Despite the Oklahoma City Thunder’s NBA-best 12-2 record, the Thunder didn’t receive much praise from TNT’s studio crew during the Thunder-Celtics broadcast Monday night.

Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith all said they thought the Los Angeles Lakers would defeat the Thunder in a playoff series, and Barkley thought the Lakers would win it in five games.

Barkley on the best teams in the Western Conference: “The Portland Trail Blazers and the Denver Nuggets are the two best teams I have seen in the West.”

O’Neal on the Thunder being 12-2: “They’ve had an easy schedule.”

Game analyst Chris Webber on how Thunder sixth man James Harden has embraced his role with the team: “The best teams that I played against had role players that were superstars. They took their role seriously and they knew the importance of their role to the team. (Harden) has embraced his role (as sixth man) and has made sure that the bench is better for that.”

Game analysis Mike Fratello on Thunder head coach Scott Brooks: “He really knows his players and he knows which guys to let grow and develop and which ones he can get on a little bit harder. He wants players to grow and experience this learning process and by the way, they’re winning a lot of games in this process.”

Fratello on the unselfishness of Thunder forward Kevin Durant: “He is a very unselfish player. He has the God-given ability to score the basketball whenever he wants to; he understands the team aspect of the game and is a willing passer.”

Q: Jack Ramsay, how do you perceive the rest of the country perceives the Heat outside of Miami? I know you called their games for a long time. I’m not sure if you still live in the area. But I want to get a sense from you how you think the rest of the nation sees them compared to how they are seen locally.

Dr. Jack Ramsay: I think the rest of the country is growing to appreciate and in some quarters root for this team. They started off on the wrong foot and just aroused derision everywhere they went in the league. But they are so good. They are so dedicated. When you see, as Mike Breen said, their key players, LeBron James and D‑Wade, diving on the floor for loose balls, coming from the weak side and making incredible shot blocks, you have to acknowledge that. I think it’s happened for the Heat. They have become not America’s team but they’re now likable, and everybody loves a winner, and this team has been proved that it can be a winner.

Q: For Mark and Mike, you’ve gotten to see quite a lot of the Mavs lately. What has impressed you most about the way they’ve been playing, the way they’ve been winning?

Mark Jackson: I think the most impressive thing is how they have incredible poise. They’ve stayed calm in the face of tough runs. They totally believe in their system and in each other, and they find ways to win ballgames. I think ultimately when you’re talking about great basketball teams, you’re talking about teams that in spite of not playing their best, taking their game to another level and finding a way to win, and that’s been the most impressive thing for me about this Mavericks team.

Dr. Jack Ramsay: I’d like to add, Jason Kidd has been incredible. This guy, 38 years old, still runs the show on offense and is a surprisingly good defender. Did a great job against Kobe Bryant in the LA series in significant spots of games, and he doesn’t have the quick feet any longer, but he has great hands and great anticipation. The Mavs make a premium on defensive deflections of passes. In Game 4 against OKC, they had 19 deflections in that game. And these are all. Kidd had his share of those. Marion, Nowitzki even, everybody who plays is conscious of that. Kidd is still running the show there. He distributes the ball. He gets the ball to a player who needs a shot, needs to make a field goal. He’ll throw cross‑court to Terry giving up a shot of his own so Terry can get a free look from three-point land. This is a surprisingly tough team with veteran poise, as Mark said. That’s a key characteristic for them. And Tyson Chandler we haven’t mentioned is the defensive focus there and actually the spokesman of the team. He gets everybody going. He calls people out when they’re not getting their jobs done, and he defends the basket area.

Q. Mark Cuban has for a long time been one of the major faces of the franchise, and I’m wondering if you can compare the Mark Cuban of ’06 to the Mark Cuban of today?

Mike Breen: This might sound silly, but maybe as an owner you learn from experience, as well. And although I think a lot of this has to do with being superstitious; he was quiet early, they started winning, so he figured, all right, let me keep my mouth shut and not say a word. I just think right from the start, he’s brought so much passion, and willing to do everything and anything to make the players give them the proper tools, whether it’s a great locker room, a great plane, a good coach, spending money on free agents, give their whole team the proper tools to win. He’s been all about that right from the start. Obviously he gets emotional from the fans. I think he’s been able to control that a little bit better, and maybe he was tired of getting fined and losing money for shooting off his mouth sometimes. But to me he’s always been ‑‑ all he wants to do is win, and he wants to give the fans a great product. You know, so much of the publicity about him has always been the fines and the controversial comments, but I think most NBA fans would love to have their team have an owner like Mark Cuban.

