Notes from TNT’s Coverage of the NBA – Monday, January 19, 2008
TNT’s NBA coverage continues Thursday, Jan. 22 at 7 p.m. ET with the exclusive announcement of the NBA All-Star starters, followed at 8 p.m. ET with a doubleheader featuring the Boston Celtics @ Orlando Magic followed by the Washington Wizards @ Los Angeles Lakers.
(AP Photo/Gus Ruelas)
TNT’s John Thompson and Washington Wizards’ forward Caron Butler sat down with Thompson’s ten-year-old granddaughter Morgan to talk about Barack Obama becoming the 44th President of the United States.
Butler on Obama “One of the things that was very special and unique to me watching (Barack Obama) running for this election was seeing the unity of the people. Seeing people from all different races, white, black and Hispanics (come together).”
Thompson on what Martin Luther King, Jr. would think watching the reactions to Obama being elected President: ”I know that (Martin Luther King, Jr.) would see improvement because of young people. I think he would see people that accepted one another. The thing that was most amazing to (Butler and myself) was you saw all kinds of people as happy as they could be about Obama (becoming President). If Dr. King saw that, he would say, ‘That’s my dream.’”
Smith on Barack Obama: “I think we could spend a whole night doing the show, not even have a game, and talk about the relationship between sports, political aspirations and culture. For me, the first time I ever hugged someone of another race was through sports, the first time I ever felt equal was on a basketball court, the first time I felt I was colorless was on a basketball court. When you think about all the great people that (came before us, like) Muhammad Ali, Bill Russell and Jackie Robinson and what they did through sports. And then on the eve of our 44th President, who loves to play basketball, who is a product of what we’ve come through, all of the programming, all the basketball scholarships…he is a product of us. He is a product of what the American dream is about.”
Webber on how Barack Obama transcends and unites: “(Barack Obama) transcends politics and religion. One thing about sports is when you have a common enemy, it’s easy for everyone to pull together. If (Detroit Tigers fans) hate the Brooklyn Dodgers, then everyone in Detroit is going to pull together regardless of race. One thing that’s great about Obama is he transcends his color, he’s a great man and we as a country are behind him because of that.”
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Game #1: Detroit Pistons (87) @ Memphis Grizzlies (79)
Announcers: Dick Stockton and Mike Fratello with David Aldridge reporting
Fratello on Pistons starting three guards in the lineup: “The thing we see with a smaller Piston (lineup) is they get hurt on the glass, they aren’t a very good rebounding team. Secondly, it really upsets the rotations for the head coach (Michael Curry), now it’s difficult to get those extra big men in up front. When they start (Tayshaun) Prince at the four spot, he’s playing 38 minutes a game and it’s hard to get (Antonio) McDyess and (Jason) Maxiell off the bench.”
Fratello on the Pistons possibly moving Allen Iverson to the bench: “It would be awfully tough to tell a (future) Hall of Famer and a player of Allen Iverson’s stature that they need him to come off the bench. But that’s the best thing (for the team) and Allen Iverson has to understand that someone has to make that sacrifice.”
Fratello on Grizzlies rookie O.J. Mayo: “O.J. Mayo is the real deal. This guy can be the two-guard, he can play small forward at times and he can also run the point because he has the ability to pass the basketball. He really understands the game and he has a really high basketball I.Q.”
Fratello on how Iverson going to the bench would help the Pistons’ second unit: “If I had to make the decision between (Allen) Iverson or (Rip) Hamilton going to the bench, to me it would be Iverson. Because with their second unit, (Iverson) could be their go-to guy. Think back to when he went to the NBA Finals with Philly (in 2001), he played with George Lynch, Aaron McKie, Tyrone Hill and Theo Ratliff…who else needed shots besides Allen Iverson? And they made it to the NBA Finals.”
TNT’s David Aldridge interviewed Pistons guard Rip Hamilton at halftime.
Hamilton on the decision that will be made by the Pistons to either start himself or Allen Iverson: “It doesn’t matter for us, we want to win games. Me and Allen both know our ultimate goal is to win a championship, so whatever the teams wants us to do we are going to go ahead and do so we can win games.”
