SLAM ONLINE | » Inside TNT’s Inside The NBA Show http://www.slamonline.com/online/nba/2010/12/inside-tnts-insid... XXL SLAM RIDES 0-60 ANTENNA SLAM Facebook SLAM Twitter SLAM Tumblr SLAM Newsletter RSS Home News & Rumors NBA Blogs Media Kicks College & HS Other Ballers Magazine Subscribe NBA SCORES STATS SCHEDULE TEAMS PLAYERS NCAA SCORES Evan Turner to Lose Starting Gig? Sacramento Kings File Lawsuit Over an Exercise Ball SEARCH Video: Customs Harasses Man Over Li-Ning Shoes Thursday, December 2nd, 2010 at 11:15 am | 2 responses 6 Like 31 Inside TNT’s Inside The NBA Show More Videos » The Emmy Award-winning TV show hosts LeBron James’ return to Cleveland. by Kyle Stack / @KyleStack When the NBA released the first portion of its ‘10-11 regular-season schedule in early August, Tim Kiely observed at least two games at which TNT’s Inside The NBA studio show should be present. Not surprisingly, both involved the Miami Heat. One was a high-profile match-up with the defending Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics. The other game was against a Cleveland Cavaliers squad weakened in the offseason by the loss of its key player — LeBron James. Kiely, a coordinating producer for Inside The NBA, feels it’s critical that the show, with host Ernie Johnson and analysts Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley, occasionally leave the comfort of its Atlanta studios News & Rumors Latest Posts for the excitement of a regular-season game. The criteria is that the contest be highly anticipated, which is precisely the case with James returning to Cleveland for the first time since he decided to form a Big Three trio LeBron James’ in Miami with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. ‘Emotionally Draining’ “The idea this year was we saw an opportunity to take the studio on the road in the regular season to big Return to games and big cities and see what works,” Kiely said in a phone interview from TNT’s Atlanta offices. “We Cleveland were going to go on the road anyway, and obviously with what happened with LeBron, that made a game that 169 could have been a regular game into a pretty big deal.” Read More The popularity of Inside The NBA, which has won five Emmy Awards for best studio show since the » Johnson/Barkley/Smith trio formed in 2000, assures that the scene at the arena will be even more raucous with its presence. Sacramento Kings File Lawsuit Over an Exercise 1 Ball Setting up the show 1 1 of 3 12/2/10 11:43 AM SLAM ONLINE | » Inside TNT’s Inside The NBA Show http://www.slamonline.com/online/nba/2010/12/inside-tnts-insid... The studio show is typically set up in an area where Smith and Barkley can interact with fans — either Evan Turner to Lose Starting Gig? courtside or in a section of seats above what’s known as a vomitory, an entranceway players use to enter and exit the court. Occasionally, the host team will offer the studio crew a spot in a luxury suite or a restaurant Joe Dumars: Pistons Not Looking to Trade Rip 6 somewhere in the arena, but that’s usually turned down. “The problem with that is we’re pulled away from the Hamilton crowd,” said Steve Fiorello, a coordinating director for Inside The NBA. “We want to be in the heart of it.” Jonny Flynn Headed Down to D-League 4 Fiorello and other crew members survey locations well in advance of the show’s on-air date at the arena; Fiorello visited Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena Pau Gasol’s Hamstring Issue 1 in early November. They settled on a courtside location for the Cavs-Heat game, since the More News & Rumors » Cavaliers didn’t want them to build a set on top of the vomitory, as they had done in the past. Photos Wallpapers The surveying process is simplified by the fact the studio crew has been to most of the League’s Photos: No arenas. They know the lay of the land for most Bull venues, so there aren’t many surprises on their DRose is 13 visits. And it’s not as if they typically have much focused, space in which to work, anyway. bet that. More from Fiorello said they work in a space no larger than Photos » 12′ x 12′ or 14′ x 14′, in