Dr. Jack Ramsay: I think some of it has to do with his confidence in Rick Carlisle. He has, and should have, a high appreciation for Carlisle’s talents as a coach and the way that Carlisle uses his personnel and controls the tempo of games and just monitors it, and in a very low‑key fashion. It’s wonderful to watch. I talked with Mark after they had qualified for the championship round, and I mentioned to him, “I thought Rick did a terrific job.” He said, “Rick has out‑coached everyone he’s faced in the Playoffs so far.” He said, “That’s no surprise to me.” So there’s a confidence in the coach that maybe was not there with his previous coaches.

Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and David Aldridge were among the TNT analysts who discussed the Celtics-Thunder trade during the network’s pregame coverage Thursday night. The Thunder sent forward Jeff Green and center Nedad Krstic to the Thunder for center Kendrick Perkins and guard Nate Robison.

Barkley: “I was very surprised but it’s a good trade for the Celtics considering they weren’t going to be able to re-sign (Perkins). They only need Perkins against the Lakers if they get to the finals. They are going to have a tougher time getting through Chicago (Bulls) and Miami (Heat). Perkins wouldn’t have been a big factor in (a Miami) series. They got the best deal they could out of their circumstances.”

Smith on the Celtics losing the mystique of being a tough team: “(Perkins) doesn’t help you get to a championship but he helps you win it. What the Boston Celtics had over everyone else was the mystique of toughness … They don’t have that anymore. That’s what the cache was that they were a great defensive team and you couldn’t get layups or get to the basket. They have just traded that (mystique) in and said, ‘We are a new team.’ To me, that is the difference and I don’t know if that’s great if you’re trying to win a championship.”

Barkley on the Thunder getting tougher at the trade deadline: “I love the toughness that (the Thunder) have now. I love the fact that they’ll be able to hit some guys in the head when they come down the lane. (Russell) Westbrook and (Kevin) Durant are going to score. Those guys will score in church, but they never get rebounds. Now they have some rebounding (ability) and some defensive toughness. This (trade) makes them a contender.”

Aldridge on the trade: “If you go back in time, (the Kendrick Perkins) trade is like Larry Nance going to Cleveland or Dennis Johnson going to Boston. Those ‘cement’ trades that make a good team a great team. I think Kendrick Perkins does that for the Oklahoma City Thunder. They were already good and they could’ve won a playoff series. What (Perkins) gives them in terms of defensive presence, toughness and championship experience; I think Oklahoma City is going to remember this day as the day they took a step up to be a true contender in the NBA.”

Blake Griffin charges into Nick Collison in game Tuesday night.

The Oklahoma City Thunder announcers Brian Davis and Grant Long irritated some viewers with their criticism of former OU standout Blake Griffin during the Thunder’s 111-88 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday night on Fox Sports Oklahoma.

After Blake hammered home an alley-oop pass from Baron Davis in the fourth quarter, Long said, “I’m almost prone to calling that goaltending. Davis nearly put that in the basket.”

Davis said, “You’re down 20, though. … That’s wonderful. That’s flashy and may make some highlight rolls, but they’re down 20.”

Long discussed how other centers in the league have made some spectacular dunks and said, “As great as those plays look on the highlight reel, winning basketball is played in the half-court situation for the most part.”

One reader said in an e-mail: “I was a little puzzled by the constant shots the TV commentators took at Blake. For example they criticized the dunks as something, which is superficial. When Ibaka scored a wide open dunk, they cheered ‘Take that Blake, this one counts.’ It was bizarre to see them belittle his game so much. Maybe the non-Okie Thunder fans might harbor more vitriol than us who grew up with him.”

Another reader said: “It appeared to me the Thunder TV crew took several cheap shots at Blake last night, referring to him as a “show off” among other things.”

Voting at espn.com/espys runs through 11 p.m. July 10 for most categories.

“The “Best Play” nominees will be announced during the 2010 ESPY Countdown show airing live on July 14 at 7 p.m. on ESPN and voting will take place throughout The 2010 ESPYs telecast. In addition, “Best Team” voting will be open throughout the live telecast.

Here’s a look at the top NBA player finalists:

 — Kobe Bryant, LA Lakers. Finished fourth in scoring (27 PPG) during the 2009-10 regular season and averaged 28.6 PPG in the NBA Finals. Earned his fifth championship ring after leading the Lakers over the Celtics in the NBA Finals. Led the Lakers to best record in Western Conference during 2009-10 regular season, 57-25.

 — Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City.  Became youngest player to win the NBA scoring title (21 years, 197 days). Averaged 30.1 PPG during the 2009-10 regular season.

 — Dwight Howard, Orlando. Named The NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year. Led the NBA in rebounding during the 2009-10 regular season (13.2 RPG) and field goal percentage (61.2 PCT).

 — LeBron James, Cleveland. Earned his second straight MVP award. Averaged 29.7 PPG (2nd in NBA), 8.6 APG (6th in NBA) and 7.3 RPG during the 2009-10 regular season. Led the Cavaliers to NBA-high 61 regular-season wins.

 — Dwyane Wade, Miami. Finished fifth in scoring (26.6 PPG.) and tenth in assists (6.5 APG.) during the 2009-10 regular season. Averaged 33.2 PPG in the 2010 playoffs.

There’s a bunch of categories. Here are the five finalists for best sports movie:

 — Big Fan. The story of a hardcore fan struggling to deal with the consequences of being assaulted by his favorite player. Stars Patton Oswalt and is written/directed by Robert D. Siegel.

 — Invictus. A look at life for Nelson Mandela during his first term as president after the fall of apartheid in South Africa. Mandela campaigned to host the 1995 Rugby World Cup event as an opportunity to unite his countrymen. Stars Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman.

 — The Blind Side. Chronicles the story of former University of Mississippi offensive lineman Michael Oher. Stars Sandra Bullock in an Oscar-winning performance.

 — The Damned United. A look at Brian Clough’s 44-day reign as the coach of Leeds. Stars Michael Sheen and Timothy Spall.

 — The Karate Kid. The story of a boy who, in his new home in China, embraces kung fu as taught to him by a master. Stars Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith.

ABC analyst Jeff Van Gundy

ABC broadcasters Jeff Van Gundy, Mark Jackson and Mike Breen conducted a conference call Tuesday to preview the NBA Finals.

Here are some excerpts:

What will be the keys?

Jackson: I think Kobe (Bryant) is going to be Kobe. I don’t think that they (the Celtics) will be able to contain him the way they did in ’08. Although they will make life tough at times, I don’t think they have the same interior defense that they had in ’08. I think the big difference will be in ’08 Paul Pierce was the best player in the series. They could not contain him and he had his way. I think the Lakers have a similar defensive force to what LeBron James was able to do with Pierce, which will not allow Pierce to be the best player in this series and will allow Kobe to be just that, which will give them a tremendous boost.

Van Gundy: I’m still wondering how healthy (Andrew) Bynum is because I think his presence is going to be critical to the Lakers’ chances. I think the Celtics are an extremely well balanced team as is L.A. I think both teams play offense and defense well. I think it will come down to possessions, who can rebound the ball better and who takes care of it better because I think these teams are evenly matched.

What’s the best way to defend Kobe?

Jackson: Ultimately I would force anybody not named Kobe Bryant to beat me because he has proven to be able to do that. If you get the ball out of his hands, you have the best possible chance of winning. That means double-teaming him, denying him, forcing him to get rid of the basketball. I don’t want Pau Gasol to beat me, but it certainly won’t be Kobe Bryant.

Van Gundy: I think interestingly they played against one very good defensive team and in that series, he had his most struggles, and that was against Oklahoma City. And yet he still had an outstanding series. And since then, he has has just been remarkable whether it’s he’s feeling better or the defensive has been different. Some of the shots he made in Game 6 against Phoenix were indefensible. Even when they started to send a second guy to double-team, the greatest of all times, like he and Jordan, they know how to get away from the double-team and still get a quality shot. I think the Celtics are very equipped to defend him. I think Ray Allen is a very disciplined defender. I think the length at the basket will force Bryant to take a lot of jump shots. I think Bryant is going to play well, but I think he’s going to face similar challenges to the one he found in the series in 2008. They are going to make it hard on him, and yet he can always rise up, because he has proven himself once again to be the best player in the NBA.

Jeff, how do you rate yourself as a broadcaster?

Van Gundy: I would say irritating to some, irritating to myself sometimes. I could always analyze myself as a coach like what I thought we were doing well as a group. Because I don’t really have a background in broadcasting, I’m sort of unknowledgable about when we have a great broadcast. I haven’t improved a lot in the stuff we do at the start, the openings. That’s still hard for me. I try to get a little better in the highlights when we have a replay. But still Mark is a lot stronger in those areas. I’ve said this before, I’m like a one-dimensional spot-up shooter. Mike is the great point guard. I stand behind the 3-point line and hope to get some open looks.