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Halftime
Johnson and Smith
Smith on moving Rip Hamilton to the bench over Allen Iverson: “It’s going to be Rip Hamilton (coming off the bench for the Pistons). I’m not bringing a future Hall of Famer and a guy who scores that many buckets (to the bench) because they will have dissention on the bench. Allen Iverson’s attitude isn’t going to be great on the bench. I’m not putting him on the bench.”
Webber on Iverson needing to play with defensive-minded players and how the Pistons should handle him the remainder of the season: “I played with Allen Iverson, (he’s the) best player I ever played with in my life and the best athlete I’ve ever seen. He’s the most difficult guy to get the ball from and score. Allen Iverson needs five robots to play with him. How’d he get to the (NBA Finals in 2001)? (He had) five guys who couldn’t score. Aaron McKie, (Dikembe) Mutombo, (Eric) Snow, all defensive players. The Pistons were the most unselfish team I ever played for. Tayshaun Prince is the best post player on the team, ‘Sheed (Rasheed Wallace) is the best three point shooter, Rip (Hamilton) is the best shooter. I have to bring A.I. (Allen Iverson) off the bench. I’m going to say, ‘A.I., you know what? I know what you do, you score. Do whatever you want out here.’ Being a great player coming off the pick-and-roll and my hands being ready for (the ball) and not touching the ball and I’m a great player too. No, we can’t have that, it’s gotta’ be team ball here. I never said A.I. is selfish, but he’s the most difficult guy to score from because of his mentality. If you have a running quarterback, you’re not going to sit back in the pocket at throw bombs. The guy is a scorer, he attacks and that’s what makes him great. That’s why he needs to play with five guys will rebound.”
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Fratello on Pistons forward Jason Maxiell: “(Jason) Maxiell is a big plus for (the Pistons). He brings energy off the bench and he can fill-in at two positions for them. It’s just a matter of him being patient right now while (head coach) Michael Curry works out the rotation.”
Allen Iverson on Martin Luther King, Jr. and President Barack Obama: “First of all, its an honor to be able to play on a day like this. (Martin Luther King, Jr.) was a great man, he did a lot of things for this country and a lot of things for black people in general. It’s going to be a great day. I can honestly feel it. There’s going to be change, I think (Barack Obama) is going to make our country a better country. He’s going to be great for the people.”
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Game #2: Phoenix Suns (87) @ Boston Celtics (104)
Announcers: Kevin Harlan and Reggie Miller with Cheryl Miller reporting
Miller on the importance of Celtics guard Rajon Rondo: “I was talking to Sam Cassell before the game and he was saying, ‘Rondo is the key to our team.’ I know everyone talks about ‘The Big Three,’ (but Rondo) is this aggressive in the open court and he speeds the court as Doc Rivers would like him to do night in and night out and it makes everyone better, especially Ray Allen…When Rondo plays well, Ray Allen is going to play fantastic.”
Miller on Celtics forward Glen Davis: “I really like the hustle of Glen ‘Big Baby’ Davis. Diving on the floor, keeping the ball alive on the basket, giving yourself and your team extra opportunities.”
Miller on whether or not Stephon Marbury would fit on the Celtics: “Yes, (Stephon Marbury) would (fit on the Celtics). He’s going to have to accept a reduced role, but if he does that with the blessing of The Big Three, he would fit.”
Miller on Suns forward Amare Stoudemire: “We know what (Amar’e Stoudemire) can do on the offensive end, I want him to be that gorilla on the defensive end. I want him to be that gorilla on the boards, off the glass, blocking shots, helping your teammate out. It’s one thing to put up 25 to 30 points, but how are you making your team better at the defensive end?”
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Halftime
Johnson, Smith and Webber
Webber on Celtics guard Rajon Rondo getting his team involved: “(Rajon) Rondo’s maturity really shows this year. What really impressed me is what Ray Allen said (about Rondo). It’s not so much that Rondo’s breaking down people, he’s getting the ball, pushing it and moving it and he’s getting other people involved. When your point guard or quarterback gets people involved everybody’s going to be happy.”
