(AP Photo/Mark Duncan)

Sending a message?

Philadelphia 76ers forward Andre Iguodala joined the studio pregame show.

Smith on the gifts the Philadelphia Sixers sent for his new baby: “Wow, (Andre) Igoudola jerseys and bibs. The Sixers aren’t cheap.”

Barkley: “Yeah they are, trust me.

Iguodala on the Sixers’ mentality going into the playoffs: “We have a bunch of young guys so we want to stay confident going into the playoffs. So I’m just trying to lead the guys and keep their focus to where it needs to be to win games.”

Igoudala on how the Sixers turned around their seven game losing streak: “We get this compliment a lot in the league that we’re very athletic and that we might be one of the most athletic teams in the league. I think we’ve taken that and used it to our advantage. We’ve started to push the ball a little bit more, we’re pushing it ahead, we’re speeding the game up and using our athleticism to our advantage.”

Igoudala on the pressure of leading the franchise: “The pressure is there, but I think I have a great group of teammates. And Maurice Cheeks makes the game so much easier for us. He said, ‘I’ll take all the criticism, ya’ll just go out there and play.’”

Barkley on playing with Maurice Cheeks on the Sixers: “Maurice Cheeks can only see out of one eye. He can only see Dr. J so I came up with Plan B.”

Smith: “So you’re saying Maurice Cheeks was a smart player?”

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Game 1: Chicago Bulls (101) @ Cleveland Cavaliers (98)

Announcers Marv Albert, Reggie Miller and Mike Fratello; Marty Snider reporting

Miller on the media’s early predictions for the Chicago Bulls to the Conference Finals: “Everyone was wrong at the start of the season (about the Bulls). Not only us, but Sporting News, Street & Smith, everyone had the Bulls really getting to the Conference Finals because of their success over the last few years. It really started in training camp with Luol Deng and Ben Gordon not signing extensions, then the whole Kobe Bryant trade rumor, so things got off to a rocky start for the Chicago Bulls this year.”

TNT’s Marty Snider interviewed Bulls interim head coach Jim Boylan following the first quarter.

Boylan on the Bulls adjusting their defense against Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James: “It’s hard to change what you’re doing against LeBron (James), he’s an offensive machine out there. He goes to the basket, he gets a lot of fouls, he gets to the free throw line, we’ve just got to do a better job of finding him early and giving him so many angles to get to the hoop.”

Fratello on Chicago Bulls interim head coach Jim Boylan: “Names are being mentioned all over the place and who knows what’s going to happen in Chicago and whether Jim Boylan will be named as the permanent coach when the season is over or whether they decide to go in a different direction. With Tom Crean leaving Marquette and taking the Indiana University job, Jim Boylan, a graduate of Marquette…he would be a terrific candidate for that opportunity, if in fact he wanted to go back to college basketball.”

Fratello on Cleveland Cavaliers center Zydrunas Ilgauskas: “(Zydrunas Ilgauskas is) showing us the full repertoire tonight. Hooks across the lane, step-back fade aways from 12 feet. Offensive machine, Zydrunas.”

Fratello on the young players on the Bulls learning lessons the hard way: “A guy who is a spark for (the Bulls) was Chris Duhon. There was a situation where Duhon had a problem because he went to see his college team play, gets back, misses practice so there’s a suspension or a fine that takes place. This is a very young basketball team and sometimes young players have to learn the hard way.”

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Halftime

Johnson, Smith and Barkley

Barkley on the Bulls giving up on the season: “Chicago has packed it in, they’re in the Bahamas already.”

Barkley on a potential Boston/Cleveland match-up in the playoffs: “I like Paul Pierce, but he’s not big and strong enough to handle LeBron (James). LeBron is too physically imposing and (when he’s guarded by Pierce) he’ll be screaming, ‘there’s a mouse in the house.’”

Smith on the Houston Rockets after their historic 22-game winning streak was snapped: “(The Houston Rockets) came back to earth. Without Yao Ming they can’t be a contender.”

Barkley: “They’re a pretender.”

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Miller on the lack of a leader on the Bulls: “Coach Boylan says there’s no pecking order on this (Bulls) team. On most teams, for instance (the Cavaliers) the pecking order is LeBron James (first), on Boston it’s Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce. There’s no pecking order on this Bulls team so everyone’s looking to one another to step up and it changes from night to night.”

Miller on Cavaliers center Zyndrunas Ilgauskas: “Think about the things that Big Z (Zydrunas Ilgauskas) does. He offensive rebounds, he sets good screens, he can pick and roll, he can pick and pop…You want your big guys to have good feet, but more importantly you want them to have good hands. Big Z has the good hands.”

Miller on Bulls guard Ben Gordon’s offensive play late in the fourth quarter: “Ben Gordon tried to do a Michael Jordan move on (former Utah Jazz forward) Bryon Russell (in the 1998 NBA Finals). He tried a little crossover, got caught pushing off Delonte West and picked up the offensive foul. But Michael never got caught for that, as we all know.”