Why would you consider going back into such an unstable profession as coaching?

Van Gundy: People talk about coaching being a fickle business, so too is broadcasting. Broadcasters, their job security is not great either. To assume that in any coaching or in broadcasting, that things won’t change is probably to make a mistake. I don’t spend any time about what is next. When I was coaching, I never thought what’s next after coaching. And now that I’m broadcasting, I don’t sit there and contemplate a lot about what my next job will be. I’m just trying to do the job I have as well as I can and realize that change is a big part of pro sports and also broadcasting. You have to be ready to adjust and adapt when circumstances dictate.”

Tim Donaghy

Disgraced former NBA referee  Tim Donaghy talked about his trials and tribulations about gambling on the NBA on Thursday’s edition of “The Dan Patrick Television Show,” which airs 8-11 a.m. on DIRECTV’s The 101 Network.

Here are some excerpts:

Would you have done things differently or not at all?

“I would certainly not have done it at all. My decisions affected a lot of other people in a negative way, so I wouldn’t have done it at all.”

 On gambling problem as NBA ref:

“The betting consumed me and I became addicted to it. It was easy for me to predict things and I was able to bet on NBA games that I was officiating in. … I was so successful at making these picks at 70-80 percent correct, that I didn’t need to help a team get a win. I was never asked to fix a game.”

How did you eventually get caught?

“I got caught because I got involved with people in organized crime talking about me during a wire-tap. I wanted to stop and these guys picked me up outside a hotel and took me for a ride in a car and said they wanted to continue to get information. They said they’d expose me and threaten to come down to Florida and visit my wife and kids.”

How much money did you make betting, Tim?

“Over a period of time of about four years, I made about $100,000. I was already making good coin as an NBA ref. It wasn’t about money at that time. … I used relationships to determine lines to games and provide information.”

Did the NBA ask you to fix games?

“The group supervisor and the head of officials would instruct you to make certain calls in certain games. It’s certainly manipulating a game. … In 2005, Dallas was put at a clear advantage when they were down 2-0 and it was swinging back to Houston.”

Any funny business in ‘06 playoffs between the Kings and Lakers?

“The Lakers were put in a clear advantage in Game 6 of that series.”

Last time you heard from Commissioner Stern?

“I haven’t. I did try to contact the league office and they blew me off. They still owe me money.”

Charles Barkley

 a.m. on DirecTV’s 101 Network, TNT NBA analyst Charles Barkley discussed a wide range of topics. Here are excerpts:

On how concerned should the Lakers be with their play in Game 2 – even though they beat Utah: “The Lakers will win the West, but Oklahoma City will have been their toughest series.”

On the Cavs loss against the Celtics last night: “LeBron just doesn’t look the same. He don’t look 100 percent to me. Hell yeah the Celtics have a really good chance of winning that series. The Cavaliers play so slow sometimes. They get all their baskets letting LeBron go one on five. They need to play a lot faster.”

On the Dolphins line of questioning with Oklahoma State star receiver Dez Bryant: “You shouldn’t ask someone if your mom was a prostitute, but If you tell someone your dad was a pimp — that makes you an idiot.”

On the Arizona immigration law: “I’m disappointed we came up with the law. We should find a way to help people get citizenship. I’m very disappointed in John McCain also. You should also fine anyone who hires an illegal immigrant.”

 On whether or not police should taser fans who runs on the field: “You might kill somebody. I always give the police the benefit of the doubt. I think they should just beat the hell out of them, but not necessarily tase them.”

Jeff Van Gundy

I had an opportunity to talk with ESPN basketball analyst Jeff Van Gundy for a Q&A in The Oklahoman on Friday. Here are a few more questions for Van Gundy, one of my favorite NBA analysts. 

Have you enjoyed your broadcasting career?

I do enjoy it. You don’t have the highs or lows of coaching. It’s more in a right-in-the-middle lifestyle. There are certains aspects of coaching that I miss. But I learned awhile ago, not to worry about what’s next. I just worry about what I’m doing now. And I’m having a good time with it and I really like the guys I’m working with. If your doiong a secondary type of career, it’s absolutely essential that you enjoy working with those people because you’re not that comfortable doing something totally different and so you really have to like and enjoy the people around you.

Were you disappointed you didn’t win the Sports Emmy for game analyst?

