NBA On TNT Notes: “LeBron Is Flat Out Scary”
Barkley on Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James’ 50-point performance against the NY Knicks: “(LeBron James) is unbelievable; this guy is flat out scary.”
Smith on Cavaliers forward LeBron James and LA Lakers guard Kobe Bryant battling for the MVP Award: “(LeBron James) and Kobe (Bryant) are going after that MVP Award. Kobe had 52 (points) a couple of nights ago and LeBron says, ‘You got 50, I can get 50 too and I’m going to do it on a big stage (at Madison Square Garden).’”
Barkley: “It only counts for 37 (points) because it was (against) the Knicks.”
Barkley on his appreciation for his colleagues: “I signed a new contract last week and I called Ernie (Johnson) and I said, ‘Ernie, I really love working with you, it’s been (an) honor and my pleasure to work with you.’ Ernie called me back and said it was a really nice message. Then I called the jackass (Kenny Smith), and said, ‘It’s been an honor and a pleasure to work with you.’ He didn’t call me back. Then I saw Kenny tonight, and I said, ‘Thanks for the call back,’ and he said he talked it over with his wife and she said unless you say it on air it don’t really mean anything. (Looking at Smith) I love you Kenny!”
Barkley on Cavaliers center Ben Wallace being a good fit in Cleveland: “Ben Wallace has been getting a bad rap, but he’s like a Kurt Rambis or Cornbread Maxwell, he needs to play with better players. He’s a guy who needs to play with a lot of stars because if he needs to carry his own weight his weaknesses show. He’s a guy who works hard and is a good player, but in Chicago he had to carry his own weight and he couldn’t do that, so I think it’s a good fit in Cleveland.”
Smith on the trade between the Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers and how it has affected LeBron James: “LeBron James is better (because of the trade). He’s more active (and) more intuitive to what goes on. In turn, the three of us could go out and he would raise our level of our play because he is that good. You think about how good he has been this year and it’s hard to say that the guys who came in are making him better.”
Barkley on the Houston Rockets needing center Yao Ming: “When Houston became a good team what they learned was Yao Ming was their best player, that’s when they turned their season around. Tracy McGrady is a better ‘B’ player than ‘A’ player. He doesn’t get easy baskets, he takes tough fade away jumpers and he doesn’t make players better. Yao Ming makes players better.”
Barkley on Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki committing a flagrant foul against Utah Jazz forward Andrei Kirilenko that caused Kirilenko to have a hard fall: “If (Andrei) Kirilenko ate a Happy Meal he wouldn’t have fallen down that way.”
Barkley on the Phoenix Suns blaming their problems on center Shaquille O’Neal: “(The media in Phoenix) are trying to blame everything on Shaq which I think it totally unfair. The reason the Phoenix Suns don’t win is that they don’t play any defense. Is Shaq my friend? Yes, he is. I’m never going to say anything bad about Shaq, Tim Duncan, Gary Payton and Kevin Garnett, but to blame the Suns losing three and five without Shaquille O’Neal is a travesty. The reason they don’t win is they don’t play any defense and that’s why they haven’t won the last three or four years. They’ve had enough talent to win the championship…but the reason they don’t win is they don’t play any defense. So quit blaming everything on Shaq and start playing some damn defense!”
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Game 1: Cleveland Cavaliers (96) @ Chicago Bulls (107)
Announcers Kevin Harlan and Doug Collins; Craig Sager reporting
Collins on Cavaliers forward LeBron James making a big play at the start of the game: “The one thing you don’t want to do is give LeBron James some highlight plays early in the game, that’s what really excites great players. I remember when Michael Jordan used to do that early in games and teams would take timeouts just to take the crowd out of the game when he made plays like that.”
Collins on Bulls forward Joakim Noah: “(Joakim Noah) brings passion and energy, Jim Boylan said he wants him to be a little more aggressive in the paint. He said (Noah) has been over passing when he gets in that paint and has been a little too unselfish. They need him to score some points on that front line.”
Collins on his respect for Cavaliers forward LeBron James: “My admiration keeps growing and growing for (LeBron James). (James) is about winning and doing what’s right for his team and bringing out the best in others and he loves to play basketball and it filters down the rest of his teammates.”
