TNT crew talks All-Stars

TNT executive producer Mike Pearl and announcers Marv Albert, Charles Barkley and Magic Johnson talked about the upcoming All-Star Weekend on Feb. 4.

TNT will have 12 total hours of programming on NBA All-Star weekend. It is the first time the NBA All-Star Game has ever been on cable and the first time it’s being played in prime time.

Mike Pearl on TNT’s production plans: The key point is that this event for the entire weekend gives us an opportunity to display how deep we are and the highly-qualified talent we have to cover the NBA. We’re using 24 cameras, 16 tape machines, eight hi-definition cameras, a sky cam and our new TNT Total motion strobe camera for freeze framing, especially on dunks. Six to eight players and coaches will be miked live during the game, we have new graphics and music and angles.

Charles Barkley, on whether Bucks players Sam Cassell and Ray Allen should have been selected: They didn’t make the team because they didn’t deserve it, the two guys who got robbed (are) Ron Artest, but he has some things going on, and Rick Hamilton is on a better team and having a better year. Those two guys (Allen and Cassell) didn’t deserve to make it.

Magic Johnson: When you look at All-Star games and who deserves to go, those teams doing well are going to get more guys on the team … Milwaukee got off to a slow start, Ray was hurt early on and we all know that Ray is an All-Star but it just didn’t happen for him or Milwaukee … Rick Hamilton and Ron Artest should’ve made it but didn’t.

Johnson on whether Michael Jordan will start the All-Star Game: I wish for basketball players, fans and the league that he would start. It’s such an emotional moment for all of us to send him off in the right way, yet I understand he doesn’t want to have someone give him something because he is such a proud man. We want to see him play 40 minutes, if this is going to be his last All-Star, we want to see him out there as much as possible. I’m selfish for my kids, for myself and for fans around the world because if this is going to be it, we want to see as much Michael Jordan as we can get.

Barkley: I’m going to concur with what Magic just said, and I want to congratulate Allen Iverson and Tracy McGrady for volunteering to give up their spot. I thought Vince Carter should’ve stepped forward, he doesn’t deserve to game … he hasn’t played enough to warrant an All-Star selection and that is one of the reasons I am against the fans voting. It shouldn’t be a popularity contest. I have always felt that the game should reward guys who have a great first half of the season. Now it is just a popularity contest there is no way a guy who has played 12 games should be a leading vote getter. I wish Vince Carter would’ve been the guy that stepped forward to give up his spot.

Pearl, on whether he makes production decisions based on what other networks are doing: I’ve never, (done that), I’ve always tried not to let what other guys do dictate our style of coverage ... especially if we thought they were successful ... ESPN does some very good things and we’ll adopt some of them in the crucial part of the season ... but regarding competition steering us on our talent or how we cover things, I don’t believe in that.

Barkley: When I watch Marv, Mike Fratello and Jeff Van Gundy, and Kevin Harlan, Danny Ainge and John Thompson, let’s be honest, it’s not like there are great basketball games going on right now but both (announce) teams make it enjoyable. I don’t worry about ratings because I’ve always said it’s biased against blacks, poor people and Hispanics because they don’t have cable … people watch great games, like the Sacramento/Lakers game and the Yao Ming/Shaq game … I think people spend too much time worrying about who has the best technology. If you give fans a good game, they’ll watch...

Barkley on the game being on cable: We have the game I can’t control that. I think it is great we have the game. I think people spend too much time worrying about ratings … I know ratings run everything, but there is no way they know how many people watch these games. I mean come on. Have you ever met anyone with a box? Nobody in my hometown has a (Nielsen ratings) box, and I know they watch the show all the time. They are not giving poor people or black people the boxes, so I don’t worry about ratings, we’ve got great programming … When I watch Marv (Albert), Mike Fratello and Jeff Van Gundy, I’m having a blast even when it’s a bad game. Mike Pearl has never said ‘we want to do our show like these guys’ ... we do our thing and we do it very well.

