Barkley on Game #7 of the Hawks/Celtics series: “I’m still going with the Celtics (to win the series), but if they lose (Game #7) it will be the biggest upset in NBA history. The Celtics need to relax. They don’t need to play in Atlanta (anymore); Atlanta has to win in Boston. Is everyone surprised this series has gone seven games? No question, but the Celtics have got to relax. That’s why they play the regular season; they’ve got the home court (advantage). Nobody talks about the job (Hawks head coach Mike Woodson) has done getting the Hawks to the playoffs. Everyone thought this series was going to be a Boston sweep. I take my hat off to the Atlanta Hawks.”

Smith on Celtics center Kevin Garnett not stepping up offensively in Game #6: “Kevin Garnett might be the only superstar in the history of the NBA that can’t get 40 points in a big game.”

Barkley: “Because he’s a great all-around player.”

Smith: “That’s the interesting thing. Usually a (superstar player) would say in a game six, ‘I’m taking 25-30 shots, I’m making it happen and I’m going to force my will.’ He’s the only superstar in the history of the game that can’t do that.”

Barkley: “He’s been a great all-around player. To me, the guy who has to step up is Paul Pierce. Kevin Garnett plays great defense, he’s a great rebounder and he can score at will. Paul Pierce is the most dominant offensive (player) in this series. He’s got to have a monster game. It’s got to be (Pierce) or Ray Allen; they’re the two guys whose best dimension is scoring.”

Smith on Kobe Bryant possibly winning the MVP: “I had Kobe (Bryant) winning the MVP. He’s been the second best player all year. The first half of the season, Kevin Garnett was the best player, Kobe was second. The second half, Chris Paul was (the best player), Kobe was second. Consistency wins out.”

In the latest Timeout with Thompson segment, TNT’s John Thompson interviewed New Orleans Hornets head coach Byron Scott and guard Chris Paul on the Hornets’ successful season.

Scott on what he attributes the improvement of the Hornets to: “We talked about what (Chris Paul) needed to do to improve his game. The number one thing was to work on his shot, get his three point range a little better so that percentage can go up. Our main focus was to make individuals better and stay healthy. If those two things happened, we felt we were going to have a real good season.”

Paul on the fans in New Orleans: “I went to a lot of the (New Orleans) Saints game early in the season and the game (atmosphere) is crazy to see all the fans. I thought that we need these people at our games, we need this energy. Soon enough, it got like that (for us). It’s been crazy ever since. The people in New Orleans really know how to support a team; we’ve been riding their wave to the playoffs.”

Paul on the respect that the Hornets have for head coach Byron Scott: “(Byron Scott) knows what it is to be a player in this league. I think a lot of times, people forget that Coach (Scott) went to the Finals twice. Then he took a team that won 18 games the year before I got here (2004-05) and now we have 56 wins, that’s not just by coincidence. Everybody in our locker room respects him. It’s not like that on every team. Everybody, from the best player on the team to the last guy on the bench. They respect him as a player, a coach and a man.”

Scott on winning Coach of the Year: “It meant a great deal because I know all the work that these guys have put into this season. To me, it’s not an individual award. It’s an award that the Hornets achieve. I’m just the head of this and I get to reap the benefits of being Coach of the Year.”

TNT’s Pam Oliver interviewed Magic center Dwight Howard before the Magic/Pistons game.

Howard on matching up against Pistons forward Rasheed Wallace: “It’s going to be a lot of fun. (Rasheed Wallace is) a great person and I love playing against him. He brings out the best in me and I can’t wait to get it going.”

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Game 1: Orlando Magic (72) @ Detroit Pistons (91) – Detroit leads the series 1-0.
Announcers: Matt Devlin and Mike Fratello with Pam Oliver reporting

Fratello on how the Pistons are defending Dwight Howard: “That’s a bad matchup size-wise when you have (Pistons center Jason) Maxiell guarding (Dwight) Howard. The problem is when they put (Rasheed) Wallace on him too early because (Wallace) ends up with fouls and has to sit.”

Fratello on Magic guard Jameer Nelson: “The complaint with (Jameer Nelson) early in his career was he shot first, passed second. He has a scorer’s mentality but this year he is now the fourth (scoring) option behind (Dwight) Howard down low, (Hedo) Turkoglu and (Rashard) Lewis and then Nelson. He’s really given himself up to get his teammates involved. But he does have the ability to put points on the board.”

