Some TNT and NBA TV analysts answer questions about the NBA.
Q: The Hawks returned their core of players to make another run at elite status. The idea is that this group can get better and finally break through to the Eastern Conference finals. Are the Hawks good enough to take that next step?
Reggie Miller:
“Currently, no. To me the Hawks are in quicksand. They are good enough to compete with some of the upper echelon teams on a nightly basis, especially at home. But I don't know if they can make that next leap unless they bring in a superstar. They [lose] Jamal Crawford who is a big part of their offense and bailed them out of a lot of games with some of those unbelievable 3-point shots. But if they are going to take that next step, it has to come from within. Marvin Williams, Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, those guys collectively are going to have to take it to the next level to get better. You look at the teams around them. New York got Tyson Chandler. You know what you are going to get from Miami. You know what you are going to get from Chicago. Boston added some young pieces to go with their core of younger players. I just don't see Atlanta getting better. Yeah, they will play well on particular nights, but are they one of the top five teams? I think even Indiana and Milwaukee might have leapfrogged them."
Kenny Smith:
“They are still not good enough. They haven't been good enough to be considered that top for elite Eastern Conference finalist. They are not better than Chicago. They are not better than Boston. They are not better than Miami. Second round [of the playoffs]? Possibly.”
Charles Barkley:
“No, they aren't. They are not good enough. They are a good, solid team but they are not good enough. They might can win a round but that's it.”
Q: The NBA is squeezing 66 games into 124 days after a shortened preseason. Which teams benefit from the chaotic schedule? Which teams are hurt? Will injuries and quality of play become issues?
Charles Barkley:
“There are two types of teams: teams trying to win a championship and teams trying to have a good season. The teams trying to win a championship will be pacing themselves. We know who the best teams are and they are just trying to stay healthy and get to the playoffs.”
Chris Webber:
“I don’t think injuries are going to be an issue. You really can’t predict who is going to get hurt. The biggest difference in who will have the advantage is how well the teams know each other.”
Shaquille O'Neal:
“I like it because it causes some drama. We are sitting back watching who is getting traded, which team is doing what. I like that they are rushing it because we all love to watch the game and it’s like the TNT slogan, ‘We know drama.’”
Greg Anthony:
“The product will still be high quality. Before our generation, you came to camp to get in shape. Today, you have to come to camp in shape in order to have a chance to play. The issue from a coaching standpoint will be when to push and when to pull back, to make sure you don’t run your guys into the ground and create a situation that will hurt you in the long run.”
Reggie Miller:
"You go back to 1998-99 [the last season shortened by a lockout], the top seven oldest teams all made the playoffs. So there has to be something said for experience. There are currently only six head coaches that were working in 1998-99 so they are going to have a little bit of an advantage having gone through it. But you also have got to have a team that is deep and young because with back-to-back-to-back games, five games in six nights, I can see a lot of coaches using nine, 10, 11 guys. So you have got to have a team that is deep. And, last but not least, of those deep teams, you have got to have a team that has been together and is experienced. So having said all that, Oklahoma City: young athletic deep, [coach] Scotty Brooks does a wonderful job of using all his players. The Chicago Bulls, I think, have assembled a talented team, guys that have been together, experienced, young. Then you've got experienced teams like the Boston Celtics, the Spurs, Miami with their triplets down there. There's something to be said -- 66 games in 124 days -- that is a serious, serious season. The regular season ends April 26 and the playoffs start two days later where before, [teams had] four or five days to prepare for the playoffs."
Kenny Smith:
"I think the teams who are assembled are going to have an advantage, young or old. So the Celtics, Oklahoma; one's old, one is young. They are coming into training camp and it's nine guys who are there. They aren't saying, ‘Who's coming in this week? Who's going to leave this week?' Those teams with no training camp [together] and no practice time, they are going to have a difficult time."
Q: After Hornets and Lakers agreed on a trade what would have sent Chris Paul to Los Angeles, commissioner David Stern nixed the deal, saying it wasn't in the best interest of the league-owned Hornets. What do you think about what happened?
Charles Barkley:
"David Stern is the best commissioner in sports in the last 25 years in my opinion. That's the first time I saw him make a mistake. I don't know what happened but it wasn't good for the NBA. It's a definite conflict of interest. If you are going to give a general manager a job, you have got to let him do his job. You can't come in and veto the trade after the fact. That's like if you run a major corporation and do a deal and the CEO comes in and says, ‘Hey, man, that's not a good deal,' after he's [already] seen the deal. You've got a president or a vice president and you give them flexibility to make a deal. Once they make a deal, the deal is a deal. The boss don't get to come in later and say, ‘Hey, I was looking at that deal and it's not a good deal.' That's not fair. They have got to sell the team or let the [general manager] do his job."
Kenny Smith:
"They have to sell the team. They have to get in a buyer for the team immediately. The second part is [general manager Del] Demps should have total autonomy to make moves in trades. The greatest commissioner in sports is David Stern, without question. But you have information that no other teams have. You are able to see trades coming in the pipeline that no one else sees. You know what could be a good trade or not if you know who's available. Even the knowledge that a trade doesn't go through, they veto trades because of [transaction] rules. But now you know that guy is on the market, that he's available. No other team knows that and you have an unfair advantage. It's like playing poker and knowing everyone's hand. Sometimes it does help and sometimes it doesn't, but you don't make [decisions] for the good of the team all the time. I don't think that's good for the [Hornets] franchise. I don't think it's good for the league. I don't think it's good for basketball."
Q: Magic center Dwight Howard has made it clear he's not happy in Orlando and wants a trade. He can become a free agent after this season, so what should the Magic do?
Shaquille O'Neal:
“They should show him some respect and get him another dominant player. If you look at the history of the league, most [great] teams have had a definite one-two punch. Right now in Orlando , you have a one-punch and no one can do it by themselves.”
Kenny Smith:
“This is a critical time and you have to include him in the situation to make him feel comfortable. He is their LeBron James and if he walks out of the arena [to another franchise], 7,000 fans might walk out with him. So you have to include him in all of the conversations [about potential moves] and not alienate him.”
Charles Barkley:
“Dwight’s a great player, a great guy. Everyone has been unfair to [Magic general manager] Otis Smith to a certain degree. He doesn’t want Dwight Howard to leave. They made a bunch of trades to try and get him some help but it didn’t work.”
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