Magic: You don’t have to worry about the game being on TNT. There is going to be a lot of NBA All-Star parties so for those people that don’t have cable is definitely going to get to someone’s home or they are going to go to the sports bars. Trust me they are going to watch this weekend. First of all it is the most fun weekend. If you are a basketball lover, you are going to get everything you want. You are going to get celebrities playing, you are going to get the slam dunk, the three-point, and then Sunday you are going to get the game ... Michael Jordan’s last All-Star game ... oh yeah people are going to make sure they see this game.

Barkley on whether ESPN pursued him as a studio analyst: Yeah, they came after me but I’m happy, we had some great conversations and respect them even though they dropped the ball on this LeBron James thing. Everybody loves ESPN, but they dropped the ball on LeBron James. They shouldn’t have been showing his games. That is one of the worst travesties that has happened since I have been involved in professional sports. It’s a disgrace what everybody did to this kid. His own school … now I see that they’re talking bad about his mom, and it’s a disgrace to ban him from high school basketball. Everybody is making money on him, I’ve always been against high school players going directly to pros. A few weeks ago, Mark Cuban said that kid shouldn’t have been playing high school ball, he should’ve played overseas, made money and start working on his game. I wish they would go overseas play their senior year if they know they are going to be the #1 pick in the draft … or they are not going to play college basketball. They might as well go overseas and start making money as soon as possible. Back to your question, I like the people I work with, I like the people I work for, I think it was great addition to bring Magic on. I am happy where I am at.

Marv Albert on how he approaches play-by-play duties for an All-Star game: It is a different approach from a regular season or playoff game because of access to players in terms of production pieces you roll in out of commercials, vignettes, it’s such a free flowing game and then you have sideline reporters ... I am kind of a minimalist anyway so style there doesn’t change, I try not to talk too much, more involved in setting up guys I work with but there’s more diversion, the sideline becomes more important and the opportunity to talk to people and open things up a bit more ... there is less strategy about setting up plays than you would have in regular season games.

Johnson on his favorite Michael Jordan All-Star memory: In Chicago, on Saturday it came down to Michael and Dominique in the slam dunk championship ... that was the best I’ve ever seen in my life because Dominique wasn’t giving up anything to Michael, and he made Michael go to work and when Dominique double-clutched it and put it on his feet, then dunked it, the crowd went crazy. Then Michael said, ‘I have to take off’ from the free-throw line and when he put his left leg forward and right leg back and his tongue out, that was it. That was the greatest moment, then he came back the next day and lit us up from the west and won MVP of the game. Just watching Jordan do his thing.

Barkley: I’ve always thought Michael Jordan was a fluke myself. As far as an All-Star game, that was the best, one of the two best slam dunk competitions ever. I thought Dominique got robbed in the slam dunk a couple of times, but not in that one ... that was really the highlight of the weekend. Michael has never had a going away celebration because he always retired abruptly ... I said I wasn’t going to worry about how he played for the rest of the season ... I was just going to enjoy. This to me is like a kickoff to me enjoying ... I’m glad TNT is doing the special on him.

Barkley on African-American Robert Johnson as the first black NBA majority owner: It’s about time, but the NBA has always been at the forefront of blacks running things. Always ... the other sports have a long way to go to catch up ... I give David Stern a lot of credit for that and I’ve always said he’s the best commissioner in sports. This is a feather in their cap, but takes it to a whole new level ... if you really want to make some money, you want to own one of these teams ... there’s a reason these guys (owners) are billionaires and they pay the players millions.

Magic: The NBA won’t change much as far as how they conduct their business, but to have Bob Johnson is big for all minorities and for every player that has ever played. I know Charles and I are too excited and hopefully this will start a trend that more minorities will buy teams and get involved in the NBA. Bob is a sports lover and a true businessman, so they picked the right person. He is going to make that franchise work and he is going to be in it to make money too. That is why they selected him.

