Two guys who have watched this NBA playoffs more closely than almost any other former players are NBA TV analysts Greg Anthony and Steve Smith. From their chairs in the studio, they’ve seen the rise and fall of 14 teams, leaving just two left: Oklahoma City and Miami. On Monday they held court in a Q&A with basketball media about how they see the series shaking out.
Want to know about LeBron vs. Durant? What about Scott Brooks’ journey as a coach? If you’re from Seattle, want to hear what Anthony says about your city? Check out the interview below and let us know what you think about how the experts view the series.
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Question: What are your thoughts on this matchup that looks like opposites in Kevin Durant and LeBron James?
Steve Smith: I think what you see is refreshing to see a superstar in Kevin Durant. I think both he and LeBron came into the league at such a young age as highly talented players, very very skilled and very good and the pressure’s been on both those guys and just to see the way they embrace “team.” Obviously LeBron is a different player than Kevin Durant, more of a pass-first Magic Johnson and obviously we have just a dynamic scorer in Kevin Durant but, a scorer with patience. He allows Westbrook to be Westbrook. He allows James Harden and all the other players. … This superstar at a young age, he gets it. For me it’s the way he plays and holds himself and holds the media. And for me what tops it all off his love and passion for the game. During the lockout how he was continuing to play basketball. It’s a treat for me, I think he’s kind of a throwback player like a guy in the 80s and 90s. Just one of those superstars and pro’s pros, among the greatest.
Greg Anthony: Kevin Durant for me first and foremost I just look at him from a character standpoint. He’s what’s great about our game right now. Anytime your superstar players are as likable off the court as they are effective on it. That bodes well for the game. … You typically don’t see guys this effective this early in their career, but in a weird way he’s already paid his dues. With each year they’ve gotten better but more importantly the team has gotten better. He’s accepted the role now of being a leader. He’s such an efficient player and has such a high basketball IQ that it allows for his ego to be put to the side. He understands that as great as he is, he can’t win unless Russell Westbrook isn’t a superstar and James Harden also shares in that realm of being a great player. … To allow those guys to have their role on that roster speaks volumes about who he is as a person and what it takes to be a winner.
Question: How do you see Miami defending Westbrook?
GA: i don’t know that you’ll see wade on him as much but I think over the course of a series that potentially goes seven you’ll see a lot of different ones. Ultimately if you’re Miami you want to make him a jump shooter and don’t discount Mario Chalmers as a defender. He’s a really good player and has a lot of experience guarding point guards. I used to tell people the hardest guy for me to guard was a guy like John Stockton because I had to guard the pass. Chalmers and the Heat went through a lot of that with Rajon Rondo … If you’re miami you want to make him a volume shooter and not allow him to attack the paint and break your defense down. While his mid-range has improved tremendously over the past few seasons, that’s your best option defending him by making him more perimeter-oriented. Chalmers quietly has had a brilliant season. In a lot of ways he’s been as consistent in his role as anyone else on that roster.
Question: What role does experience play here?
Steve Smith: I think experience matters a lot but if you look at the road the Oklahoma City Thunder have taken the last three seasons, they’re ready. Obviously Miami has guys that have been there in Dwyane Wade and LeBron but I think OKC, this has not a team that’s been struggling to get in the playoffs the last three years. They were picked to win the West by a lot of people and came up short last year. So I don’t think age or experience plays that much with this team. They’ve been there and they have the type of young guys that are ready for this big moment.
GA: first of all they’re not inexperienced. Age has nothing to do with it. Experience is your ability to learn from your past failures. A couple years ago they got knocked out by the Lakers in a great series and improved and learned from that and got to the Conference Finals last year. They improved and learned from that and remember, they just beat in the last series the last three Western Conference champions. That’s a lot of experience. … I don’t look at them as being an inexperienced team coming into this situation. I think they’ve had a wealth of experience because even though the team is young their amount of playoff games and amount of time together now, they’re not going to be inexperienced in this situation. I don’t see that as being any issue in how this series is played out.
Question: Was Scott Brooks the type of player you thought would be a coach someday?
