Notes from TNT’s Coverage of the NBA- Thursday, December 11, 2008
(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Barkley on the Suns recent trade for guard Jason Richardson: “(The Suns already have) Steve Nash, Shaquille O’Neal and Amare Stoudemire. There’s only one ball. If (Jason Richardson) shoots a certain amount, he’s going to take the ball away from Nash, Amar’e and O’Neal.”
Smith on Suns guard Steve Nash being upset that the Suns traded two of his good friends on the team, Raja Bell and Boris Diaw: “If you lose a good friend (in a trade), it hurts and if you lose games afterwards, it hurts more. Then you’re upset with everyone. This has to be a trade that helps Steve Nash win some more basketball games or he’s going to start looking upstairs or in the stands (at Suns management) as he’s dribbling the ball up the court asking, ‘What are you doing with me and what are you doing to this team?’”
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Game #1: Boston Celtics (122) @ Washington Wizards (88)
Announcers: Marv Albert, Reggie Miller and Mike Fratello; David Aldridge reporting
Fratello on how the Wizards coaching staff handles rookie JaVale McGee: “If (JaVale McGee) comes out focused and he has the energy and is playing well, then he plays. If he doesn’t have that focus and if he’s not into the game, he gets pulled out quick.”
Albert: “JaVale McGee is a 7-footer, a rookie out of Nevada who like the Czar (Fratello) is still growing into his body.”
Miller on Celtics Glen Davis crying on the bench after comments Garnett made to him last week: “If you’re Big Baby (Glen Davis) you can’t take things too personally, but I like the passion and drive he has. It shows me he cares and as long as a player cares I can coach him.”
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Halftime
Johnson, Barkley and Smith
Smith on how the role of Celtics guard Rajon Rondo has changed with the Celtics: “The one thing about a point guard, the toughest job that (Rajon) Rondo has to do is say ‘no’ to the Big Three. No, you don’t get the ball right now, no he gets it, no, no, no. Once he learned to say no and now they trust him, they are starting to reap the benefits.”
Johnson on a comment by Lakers guard Derek Fisher: “Derek Fisher said if they are at their best, they beat Boston.”
Barkley: “If my aunt had onions she’d be my uncle.”
Smith: “If your aunt had onions she’d be a good cook.”
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Miller on Celtics forward Paul Pierce solidifying his place in Celtics history: “When you’re talking about great Celtics (Paul Pierce’s) name has got to be mentioned, especially if the Celtics win another Championship. This is a guy who spent his whole career with the Celtics and put up fantastic numbers, and when the stage has been the biggest and the brightest he has stepped up.”
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Game #2: Portland Trail Blazers (88) @ Utah Jazz (97)
Announcers: Kevin Harlan and Doug Collins; Craig Sager reporting
Collins on Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy: “I love Brandon Roy, he’s one of my favorite players to watch in the NBA. The guy is so smooth, the game looks easy for him, he takes it wherever he wants to take it on the floor, he’s got a strong body and in the fourth quarter this team has so much confidence in him, and that’s why they are so good in close games.”
Collins on Jazz coach Jerry Sloan: “I grew up in Benton, Illinois; he was from McLeansboro, about 25 miles away. I remember Jerry Sloan playing in high school, that’s how far back we go together. He’s always been a champion and a winner wherever he’s gone, magnificent job he’s done here in Utah.”
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Halftime
Johnson, Barkley and Smith
Smith on the caliber of players improving in the NBA in the last two years: “I think the NBA has gotten better, over the last two years the players individually have gotten better. Three or four years ago I was worried about where the state of the game was going. You look at a team like Portland and you go down the line with (Sergio) Rodriguez and (Rudy) Fernandez, they are about eight to nine men deep. You look at Utah, Carlos Boozer is out, Deron Williams is not healthy, they are nine deep. When Charles and I were in the league you had to be nine men deep to play, (and now) the majority of the better teams now are deeper because the high school player that used to be in there are now veterans. The guys who couldn’t play before have learned how to play, they’ve been in the league six or seven years and I’m glad the league has gotten better.”
Barkley on the disparity in the NBA with many teams still not relevant: “Great calls in Portland and Utah, the guys drafting on those teams have done a fantastic job, but some of these general mangers don’t know what the hell they’re doing. You look at this, Oklahoma City, Minnesota, Los Angeles (Clippers), Sacramento, Golden State, Memphis those teams are not good. In the East, Washington, Charlotte, Indiana, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Toronto (are not good). One of the great travesties is these high school players coming straight to the NBA now. They are only staying in college for one year, those guys have to stay for two years. It would help college and it would help the NBA. They can all play, but they don’t know what the hell they’re doing.”
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Inside the NBA presented by Hyundai
Johnson, Barkley and Smith
Barkley with a message for Trail Blazers rookie center Greg Oden: “(The Trail Blazers) have to be patient with Greg Oden. I was reading where he has been getting depressed. Hey Greg Oden, you have to understand this, you’re really only 19-years-old. We live with the internet and all those jackasses, and talk radio with those jackasses, too. You have to look at your game realistically. You only played one year in college so you are really only 19 (years-old) basketball-wise. Be patient, your game is going to come around and you’re going to learn how to score but don’t put undue pressure on yourself. You’re a great kid with a great personality but you have to be patient. Since high school, you’ve only played one year of basketball. You can’t think that you can walk in and play with the best players in the world and dominate. Those days are over, bro. You’ve got to work on your game and be patient.”
TNT’s David Aldridge talked to Celtics guard Paul Pierce following the Celtics/Wizards game.
Pierce on the Celtics 21-2 record which is the best start in franchise history: “(The record) means something to the people that keep the records but for us, we just want to continue to get better. It is going to get thrown out the window if we don’t win a championship and that’s our goal.”
Ret. Maj. General Ron Johnson, who serves as SR. V.P. Referee Operations for the NBA, joined the crew on-set
Johnson on if it is impossible to know if a referee is throwing a game in light of former NBA referee Tim Donaghy’s betting scandal: “It is not impossible nor is it possible for a referee to (throw a game). This (Tim) Donaghy thing was nothing about referees in general. Our referees are dedicated; they are professionals who are the best in the world at what they do. They are full-time NBA employees and they felt betrayed by what happened. I think the Donaghy incident was a once-in-a-lifetime incident. Values are individual, you either have values or you don’t. If you embrace values and believe in certain things, you’ll do the right thing and be ok and sometimes people stray from that. This had nothing to do with NBA referees, it had something to do with an individual.”
Smith on Barkley getting golf lessons from Tiger Woods’ golf coach Hank Haney as part of Golf Channel’s upcoming show “Project Barkley with Hank Haney” which debuts in March 2009: “Kwame Brown played for Phil Jackson…it didn’t work.”