TNT’s NBA coverage continues Thursday, Nov. 21, at 8 p.m. ET with doubleheader action featuring the Los Angeles Clippers @ Oklahoma City Thunder followed by the Chicago Bulls @ Denver Nuggets at 10:30 p.m.
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Houston Rockets (109) at New York Knicks (106)
Marv Albert (play-by-play) and Steve Kerr (analyst) with Rachel Nichols (reporter)
Kerr on Knicks center Andrea Bargnani’s aggressiveness: “He’s seven feet but he might as well be a small forward because of the way he plays.”
Kerr on head coach Mike Woodson’s progression with the Knicks: “Mike Woodson has been fantastic here in New York. Until he gets everyone healthy and this team finds its groove, it’s unfair to judge him based on what is happening here early as they are trying to figure things out.”
Kerr on Rockets guard Jeremy Lin: “Jeremy Lin is no longer this story of this Asian guy from Harvard that was doing what no player has ever done. Now he’s just a good NBA player.”
Kerr on the value of Rockets center Omer Asik: “Now Houston has one of the elite defenders in the NBA on their bench. That’s a story to keep your eye on…a lot of teams out there would love to have Asik.”
Kerr on Knicks playing without Tyson Chandler: “Until Chandler gets back it is going to be tough for the Knicks to win games without shooting threes. It is not enough to throw it to Carmelo and [have him] get 30 [points] a game. They are going to have to whether the storm until Chandler gets back.”
Kerr on Knicks guard Iman Shumpert: “He is one of New York’s best young assets. He has a chance to be one of the best defenders in the league on the perimeter.”
Kerr on Rockets forward Chandler Parsons: “[He’s a] terrific player, like a jack of all trades. He’s one of the core pieces to this Rockets team. He’s really ready to blossom. He does so many things for this team. He’s getting to a point where he is becoming a star in his own right.”
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Sprint Halftime Report
Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal
Barkley on what the Knicks are lacking: “The Knicks have no big guy. I’m a big Tyson Chandler fan, but they have no big guy.”
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Oklahoma city Thunder (115) at Golden State Warriors (116)
Kevin Harlan (play-by-play) and Reggie Miller (analyst) with Craig Sager (reporter)
Miller on Thunder guard Russell Westbrook’s impact: “I can’t tell you how much different this team looks when Westbrook is on the floor. This team plays with a different energy when Westbrook is involved, engaged and aggressive at the offensive end.”
Miller on Warriors forward Andre Iguodala: “This is a great place for Andre to play. There’s no pressure on him. He does so much and is so effective.”
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Sprint Halftime Report
Johnson, Barkley, O’Neal and Smith
Barkley on OKC filling the James Harden role: “They don’t need anybody to fill the James Harden role. They need a big guy down low that can score. They are not going to win a championship until they develop a low post scorer.”
Barkley on the Thunder and Warriors: “These are two elite teams but, to go deep into the playoffs, you are not going to win shooting jumpers.”
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Miller on the Warriors fan base: “These fans – in my opinion – are the best in the business in this building (the Oracle Arena). They remind me a lot of the Seattle Seahawks (fans)…long time suffering fans that have seen their teams not do particularly well. Now that both teams are doing well, the fan base has shown up.”
Miller on the Western Conference teams battling throughout the regular season: “It’s going to come down to homecourt advantage. The games that you win in October and November count just as much as in March and April when you’re going toward seeding.”
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Inside the NBA presented by Kia
Johnson, Barkley, O’Neal and Smith
Smith on Warriors Iguodala scoring the game-winning shot: “The NBA has great players and sometimes you got to shake their hands when they do great things.”
O’Neal on the importance of defense: “Both of these teams need some type of inside presence. Those jumpers when they go down look pretty but they won’t go down all the time.”
Barkley on the San Antonio Spurs: “I might have made a mistake with the San Antonio Spurs. They have the best point guard in the NBA and the best coach in the NBA and they play really hard and really smart. The Rockets and Clippers are not what I thought they were going to be. I might have to put the Spurs back in my top two or three teams.”
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