NBA On TNT Notes: Shaq/Marion Trade; Chris Webber Returns
Kenny Smith, Ernie Johnson, and Charles Barkley
Smith on the trade that sent Miami Heat center Shaquille O’Neal to the Phoenix Suns: “I think this is not bad for Phoenix, the only thing it does is it shortens their window of opportunity (to win a championship). It makes it a two or three year window, instead of a five year window, which they probably would have had with Shawn Marion or bringing in younger players.”
Barkley: “They only have one window now - they have one year. As much as I love Shaq and respect him, if they don’t win this year he’s going to be a year older, Steve Nash is going to be a year older…they have got to win a championship this year.”
Phoenix Suns GM Steve Kerr joined the spoke with the TNT studio team via satellite before the Suns game.
Kerr on any concerns he has about the trade for Shaquille O’Neal: “There is a big question of whether it will work. In my mind, it may have been a bigger risk not to do anything because I saw a lot of weaknesses in our game, especially on the low block and we’ve had a lot of trouble this year trying to play Amare (Stoudemire) at center trying to guard guys like Tim Duncan and Andrew Bynum and Yao Ming. I felt very vulnerable as a team, I also felt internally we had lost a little spark that we had in the last few years…We felt very strongly that this gives us a chance and we’re going for it.”
Kerr on working with players with injuries: “We have an unbelievable amount of respect for our medical staff. We’ve had a great track record for turning around guys who were supposedly old and broken down. Grant Hill this year, Steve Nash when we signed him a few years ago, a lot of people said he’d breakdown within the first few years and he’s still going strong now in year four with us. Antonio McDyess turned his career around with our medical group. We just feel very strongly with our guys really know what they are talking about and what we have right now is a situation where Shaq came in yesterday, he had his physical and our guys looked me in the eye and said, ‘This guy can play. He’s still got a lot left in the tank, so feel confident that if you go for it we’re going to get him right.’ And I feel confident in them and combined with Shaq’s motivation for being here I think that’s a pretty lethal combination.”
Kerr on rumors of friction between him and Mike D’Antoni: “We have a great relationship, I’m not sure where (all the rumors) are coming from, it’s getting kind of annoying. Mike and I get along great and I brought this trade to him after it was presented to me and said, ‘What do you think?’ and he immediately said, ‘We gotta do this.’ There was no hesitation and yet the perception out there is that this is me telling him ‘we can’t play your style’ or ‘we gotta go big’ and that’s not the case at all. We’re very much united in this trade and every manner of our business.”
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Game 1: Cleveland Cavaliers (77) @ Houston Rockets (92)
Announcers Kevin Harlan and Doug Collins; Craig Sager reporting
Collins on Rockets guard Rafer Alston: “Rafer Alston plays well and Houston is very tough to beat. He’s sort of the wildcard of this team.”
Collins on Cavaliers forward LeBron James: “LeBron (James) has got a great rhythm to his game. He takes his time and he has great size and can find the open man when he just looks right over the top of the defense.”
Collins on Rockets center Yao Ming and Bucks forward Yi Jianlian, two Chinese players, facing each other last week: “(Yao Ming) has got a great sense of humor, he works hard and he’s a great teammate. His impact here and what he’s brought to the NBA, how about the other night in Milwaukee when he and Yi (Jianlian) played against each other and 200 million people (in China) watched that game. To put that in perspective, about 98 million people watched the Super Bowl in the U.S., which doesn’t count outside the country. But 200 million people watched a regular season game between Yao and Yi.”
Harlan on Cavaliers forward LeBron James playing more like a guard than forward: “What is amazing about James, although he is not officially listed as a point guard, he touches the ball so often.”
Collins: “It’s like when Scottie Pippen was in the Chicago, he was their small forward but he basically ran that offense. Grant Hill was a forward for me in Detroit, but he had the ball in his hands the whole game. (James) might be a forward, but he’s creating all the plays.”
TNT’s Craig Sager interviewed Rockets guard Bonzi Wells at halftime.
Wells on trying to compensate for Rockets guard Tracy McGrady who is suffering from the flu: “I knew I had to pick my game up a little and be a little more offensively assertive. Just like the rest of the guys, we knew Mac (Tracy McGrady) was ailing so we all wanted to step our games up a little bit.”