Smith on the difference between guards Steve Nash and Rajon Rondo: “Don’t look at this as a point guard comparison because it’s two different styles. Steve Nash used to be the most un-athletic player on his team and probably the slowest guy in a foot race, now he’s in the top three. He went from being a turtle to being a rabbit and all of sudden (Rajon) Rondo’s on a team full of rabbits.”
Webber on Suns forward Amar’e Stoudemire: “Amar’e Stoudemire is a beast, but to be a consistent beast you have to get those rebounds. Especially when you aren’t shooting well, you can’t come out of the game with zero rebounds.”
TNT’s David Aldridge interviewed Allen Iverson following the Pistons/Memphis match-up.
Iverson on Webber’s earlier comments that he would bring him off the bench and start Rip Hamilton in the line-up: “Listen man, I haven’t ever thought Chris had it all anyway (laughing). It don’t matter man, I do whatever is going to make the team better. I can sacrifice, I’ve been sacrificing ever since I got to Detroit. If I have to do it then I have to do it, whatever it takes to win a championship, I’m with it. It’ll be tough, I have never came off the bench ever in my career so it’s something different, but whatever happens, happens.”
Smith on why he would start Allen Iverson over Rip Hamilton: “The reason I wouldn’t take Allen Iverson out of the starting line-up is because, did you see his eye twitch (when David Aldridge asked him about it)? You see the whole cynical remark? For him, it’s so astronomically incredible that it’s even a thought (that he’s coming off the bench) because he’s an MVP and a (future) Hall of Famer. Rip Hamilton I believe will accept the role better than Allen Iverson because he’s never been the same caliber of player.”
Webber: “So if I’m married to a wife, any beautiful lady walking down the street I can bring her in because she looks better or her credentials are better?”
Smith: “Well, (the Pistons) have two wives right now.”
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Miller on why Celtics guard Ray Allen should participate in the All-Star three-point shooting contest: “In my opinion, (Ray Allen) is the best shooter in the game. I know people talk about Dirk (Nowitzki) and Jason Kapono – he’s won back-to-back three-point shooting contests during All-Star Weekend. I’d like to see Ray Allen get in the competition this year. Ray Allen has won the competition in the past, but he hasn’t competed in the last few years. I would love to see Ray Allen, Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kapono all go at it in the three-point shooting competition.”
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Game Break
Johnson, Smith and Webber
Webber on Lakers guard Kobe Bryant and Cavaliers forward LeBron James: “(Kobe Bryant and LeBron James) are definitely the epitome of the league, along with Dwyane Wade and others. Both of these guys unfortunately put me out of my hopes of winning a championship in the Conference Finals, so I’ve seen what they both can do. Both of them are great leaders and both of them have a mental toughness which gets them over the hump a lot of nights.”
Smith on LeBron facing the challenge of showing who is the better player: “The one thing that I’ve never seen, at least physically, from LeBron is him take a challenge personally. I’ve seen Kobe Bryant on occasion say, ‘I take this challenge personally and regardless I’m still trying to get the win.’ LeBron James has never really had to face that yet in his career. I want to see if tonight he says, ‘I’m the new guy,’ because that’s the question in every barbershop, every train station, every airport who is better. So he’s going to say tonight, ‘I’m going to show you on your stage who’s the best player and I’m taking it personal.’ And some nights you have to do that.”
Webber on the significance of Barack Obama being elected the 44th president of the United States: “I think everyone should know that your significance is not equally tied to your prominence. You can start grassroots (efforts), you can be an at-home, Martin Luther King’s dream, Barack (Obama’s) dream, everyone’s dream, it starts with you. You don’t have to be this famous person, you can do a lot in your neighborhood with the people that you know.”
Smith on Barack Obama: “He’s a product of what we are, from all of the different programs, all of the different scholarships, from basketball, so everyone can relate to what he is.”
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Game #3: Cleveland Cavaliers (88) @ Los Angeles Lakers (105)
Announcers: Marv Albert and Doug Collins with Craig Sager reporting
Collins on Lakers forward Lamar Odom: “Lamar Odom is trying to be very aggressive…I’ve seen this before and it’s not within his personality to be that offensive-minded, he’s more of a flow kind of guy.”
