TNT 2008 NBA All Star Game Teleconference With Marv Albert, Kenny Smith and Doug Collins
Yesterday, I participated in TNT’s 2008 NBA All Star Game teleconference. Beat writers and columnists from across the nation questioned the participants below on NBA All Star Weekend as well as current happenings in the NBA. I became associated with TNT after being asked to moderate their panel on New Media in July during the annual NABJ conference in Vegas.
In this teleconference, I get great responses from some of the questions I asked the fellas.
Enjoy.
Conference call participants: Jeff Behnke (Turner Sports executive producer), Marv Albert (NBA on TNT play-by-play announcer), Kenny Smith (NBA on TNT studio analyst) and Doug Collins (NBA on TNT game analyst)
Albert on calling the NBA All-Star Game: “It’s always a special game for me to broadcast. This year I’ll be alongside two guys who do a tremendous job, both Doug (Collins) and Reggie (Miller), and have a pretty good idea of what it’s like to be an All-Star. It’s the excitement of the entire All-Star Weekend and you see all the game’s best on the court. Usually the pattern has been kind of ‘schoolyard’ at the start, but it gets serious in the second half, particularly in the fourth quarter. And the fact that the game is being played in New Orleans just adds to the magnitude of the evening.”
Collins on the competitive parity in the West: “When you shake loose the west the amazing thing about it is that you’ve got four teams in the Southwest division that could all win 50 games. Houston is playing much better basketball now, they’re playing at a 60 percent pace. New Orleans, Dallas, San Antonio, Houston could all win 50 (games), and it looks like Utah and Denver also have a great chance to win 50, Phoenix and Golden State and the Lakers - you could have nine 50-win teams in the West, which means one 50-win team wouldn’t even make the Playoffs. So that gives you an idea of the competitive balance there.”
Smith on the charity game he organized in Sept. 2005 to benefit victims of Hurricane Katrina: “The reason I did the (NBA Players Hurricane Relief Game) was because I think we were all going through the same gamut of emotions as we watched what was going on with Hurricane Katrina. Feeling angry, feeling helpless and didn’t know what to do….I finally thought, ‘it’s time for me to do something myself.’ I knew I had a good phone book, I knew I could call players and they would respond…I’ve played in a lot of NBA Championship games and a lot of NBA Finals and I always say that the most important game I participated in was the charity game for New Orleans because it gave help to people who couldn’t help themselves at that time.”
Smith on his MVP candidates: “I started out thinking it was Kevin Garnett, but I’ve swayed a little bit to Kobe Bryant. He kept his team afloat when (Andrew) Bynum was hurt and until (Pau) Gasol got there, and now Gasol is there and he’s on a championship mix. So Kobe Bryant is my MVP candidate and Kevin Garnett is second because of the injuries he’s sustained.”
Collins on his MVP candidates: “LeBron (James) is (the) number one (MVP candidate) to me because (the Cavaliers) have shown that they can’t win a game without him. It sort of reminds me of when Steve Nash went to Phoenix the first year and he missed about four games and they averaged about 80 points a game and they couldn’t win without him in that first year. Seeing that Cleveland team and how they’ve been decimated with injuries, I think they are 0-6 without him, so my first (MVP) choice would be LeBron. My second choice would be Kevin Garnett. I would have probably said Kevin first a month ago but I think they have shown that they can win some games without him…Kobe (Bryant) would be (my third pick).”
Albert on his MVP candidates: “My feeling is that usually a team with lesser expectations catches your eye and to me, the Lakers are a surprise club. I’d go with Kobe (Bryant), LeBron (James), (Kevin) Garnett and coming fast on the outside, Chris Paul of the Hornets.”