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Game 2: Houston Rockets (95) @ Portland TrailBlazers (86)

Announcers Kevin Harlan and Doug Collins; Cheryl Miller reporting

Collins on Houston Rockets guard Luther Head: Luther Head is a guy who can play a little point guard as long as you don’t pressure him. He’ll turn the ball over if you really put a lot of defensive pressure on him. He can take the ball to the basket off of one dribble and he can shoot threes, but if you’re going to ask him to run your offense he can be a little turnover prone.”

Collins on the impact that injured TrailBlazers center Greg Oden will have on solving the team’s weaknesses next season: “If you look at the weaknesses of Portland they don’t really have an inside toughness, shot blocking, rebounding or defending the paint - all of the things you expect Greg Oden to bring to the team next year. You put (LaMarcus) Aldridge next to him as a player that can play off of him offensively, that should be a good tandem for years to come.”

Collins on Rockets head coach Rick Adelman: “A lot of times as a coach you don’t get the credit you deserve in this business. We saw the job he did in Portland with an incredibly talented team and in Sacramento the job he did there. The only place that he wasn’t successful was Golden State and he just didn’t have the personnel there. He just won his 800^th game in this league; you don’t do that by accident and not being a terrific coach.”

Collins on Rockets center Dikembe Mutombo: “When you hear (Dikembe Mutomobo’s) teammates talk about this guy and what he means to (the Rockets) locker room, his professionalism, his pride, the joy he gets from playing everyday, it’s amazing…We see the beat go on and on for Dikembe. What a credit to him that he keeps himself in the kind of shape that when he’s called on he can contribute and be ready to deliver for his team.”

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Halftime

Johnson, Smith and Barkley

Smith on the Rockets playing without injured center Yao Ming: “What makes the Rockets good in their present state, to still win games without Yao Ming and still be competitive, the biggest thing is that they have a bunch of different areas…Tracy McGrady driving, spacing the floor, and tough defense between Dikembe Mutombo and (Luis) Scola.”
Barkley: “Having Seattle and Portland on their schedule doesn’t hurt either.”

Barkley on Rockets center Dikembe Mutomobo: “Dikembe Mutombo, to me, is one of the most amazing (players and) he’s a great humanitarian. For him to be able to play at (age) 50…”

Johnson: “He’s 41.”

Barkley: “I’ll bet every dime I’ve got he’s not 41…he’s our ‘Danny Almonte.’”

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Collins on the struggles of the Rockets to make high energy plays: “Carl Landry is still not right with that knee, he really doesn’t have the balance at all. The things that the Rockets really strived on during that 22-game winning streak is really now going towards the Portland TrailBlazers. They’re winning the energy game tonight.”

Collins on the competitiveness of the Western Conference: “This is the time of year that everybody’s sore. Basically, the Western Conference playoffs started a month early. You’re not going to limp into the playoffs, if you’re not playing well you’ll be out in the first round.”

Collins on Rockets forward Chuck Hayes: “(Chuck) Hayes does a nice job getting out on those screens. He’s very, very active, he’s undersized but he brings a physical presence, but when he plays against taller front lines it becomes difficult for him to score around the basket.”

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Inside the NBA presented by Hyundai

Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley

Barkley on what team would the Rockets best match-up against in the playoffs: “The New Orleans Hornets…they have two problems. Number one, (they have a) lack of experience and number two, they don’t have a home court. That place is like a mausoleum down there.”

Smith: “I don’t think that New Orleans would be a good match-up (for Houston) because New Orleans plays the way the Rockets play now without Yao Ming…but they do it much better. (New Orleans) works on effort, energy, savvy and tip-ins. They don’t beat you with all-talent, (players like David) West and (Tyson) Chandler, they out-hustle you in certain positions. And that’s what the Rockets try to do with (Luis) Scola and Dikembe Mutombo. I think they would be better off playing a team that is super heavily-favored. Kind of like what happened last year with Golden State playing against Dallas.”

TNT’s Jim Huber talked to former SuperSonics player and head coach Lenny Wilkens about the SuperSonics potential move out of Seattle.

Wilkens on how he feels about the team’s potential move: “I’m a little disappointed. I think that the Sonics have established themselves here, they’ve been here for forty years. The population grew to be part of Sonic history. We won a championship here, I think there are great fans here. We’re the twelve largest market in the NBA and to think about there not being a NBA franchise here really saddens me.”

Barkley on the SuperSonics potential move out of Seattle: “I’ve always believed that these owners that have all this money should split the bill fifty-fifty with the citizens. It’s unfair for the citizens to pay for all the new ballparks because these owners benefit the most. (The SuperSonics situation) is sad because Seattle is the toughest place I ever played, the people there were nuts. The crowd was right there, it was a fun environment. It did get a little negative but I liked the negative; that made me play better. It was the most hostile place; it was fun to play there. I’m disappointed that the people of Seattle didn’t come in and try to (protest the move) a lot sooner. (The SuperSonics) are pretty much going to Oklahoma City right now and that’s unfortunate and sad. But I think that it’s too late now and that’s sad.”

Barkley on the SuperSonics having to break their arena lease in order to move out of Seattle: “It’s going to be interesting to see how they break that arena lease. I was watching Judge Judy and Judge Joe Brown and those leases aren’t easy to break. I guarantee that Judge Judy and Judge Joe Brown wouldn’t let that happen.”

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