Collins on LeBron James jumping over the crowd after being fouled by Lamar Odom in the second quarter: “In (LeBron James’) new commercial he’s a football player, maybe in the Olympics he could be a long jumper. He’s got all things going for him.”
TNT’s Craig Sager interviewed Cavaliers forward LeBron James at halftime.
James on matching-up against Kobe Bryant: “Well, when two of the ultimate competitors want to guard each other, we know if we can contain each other it’s a possible chance that whoever contains the most can win the game. We both are taking the challenge. (Kobe is) a very good defender, very good team.”
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Halftime
Johnson, Smith and Webber
Smith on the Lakers being a more complete team than the Cavaliers: “LA has more balance than Cleveland. Even with Kobe (Bryant) getting five points, they have so many areas they can attack you from. This is a complete basketball team whereas Cleveland, LeBron really has to play great for them to be a great basketball team.”
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Collins on Lakers guard Derek Fisher: “(Derek Fisher) is so steady. (He has) three championships with this team and when he came back he so stabilized that position. He allowed Jordan Farmar to continue to grow. Derek Fisher has been great for the Lakers.”
Collins on Lakers big men vs. Cavaliers big men: “The difference in the Lakers big guys, especially (Pau) Gasol, he can step out on the floor and knock the shot down. Zydrunas Ilgauskas can do that, but when Cleveland plays (Anderson) Varejao and Ben Wallace together, your concern defensively is keeping them off the offensive boards, they’re not going to be shot makers.”
TNT’s Craig Sager interviewed Kobe Bryant following the game.
Bryant on his finger injury: “That might have been the worst pain I’ve ever played with. It was really painful and I’m glad we got through this one.”
Bryant on how important the game was for the Lakers: “It was a big game for us from the standpoint that we wanted to match their physicality. They’re a physical team and they play hard, play tough and obviously that was one of our weaknesses coming into the season, it was something we needed to work on. From that standpoint it was good test for us.”
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Inside the NBA presented by Hyundai
Johnson, Smith and Webber
Smith on what he learned watching the Lakers defeat the Cavaliers: “To me it showed that the Lakers are a better team. Overall, they have better players, better personnel, better chemistry and a deeper bench especially with (injured Cavaliers guard) Delonte West out. I just thought that overall, what you thought in your mind really came to fruition, Kobe Bryant has better guys around him than LeBron James.”
Webber on why moving Pistons guard Allen Iverson to the bench would help the team: “Allen (Iverson) is the best player I’ve seen with four stiffs, and that’s no disrespect to anyone. If he’s out there with the bench unit and they’re runnin’ and gunnin’, you’ve got guys that don’t get to play. They want to rebound and they want to tip-dunk. I’ve seen this guy score more than (entire) teams in quarters often. If you want him to have that role as a scorer, maybe it’ll be easier because the other guys have played so well together.”
Smith on the Pistons current guard situation: “I don’t know why (the Pistons) are having this big meeting (to talk about who’s going to the bench). If you don’t know who you’re starting by now, to me, that is something you should already know about, you should know what you’re going to do and what’s going to happen. There shouldn’t be any big meeting or big pow-wow. When you trade Chauncey Billups, you’re supposed to know who your starting lineup is. (Billups) was the guy who was running your engine and you have to say that you are going to be committed to this guy or this guy from day one. I don’t think that was ever established.”
Smith on Rockets center Yao Ming’s recent play: “(Yao Ming) has been shooting the ball incredibly. He’s playing like he’s with the China National Team (because) he’s getting the ball so much.”
Smith on the Atlanta Hawks: “Are the Hawks on the way up or on the way down in the second half of the season? That’s going to be the question. They are a very interesting team.”
Kobe took on the challenge of guarding LeBron while LeBron let someone else guard Kobe. Kobe dislocated his finger and stayed in the game, broke his finger last year and kept on playing while LeBron took 5 games off with a LEFT PINKIE injury. Kobe hit 6 of the 9 shots he made off of Lebron while Kobe just stifled LeBron, playing with one hand.