Fratello on the development of Magic center Dwight Howard: “(Magic assistant coach Patrick) Ewing has worked with (Dwight Howard), the (Orlando coaching) staff has worked with him and the experience over the summer with the U.S. Olympic team has really been a valuable lesson for this young man as we’ve seen great advancement in his game.”

TNT’s Pam Oliver interviewed Pistons guard Chauncey Billups after the second quarter

Billups on teammate Rasheed Wallace picking up another technical foul late in the second quarter: “‘Sheed (Rasheed Wallace) is going to be ‘Sheed and we love him for that. He wears his emotions on his sleeve and we feed off of that.”

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Halftime
Johnson, Barkley and Smith

Barkley on Rasheed Wallace not able to get involved in the post-up game for the Pistons: “(Rasheed Wallace) can’t (get into the post-up game) because he is always going to be in foul trouble. He’s a terrific player but if he tries to guard Dwight Howard, he’s going to get into foul trouble. But when he tries to guard Rashard Lewis or (Hedo) Turkoglu, he’s at a disadvantage because as athletic as Rasheed is, those guys are used to playing on the floor in the offense and Raheed is used to shooting threes. I’d rather they put him on Howard and come with the double-team instead of trying to guard Rashard or Hedo out on the floor.”

Spurs center Tim Duncan on which Hornets player the Spurs need to focus on defensively: “First and foremost, Chris Paul. Just about every offensive decision goes through him. He’s our first priority to try to contain him and limit what he does.”

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Fratello on the difference between Raptors guard T.J. Ford, who Magic guard Jameer Nelson faced in the first round and Pistons guard Chauncey Billups, who Nelson faces in the second round: “(Raptors guard) T.J. Ford comes at you 100 miles-per-hour, trying to push the ball from end to end before you can get back and get set up. (Pistons guard) Chauncey Billups is going to back you down and shoot it over the top of you, hook and go around you with his strength and size.”

Fratello on the Pistons wearing down the Magic over the course of Game #1: “If anything, at the beginning of the game, (the Magic) coming in here against the Pistons, you might thing they would be nervous. But that wasn’t the case, they played very well (early in the game). Now, as the game goes on, the Pistons are wearing on them. The strength and size of Detroit is taking its toll.”

Fratello on Pistons acquiring forward Theo Ratliff earlier in the season: “A number of teams, down the stretch in the regular season, picked up someone that they felt could help them in the playoffs. In San Antonio, it was Kurt Thomas and Damon Stoudamire that they picked up. In Boston, they came up with Sam Cassell and P.J. Brown. And here, (Theo) Ratliff is a guy they thought could come in and give them a lot of help defensively in particular.”

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Game break
Johnson, Barkley and Smith

Smith on the Pistons’ play in their Game #1 victory: “For Detroit, the switch was on (in Game #1). You talk about the on/off switch (with Detroit) and it was on tonight. Defensively, they did a great job on Dwight (Howard) containing him and he didn’t have a lot of attempts. Forget how many points he had, it’s the attempts that really matter. If (the Pistons) can limit his attempts, they will do very well and possibly sweep (the Magic).”

Barkley on whether or not the Hornets are going to be able to limit what Spurs guard Manu Ginobili: “I don’t think you can ever limit a guy who is a terrific player and scorer. You can slow him down and make him take tough shots and you can make him work on the other end.”
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Game #2: San Antonio Spurs (82) @ New Orleans Hornets (101) – New Orleans leads the series 1-0.
Announcers: Marv Albert and Reggie Miller with Craig Sager reporting

Miller on how Spurs guard Tony Parker is going to play against Hornets guard Chris Paul: “Byron Scott said that (Tony Parker) is a younger version of Jason Kidd. Chris Paul dusted off the future Hall of Famer Jason Kidd (in the first round). One thing Tony Parker is going to do against Chris Paul is put pressure on him offensively and he’s going to be relentless about it.”

Miller on how the Hornets need to defend Spurs guard Tony Parker: “Tony Parker is going to put a lot of pressure, especially in steals and long rebounds in fast break situations. If I’m the Hornets, in transition defense, you have to get back low to the basketball, create a wall and build yourself out from that wall.”

