Notes from TNT’s Coverage of the NBA – Thursday, March 31, 2011
TNT’s NBA Thursday coverage continues Thursday, April 7 at 8 p.m. ET with a doubleheader featuring the Boston Celtics @ Chicago Bulls followed by the Portland Trail Blazers @ Utah Jazz.
***CLIP OF THE NIGHT***
Inside the NBA Crew Talks Importance of Physicality in the NBA Playoffs
**** **** **** ****
TNT NBA Tip-off presented by AutoTrader.com
Matt Winer, Rick Fox and Chris Webber
Webber on age impacting the Celtics: “For the first time I just see Father Time. He’s gaining weight and he’s sitting on top of [the Celtics]. I think they are going to be able to turn it on. The one good thing about the playoffs is it is a second season, but it just worries me about the age and I think some of that has to do with the injuries.”
**** **** **** ****
Game 1: Boston Celtics (107) @ San Antonio Spurs (97)
Announcers: Kevin Harlan, Kevin McHale and David Aldridge reporting
McHale on Celtics guard Rajon Rondo: “When [Rajon] Rondo is being aggressive, he’s breaking defenses down, he’s pushing the ball up. They really need Rondo to push the ball all the time, to be aggressive offensively and to be the igniter to that Celtics offense.”
McHale on Celtics guard Delonte West: “I am a huge fan of Delonte West. I just think that kid knows how to play, he can play the point guard, he can play the off guard. I think he’s going to be big if the Celtics can get on a big run in the playoffs.”
McHale on Spurs guard Tony Parker being the best finisher since Nate Archibald: “Maybe the best finisher for a little guy since ‘Tiny’ Nate Archibald. [Tony] Parker is phenomenal at driving in the lane and getting the ‘and one.’”
**** **** **** ****
Halftime
Winer, Fox and Webber
Webber on Mavericks owner Mark Cuban’s comments directed towards Lakers forward Ron Artest: “Mark [Cuban] is a great guy. You want to hang out with him in the evening hours, but you don’t want him speaking for you as a team. Let sleeping dogs lie. You don’t want to wake Ron Artest up.”
Fox: “I agree. This has never worked out well for Mark. This is entertaining for us as fans, we love that he’s out there. But at the end of the day, Mark’s not out on the court. His players are going to have to answer to this.”
Winer: “Writing checks he doesn’t have to cash. And he’s good at cashing checks.”
**** **** **** ****
McHale on the ‘Euro-step’ that Spurs guard Manu Ginobili uses: “You are in trouble if you’re a big man and you’ve got Manu [Ginobili] coming at you with that European step they are teaching now. Everyone is teaching it. I see college kids doing it. I see high school kids doing it. Manu made the ‘Euro-step’ in vogue in the NBA. I couldn’t do it. I’d pull a groin if I tried to do the ‘Euro-step.’”
Spurs guard Tony Parker on what area the Spurs can improve: “Defense because offensively that is one of the best teams I’ve ever played with [the Spurs]. Offensively, we’re really, really good and our bench is really good [and] our young guys are playing well. Defensively, we have a lot of room for improvement. I think we can still improve because I don’t think we are as good as when we won the championships.”
McHale on the playoffs race in the Western Conference: “Basketball is a funny thing. You can go through with such a great rhythm for a long time and all of a sudden a couple of things happen and you start questioning yourself. You say, ‘hey, the Lakers are coming up behind us.’ This race isn’t over in the Western Conference. I’ll have to eat my words because I think about two weeks ago I came into San Antonio and said that there was no way the Lakers would catch them. I think we’re going to see San Antonio pick it up and play better. They played pretty solid tonight, the Celtics just played better.”
**** **** **** ****
Game 2: Dallas Mavericks (82) @ Los Angeles Lakers (110)
Announcers: Dick Stockton, Mike Fratello and Reggie Miller with Cheryl Miller reporting
Fratello on having a deep roster: “It’s a good thing for coach and, sometimes, [it is] a bad thing for coaches when they have a deep roster. The good thing is it protects you against injury, you have flexibility, the matchups all go big; however, sometimes it’s tough to get everybody in the game.”
Stockton on the atmosphere in the Staples Center: “This is not a playoff atmosphere; it is a Game 7 playoff atmosphere!”