Those stat fools who still try to argue that leBron is better than Kobe just make me laugh my muthafuckin’ head off.
And that question of which teammate-I’m changing it.
Kobe.
Now this guy, unlike certain hacks who look at stats and BEPN highlights, actually knows basketball. http://20secondtimeout.blogspot.com/
I’m still taking Wade over them both.
David Aldridge probably owes Webber and Iverson an apology. Webber stated several times that he did not think that Allen Iverson should come off the bench — but that if the choice was strictly between he and Rip Hamilton, he would let Iverson run with the 2nd unit because of his capacity to score the ball. Further, that Iverson’s ability to create his own shot would allow role players on the 2nd unit to focus on aggressive all-around play: rebounding, defense, moving without the ball, etc.
I think Webber’s assessment was excellent, but Kenny Smith’s counterpoint about Iverson’s personality (leadership) was also revealing. Smith figured Rip could handle the change better than AI. He’s probably right — and Webber clearly said that he didn’t think Iverson should be coming off the Pistons bench.
Dude…are you making a NBA comment?
I guess it’s cool when your team is in the Super Bowl
LOL.
I was up late — doing some research for my McNabb piece (coming soon) and happened to see CWebb and Kenny doing there thing. Webber is very good on the show. Not surprised — but he’s very good. Kenny is excellent. I think Kenny is the best on-air basketball analyst right now. He speaks from experience. He relates his assessments to impacts on winning games in the regular season and the playoffs. He doesn’t make extraneous comments and he respects the players.
With that said, I still don’t have that NBA head.
I peeped a little of Kobe-BronBron. It was interesting to see how LeBron dealt with the taller, physical Lakers when he wasn’t getting calls. He was fouled quite a bit and seemed discombobulated.
GN and I agree on DWade. I just love how he lets the game come to him. Frankly, I think if he played on a team with another elite scorer or two (or a dominant big man), he’d wear Kobe’s ass out. Kobe can afford to expend that kind of effort vs. Miami because the Heat don’t have a 30-point scorer other than Wade. They don’t even have a 25 rebound, Put Back guy. It takes tremendous ability to guard any of these players, but its harder when those guys have help. Paul Pierce essentially used the same structural benefits to guard Kobe. Admittedly the C’s used 5 guys to guard Kobe for most of his touches, but Pierce did alot of grunt work on his own — and it was okay because he and the C’s weren’t worried about anyone else really making them pay.
Anyone see they Kobe’s comments on the NFL. He was joking but he said he could help McNabb out as a receiver. The reporter prefaced his questions with “LeBron said he could play quarterback in the NFL….”
LeBron never said that but…
Man show me the money…
Big ups for helping us make an noticeable impact on the game people. We couldn’t do it here without you.
Hadn’t the Lakers loss 5 straight to the Cavs before Monday night?
loss = lost
please excuse the typo.
Only God can help McNabb.
A. Wade has absolutely no chance to guard Kobe. He can’t stop Kobe from going over him on every possession.
B. Kobe can guard both Wade and LeBron, neither of them can guard Kobe.
C. The Cav’s did beat the Lakers 5 times in a row. Now go back and see how many of those games Kobe played heathy and then go back and youtube the ends of those games and see how the refs literally stole most of them fro the Lakers.
I’m praying now bruh. I’m praying now. Damnit man!
KevDog:
No one can guard Kobe.
My question is whether or not Kobe can guard Wade in a scenario where he doesn’t have the luxury of superior teammates and reduced duties. In other words, if these two were playing in an All-Star Game or a playoff series where both either had highly skilled, veteran teammates OR both had to carry the entire load — what would the outcomes be? I know you know — I don’t know. Based on what I’ve seen of Wade at different stages of his career, I’d say in either of those scenarios, he holds his own – on both ends of the floor. We won’t see that scenario for years outside an All-Star game context.
As for LeBron, I think we agree.
Kobe cannot guard LeBron. Where is this coming from? He’s pushing him to the middle for the flop.