Miller on Spurs forward Bruce Bowen: “You can say what you want about Bruce Bowen and about all the little tactics and dirty tricks that he plays. He’s one of the hardest working guys that I ever played against. Are some of the things he does questionable? Yes. The one thing that (head coach) Gregg Popovich and the Spurs can count on is he is going to come to compete and play hard every night.”

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Halftime
Johnson, Barkley and Smith

TNT’s Pam Oliver interview Magic center Dwight Howard following Orlando’s loss to the Pistons in Game #1 of the series

Howard on how he is going to approach Game #2 after his thumb injury: “I’m just going to play my game. That’s the only thing I can do, I know they are going to be physical and pushing hard, holding, grabbing and trying to hit my hand. I just have to play through it and not get frustrated.”

Howard on the Magic’s mindset heading into Game #2: “As a team, we can’t get frustrated. Being a leader, I can’t let my teammates see me frustrated. I think that triggers down to every one else (on the team). I’ve got to stay focused, composed and get ready for Game #2.”

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Miller on Spurs guard Manu Ginobili: “I always wonder why Manu Ginobili always gets to go to his strong hand, which is his left (hand). Everyone watches the video, they watch tapes, you want to force him right but he always ends up going left. It’s because he’s that good.”

Miller on former Spurs center Melvin Ely joining the Hornets and providing some tips on how to play against Tim Duncan: “(Byron Scott brought) in Melvin Ely who was a part of the Spurs organization last year and he is giving Byron Scott and Tyson Chandler some tips of how to play (against) Tim Duncan.”
Miller on Hornets forward David West: “(David West) doesn’t jump particularly high but he has great hands, he’s athletic and he’s active.”

In another edition of Inside Trax, TNT replayed audio from New Orleans Hornets head coach Byron Scott.

Scott to Spurs guard Manu Ginobili: “Hey Manu…don’t shoot the ball anymore. Don’t shoot and don’t pass. I take that back…pass.”

TNT’s Craig Sager interviewed Hornets forward David West after the game

West on the Hornets outplaying the Spurs in the second half: “We just came out with a lot more energy (in the second half) and they were beating us to loose balls and there’s no excuse for that. We’ve got the fresher legs, the younger legs and we want to the aggressor the entire series.”

West on Hornets head coach showing the team his three NBA Championship rings before the game: “We know coach is a winner, he’s been a winner his whole life. He is just trying to make sure we get a winner’s mentality. We’re chasing (the Spurs) and for the last couple of years we have been trying to build what they have, close the gap with these guys and we feel like over the course of the season, we’ve done that.”

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Inside the NBA
Ernie Johnson and Kenny Smith

Smith on how the Spurs need to adjust their game-plan for Game #2 against the Hornets: “The one thing (the Spurs) did well in the first half, if you looked at the bottom of Chris Paul’s shoes, there wasn’t any paint. But in the second half, (the bottom of his shoes) were filled with blue paint. And (the Spurs) have to keep him out of the paint. They did a great job in the first half of closing the gaps and keeping him out of the paint. That slowed the tempo of the game down and that caused the old legs (of the Spurs) to look fresh and they closed the gap. If they can do what they did in the first half, and they have to put Tim Duncan on David West at some point in the game. (Duncan is) the best defender (the Spurs) have in the low-post. They have to take the risk that he won’t get into foul trouble because he is a perennial All-Star and those 50/50 calls won’t go against him.”

Smith on the Jazz/Lakers second round series: “The Lakers are the team to beat in the Western Conference. If you look at their trade for Pau Gasol, that triggered everything else that went on in the West (Conference) and then they produced on the court. To me, they are the team to beat, they played the best even with San Antonio the second half of the season. The difference playing Utah (in the second round) and playing Denver (in the first round) is like you were dancing to a fast song and now your dancing to a slow song. (Utah) plays more of a control game, (Jazz point guard) Deron Williams is going to be able to control the pace of the game. He’s going to be able to get Utah shots and I don’t think the Lakers will double-team (Jazz forward) Carlos Boozer as much as other teams do.”

Smith on if the Hawks can beat the Celtics in Game #7: “The one thing Boston has to be careful of is that the pressure is on them. They are a team that has a chance to win an NBA Championship, now they are playing a Game #7 in a first round series against a team that is inferior. The pressure is on them and they better realize that.”

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