Steve Smith: I played against him. If you watch Scott over the years, his demeanor on the court a lot of players have the ability to be a good coach. Scott Brooks has become a really good coach. The time he’s put in as an assistant and the coaches he’s coached under, particularly George Karl, he’s learned a lot. … After this experience, win or lose, he’ll be even better.
GA: We had a lot of battles in college when he was at Irvine and I was at UNLV. Listen, he’s a point guard so that in and of itself makes him more than qualified to be a head coach. Whatever he chose to do he was going to be successful because of his work ethic and his ability.
Question: What does this mean for Seattle and the fans up there?
GA: I think it’s one of the great travesties of our game that the city of Seattle doesn’t have an NBA team and I think there’s enough of blame going a round for a lot of parties why that’s the case. That’s one of the great cities we have in this country, one of the great sports cities. I’m hoping one day we get a team back there. I do think you think of it some, but not as much though because for the most part this core group other than Kevin and Nick (Collison) they weren’t a part of that organization. While it’s a lot of bittersweet for the city of Seattle, and disappointing and I played there so it’s personal for me, I try to look at this as the Thunder. … you gotta give them a lot of credit for what they’ve been able to do here the last three, four years. I don’t know that you totally get over it. I think absence after a while helps. … I know there’s still a huge core constituency there that would like to see a team return and I know there’ a lot of people in the structure of the NBA that would like to see a team in Seattle. That still I think will materialize ultimately. More of a matter of if and when. It is tough not to have that team there because it was such a great city and organization for the NBA.
Question: What does this mean for LeBron?
SS: Watching LeBron since Day 1, we’ve all seen that he’s the cream of the crop but what I’ve got a chance to see in these last playoff series is his focus. His focus has always been there but he’s understanding right now whatever’s needed to be done. His numbers can rank among the greatest of all time; he’s not doing this on a one game here and there. His Game Six was one of the best playoff elimination games I’ve ever seen. The way he scored the basketball was the next evolution for me. … I think a lot of people have some scrutiny against him but if you want to sit back and watch basketball we’ve seen one of the best players who’s ever played this game. … He understands this moment and I don’t think he’ll let this moment go this time.
Question: Who will have the most success guarding the pick and roll?
GA: I think you’ll have more pick and rolls believe it or not with OKC because of Westbrook. … Dwyane runs a lot of them and they’re starting to run different actions now for LeBron. I think that’s one reason why offensively they’ve gotten better. He’s starting ot play a lot more below the free throw line and taking advantage of his physical force. So to Dwyane Wade, Russell and Harden, I’d say OKC will run more of them and that’s a challenge for Miami. I would say Harden is the best of the three because of his element of the pass. Wade’s more of an attacker off the pick and roll and is as good as anyone in the game but Harden can keep the defense on their heels because of his vision and pass ability. I think from OKC they’ll have success because they’ll have less guys to deal with and focusing moreso on Wade than anyone else. I they’ll look at some of the stuff Boston did and was successful when they were able to switch the pick and rolls that Miami ran. Especially because they have the lateral quickness with Ibaka out there. They’ll have a chance to have more success but it’s going to be a challenge for both because Wade is brilliant with it and as we said Harden and Westbrook are going to cause some challenges, as well.
Question: What are the similarities or differences between LeBron and Durant?
GA: I think they’re far more alike than they are unalike. Both guys are so team oriented. Both guys understand that they win when their teammates play well. Both guys also know there’s times when they need to take the game over and they both have the skillset to do that. LeBron’s situation now is a little different because he didn’t grow up with this group. He went to a team that had an established superstar whose team it was and he’s had to have a transition and in essence made this his team. It’s a little different with Durant. He was the guy all along but he understood for me to get where I want to go I gotta make sure these other guys become great players. I think they have far more similarities than not. I think both guys are very humble and are for the most part quiet. I think there was more hype around LeBron. Remember he was the first pick and Kevin was the second. I know that doesn’t sounds like a big difference but there is just like you’re going to see this year with a lot more hype around the first pick. I think that changes it a little bit. LeBron was a little bit more of a legend coming out of high school.
What do you think?
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