Collins on who has the edge in the West: “Usually people say the team to beat are the defending champions, so you have to say that the Spurs are the defending team until somebody knocks them out. They’ve struggled with injuries obviously…I don’t know really how healthy they’ve been all season long. Seems like going into the second half of the season they are getting themselves ready to make that championship run. I really like the way the Lakers are playing, that’s a big, big team. If (Andrew) Bynum gets back healthy and they throw him out there with Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom on that front line and Kobe Bryant, that is a big, big team. Everyone can’t wait for Shaq (O’Neal) to suit up and how that’s going to fit for the Phoenix Suns…it will be interesting to see how he bounces back. I would say right now San Antonio is the team to beat because they are the defending champions, but every team has a flaw. There isn’t a team out there that doesn’t have a weakness and I think the match-ups will decide if those weaknesses are exposed or not.”
Smith on the West: “The Lakers and Phoenix have committed to saying that they are going for a championship more than anyone else because of the moves and the trades they’ve made. Even though SA is the defending champs, (LA and Phoenix) are the teams to beat.”
Smith on fans seeking out good basketball: “If I lived in Sacramento and the (Kings) were playing the way they are playing (now), I would drive down to Golden State and go see (the Warriors play). If I lived in Indiana and (the Pacers) were playing the way they are playing I would drive over to Indiana U and see Eric Gordon play. If I’m a basketball fan, I’ll go find good basketball. I’m not going to pay my money and see guys who aren’t playing well. When you’re a good team, you don’t have to worry about people coming to see you.”
Michael Tillery: I wanna talk about Andre Miller. He was very instrumental in the win against Dallas Monday night. The emergence of the Sixers young players is a key, but it all starts with Andre. Where do you guys rank him among point guards in the NBA and will he be moved as the deadline approaches?
Smith: “It’s funny because I had to rank them…I can’t remember where I put him…Maybe about a month ago I had to do a rankings on the ten point guards and Andre Miller was in there. I think he’s in that second five–probably eight or nine–in my estimation. He’s able to do most of the things what every point guard wants (to do). He can lead a team, he can (inaudible), he can pass. The only thing I think separates him from being that top elite point guard is the explosiveness. I don’t think he has the explosiveness that those guys have in taking over games with their athletic God given abilities as well as their skill level. He might can’t get that rebound that no one else can get or go over that defender or by that man at times when sometimes the plays aren’t working and you just need a guy to make it happen. He may not be that guy, but everything else I think he can do well.”
Albert: “Every time I pick up a Philadelphia paper you read trade rumors about Andre Miller and he’s a major chip for Ed Stefanski I would think if Philadelphia is to make a move. I happen to watch the game last night when they beat Dallas. They’ve been playing well recently–I think they’ve won four in a row. But he’s a guy–if you do move him–would have great value to a number of teams. I’ve always liked his game. Kenny knows point guards and have to go along with what he has to say whether they do move him remains to be seen. I could be very interesting the next seven to eight days until the trade deadline passes.
Michael Tillery: Dwight Howard and Rudy Gay are talking about dunking on a 12 foot rim in the Slam Dunk contest. Do you ever envision the rim moved higher and is the rise in athleticism a gift or a curse for the NBA?
Collins: “Teams shoot 44% now, I couldn’t imagine what they would shoot if you put it at 12 feet, so I don’t see that happening. I’d love to see these guys dunk on a 12 foot basket. I think it’d be an incredible thing at the dunk contest. I don’t know if that’s gonna work and stuff. Kenny knows..I mean Marv I mean..with those guys being around the league for 40 plus years. Just to see what guys can do now on the court is phenomenal. Jaw dropping. They’ll be times I sat there at the scorer’s table and I’ll say to myself: “Did I just see what I just saw there–what that guy just did?”
“If you talk to college referees, who come into the NBA, the first year…one of the things they talk about is the incredible adjustment they have to make to where during the course of a NBA game, they’ll see 20 to 30 plays that they might see twice in a college game and not to anticipate when a guy gets himself in position where it looks like he’s in trouble because of the tremendous things they can do in the air and the way they can move their bodies and the strength and the power. You look at a guy like LeBron James. LeBron James..when I played in the seventies…he had the body of a power forward. This guy now is six eight, two hundred forty-five or fifty pounds. You give him one step on the open floor…there’s no way you can stop him. I think the beauty of the NBA game is the incredible skill and the things these guys can do and how…you leave the arena…Marv you’ve been doing it for forty plus years…we still leave the arena sometimes and just shake our heads at some of the things we see on a nightly basis.”