Miller on the progress of the Los Angeles Lakers late in the season: “You kind of want to go back to that 15-1 start since the All-Star break for the Lakers. Around here, because I live here, [Lakers fans] are really scratching their head wondering what was wrong with the Lakers for the first two, two-and-a-half months of the season. There was no panic in that locker room. He [Coach Phil Jackson] wants this team at their best late [in the season] and right now they are playing their best at both ends of the basketball court.”
**** **** **** ****
Halftime
Winer, Fox and Webber
Fox on the Boston Celtics playing young against the Spurs: “[Rajon Rondo] might be the youngest of the ‘Big Four,’ but the other big three were playing like they were young tonight too.”
**** **** **** ****
Miller and Fratello on Dallas Mavericks and Head Coach Rick Carlisle accepting defeat:
Miller: “I think the white flag has been thrown in by Rick Carlisle and the Mavericks here.”
Fratello: “I think there’s no question about it. His guys got the win last night. They started out a six-game stretch with three straight wins. [Carlisle] knows they’ve been beaten tonight and he shouldn’t take the risk of getting one of the key guys injured.”
Miller and Fratello on hard foul play between Pau Gasol and Shannon Brown of the Lakers and Brian Cardinal of the Mavericks:
Miller: “There are messages – subtle or not – being sent from both ends [of the court]; whether it is Ron Artest kissing his biceps on his ‘and one’ [or] the shove down by Jason Terry.”
Fratello: “There was no exceptionally hard foul; remember [Cardinal and Gasol] were teammates together at Memphis and they have to be pretty close.”
Miller: “It’s a message from Brian Cardinal and the Mavs, [the Mavs are probably asking themselves] ‘are you going to keep playing one of your stars when we’ve thrown in the white flag; we have our bench players in and you are going to keep one of your All-Stars on the floor?’ He’s supposed to foul him like that.”
Reporter Cheryl Miller interviews Kobe Bryant following the Los Angeles Lakers’ win over the Dallas Mavericks
Bryant on the turnaround of the Lakers’ season after the All-Star break: “[The turnaround can be attributed to] focus. We minimize mental mistakes and defensively, we’re very sharp right now.”
Bryant on the significance of earning a one-seed for the NBA Playoffs: “Well, it doesn’t really matter to us. You always want to be number one so we’ll just continue to play for the sake of getting that number one seed, but the truth is, we don’t mind playing anybody anywhere.”
Bryant on the physicality of tonight’s game against the Dallas Mavericks: “[Tonight’s game] was a throwback type of game. If this was the 80s, I’m not sure you would have that many ejections; you’d just take the ball out and keep on playing.”
**** **** **** ****
Inside the NBA presented by Hyundai
Winer, Fox and Webber
Webber on Los Angeles Lakers head coach Phil Jackson sending a message by playing starters when they had a double-digit lead over the Dallas Mavericks: “You play against teams and certain teams are like your children, certain teams are like your friends and certain teams are like the bully that you don’t want to play and I don’t know if they were sending a message, but I do know this; [the Lakers] were up 26 points and Gasol was in the game, so is [Coach Phil Jackson] sending a message?”
Fox on the value of playing physically going into the Playoffs: “Teams have identities and the Dallas Mavericks have been a very good team this year. Their style of play doesn’t allow for a lot of banging because they’re getting up and down the floor and they’re a jump-shooting team. But, the Playoffs are a physical time of the year and you’re either physical or you’re not. A lot of times, teams and players start to get physical when they’re down by 20 because they’re embarrassed or they feel like they have to now send a message. It’s too late.”
Fox on the significance of Boston’s win over San Antonio: “[Boston] remains ahead in the standings going into the Playoffs. They’ve been undermanned all season long. We talk about the age, the fatigue. It seems like they’re limping into the Playoffs, yet they go on the road after struggling here for the last 12 games and they beat a San Antonio Spurs team. That’s a statement.”
Webber on the Portland Trail Blazers in the Playoffs: “[The Trail Blazers] play well together. Andre Miller is the most underrated player in the NBA because no one ever respects his consistency. Gerald Wallace attacks the basket. They have so many options. They’ve been through so much. They’ve been hurt for years, losing picks and still have come through. These guys are resilient and tough. They play well together. Ball movement and playing as a team in the Playoffs could make you be the better team and I really like Portland.”
Fox on Denver going into the Playoffs: “Denver is playing well. You can’t deny the fact that they’ve stepped their game up.”
-30-
Recent Comments