Albert on how Jordan will play in Sunday’s game: I think he’s going to work his way into it, set people up ... if he comes off the bench, it’s going to be an amazing ovation, which in some ways might be more dramatic because of the anticipation… all that will build and be a crescendo and might be more dramatic than the announcement of him in the starting lineup. When he comes in, I think it will going to stop the game ... a lot of excitement and anticipation of him coming off the bench. I think he will look to set people up and I think we are going to see the fade away jumper off the baseline, which he will be setting up. I think it will be a memorable night. He will do very very well.

Johnson: Marv is right, I never thought of it like that until he said that. As I heard him talk, I got goose bumps just thinking that it will be like that. I think he should do it like that, wow, the anticipation would be crazy. Every step that he takes to get to the scorers table, the place will get louder and louder. He lives for moments like this, I think he is going to come out and play his game ... but I think you are going to see at least five minutes he will just dominate and take over the game.

Barkley on how Jordan will play on Sunday: I think he will try and relax and have fun ... score a coupe of baskets. I don’t think he’ll try to take over ... I just don’t think he’ll do that. He’s going to enjoy the weekend, I know his family is looking forward to it. I’m excited for him ... he has made a lot of people a lot of money. If you think about it, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird saved the NBA and Michael took it to a whole other level, and it’s been my honor and pleasure ... this is a sad time because to me it is the end of an era. At the end of this year we lost Patrick Ewing, David Robinson, John Stockton, for Michael, maybe Scottie Pippen and that’s as good as it’s gotten to me. This is the end of my era and they’re moving on, and I’m going to appreciate it and enjoy this year. This is definitely the end of an era.

Johnson: The players have to remember why they have 10-15 million dollar contracts, because the television contracts went up ... Michael Jordan caused that, not because of what they are doing, it’s because of what happen when Jordan hit the stage. TNT, NBC wanted to be a part of it and signed long-term deals and that is what made all this money available for the owners to be able to pay these guys… all the players in the game should go up and thank this man because he set the tone for everybody.

Johnson on the Rockets’ chances of making the playoffs: Are they good enough, yes, we don’t know if they’re going to make it, it’s a dogfight now that the Lakers are playing better, for everybody. The second half, especially in the west, is going to get heated up but I love the way they’re playing. The more they utilize Yao Ming the better the team becomes. Steve Francis has been playing unbelievable, but they have to find an answer at the power forward. But I like their team, I like the way they’re playing, but at crucial times Yao is going to have to set the table for everybody else. I do feel they’re going to make it.

Albert: The major test is how Yao Ming holds up with this long schedule, the longest of his life ... 82 games at a very high level, that’s the unknown.

Johnson: “And the pressure that comes with that. Everybody is talking to you ... physically and mentally will he hold up under a lot of pressure? He’s going to have to make some adjustments in his game because defenses are going to adjust to him.

Barkley: That loud noise you hear is Shaquille O’Neal and the Lakers, and it’s going to get louder. It’s going down to last the last two weeks of the season ... you can tell they’re playing well because they just blew Phoenix, Sacramento and Utah out ...

Pearl on TNT’s schedule thus far: We knew what the schedule was going in, and are satisfied with the flexibility we have (adding the Lakers/Rockets game to TNT on Feb. 18) ... we’re satisfied with what’s on paper now and think we will build from here on out.

Barkley on Atlanta-based Friedman’s Shoe store: One of my college coaches introduced me to them, I’ve spent probably $100,000 at Friedman’s. They do a great job, when you have big feet and you grow up poor, you have one pair of black shoes ... the good ‘ole days were the bad ‘ole days ... when you’re on welfare, they joked black goes with everything ... then you go to Friedman’s and you see blue, brown, gray, burgundy, different colors and styles. You’re kind of like, WOW. I’ve got at least 150 pairs of shoes, and 125-130 are from Friedman’s.

Johnson on the Hornets: Baron Davis makes them go and it’s tough when Baron is out with that back. They need him in there, he makes their break go, he sets the table for them ... when you’re missing somebody like him, it’s tough on them. Mashburn is playing unbelievable.