which they can place a bar-height type table for branding and for Johnson to put his notes on, stools for the on-air cast to sit on and enough room to squeeze in the rest of the crew, their cameras and lighting equipment. Four hand-held cameras are brought from the studio, three of which are used on the set itself. The fourth roams around for pre- and post-game interviews or shots of the players warming up on the floor. Allen Iverson Amare Stoudemire Atlanta Hawks Boston Celtics Carmelo Anthony The simplification of the surveying process is a reflection of the ease with which the decision is made to visit a venue in the first place. “It’s not a massively complex decision because we’ve done it before,” Kiely said. He’ll Charlotte Bobcats Chicago Bulls Chris Bosh contact the NBA, which will typically sign off on the idea, leaving the home team to approve the request and Cleveland Cavaliers Dallas Mavericks help figure out a part of the arena at which the show can settle in. Denver Nuggets Derrick Rose Detroit Pistons Dwight Howard Dwyane Wade Free Agency Figuring out where to put the green room for on-air talent to get ready and where to place the studio’s mobile Golden State Warriors Houston Rockets Kevin truck that houses staff and equipment also come into play, although those are more easily-settled issues. The game crew, that is the crew the directs and produces the announcing crew for the game, will typically set up in Durant Kevin Garnett Kobe Bryant a mobile truck on a street outside the arena. The same goes for the extra mobile truck needed for when Inside LeBron James Los Angeles Clippers The NBA is present at an arena. Los Angeles Lakers Inside The NBA’s culture Nobody knows quite what to expect when James enters Quicken Loans Arena, except that the situation could Memphis Grizzlies Miami Heat Michael Jordan become awkward and uncomfortable very quickly. What’s a much easier prediction to make is the enthusiasm Milwaukee Bucks New Jersey Nets New Orleans with which the crowd will receive the Inside The NBA crew. Hornets New York Knicks Nike Oklahoma City Thunder Orlando Magic Pau Gasol Philadelphia “When we show up, we become this voice of basketball,” said Smith, who admitted he didn’t want that 76ers Phoenix Suns Portland Trail Blazers comment to come off as arrogant. It’s just that he and Barkley have such cache with fans from their role on the Recruiting Sacramento Kings San Antonio Spurs show that people feel closer to them. Shaquille O'Neal Toronto Raptors Utah Jazz Washington Wizards Smith said fans are more likely to approach him to start a conversation now than during his NBA career, which lasted for 10 seasons on six teams. And Smith and Barkley’s honesty about various NBA topics can make fans feel as if the two former players are an extension of their thoughts. “Because Charles and I have such loud opinions about things, there’s more heckling going on [with the fans]. It’s a lot more fun,” Smith insisted. Pages: 1 2 Add a Comment Invite a friend Share RSS You might be interested in Shaquille O’Neal: Celtics ‘Best Team I’ve Been on’ LeBron James: Cuban is ‘Very Sly Guy’ Bitten By The Black Mamba Kobe’s Teammates at Fault for Him Over-Shooting? LeBron James’ ‘Emotionally Draining’ Return to Cleveland Video: Derrick Rose Crosses Tyreke Evans Tags: Inside the NBA, Kenny Smith, LeBron James Cleveland, Steve Fiorello, Tim Kiely, TNT 2 of 3 12/2/10 11:43 AM SLAM ONLINE | » Inside TNT’s Inside The NBA Show http://www.slamonline.com/online/nba/2010/12/inside-tnts-insid... 2 Responses to “Inside TNT’s Inside The NBA Show” Inside TNT’s Inside The NBA Show – SLAM Online by Lebron James Miami Heat Basketball Posted: Dec.2 at 11:32 am [...] SLAM Online [...] GP23 Posted: Dec.2 at 11:40 am How many agree that Shaq will have a spot on this show once he retires from playing?? Comments Kyle Stack Name (required) [email protected] Mail (will not be published) (required) http://www.kylestack.com Website Submit Comment The comments section is a place to further discuss the topics in this post. 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