TNT’s Craig Sager interviewed Cavaliers head coach Mike Brown after the first quarter.
Brown on Cavaliers forward LeBron James: “(LeBron James) is a tremendous, tremendous talent. The things he does on the floor, you can’t teach. I just try not to get in the way.”
Brown on playing back-to-back games: “Everybody has to play back-to-back to games, and we’ve got to find a way defensively to get stops, but more importantly, to keep them off the glass. It’s a very active team, so we’ve got to put bodies on bodies and get our smalls in there to rebound so they don’t kill us on the boards.”
Collins on the Bulls succumbing to the pressure of high expectations going into the season: “When you play you’ve got to bring a toughness and the Bulls lost that toughness somewhere along the way this year and they’ve got to get that back. That hard playing, tough, competitive team that everyone used to praise, we’ve not seen that this year. Sometimes you get paralyzed by expectations, that’s what expectations do. Some people meet them and others crumble and this year the Bulls crumbled.”
Collins on the Cavaliers/Bulls trade going a long way to appease Cavaliers star LeBron James: “(LeBron James) recognized that the owner Danny Ferry went out to spend the money and do what was necessary (to improve the team). James got more shooting on the outside that he wanted, he got some guys on the inside that he likes the way they play. If your star player likes the positions you picked up then it’s only going to elevate his play.”
Collins on the strength of Cavaliers forward LeBron James: “(You can) see the strength and power and (LeBron James’) ability to finish. He actually is ambidextrous, he writes left handed and plays basketball right handed. When he’s around the basket, he has such a great touch with the left hand. Think how Michael (Jordan) got bigger and stronger to take the pounding, how Kobe (Bryant) has does that and now LeBron (James), he’s 260 pounds.”
Collins on Cavaliers center Anderson Varejao: “(Anderson Varejao) never gives up on a play. He’s going to go to the offensive boards, he gets you extra opportunities at the basket, but I don’t think Varejao and Ben Wallace are good fit. When (Zydrunas Ilgauskas) gets back, you’ll see Ben Wallace slide over to the power position and do what he does best, and you’ll have Varejao with Ilgauskas or Joe Smith and (the Cavaliers) have got some nice pieces. When Varejao and Ben Wallace are out there together, you are playing three on five offensively unless you can get in the offensive boards.”
TNT’s Craig Sager interviewed Cavs forward LeBron James at halftime.
James on hitting so many last second baskets: “I’m just getting locked in and recognizing how much time we have on the clock and knowing the kind of shot I can get.”
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Halftime
Barkley on LeBron James dominating basketball games: “I’m not going to judge the Cavs until (Zydrunas) Ilgauskas is back. He can move those guys in their right positions, (Ben) Wallace and (Anderson) Varejao. No good team is going to let a guy like LeBron (James) go crazy like this every night. Normally when your best player is going crazy like this, you’re blowing a team out.”
Smith on Cavaliers forward LeBron James mixing his game up: “(LeBron James) is mixing his game up. At times last year and the start of this year, he fell in love with the three point shot. Now he’s starting to mix it up and get to the basket, and he drives to penetrate more in the half court, not just in the full court or in transition.”
Barkley on Cavaliers forward LeBron James needing to have a big second half rather than first half: “I would have saved my monster half for the second half. When you’re a great player it’s always there, you’ve got another gear that mere mortals don’t have. If Chicago knows anything, they’ll make him pass the ball (in the second half). If I was him, I would have used the first half and let these guys get going and get these other scoring here and there because I can always go that next level.”
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Collins on the Chicago Bulls playing as individuals rather than a team: “(The Bulls) are playing very individually right now, that’s what happens when you start losing and having guys in contract situations. They are playing as an individual group, not a connected group. They have not been together long, they barely even know each other.”
Collins on the trend of contenders stockpiling veteran talent for a playoff run: “What you’re seeing is the trend of teams who think they have a chance to win it adding veteran players, so when it comes down to the playoffs and the pressure you’re not going to rely on so many young players. So all this activity, the ‘haves’ adding older, veteran players to help them down the stretch in the playoffs, and the ‘have nots’ dumping salaries, trying to get younger, adding draft picks so they can rebuild for the future.”
