Is he reputable? Just saw him on ESPN being featured as a Rockets "expert" saying the Rockets have another PF in Joey Dorsey that will be stepping in and filling the void for the "undersized" Terrence Jones (Josh Smith, DMo?). I wish these networks could find better representation for us.
You're using the term "research" liberally. I haven't seen anything from him yet that's worth reading or knowing.
I can say with the utmost confidence that average Clutchfans posters has as much Rockets knowledge as this guy. ESPN just attaches reporters to teams and proceeds to act like they are insiders with in depth info on the team. He reports they same stuff the local guys do, no more, no less. So that is reputable in the strictest sense of the word, but I highly doubt he has any actual knowledge that is important or new.
Def confused when I saw he was keeping tabs on Houston. He has been a Dallas reporter for ages. I guess ESPN finally decided Houston needs at least one report.
Maybe his incident with Des meant they needed to remove him from some of the Dallas beat for the time being. Also, I think with the Rockets closer to the top of the WC than the bottom (for now) and an MVP candidate in Harden, ESPN figured they should give us a little run with a dedicated reporter.
Not an unusual move for ESPN. When they started doing reporters for each team in the NFL, they made a Baltimore Ravens beat reporter the Steelers reporter. I guess in theory a Dallas guy would know more than someone from New York or Miami. I don't live in Houston. Who else is there besides Feigen?
The more the merrier as far as I'm concerned. Watkins is just doing his job and has done it well as far as I've seen. He's been on the beat for, what, a few months? It's impossible for him to match the kind of institutional knowledge that Clutch, Feigen and others on the beat -- or, heck, even a lot of fans -- have. It's not his fault. There's no way to easily absorb that stuff. It just takes time.
Methinks we are just looking to complain. For years I have read that ESPN hates/neglects the Rockets (something I did not disagree with). Now they dedicate someone to writing about them full time so that Rockets-based articles are consistently showing up on the front ESPN NBA page, and we trash them because they are not groundbreaking reports. Sure Watkins isn't telling us anything that local reporters aren't, but he IS telling a national audience all of those same things. For us CF people we don't get a ton of added content to read, but nationally the Rockets may now start getting some of the attention that we have been trying to say they deserved for all this time.
I don't know about "expert," but he seems nice/gracious enough to fans on Twitter. I see no reason not to give him a chance.
Lol we find everything to complain about. Calvin does a great job and gets the team time on sports center and articles on the front page.
I knew he came from espn Dallas so I question his intentions with his "reporting" on the Rockets lol .....but he good right now
You might be right. However, in this case, the complaint has some basis?? Dorsey is a backup C, and has been all year. Jones is far from 'undersized' - 6'9.5 with long arms is at least 'normal' for a PF.... If they just did the teeniest bit of research