Notes from TNT’s NBA Playoffs Coverage – Thursday, May 29, 2014
TNT’s NBA Playoffs coverage continues Saturday, May 31, with the exclusive presentation of the
San Antonio Spurs at Oklahoma City Thunder, Western Conference Finals Game 6, at 8 p.m. ET
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TNT NBA Tip-off presented by AutoTrader.com
Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Reggie Miller and Shaquille O’Neal
Barkley on OKC point guard Russell Westbrook: “No one can guard Russell Westbrook. That guy is scary.”
Miller on the antics of Indiana’s Lance Stephenson in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals: “I never would have done that to Michael Jordan who was the best player in the game. You never want to tug on Superman’s cape…he’s the best player on the planet, but I respect what he was trying to do by trying to get under the skin of LeBron. Will it work? Probably not.”
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Oklahoma City Thunder (89) at San Antonio Spurs (117) – San Antonio leads the series 3-2
Marv Albert (play-by-play), Steve Kerr and Reggie Miller (analysts) with David Aldridge (reporter)
Kerr on San Antonio’s small margin of error: “The Spurs margin of error is small because of the athletic advantage Oklahoma City has…the line between frenzied [play] and fast is very small.”
Kerr on the Thunder: “When they don’t make mistakes and keep attacking, they are almost unbeatable.”
Miller on OKC center Steven Adams: “You could make a case for him to be a starter on [the Thunder] and he is learning under a veteran in Kendrick Perkins.”
Kerr on Russell Westbrook: “When he’s engaged, he’s an outstanding defender.”
Miller on the Spurs: “The Spurs aren’t going to win this series unless Tony Parker wakes up.”
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Sprint Halftime Report
Johnson, Barkley, O’Neal
O’Neal on OKC’s Serge Ibaka: “Serge Ibaka is a unique guy. On one possession he can guard Tony Parker and on another possession he can guard Tim Duncan.”
Barkley on Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook: “Oklahoma City has two nuclear weapons over there [in Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook]…if it’s a close game they can go off at any second.”
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Kerr on San Antonio’s Boris Diaw: “He knows how to attack different players. When he goes against [Kevin] Durant, he goes right to his body and to the rim. When he goes against [Serge] Ibaka, he shoots the fadaway. He knows he can’t go through or over Ibaka.”
Kerr on OKC’s thin bench: “This is an extremely thin bench. [Head coach] Scott Brooks had to go all-in by putting his best offensive weapons on the floor to change this series, but that may hurt him because of fatigue.”
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Johnson, Barkley, O’Neal
Barkley on the Thunder/Spurs series: “The level of discrepancy in the way guys are playing at home and on the road is startling.”
O’Neal on making a shot-blocker ineffective: “If you make three or four passes [before shooting], the shot-blocker will be ineffective because you have to over-rotate [on defense].”
Barkley on the Thunder: “Oklahoma City has to figure out how to get their bench to play better.”
Barkley on how to give OKC a more balanced offensive rotation: “He has to separate Reggie Jackson, [Russell] Westbrook and [Kevin] Durant and make one of them play with the second unit. If you look at their second unit on paper, they can’t score.”
O’Neal on Serge Ibaka: “He’s huge on both ends. We all know what he does defensively but, when he gives you the additional 14-16 points, then OKC is really difficult to beat. When he has 3-4 blocks, you can’t beat OKC.”
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