I hated Van for the first 10 or 15 games or so. And his supposed "ability" of calling plays before they happen...is just saying "______ will happen" AS it happens...so it looks like he's smart, when in fact he kind of has an idea and says it as it occurs. Sometimes he says it beforehand--on those, I'd say he's about 50/50...except for the obvious ones which many of us could call. BUT I think Van is a smart guy in general and has been better than I thought. Last--bring back Calvin! Makes the Rockets announcers better than any pair out there! Example: Anyone catch the Bobcats announcers last night? They're very emotional and into the game...but just poor overall. Times when someone threw a forearm or something and they'd just not mention it...they'd be going crazy about the dunk but not mention somethign that Bill and Calvin woudla been all over.
Van at halftime is a good idea. Calvin and Bill have a rapport that's hard to beat. Seems like a comedy team sometimes ('hey Calvin, Clutch is wearing your suit' ).
lol Thank you.....and I agree. I think that Van is smart, but come on. He's not even close about guessing the next call! 50/50? That's not accurate. He's good about stating the obvious...."We need to get the bawl into Tracy and let hem work!" Duh? How many times a game he says that? Like I said I like him, but he can't hold a torch to Calvin. Calvin was super knowledgable about the Rockets offense and Defense. He was great at calling the play before it happened. I'm sure Van could get that way...but he's no Calvin J. Murphy
Both of them stink. Calvin cares only about himself and tries to create a diversion from the game. Chancellor does not speak a language that could even generously be described as "English-like." The Rockets could and should do better than either. Isn't Marv available after the Knicks canned him? He can do play-by-play, and we can switch Worrell over. AND HE'S A FORMER KNICK!
Chanceller seems like a very nice guy, and he's obviously a very basketball-savvy coach with a fantastic grasp of the game's nuances. But, DAMN, he sounds like a sloppy drunk Uncle Jesse Duke. I'm not a big Calvin Murphy fan, but at least he speaks English.
Van is, if anything, an analyst. He'd be much better at halftime. His manner of speaking precludes any thoughts of calling play-by-play (he'd sound like an auctioneer) and he is just not up to the color commentary role. As much as he used to drive me nuts at times, Calvin gets my vote if he's allowed to come back.
