson, Barkley, O’Neal and Smith
Barkley on the Spurs momentum: “I felt the Spurs had a little too much rest. They started off pretty slow. But once the game got going they picked it back up and do what the Spurs do…win at home.”
O’Neal on the Spurs: “They have been together so long and have so much experience that nothing impresses them. They know what to do, they know how to do it and they know when to do it. That’s why it looks so easy.”
Smith on Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich: “He exposes what you can’t do. If you aren’t good at doing something, he is going to expose it. He exposes everything that other teams are weak at.”
Barkley on the rest of the Clippers/Spurs series: “Chris Paul is not going to dominate in this series. I see the Clippers winning one game because their flaws are going to show.”
TNT reporter Marty Snider interviews Clippers guard Chris Paul in the locker room after the game
Paul on what the Clippers need to work on: “We missed a lot of layups, we didn’t get to the free throw line enough. But we felt like there were some good things we did and we just have to stay the course.”
O’Neal on the mentality Clippers forward Blake Griffin needs to have: “The mentality Blake has to have is ‘I have to outplay the almighty Tim Duncan.’ The Playoffs is where you make your name. Tim Duncan is a legend, if you want to be a legend you have to go at the legend and you have to take care of the legend.”
Barkley on the Clippers’ Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan: “It is going to be a learning experience for Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan because their flaws are really going to show this series.”
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