Collins on the difficulty of being an interim coach: “I learned that anytime you take a job as a coach you’re interim, it’s just how interim you are. But think about how tough it is taking over in the middle of the season with no training camp and you’re coming in and you’re tying to put your personality, your stamp on it. Now you make a trade, your team changes. It’s tough enough to coach in the league without all that happening and I think Jimmy Boylan has done a great job with all that’s been put on his page.”
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Game 2: Houston Rockets (113) @ Dallas Mavericks (98)
Announcers Marv Albert, Reggie Miller and Mike Fratello; Cheryl Miller reporting
Dallas Mavericks guard Jason Kidd on the strong play of the Houston Rockets: “(Tracy) McGrady is playing as Tracy always does - at a high level. So you can’t stop him, you just make it as tough as possible. Everyone else is playing at a high level too, so we’ll have our hands full tonight. They are playing with a lot of confidence so we will need to use home court to try to slow those guys down.”
Fratello on 41-year-old Rockets center Dikembe Mutombo’s increased playing time since Yao Ming’s season-ending injury: “At first, (Rockets head coach) Rick Adelman felt that if he played (Dikembe Mutombo) in four or five minute spurts that would be the best way to do it. But (Adelman has) realized since then that’s not (the best way). (Mutombo) can go nine or ten minutes straight, somewhere between 24-28 minutes a night is what Adelman is counting on.”
Miller on Rockets rookie guard Carl Landry’s style of play: “If there is any criticism of Carl Landry’s game it’s that he’s not a great rebounder for his size. He has good hands, he’s understands offensively, but defensively he’s going to have to rebound the basketball especially with Yao (Ming) being out (with an injury).”
TNT’s Reggie Miller interviewed Rockets head coach Rick Adelman after the first quarter.
Adelman on playing against the Mavericks without forward Dirk Nowitzki: “We knew everyone else was going to get opportunities, they still have a lot of offensive weapons. I don’t think they are going to drop off. They need Dirk (Nowitzki), but they still have guys who can score.”
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Halftime
Smith on Barkley contending someone could balance on his head: “As big as your head is, I think three people can sit on it.”
Smith, referring to the Spurs’ uniforms that read ‘Los Spurs,’ when head coach Gregg Popovich was ejected from the game: “He ‘Los’ his mind.”
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Miller on Rockets guard Tracy McGrady hearing Barkley’s comments that he doesn’t make his teammates better: “I was coming down the elevator with Tracy McGrady tonight and he was shaking his head. He said, ‘I was listening to Charles (Barkley) in pre-game, (he said) I don’t make my teammates better,’ and he kind of took offense. I disagree with Charles, Tracy McGrady hasn’t had the same supporting cast as a lot of other super stars. With Yao (Ming) out, this is a chance for Tracy to do something he’s never done before, get to the second round and elevate his team.”
TNT’s Mike Fratello interviewed Mavericks coach Avery Johnson after the third quarter.
Johnson on how the Rockets excelled in the third quarter: “(The Mavericks) came out really aggressive in the third quarter. We were shooting jump shots, they were driving to the basket. They were protecting the paint and we didn’t, we are going to try to turn that around in the fourth quarter.”
Fratello after the interview: “Back to me, Marv. Thanks Mike.”
Albert: “The first time in an NBA telecast that an announcer has thrown to himself.”
Fratello on the Rockets persevering through every game: “(Rick) Adelman said a simple thing about his team - they just play hard. Normally, during the course of an NBA season teams will go through a drought, a period where you don’t get the same energy from them. He said it hasn’t happen to them, whether it’s the starters or the reserves, each night they come out they get high energy and that’s what we see tonight.”
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Inside the NBA presented by Hyundai
Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley
Barkley on how the Rockets have adjusted to playing without Yao Ming who will be out the remainder of the season with an injury: “(The Rockets) are playing different without Yao Ming; they are playing at a much faster pace. I said two weeks ago, when (Yao) got hurt, the only way for Houston to keep rolling is they’ve got to speed the tempo of the game up and get easier baskets because they had become a stagnant jump-shot shooting team in the half-court. They are playing a lot faster and I like that.”
TNT’s Reggie Miller interviewed Rockets guard Tracy McGrady after the game.
