NBA TV Quotage From The NBA Tip Off ’10 Schedule Announcement

So our third NBA press release this evening is from NBA TV which has the announcement of the Opening Week, Christmas Day and Martin Luther King, Jr. Day schedules. We have the quotage and schedule of games right here.

Notes from NBA TV’s Coverage of the NBA Tip-Off ’10 Schedule Announcement – Tuesday, August 3, 2010

NBA TIP OFF ’10

DATE	GAME	NETWORK	TIME (ET)
10/26	Miami Heat @ Boston Celtics	TNT	7:30 p.m.
10/26	Houston Rockets @ L.A. Lakers	TNT	10:30 p.m.
10/27	Chicago Bulls @ Oklahoma City Thunder	ESPN	8 p.m.
10/27	Portland Trail Blazers @ L.A. Clippers	ESPN	10:30 p.m.
10/28	Washington Wizards @ Orlando Magic	TNT	8 p.m.
10/28	Phoenix Suns @ Utah Jazz	TNT	10:30 p.m.
10/29	Orlando Magic @ Miami Heat	ESPN	8 p.m.
10/29	L.A. Lakers @ Phoenix Suns	ESPN	10:30 p.m.
10/30	Denver Nuggets @ Houston Rockets	NBA TV	8:30 p.m.
10/31	Utah Jazz @ Oklahoma City Thunder	NBA TV	7 p.m.
11/1	Portland Trail Blazers @ Chicago Bulls	NBA TV	8 p.m.
11/2	Philadelphia 76ers @ Washington Wizards	NBA TV	7 p.m.

HOLIDAY NATIONAL TELEVISION GAMES

DATE	GAME	NETWORK	TIME (ET)
12/25	Chicago Bulls @ New York Knicks	ESPN	12 p.m.
12/25	Boston Celtics @ Orlando Magic	ABC	2:30 p.m.
12/25	Miami Heat @ L.A. Lakers	ABC	5 p.m.
12/25	Denver Nuggets @ Oklahoma City Thunder	ESPN	8 p.m.
12/25	Portland Trail Blazers @ Golden State Warriors	ESPN	10:30 p.m.
1/17	Chicago Bulls @ Memphis Grizzlies	ESPN	1 p.m.
1/17	Sacramento Kings @ Atlanta Hawks	NBA TV	4 p.m.
1/17	Orlando Magic @ Boston Celtics	TNT	8 p.m.
1/17	Oklahoma City Thunder @ L.A. Lakers	TNT	10:30 p.m.

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NBA Tip-Off ’10 Schedule Announcement

Rick Kamla, Chris Webber and Craig Sager

Webber on Shaquille O’Neal potentially signing with the Boston Celtics: “(O’Neal) could easily start on 20 (other) teams but if he wants to come off the bench, it’ll be easier on his body.  He won’t have to get hurt during the season like he has over the past four or five years.  It’s a veteran team and when I got to play with a veteran team like the Pistons, they knew how to treat you different than the (younger) teams that got beat up for no reason.  He’s going to be able to see his trainers and he won’t have to practice a lot.  If he goes into the playoffs playing strong and maybe has an agreement with them to start then, you never know.”

Webber on the Miami Heat: “This is the first pre-celebration team that I’ve ever seen but (Chris Bosh, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade) have already shown their commitment to winning by taking less money.  They left $50 million on the table between the three guys and if you are that gung-ho about giving up that money, you’ll be that gung-ho about leaving their egos at the door.  I do think that because Dwyane and LeBron play the same sort of position, at times it will be clashing because both of those guys need the ball in their hands.”

TNT analyst Kenny Smith joined the NBA TV studio show via satellite

Smith on Oklahoma City Thunder guard Kevin Durant: “I think (Durant) is going to be the best basketball player on the planet.  I think he offers that much to the game.  It showed in the Lakers (playoff) series last year.  He is capable of taking his team to seven games and they pushed the Lakers harder than anybody in the Playoffs.  Kevin Durant is in the mix.  I think LeBron James is numero uno but Kevin Durant is in the passenger seat.”

Smith on teams playing on Christmas Day: “(As a player), you love the marquee games.  You love that everybody is at home but you.  It feels like a playoff atmosphere because when you turn on the television, there’s no one but you on the game.  That’s why most players look forward to NBA on TNT Thursdays.  There’s no one else playing on Thursday nights so you can’t go watch another game.  If you want to watch basketball, you have to watch TNT and you have to watch them on Christmas Day.  No one wants to pass that up.  Those (Christmas) presents are going to be there and it actually might cost you less on Christmas Day because you don’t have to buy as many gifts.”

Smith on the Heat being a favorite to win the NBA Championship: “I don’t think that you can buy a championship but I think (the Heat) put themselves in position where they are in the showroom to actually get (an NBA Championship).  They have assembled talent that we haven’t seen together at one time in terms of those three guys being so highly rated in this era.  This is an opportunity of a lifetime for those three players and not for one year.  They are talking about an eight to nine year run when every year; they are going to be talked about as winning it every single year.” 

TNT analyst Steve Kerr joined the NBA TV studio show via satellite

Kerr on the league being in a point guard era: “It’s really incredible to watch.  You’ve got some of the older guys like Steve Nash who is still lighting it up and dominating games.  You’ve got Derrick Rose and I can’t wait to see John Wall with the Wizards and of course Deron Williams, Chris Paul.  There’s an unbelievable line of point guards now.  It’s definitely a point guard era that we’re in right now.”

Kerr on the Chicago Bulls being the most well-rounded team in the Eastern Conference: “I actually think that (the Bulls) are the most well-rounded team in the East (Conference).  Obviously, Miami has the most talent but when you look at Chicago’s mix, they’ve got two unbelievable frontcourt defenders with (Joakim) Noah and Taj Gibson, they’ve got the great point guard play of Derrick Rose and now you’ve got the low-post scoring that Chicago has been lacking for years with (Carlos) Boozer.  I just really like that mix.  They’ve done a nice job of quietly putting some pieces in there on the wings with Kyle Korver and (Ronnie) Brewer.  They’ve got a really deep mix of players and I think they are going to be really good.”

Ok, we’ll rest now.