Albert: “All you have to do is look back the classic games on NBA TV or on ESPN Classic. You see…not only in the uniforms..the difference of how the game is played. Ten, fifteen, twenty years ago…it really is incredible what goes on today.”
Smith: “The second part of your question…I think it is a curse at times. The athleticism…only because of what ESPN and TNT–the highlights they cut. If you look at a highlight package, for a particular game. If it’s not a game winning shot, three out of five plays are dunks. That gives the false illusion that the game is about dunking and that’s how you get on television. I don’t care who you are, you have an ego and you want to be in a highlight film. I don’t care who you are. So, it’s emphasized in the way highlight packages are cut. That’s why a lot of times when I do…try to do…I know Doug does it…when I do “Kenny’s pictures”, I pick out plays–basketball plays–because basketball plays are what wins the game. If you take all the plays that Michael Jordan had in his career, it would be such a far less of a number, not even close to the amount of in between jump shots that he made–not even close. I would say one tenth of his shots…I say one twentieth of his shots were probably dunks. Those are the things in the highlight packages and what’s sold in the videos. It’s really informative for guys like myself and Doug and Charles and everyone to make a point not to cut dunks in our packages because we’re basketball people. Sometimes the guys who cut aren’t basketball people and the emphasis is not to do that.”
Collins: “Just to follow up on Kenny…when you start talking about the greatest players to ever play…you know talent level is one thing and incredible skill. Every time I talk to young players…the thing that separated Michael Jordan..you throw all of that stuff in with the fact that he was the most fundamentally sound player I’ve ever seen..when you talk about his footwork and the things he does. I think you can say the same thing about Kobe Bryant. These guys separate themselves, not only with their competitiveness, but you throw in the fundamental skills of the game and the things they can do on the floor…I’m with Kenny, the things I always want to point out…don’t look at the finish of the play look at what work the guy did to get to where he wanted to go on the floor with the fundamentals…”
Smith: “I wanna piggy back again and reiterate..because Doug just hit a point, the biggest point…that you’ll hear today.
“Michael Jordan is the most fundamentally sound player the game has ever had.”
“He wasn’t the greatest athlete that was coupled with that, but he was the most fundamentally sound basketball player we had ever seen. It was just coupled with one of the top three athletic players in the league. That was the biggest point that Doug just made and it needed to be reiterated.”
MT: Thank you fellas.
(Note: The NBA has rejected Howard’s request. I talked to Howard about this and also planned to speak with Rudy Gay tonight. Their responses will be posted on SLAM tomorrow.)
Collins on the Boston Celtics: “I love what the Celtics have done this year, Doc Rivers has done a great job. When you have that kind of offensive talent that they have on the team and you look at their defensive numbers. In the NBA a key to playing defense is you better have your big guys who can get out on those pick and rolls, which becomes the staple of the NBA game. To be able to get out and hedge on those guards, get back in the play and defend the paint. I think Kevin Garnett does that better than any big man in the league.”
Collins on the factors needed for the Celtics to fare well in the playoffs: “The question of Boston is come playoff time when your weaknesses are exposed and teams really lock in on you, are they going to get the point guard play they need and can Kendrick Perkins give them the thing they need in the middle, defense and rebounding? And can Eddie House, James Posey, (Scot) Pollard and Tony Allen come in bench-wise and do what they do? The difference to me is this is a team that has never done it together yet and a lot of the other teams we’re talking about have. There is no substitute for experience. When I look at Boston, come playoff time, that’s when we’re really gong to see what their weaknesses are, because that’s when they get exposed.”
Smith on playing well enough to position the team for success: “There is nothing you can do that can guarantee yourself a championship, all you want to do is put yourself in position and the Celtics have put themselves in position. If you’re in position to win it every year, that’s all you can ask for. We were the team to beat one year when we (Rockets) won it and then we were the sixth seed the next year we won it, we were just in position to do it.”
