Yahoo Sports The Chuck and Chucky show: Highlights from Matthew Tkachuk’s appearance on TNT’s NBA show
Matthew Tkachuk, wearing an Elbo Room T-shirt and enjoying a little bit of time off after the Florida Panthers’ third-round sweep of the Hurricanes on Wednesday, made an appearance on TNT’s “NBA Tip-Off” on Saturday ahead of the Heat’s heartbreaking 104-103 loss to the Celtics and it was every bit as good as it sounds.
Shaquille O’Neal admitted he doesn’t carry about hockey, except, “I just like to see you guys fight.” Tkachuk made fun of his own dance moves after TNT showed a video of him and Jayson Tatum together in gym class in high school. Charles Barkley successfully pronounced Sergei Bobrovsky’s name after inadvertently dubbing the star goaltender, “Sir Jay Bobovka,” on Thursday.
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The whole interview, which took place inside Miami’s Kaseya Center ahead of Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals, lasted almost seven minutes and helped TNT preview the Stanley Cup Final before it airs the championship series for the first time later this week.
It also further minted Tkachuk as one of the signature stars in his sport after he scored three game-winning goals in his Eastern Conference finals
Who says this is a bad market for a hockey player?
“It’s a great tie in to expose some people — it’s not a traditional hockey market — to the people, the personalities. That’s really important,” coach Paul Maurice said. “To see someone like Matthew, he’s good. He’s good at it and it’s natural. That’s him. There’s no act there. It’s good for the fans and then, hopefully, new fans to get to know the players a little bit.”
Here are some highlights from the superstar right wing’s appearance:
▪ It was Tkachuk’s first time at a Heat game and he again explained just how surreal this whole run has been, given the Panthers were nine points out of a postseason spot after Christmas: “Two or three months ago, nobody in the whole world thought we’d be in this position right now, let alone even make the playoffs, so the fact that I’m sitting here with you guys and getting ready to play in a Stanley Cup Final, at my first ever Heat game here with them having a chance to make the Finals, it’s storybook for South Florida.”
▪ Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame forward Charles Barkley had the only question anyone had about the Panthers’ four-overtime win in Game 1 of the East finals last week: “What the hell do you do the next day other than sleep?”
▪ Basketball Hall of Fame center Shaquille O’Neal quickly explained he wouldn’t have anything insightful to add to this interview: “Matthew, you’re a great athlete. I don’t have any questions. I don’t really watch hockey, I just like to see you guys fight.” Tkachuk responded with a simple, “Thank you.”
▪ Former point guard Kenny Smith rambled about his Rangers and Islanders fandom before asking Tkachuk what he thought the most important skill was in hockey, and Tkachuk gave an insightful answer: “The hardest thing is just the overall hockey sense. You have to be in the right spot. Like Wayne Gretzky always said: He wasn’t going to where the puck was, he was going where it’s going to be.”
▪ O’Neal thought he cleverly coined the term “home-ice advantage.” “Do you like that, home-ice advantage?” he said before host Ernie Johnson quickly corrected him. “That’s what they call it.” O’Neal was shocked. “Oh, OK!” he said.
▪ TNT aired the infamous clip of Tatum talking about some of his classmates, including Tkachuk, who’s doing an extremely dorky dance in the background, shimmying his shoulders from side to side. “Pretty smooth there, huh boys?” he said.
▪ Barkley explains how he wishes he could fight O’Neal and then receive a two-minute penalty, in which he would be removed from the set for a short period of time. O’Neal responds by standing up and pretending two skate over to Barkley, awkwardly swaying his shoulders from side to side and prompting Tkachuk to joke, “Those are like my dance moves there.”
▪ He also admitted Tatum is one of his favorite players, along with Miami star Jimmy Butler, and it has him torn about the East finals: “My two favorite players are Jimmy Butler, Jimmy Buckets, and Jayson, so I hope they both go off tonight and it’s an exciting game, but, I don’t know, everybody here is pulling for me, so I think I’ve got to join their side for a little bit. But that would make a lot of people in St. Louis made, so I’ve got to keep the honest answer going and just root for both of them.”
▪ Smith joined Barkley in declaring Tkachuk is the best in the family, even better than former All-Star left wing Keith Tkcachuk. “He’s going to be pissed again,” Tkachuk said. Johnson then told Tkachuk he believes his father should be in the Hall of Fame.
▪ O’Neal’s parting words: “One favor: If you get into a fight, I want you to nail somebody and say, This is for you Shaq!”
