TNT crew split on when it should be 'Dame time' for Lillard

The first segment of TNT's tip-off show Thursday focused early on why Game 6 is just as much of a must-win game for the Indiana Pacers as it is for the Milwaukee Bucks.

But then it quickly shifted to point guard Damian Lillard's health and the Bucks, and when it's imperative for coach Doc Rivers to set his watch to "Dame time."

Lillard is averaging 32 points per game in the playoff series, but he missed the last two due to aggravating a strained Achilles. TNT analyst Kenny Smith thought Lillard should get himself going early, but Charles Barkley said he should trust his teammates and wait and conserve his energy until the fourth quarter.

Said Smith: "He's (Lillard) a playmaker so he can make a play for himself or others on a consistent basis. He puts these guys (his teammates) into finishing mode. So go finish the basket, I'll create it and now you become even more potent because you create it."

"If I was Dame I would let those guys who played great the last couple games do their thing and try to conserve my energy until the game was on the line because he hasn't played basketball," Barkley added.

"If I was him (Lillard), I'd say you guys have been playing great, I'm going to get Middleton going, I'm going to get Portis going, I'm going to get Beasley going and then I'm going to close."

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Shaquille O'Neal said both Smith and Barkley were correct.

"I would give them (Lillard's teammates) a chance. If they're playing well, then let them go. If not, then move out of my way and let me (Lillard) go back to averaging my 32."

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: TNT's Barkley, Smith split on when its 'Dame time' for Bucks' Lillard