It always kills me that JVG is on a different network than those guys. We either get the awesome half-time show, but have to deal with Reggie miller, or get JVG and have to deal with Magic. Hopefully Simmons surrounds himself with talent. Someone mentioned SCREAMIN' A...normally I would say no....but I would love to see Simmons tear him apart.
So wait...just because the story was about Magic, the LA Times just grabbed out of a sketchy Deadspin piece and immediately reported it with no additional research? Brilliant.
I don't know how she will turn out, but Doris Burke puts the work in. She knows her stuff. Most of the players like Jalen/Magic have very little insight and like Clyde, just mail it in, show up and riff. They don't study up on the teams/players. Would have preferred SVG to Doug Collins, would have been a great dynamic with the Van Gundy's going back and forth, but Collins is decent. The show last season was awful because there were too many commericals, Rose added nothing, and Wilbon/Magic just talked about Lakers/LeBron the entire time.
That's a great point. They need to make sure to have more black commentators on there, since black truth about basketball and white truth about basketball both need to be well represented.
agreed C-Webb is so talented on the mic, he is an even better announcer in my opinion. They need to bring in Grant Hill to replace Shaq
1. Simmons loves Magic. He goes on and on about Magic. 2. Simmons knows the ESPN show sucked. He's been honest on his podcast. 3. Simmons knows good TV. He knows Magic sucks on the ESPN show but knows he can't really call him out because it's MAgic ****ing Johnson. I don't know how any hardcore NBA fan likes that show and the main problem is Magic. He's absolutely awful as an analyst. Listening to him is like Jordan owning the Bobcats. It just doesn't work.
I've always hated Doug Collins for cheering on this Fisher elbow on Scola. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Y8CzEjNVJw <object width="560" height="315"><param name="movie" value="//www.youtube.com/v/2Y8CzEjNVJw?hl=en_US&version=3"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="//www.youtube.com/v/2Y8CzEjNVJw?hl=en_US&version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="560" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>
Simmons even ranked Magic ahead of Bird in his Basketball book, if you can believe it. His top 13 ("the "Pantheon"), from the book's epilogue, in case anyone's wondering: 1. Michael Jordan 2. Bill Russell 3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 4. Magic Johnson 5. Larry Bird 6. Wilt Chamberlain 7. Tim Duncan 8. Kobe Bryant 9. Jerry West 10. Oscar Robertson 11. Hakeem Olajuwon 12. Shaquille O'neal 13. Moses Malone
I agree on all the names except Kenny Smith. He always thinks his opinion is the most insightful one in the room. Well, next to Charles, I guess it always is. I also think you should include Zach Lowe in that fantasy line up. That would be basketball information nirvana. On the entertainment side of it, I'm sure JVG and Bill would keep the conversation lively.
I loved that Gary Payton - Chris Webber Gametime on NBAtv. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/x3lZXuU37CI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/-z76KKrh-jI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Stan Van Gundy or Bill Walton would probably be hilarious on this thing. Jalen and Bill actually mesh really well cause Bill's probably the biggest basketball fan in the world, and Jalen actually lives in that world and is well connected. The clips that they do together on grantland are all laughs.
I find Doris Burke's preparedness and hoops knowledge highly sexy. Excited to see more of Doris Burke.
Not a fan of Burke, but good god I can't stand Magic and all of his giggling and Laker talk. I've been waiting forever for him to get canned but I wish they would have went with someone else besides her. Oh well i guess.
Simmons for all his faults is a great NBA fan. He watches a ton of basketball and he actively looks for new stats and people who can make him more knowledgeable about the sport. He doesn't run away from advanced stats and he actually uses league pass to watch as much basketball as possible. I think Magic having a couple of extra years at his peak puts him ahead of Bird as well by the way. At their peak it's a tough pick. But I do think he knows that Magic is not great on television. IIRC, he's made fun of the Magic Johnson talk show at one point. And all of the Lakers talk which was driven by administration annoyed him a ton. Magic was probably a factor in promoting the Lakers a little too much.