Collins on the factors that determine playoff success: “When you look at the teams as they start to get prepared, who is going to be injury free and who is going to be playing their best at the right time, and the seeding (are what matter) because it becomes a game of matchups. The perfect storm happened for Dallas (last year) against the Golden State Warriors because Dallas’ big guys can’t score so you can’t punish a smaller team if your big guys can’t score. So you get your big guys out of the game. Then Golden State’s smalls are better than your smalls. So seeding is important, injuries are going to be vital and who is peaking at the right time.”
Collins on the importance of the Celtics, 76ers and Knicks being relevant in the NBA: “In the NBA there are three of the teams that we need, they are Boston Celtics, who are relevant again, the Philadelphia 76ers, which is where I played my career, and the Knicks. These are the most storied franchises and the greatest players ever to play. When no one talks about them, that hurts the NBA because we need those teams to be good. We need those cities, those feel good teams, because of what they’ve done in the history of the NBA.”
Smith on the New York Knicks being a key factor in garnering worldwide interest in the NBA: “The reason why you need New York, is not to get the basketball fan, the basketball fan is going to be pay attention no matter what. It’s because New York has such an influence worldwide, anywhere you can pick up the New York Times, and now you have people talking about basketball that normally wouldn’t talk about it at that particular time. It enables the world to talk about it more. Not saying we can’t survive without it, but it enables more interest from the people that might not be interested unless they read it in a New York paper.”
Smith on the New York Knicks adding the wrong mixture of players to their roster: “They have guys who play well, but I think they have guys who don’t play well together. I liken it to sometimes when a guy goes out with a girl- he buys her flowers, he takes her out and then says, ‘man, I didn’t have a good time.’ Well, you just picked the wrong girl, there’s nothing wrong with her and there’s nothing wrong with you, you just don’t mix together and that’s what happened with the Knicks. They have a mixture of people that they shouldn’t go out on another date with again.”
Smith on participating in the Slam Dunk Contest and playing in an All-Star Game: “It’s the first time in your whole life that you walk onto a basketball arena and 20,000 people are watching just you. For some guys, that’s a little intimidating and that’s why the first time dunkers sometimes don’t do well, unless they have a charisma or aura about them that takes them to that level. One of my biggest regrets ever playing was not making an All-Star Game and if I ever had to do everything over again, that’s the only thing I would add, to get in an All-Star Game. I know how important it is, regardless of what they say, and what a big deal it is winning and playing in it.”
Collins on playing and coaching in NBA All-Star Games: “I was chosen for four All-Star Games, and my first one was in Philadelphia the Bicentennial year. What an incredible rush that was. I look at a kid like Chris Paul and David West, and Byron Scott (who is) coaching. To do it in your home city and especially after what that New Orleans organization has been through, what an incredible feeling that has to be. I coached in the 1997 game, and your goal as a coach is to try to get everyone in the game and let them play, so that by the fourth quarter you can play to win. The game might start loosey-goosey, but come the fourth quarter, guys’ competitive instincts come out and they want to win.”
Collins on the best player in the NBA: “The best player in the game is Kobe Bryant, his incredible physical skills, his competitive will and spirit, and the fact that he’s been a three-time NBA Champion and he’s so fundamentally sound. If I had to win a game tomorrow my first pick would be Kobe Bryant.”
Smith on Lakers guard Kobe Bryant and Cavaliers forward LeBron James: “If Kobe is Superman, LeBron is Spiderman, it’s depending on who you like. They both have those innate abilities that everyone dreams of having.”
Just received this from TNT:
Five live streams offered on “TNT OverTime All-Star Access” on NBA.com will complement TNT’s All-Star coverage
TNT, home of exclusive coverage of the 2008 NBA All-Star Game on Sunday, Feb. 17, parades into the Big Easy for this year’s All-Star festivities with robust plans to bring fans just a mouse click away from All-Star coverage that can be found only on NBA.com. Today the network is unveiling TNT OverTime All-Star Access on NBA.com, an amped-up version of its popular broadband channel, TNT OverTime, that for the first time ever will offer LIVE streaming coverage during NBA All-Star Saturday Night and the 2008 NBA All-Star Game on Sunday to complement TNT’s television coverage of the events. Additionally, the channel will host an interactive “Fans’ Choice Poll” that allows the audience at home to pick the players that All-Star Access cameras follow during the NBA All-Star Game, with a different player from the East and West being isolated live each quarter.