Charles: I didn’t realize he had never made All-Star team before ... their biggest advantage is Paul Silas, every year in the playoffs they beat somebody and it’s a credit to him … he taught me more when he was in Phoenix than anybody I had ever played for ... the Hornets are third- best in the East when healthy. Indiana and New Jersey are the top two.

Johnson on how he’d guard Michael Jordan: Play him hard and talk trash to him. He doesn’t want you to change come Sunday, he wants the competition and to have a good time. (If I were playing), I’d want him to one time go past me, dunk and stick the tongue out, just one time.

Barkley: He’ll let the game come to him but if one young boy starts talking to him, he’ll get the competitive juices going. The all-star weekend is always fun, he knows it’s his last game, most guys don’t get that luxury (of knowing this is their last time).

Magic: This is special for his kids and his wife now too, now his kids are older and can understand who daddy is.

Barkley: I always hated that when I was playing, my kid was too young to understand ... my daughter likes some of these young guys and I’m like, ‘your daddy was a lot better than some of these guys!’ I want to thank TNT for doing a tribute to him (on Sat., Feb 8 at 6 p.m. ET), he’s never had an official sendoff ...

Barkley on whether the NBA now is more about hoops or hype: The players have ‘touches’ now … ESPN has made a two-hour game into 10 fancy plays. All these young guys want to make fancy plays and score. To be a great player, you have to be able to win a game more than one way. Most of these guys, if they can’t score, they can’t help their team win. The other night, Tim Duncan only had 17 points but he had 20 rebounds. If all you can do is score, as many touches and shots as you can, that’s a good game to them ... but that’s not a good game.

Johnson: When we played we had to do everything but now the fundamentals are lacking ... you take Charles and his size and what he did inside, there would be 10 guys going for ball and everybody knew Charles would get it and everybody knew he was going to dunk it but he did other things, ran the court, blocked shots, inside, outside. Now we pay guys who can do one thing ... I tell Michael Jordan stories all the time. He kept developing his game (in the summertime) ... he just kept going and every year, something would be added to his game. Every year, Larry Bird would come back and something would be added to his game. Kobe takes a week off then spends the whole summer working on his game. We need less talk about what you can do and more doing it on the court.

Barkley on Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker taking a lot of 3’s: They’re both really good players but I still think they take too many 3’s. No matter how good you are, you’re still going to shoot 35 percent ... if you look at their record, they have peaks and valleys, jump shooting is an inexact science. The Celtics made a big mistake trading Kenny Anderson ... but if you live by 3, you’ll die by the 3. They’re a good defensive team but not great defensive team. When you’ve got your two best players shooting ten 3’s per game, that’s not good.

Johnson: As a team, that makes you know what they’re going to do, you don’t have to prepare because coaches are saying ‘play that line’ on defense ... that’s what they’re going to do.

Johnson on the greatest player ever: Michael is the greatest player ever and Bill Russell is the greatest winner ever.

Barkley: I put Michael number one, Magic in top five with Bill Russell, you’ve got to have Kevin McHale ... and Oscar is right there.

Magic: You feel like you have to act differently when you shake Bill Russell’s hand and talk to him. With him and Dr. J, you feel that way.

Barkley: When I’m around Earvin, Bill Russell, Larry, Michael and Dr. J, they’re like icons, they took it to a whole new level ...”

Johnson: Some people become bigger than basketball, and that’s what this is about ... Michael has done things in sports that no other man has done. More money than anybody else, he and Arnold palmer are the two who made the most money. He’s always going to be bigger than sports, he’s a hero world wide. There will never be another Bill Russell or Michael Jordan ... we get to say goodbye to a hero.

Albert on Jeff Van Gundy’s comment last week that a player shouldn’t be an all-star if on a sub-.500 team: Mike Fratello and I were looking at each other, I understood where he was going with his point ... but I don’t buy any of his point ... how can Shaq and Kobe be at fault when other guys don’t play well ... I didn’t get that thinking.

Barkley: I don’t think you should penalize guys, the Lakers are an unique situation, Kobe has been unbelievable ... I love Jeff but sometimes he is just crazy. When you’re in New York a long time, it rubs off on you and gets to you.

 

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