Quotage from TNT’s Coverage of NBA All-Star Saturday

There are other sports going on besides the Olympics. Let’s give you quotage from Turner Sports in regards to its coverage from NBA All-Star Saturday. Not being an NBA fan, I did not watch a single minute of this, but I provide you the quotes as a public service.

Notes from TNT’s Coverage of NBA All-Star 2010 – Saturday, February 13, 2010

TNT’s exclusive coverage of the 2010 NBA All-Star Game on Sunday, February 14 begins at 7 p.m. (ET).

CLIP OF THE DAY

(click on link below to watch)

New York Knicks guard Nate Robinson wins the Sprite Slam Dunk for the third time

TNT NBA All-Decade Winners

Individual Performance: Playoffs – LeBron James (2007 ECF, Game #5)

Playoff Game – 2009 East First Round: Celtics @ Bulls, Game #6

Playoff Dunk – Kobe Bryant windmill over Kevin Garnett (2003)

Playoff Defense – Tayshaun Prince catches Reggie Miller (2004)

Playoff Drama: Individual – Derek Fisher, 2007 West Semis, Game 2

Playoff Buzzer Beater – Derek Fisher, 2005 West Semis, Game 5

Playoff Series – 2009 First Round, Bulls vs. Celtics

Posterization: Regular Season – Dwyane Wade over Anderson Varejao (2009)

Buzzer Beater: Regular Season – Kobe Bryant’s Two Three-Pointers (2004)
Individual Performance: Regular Season – Kobe Bryant drops 81 on the Raptors (2006)

Individual Series – Dwyane Wade (2006 NBA Finals)

All-Star Saturday Dunk – Vince Carter reverse 360 (2000)

Player of the Decade – Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, LeBron James, Steve Nash and Shaquille O’Neal

Player of the Decade nominees were voted on by 13 TNT announcers on a 12 player ballot. The cumulative vote totals created the six nominees. Voting for this category continues through All-Star Weekend until the end of the third quarter of Sunday’s All-Star game, with the winner being unveiled during Inside the NBA after the game on TNT.

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H.O.R.S.E. – Jam Session
Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Chris Webber

Participants:
Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder (winner)
Omri Casspi, Sacramento Kings
Rajon Rondo, Boston Celtics

Kevin Durant on winning H.O.R.S.E. in a shootout over Rajon Rondo: “It felt like a Game #7 in the playoffs, even though I haven’t been there.  There was a lot of pressure.  (Rajon) Rondo hit some big shots.  I just did my best to hit my shots.”

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NBA Tip-Off
Johnson, Barkley and Kevin McHale

Barkley on Kevin Durant winning H.O.R.S.E.: “It’s got to be frustrating for the other guys because he’s a great shooter.  You can’t dunk and you’re only going to shoot jumpers.  He’s going to have the advantage all the time.”

Barkley on the trade sending Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood from the Washington Wizards to the Dallas Mavericks for Drew Gooden and Josh Howard: “That’s a great trade (for Dallas).  I love Caron Butler, they were not using him well in Washington.  Dallas needs to get tougher and bigger.  They got bigger and tougher with this trade.”

McHale on the trade between the Wizards and the Mavericks: “(Dallas) got tougher and they got better (after the trade).  The Mavericks were playing poorly.  They needed a surge and a shot of adrenaline coming down the stretch.  The only thing that matters in the this league is how you play after the All-Star Break.”

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NBA All-Star Saturday Night

Shooting Stars
Kevin Harlan, Mike Fratello and Reggie Miller; Cheryl Miller reporting

Participants:

Team Texas: TNT’s Kenny Smith, Dirk Nowitzki and Becky Hammon (winner)
Team Detroit:  NBA TV’s Steve Smith, Joe Johnson, and Angel McCoughtry
Team Los Angeles: NBA TV’s Brent Barry, Pau Gasol and Marie Ferdinand-Harris
Team Sacramento: NBA TV’s Chris Webber, Tyreke Evans, and Nicole Powell

Miller on NBA TV’s Steve Smith and Brent Barry both hitting half-court shots: “Who says we’re not prepared and still in shape here at Turner Broadcasting?”

Skills Challenge
Harlan, Fratello and Reggie Miller; Cheryl Miller reporting

Participants:

Steve Nash, Phoenix Suns (winner)

Brandon Jennings, Milwaukee Bucks

Russell
Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder

Deron Williams, Utah Jazz

Miller on Steve Nash: “He’s one of the best passers in the game and we all know about his scoring (ability.)”

TNT’s Cheryl Miller interviewed Steve Nash following the Skills Challenge

Nash on winning the competition: “The pressure of these young guys is tough.  I was struggling a little bit but I got my second wind.”

Three-Point Shootout
Harlan, Barkley, Reggie Miller and Smith; Cheryl Miller reporting

Participants:

Paul Pierce, Boston Celtics (winner)

Chauncey Billups, Denver Nuggets

Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors

Danilo Gallinari, New York Knicks

Channing Frye, Phoenix Suns

Daequan Cook, Miami Heat

Smith on Suns guard Steve Nash and Jazz guard Deron Williams: “(Steve Nash and Deron Williams) are the two most skillful guards in basketball right now.”

Barkley on Spike Lee wearing New York Knicks paraphernalia: “Spike (Lee) has got courage wearing the Knicks stuff around.  That’s like people that wear Chicago Cubs stuff.  They should burn all that crap.”

Smith on Denver Nuggets guard Chauncey Billups: “He is a consummate leader.  He understands the time, the score and the situation of games at the point guard position.”

Barkley on Phoenix Suns center Channing Frye: “I think he can be a better all-around player than the Suns are making him.”

Smith on how “practice makes perfect”:  “If you do something consistently the same way, you will adjust to what it’s supposed to be correctly.”
Barkley: “That’s what I said about my golf game and we know that ain’t working.”

Barkley on former NBA player Darryl Dawkins colorful suit: “It’s been snowing here.  Maybe the power went out in his hotel.”

TNT’s Cheryl Miller interviewed Paul Pierce following the Three-Point Contest

Pierce on winning the Three-Point Contest: “I wanted this really bad.  I know a lot of people in the stands, when they looked at the names in the three-point competition didn’t think I had a chance.  They look at me as a scorer, not a shooter.  I knew I had a chance coming in here.  I think I’m one of the better shooters in NBA history.  I wanted to come out here and prove something.”

Slam Dunk Contest
Harlan, Barkley, Reggie Miller and Smith; Cheryl Miller reporting

Participants:

Nate Robinson, New York Knicks (winner with 51% of the votes)

Shannon Brown, Los Angeles Lakers

DeMar DeRozan, Toronto Raptors

Gerald Wallace, Charlotte Bobcats 

Smith on Toronto Raptors guard DeMar DeRoza
n: “It’s obvious that (DeMar DeRozan) is one of the top ten athletes in the game.” 

Miller on the lack of creativity in the early rounds of the Slam Dunk: “These guys are doing dunks that I’ve done at the Calabasas Rec Center (in Southern California).” 

Smith on New York Knicks guard Nate Robinson: “He’s not a game dunker but he gets over the rim on floaters and jump shots with his athleticism.  That’s what he’s good at.” 

TNT’s Cheryl Miller interviewed Nate Robinson following the Slam Dunk Robinson on winning the competition: “I knew it would be difficult.  I knew I had to bring my A-game and do dunk that I hadn’t done before.  I had to spice it up a little bit.” 

Miller on Robinson winning the Slam Dunk: “He said that he brought his A-game but his B-game won it for him.”

When I get quotage from the NBA All-Star Game, I’ll be sure to post it here.