Halftime
Smith on the Houston Rockets needing to make a trade: “I’ve been asked a lot, ‘Are the Houston Rockets a better team without Tracy McGrady?’ I wouldn’t say that they are a better team (without him), but they are not significantly better with him. So now they have to make a decision. With him in the lineup, with Yao Ming they are not significantly better than you would think they would be. (The Rockets) have to make a decision and make a move.”
Barkley on the Cleveland Cavaliers need to make a trade: “Cleveland needs to make a deal, but they don’t have anyone that anybody wants. If I was Cleveland I would say, ‘You can have anybody on my team, except LeBron (James).’ I’d trade anybody, especially if I could get Jason Kidd or somebody like that. Cleveland last year was such a fluke. They are not a good team, that was the weirdest thing ever when they made it to the Finals.”
Barkley on the potential impact of a Jason Kidd trade: “Jason Kidd could change the balance of power in the East, I’m not sure he could change the balance of power in the West anymore. I don’t think he can do that anymore because of what the Lakers and the Suns have done.”
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Collins on the Cleveland Cavaliers playing with a lack of enthusiasm: “Mike Brown has got to be disappointed. I know his team is undermanned tonight, and you don’t see the energy tonight that we normally see. That’s a thing they are going to have to pick up, this game is getting away from them.”
Collins on the physical power of Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James: “You notice how (LeBron James) is like a fullback going through the line? When he went in he cradled the ball so you couldn’t knock it loose from him then he was able to extend and score. He’s so powerful.”
Collins on Shaquille O’Neal’s health: “We know Shaq (O’Neal) is a very, very proud man. This guy, what he’s done in his career, he’s been one of the best big men of all time. I don’t think there’s any question in his drive or determination, the big question is how healthy can he be?”
Game break
Barkley on Chris Webber being signed by the Golden State Warriors: “I think Chris Webber is a Hall of Fame player and I don’t think he’s ever gotten the respect or credit he deserves, but I think (going to Golden State) was a bad move. I don’t think (Golden State) is going to make the playoffs and if I was him and I had accomplished as much as he has I would have went to a team where I had a legit shot to win a championship. Even if he plays well, Golden State is still going to be the #8 seed and they are going one and done (in the playoffs).”
Barkley on aging athletes: “One thing I learned from being a great player is that you don’t lose your sense of humor, you lose your legs.”
Barkley on aging Phoenix Suns center Shaquille O’Neal needing to contribute to the team for a chance at a championship: “(Shaquille O’Neal) has to play well for Phoenix to get past San Antonio, Utah and the Lakers, he can’t just be there. As you get older, it doesn’t work. That’s why they came up with Viagra.”
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Game 2: Chicago Bulls (114) @ Golden State (108)
Announcers Marv Albert, Reggie Miller and Mike Fratello; Cheryl Miller reporting
Miller on Golden State Warriors forward Chris Webber after he missed a layup during the first minute of play: “Some things never change for Chris Webber, it’s like Groundhog Day. I was speaking with Coach Nelson and he said he doesn’t really have a number on the number of minutes he’s going to have him play tonight. But he definitely needs to get in shape to see how he fits in this offense.”
Fratello on the downturn of the Chicago Bulls since last season: “This is not the same Chicago team of a year ago, they do very few of the things they did last year that made them so good. One thing is that they don’t shoot the ball well, they are last in the NBA, 30th in field goal percentage, and defensively all the small things they did a year ago they are not doing this year.”
Albert on Golden State Warriors forward Al Harrington: “Al Harrington complained that he wants more variety in terms of his shot attempts and become more of a three-point specialist. He’s good at it, but not happy about it. He’s become the Kyle Korver of the Golden State Warriors.”
Miller: “That’s disrespectful to Korver. Kyle Korver is in Utah saying, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me. You cannot compare Al Harrington’s shot to mine.’”
Halftime
Smith on the key to the Warriors’ playoff success last season: “Last year, I thought that not only was (the Warriors’) offense exciting, but at times they locked in defensively and that was a big part of why they advanced and kept winning games (in the playoffs).”