Frankly, I didn’t even know they did that for sports. Something asked if I was disappointed to lose. I said, Heck, I was surprised to even be nominated. I just try to say what I see. When I came into it, people said, Are you worried about it impacting your next coaching job. My thing was I’m not about what is next. If somebody would not hire me because of an opinion I had on the TV, then it probably wouldn’t work out anyway. I’m the beneficiary of the guys around me because Mike and Mark do such a good job of withstanding my bouts of crazyiness.

Who is your pick to reach the NBA Finals?

Cleveland in the East. I think L.A. deserves my pick, but if you told me that San Antonio was able to advance then and play them, and they eventually beat in L.A. in a tough series, I wouldn’t be shocked. I think a lot of it depends on the health of Bryant, beause if he is healthy, I think their size plus Bryant makes them a very difficult team to beat in the Western Concerence. And I think Cleveland has upgraded their challenge from last year. Yes, I think it’s going to be Cleveland’s year, but there are some very good playoff matchups.

TNT analyst Charles Barkley

In a TNT conference call Tuesday to preview the NBA playoffs, Charles Barkley cited the Oklahoma City Thunder’s porous defense as one reason why the Thunder will lose to the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the NBA playoffs.

TNT will broadcast about 45 playoff games in 40 days.

“They have a bright future, but they are not going to win right now,” Barkley said of the Thunder. “They are a little young, their defense has been getting worse the last two or three weeks. I always say my biggest regret in my career is that I wasn’t a great defender. There are two stats I always look at, defense and rebounding. That’s the only way you’re going to win a championship, really good defense and rebounding the ball. Oklahoma City, the last 10 games, their points have really been going up. A couple of games they’ve given up about 120 points and if you’re giving up 115 or 120 points consistently, you’re not going to beat one of the elite teams in the playoffs.”

Other comments from Barkley: (Coach) Scott Brooks has done a terrific job, (Kevin) Durant is one of the 10 best players in the world, I love the point guard (Russell) Westbrook, I love Jeff Green, (Serge) Ibaka is terrific. They have a really bright future. I had Scott Brooks as ‘Coach of the Year’ all year, then I leaned toward (Phoenix’s) Alvin Gentry and I finally settled on (Milwaukee’s) Scott Skiles. Oklahoma City has done a great job and they’ve done it the right way. They’ve done it through the draft. They got three guys who are going to be All-Stars.”

Other comments from the conference call:

Analyst Kevin McHale on the positive experience the playoffs will be for the Thunder: “You’ve got to get a few scabs on your knees a few times in this league. If you really want to run fast you’ve got to fall down a few times. For Oklahoma City, they are going to maybe fall down and get a few scabs, but they are really going to remember that. They’ll remember that loss and these playoffs will be a great time for them. Kevin Durant is really going to find out what the playoffs are all about and they need to because they are going to be in the playoffs for a long time.”

Analyst Doug Collins on the many questions marks in the Western Conference, including the Lakers: “In the West, yes, the Lakers appear to be the team to beat, but they’ve got a lot of question marks right now. You’ve got to be concerned about Kobe Bryant right now with his finger injury and, more importantly, it sounds to me like he’s having some problems with that leg getting lift on his jump shot. He’s not shot the ball well in the last three games. Andrew Bynum coming back, is this going to be similar to last year with him not being a factor in the playoffs? If he doesn’t play and play well than Lamar Odom has got to start and it hurts the Lakers’ bench. That’s been very up and down all year, they’ve not been able to get any great production. And you’ve got to be concerned about when they play against fast point guards if Derek Fisher can contain them with all the pick-and-rolls you’re going to see because the Lakers don’t defend the screen-roll very well. Everyone had Denver ticketed to being the Lakers’ biggest challenge in the West because of the way they’ve played, but you’ve had Kenyon Martin hurt, the loss of George Karl and what he has meant to that team. There are so many question marks going in.”

Barkley on Bryant needing to adjust his game when he is injured: “(Kobe Bryant) is really banged up. (The Lakers) have really been going through the motions the whole season. Kobe uses so much energy every single night. He’s going to have to tweak his game at some point and say, ‘I’m making this move and I’m not trying to score. I’m trying to pass it to Andrew (Bynum), I’m trying to pass it to Pau (Gasol).’ You have to learn as you get older that you can’t waste all your energy. Scoring 25 or 30 points a night, it takes a toll on you. He’s still using so much energy every night and as you get older, you don’t get healthy, you just get older. (His finger injury) doesn’t hurt his FGA’s (field goal attempts). He hasn’t stopped shooting. If his finger is hurt and you’re not making shots, make a move with (different) intent. If his finger is hurt, he can become more of a set-up man because every defense is geared towards him offensively. He’s going to have to change his game a little.”