McGrady how the Rockets feel during their current 17-game win streak: “We feel real confident; we’re playing great basketball right now. I feel it was good to come into (Dallas) and get a win, (the Mavericks) have really owned us in the past.”
McGrady on if he is surprised by the Rockets hot streak: “When you’ve got a roster full of guys that really believe in themselves (there’s) great chemistry with the team and we go out a play extremely hard every night…I’m not surprised.”
McGrady on Charles Barkley’s pre-game comments that he doesn’t make his teammates better: “I don’t really listen to Charles (Barkley) when it comes to basketball. The only time I listen to Charles is if he’s talking about calories in a cupcake.”
Barkley on the key to the Rockets the remainder of the season: “The key to the Rockets is going to be when they lose a couple of games. When you are on a long winning streak, everything goes perfect for you. It’s how you handle adversity.”
Smith on the Mavericks lack of a team identity: “Dallas really has to look at what type of team are they going to be. Right now, they have lost their identity since Jason Kidd has come in. (Jason Kidd) hasn’t really filled in what he’s going to do or what his role is. They’ve got to find their identity…very quickly.”
Barkley on who he thinks is the best team in the Western Conference: “I think the San Antonio Spurs are the best team in the West (Conference) but I think Utah is just as good as San Antonio. I think it’s going to be a monster series when they play in the playoffs. The Lakers are in the cat-bird seat because they’ve got the easiest road to the (Western) Conference Finals. I think you really want to be in the (second seed) because that’s the best spot in all of basketball in both conferences. I’d rather be Detroit because if you’re Boston, you have to play Cleveland in the second round. And if you’re San Antonio in the one spot, you’ve got to play Utah in the second round.”
In the latest Timeout with Thompson segment, TNT’s Coach John Thompson interviewed Celtics guard Sam Cassell on joining Boston late in the season and what he brings to the team with the best record in the NBA.
Cassell on the adjustments he has to make joining a new team late in the season: “First of all, when you go from last (place) to first (place), it makes it better. The Clippers have some great basketball players, but they are missing (injured forward) Elton Brand and that makes everyone’s job more difficult. To go from that to (playing with) Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen…I just named a Ferrari, a Bentley and a Rolls Royce. Not to knock the players (on the Clippers), but these are three future Hall of Fame players.”
Cassell on his role with the Celtics: “(Celtics head coach) Doc (Rivers) told me the other day that he wants me to be Sam Cassell. Whatever that means, that’s what I want. I don’t have to take 15-20 shots to make the Boston Celtics a championship team. From what I’ve heard, there’s nothing like getting a championship in Boston. Getting a Celtics championship is like getting a (New York) Yankees championship.”
Cassell on comparing playing with Hakeem Olajuwon in Houston and Kevin Garnett in Boston: “(Hakeem) Olajuwon was so gifted as a basketball player. He was a great ‘X and O’ guy but who cares? When he wanted the ball, he scored…we’d come down the court, give him some space, get him the ball and half of the time, (I could) just sit back and watch and say, ‘Did you see that?’ That’s how great of a ball player he was. Kevin Garnett is more hands-on. He’s a guy that wants everything to be perfect. He wants everything to be right; he wants everyone in the right position. He rebounds, he’s unselfish, he does it all.”
Cassell on the Celtics starting point guard Rajon Rondo: “I like him…I like what he brings to the Boston Celtics. He’s young and athletic, he’s faster than me, he’s younger than me. I just want to get to him and show him how (the game) is supposed to be played.”
Cassell on becoming Rajon Rondo’s backup on the Celtics: “I’m 38-years-old, I’ve had my time as a starting point guard. I’ve scored a lot of points in this league. (Rajon Rondo) can have (the starting point guard spot), I don’t want his job. I’m just here to make the team better.”
Smith on Cassell’s role with the Celtics: “(Sam Cassell) is ending his career the same way he started it…as a backup. His job was if the starter wasn’t doing his job, that he would finish the game. He did that for me (in Houston) and he is now doing that for Rajon Rondo. Now if Rondo is having a great game, (Cassell) might not come in…Sam understands that you can’t be in competition with a teammate, you can only bolster and push him.”
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