Barkley on why Chris Webber returning to the Golden State Warriors was a bad move: “I don’t think you can join a marathon in the middle and have success…I have a lot of love for Chris Webber, I wish he would have gone to a (championship) contender (team). Kenny (Smith) has a saying, ‘There’s only so many jumps in your knees,’ and Chris Webber has got a lot of jumps in his knees. I think he can be successful because he plays with his brain…This (move) wasn’t a good fit for him because this team wants to run and gun.”
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Miller on Chris Webber being overweight: “I’ll be glad when Chris Webber gets in shape because right now he looks like George Foreman in the later rounds and he is staggering to get to the finish line.”
Miller on Golden State Warriors guard Monta Ellis: “Right now, Rip Hamilton has the best mid-range game in our league. Monta Ellis, if he continues to play like this, he’s on that level when it comes to shooting that mid-range jumpshot.”
Cheryl Miller interviewed Warriors head coach Don Nelson between the quarters.
Don Nelson on Chris Webber: “I thought he was more comfortable the second half and I’m glad he had a little run there with our team. We’re going to take it gradual and just try to work him in the best that we can.”
Miller on Chicago Bulls forward Tyrus Thomas: “When they drafted (Tyrus Thomas) out of LSU they envisioned blocked shots, rebounds and that he’d develop an offensive game and this year it looks like he has done that.”
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Inside the NBA presented by Hyundai
Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley
Barkley on the Golden State Warriors style of play: “(The Warriors) run-and-gun, they shoot three’s and they look good but you can kill them on the offensive boards. They are a less-talented (Phoenix) Suns team. They live by jumpers and I always tell people, ‘you don’t live by jumpers, you die by jumpers.’ The Bulls were playing without three of their top four scorers and were taking any shot they wanted and killing (the Warriors) on the offensive boards. Shooting jumpers all night long is not going to get it done.”
Barkley on how the Miami Heat look after trading Shaquille O’Neal to Phoenix: “It’s a great deal for Miami to get (Shawn) Marion and (Marcus) Banks. I don’t think Banks ever got a fair chance to play in Phoenix and he can play in this league. (Miami) got rid of a lot of salary and they are going to get another lottery pick. They are going to be back in the mix next year. That’s a great trade for Miami.”
Houston Rockets center Yao Ming on Phoenix acquiring O’Neal: “(The trade is) very interesting. I want to see how (O’Neal is going to) fit in (Phoenix). The last couple of years, since (point guard) Steve Nash signed with them, they play very, very fast. To be honest, I don’t know how (O’Neal) will fit in there.”
Smith on O’Neal fitting into the Suns system: “The older you get, the easier it is for you to go north and south (on the court). When you play with the Phoenix Suns, you will go north and south and you will not have to play east and west, which is bump-and-grind basketball. I noticed guys who got older played better with teams that moved up and down the court. (O’Neal) won’t see the bump-and-grind of the double-teams or on the defensive end. The Lakers played ‘Showtime’ with (center) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar at 40-years-old because he rebounded and they ran. I still think Shaquille O’Neal can go north and south.”
Barkley on how Phoenix will replace what Shawn Marion brought to the team: “Shawn Marion is a very versatile player. He gets up and down the floor. They’ve got a lot of guys (who can fill Marion’s role), they’ve got (Boris) Diaw, they’ve got Grant Hill but if Shaquille O’Neal (doesn’t) play well, the Suns are not going to win the West (Conference) because the teams (in the) West are too big for those guys (replacing Marion). That’s why the Suns have been getting beat in the playoffs.”
Barkley on Kobe Bryant’s comments that the Lakers have already gelled after two games with recently acquired Pao Gasol: “First of all, Kobe (Bryant) is incorrect because he can’t judge that team until (injured center) Andrew Bynum comes back. They are not complete with just (Pau) Gasol. I think it takes about a month for everybody to play together and be comfortable. (The Lakers) can’t be complete after two or three games.”
Barkley on Pau Gasol’s role with the Lakers: “The thing that’s going to help Pau Gasol is he (doesn’t) have to be the best player (on the team). He struggled being a franchise guy (in Memphis). If you put him with a superstar, like Kobe Bryant, (Gasol) can really do his own thing and he won’t feel that pressure (of being the star player
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