Legendary artist Michael Bivins will expand his weekly correspondent role for the channel, serving as the daily host of TNT OverTime All-Star Access, providing viewers a behind-the-scenes pass to official All-Star events and the hottest celebrity parties throughout the weekend.
TNT OverTime All-Star Access tips off its live coverage on NBA All-Star Saturday Night featuring a live show hosted by Bivins and NBA TV analyst Andre Aldridge who will provide stats and highlights and will respond to fans’ questions via a LIVE chat room available on the live player page. The additional live feeds available Saturday on TNT OverTime All-Star Access include:
- Robo Cam- offers a bird’s-eye view from a camera that is attached to the backboard. As players are flying sky high during the Slam Dunk Contest, the robo cam will capture the perfect viewpoint of their acrobatics.
- Scoreboard Camera- is positioned strategically underneath the scoreboard to provide fans a high level view inside the arena.
- Cable Cam- showcases a unique perspective as the camera zips up and down the court during the night’s events.
- Mosaic View- offers a simultaneous look at the camera angles and the live, online show all at once.
On Sunday night, TNT OverTime All-Star Access pulls out all the stops by allowing fans to have their say in the camera feeds using the “Fans Choice Poll,” an online poll that allows viewers to vote on which Eastern and Western Conference All-Stars the cameras follow on two separate feeds. The two dedicated cameras will follow the fans’ choice for an entire quarter and will change players at the end of each quarter, showing a total of eight players during the game. Whether the All-Stars are in the game showing off their skills or on the bench enjoying the game and joking with the other players, the TNT All-Access cameras will follow them. In addition to the two player cameras available Sunday, three additional feeds will be offered including an All-Star show hosted by Aldridge, the Cable Cam feed and Mosaic View.
In addition to live footage, TNT OverTime All-Star Access will also showcase on-demand content such as historical footage of past All-Star games, analysis from TNT’s marquee announcers, replays of the TNT NBA studio shows and an inside look at the many All-Star parties in segments hosted by TNT OverTime correspondent Michael Bivins.
TNT’s coverage of NBA All-Star Weekend festivities tips off Friday, February 15 at 9 p.m. ET with the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge and Youth Jam, followed by Inside the NBA presented by Hyundai. The excitement continues on Saturday, February 16, when Inside the NBA presented by Hyundai tips off an exciting night at 5 p.m. ET. At 7 p.m. ET, TNT will present NBA’s Greatest Slam Dunk Contest: Airborne. Through first-person interviews of players and TNT announcers, “Airborne” reflects on memorable NBA dunk contests and the host cities that served as backdrops to the dunks that made history. Beginning at 8 p.m. ET, TNT will televise exclusive live coverage of NBA All-Star Saturday Night presented by State Farm, which includes the Haier Shooting Stars competition, the Playstation Skills Challenge, the Foot Locker Three-Point Shootout, and the Sprite Slam Dunk. The evening will be capped off by the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 2008 presented on TNT by Old Spice Pro Strength at 11 p.m. ET/10:30 p.m. PT.
TNT’s All-Star coverage takes center stage on Sunday, February 17 at 8 p.m. ET with the 2008 NBA All-Star Game. TNT’s marquee roster of announcers will be on hand throughout the weekend with Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, Magic Johnson, Reggie Miller, Doug Collins, Mike Fratello, Marv Albert, Kevin Harlan, Dick Stockton, Craig Sager, Cheryl Miller and David Aldridge all being featured on shows throughout the weekend.
Turner Sports, Inc., a Time Warner company, presents some of the best and most popular sporting events worldwide and is a leader in televised sports programming. With events airing on TBS and TNT, Turner Sports’ line-up includes NASCAR and NASCAR.COM, the NBA, Major League Baseball, professional golf, PGATour.com and PGA.com.
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