T3.
I hear where you’re coming from, I just strongly disagree. Kobe can deny Wade the ball pretty much whenever he wants to and his length bothers Wade. Wade can pretty much only score on Kobe off of a screen roll. With his smaller stature he’d pretty much have to have Kobe’s arsenal i order to do anything against Kobe.
Mizzo-I absolutely disagree with what you just wrote. Did you see the game Monday? Kobe absolutely took it to LeBron and played him absolutely the way he needs to be played. That’s what people don’t understand about NBA basketball. On D, you take away what the other guy does. LeBron’s game needs space and facing the basket and a full head of steam. Kobe simply took it to him without the ball, made catching the ball difficult generally, impossible with any space. Once he did that, LeBron was left with an inadequate post and mid-range game.
Did you read the article I posted about exactlyhow Kobe took it to James defensively? And he did this with his ring finger on his dominant hand having been dislocated DURING THE GAME.
Nah bruh, Kobe can definitely guard LeBron.
Check back the next time. Kobe did d up LBJ that game. It won’t happen again. I will agree about the spacing LBJ needs to propagate a head of steam, but trust me, he’ll learn from this.
Kobe’s just not strong enough.
He’s the best player in the game and also the best defender of the three who are the most scrutinized currently, but LeBron’s learning curve is expanding rapidly.
LOL in 2 weeks we’ll see.
Don’t get me wrong. LeBron is already an all-time great and he has the potential to be GOAT such is his athleticism and youth. But we’ll see if he has the real commitment to pull it off.
Kobe was spotted in the gym at 7:30 the morning after the Cleveland game. Hand wrapped, working on his lower body.
Dude is a beast.
I respectfully disagree KevDog….
Wade can score on Kobe just like he scores on everyone else. I’ve seen these two play over the years and Wade has beaten him off the dribble, on a screen, face-to-face on a mid-range “J” and handled him in the post. Don’t let Wade’s height fool you. Dude is one of the strongest two guards in the league. Also, denying Wade the ball is not the same as guarding him.
I agree w/ Mizz….Kobe cannot guard Lebron. It may have only seemed like he could on Monday night due to Lebron having an off night shooting the rock. You brought up a good point about the spacing but Lebron also forced a lot of shots and didn’t let the game come to him. Hey, it happens to the best of them, even Kobe.
In regards to the game on Monday night….
The thing thats getting played up is that Kobe told Phil Jackson that he wanted LeBron. But Kobe didn’t do it alone. He had a lot of help from his teammates and the refs. Now granted, Kobe did guard Lebron at times on the perimeter BUT as soon as Lebron took a step towards the basket there was another 1 or 2 Lakers there with the help. It was far from a one man effort on Kobe’s part.
Lebron also played into the Lakers’ scheme because when he would dribble the ball, he wasn’t given any room to create(as mentioned by KevDog). So, the Lakers’ objective was to funnel him away from the basket. Couple that with the fact the Lebron had an off night shooting the ball as did the rest of the Cavs. They missed too many “open” shots.
Lebron was also not looking for his shooters like he normally does, which resulted in him forcing a lot of shots. He also didn’t get some calls that I thought he should’ve gotten.
But anyone who says Kobe shut down LeBron 1 on 1 is either a Laker fan or listens to too much ESPN. (no offense KevDog)
Lamar Odom after Monday’s game:
“I thought we did a great job defensively,” said Lamar Odom, who had eight points and 10 rebounds. “It was fun. We have to load up on (James). There’s no way we’re going to leave our best player on an island with him. Kobe did a great job of denying him the ball.”
Lamar Odom said that….
Mizzo – you da man for posting this. Thanks! I don’t have cable and it’s great to hear what the fellas (and the commentators) have to say. I gotta agree with CWebb and Fratello about Bubba Chuck comin’ off the bench. He would make Vinnie Microwave Johnson look like a campfire, as quick as AI can light it up. Like CWebb said, it’s not an easy choice, but AI’s always been a gamer and I’m sure he’ll do the right thing. Oh yeah, and fuck the Celtics, the Cavs, and the Magic.