Notes from TNT’s NBA Coverage – Tuesday, October 30, 2012
TNT’s NBA coverage continues Thursday, November 1, at 7 p.m. (ET) with doubleheader action featuring the New York Knicks @ Brooklyn Nets followed by the Oklahoma City Thunder @ San Antonio Spurs at 9:30 p.m. (ET)
***CLIP OF THE NIGHT***
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The Inside the NBA crew play another season-opening round of “Who He Play For?”
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TNT NBA Tip-off presented by AutoTrader.com
Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith
Smith on the Los Angeles Lakers starting lineup: “Four of those guys are in the top 10 in their positions. That’s not a bad lineup to put on the floor.”
Smith reflecting on what it was like to receive an NBA championship ring: “Enjoy the moment. You can get caught up in the moment.”
Barkley on the announced retirement of NBA Commissioner David Stern in February 2014: “The guy has been the greatest commissioner in professional sports.”
Smith on David Stern: “When he took over, it [NBA basketball] was not a global game. It was an American game…and now it is a global game.”
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Game 1: Boston Celtics (107) @ Miami Heat (120)
Announcers: Marv Albert (play-by-play), Steve Kerr (analyst) and Craig Sager (reporter)
Kerr on the Miami Heat’s opening game: “This, traditionally, is a tough game for the team that wins the title. This is a difficult night. The question is: ‘Is this the beginning of a dynasty – a championship era?’”
Kerr on how to beat the Miami Heat: “You have to be able to attack them in the post.”
Kerr on the Boston Celtics offense: “Boston is going to miss Ray Allen but, in many ways, they’ve upgraded because of the versatility of [Jason] Terry, [Courtney] Lee and [Leandro] Barbosa.”
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Sprint Halftime Report
Johnson, Barkley, O’Neal and Smith
Smith on the added balance to the Celtics offense: “Courtney Lee is now an integral part of this offense.”
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Kerr on Celtics guard Rajon Rondo: “He sets the tone for this team offensively. When he gets going, it seems like everyone else does too.”
Kerr on the debut of Miami Heat guard Ray Allen: “Allen’s affect here is two-fold: No. 1, he’s made a huge impact on Miami’s scoring and No. 2, Boston really misses him.”
Kerr on the play of Celtics guard Leandro Barbosa and his 16-point night: “Barbosa has been incredibly encouraging for the Celtics.”
TNT’s Craig Sager interviewed Miami Heat guard Ray Allen after tonight’s 120-107 Miami win
Allen on the mixed emotions he faced competing against his former Celtics teammates: “I had a bevy of emotions today. It was tougher than what I expected. I can’t say enough good things about those guys and the city of Boston. Both teams are championship caliber teams. Both teams are excellent.”
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Game 2: Dallas Mavericks (99) @ L.A. Lakers (91)
Announcers: Kevin Harlan (play-by-play), Reggie Miller (analyst) and David Aldridge (reporter)
Miller on the questions surrounding the Lakers offense this season: “Their [Lakers] starting five is arguably the best in basketball, but when they go to the bench…can the bench continue to keep a lead or keep them in the game?”
Miller on Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle: “He just finds a way to mesh players together. He gets the best out of veteran players, as well as younger players.”
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Sprint Halftime Report
Johnson, Barkley, O’Neal and Smith
Smith on the Princeton offense run by the Lakers: “The Lakers are going to have to tweak their offense day-to-day. [Pau Gasol] is the only one who looks good, looks comfortable [in this offense].”
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Miller on the offensive scheme of the Lakers: “It’s only Game 1. You have to trust in your system.”
Miller on Dallas’ offense: “Dallas has been more crisp with their offense; quicker to the jump. As a team they look like they know their offense.”
TNT’s David Aldridge interviewed Dallas Mavericks guard Darren Collison after the Mavs 99-91 win
Collison: “It was important for us to play our style, our tempo. We just came out here and played.”
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Inside the NBA presented by Hyundai
Johnson, Barkley, O’Neal and Smith
O’Neal on Lakers center Dwight Howard: “He’s one of the highest jumping big men since Shawn Kemp.”
Barkley on the Lakers offensive strategy: “You don’t want Dwight Howard in a half-court set because teams are just going to start fouling him. He’s not a great foul-shooter. [Head coach] Mike Brown has to nix that Princeton [offense] and let [point guard] Steve Nash push the ball.”
Smith on the Lakers’ Princeton Offense: “That style of play will keep every team in the game with you. It will come down to Kobe [Bryant], Steve Nash and Pau [Gasol] will make big shots in certain games and they will squeeze some [wins] out. But they should be beating some teams by 20 points that they will never beat by 20 points because they will always be in close games.”
Smith on the Mavericks: “They looked like how the Lakers should be playing. They were pushing the ball up, free-flowing and letting their guys create.”
Barkley on how Heat forward LeBron James style of play could wear down his body over time: “He has to do so much for this team. He’s their leading rebounder, their leading assist guy and their leading scorer. At some point, playing against these big guys and guarding these power forwards like he does every single night, he’s going to get tired. Basketball is hard enough when you’re doing your job…he’s doing three people’s jobs. I wonder if he’s going to get worn down in the long run.”
O’Neal on LeBron James pacing himself throughout the season: “Now that [the Heat] have the blueprint on how to win a championship, it’s going to be much easier. [General manager] Pat Riley did a great job of putting more shooters around [James]. He’s still going to be dominant player but he just needs to pace himself.”
Barkley on Washington Wizards guard Trevor Ariza: “Trevor Ariza should be playing for a contender. He’s wasting away in [Washington] DC.”
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