I personally didn't like the pregame show or the commentators. The Pre-Game Show: It was not in-depth nor insightful. Tim Hardaway gave one-sided opinions and linked almost every situation to his ol' playing days. Grade: D If they don't make adjustments their ratings will probably plummit. The Commentators: I actually enjoyed Sean Elliot and Tom Tolbert as the color commentators but the play-by-play guys were horrible. They need to get Kevin Harlan and Dick Stockton. Maybe they still for Turner Sports, anyway find somebody. What did y'all think?
I thought that they were pretty bad, but it was only their first broadcast. Hopefully it will improve. I liked the guy from the X-Games.
Yeah it kind of seemed like a summer league game. Hopefully they will improve. I think they will get better, once the commentators get used to working with eachother and develope chemistry.
It was horrible! How does Tim Hardaway get that job?? I'd even prefer Bill Walton, either that or throw the bank at Bob Costas. The broadcast itself wasnt bad, but as far as the pregame and halftime shows, it was terrible.
Tim Hardaway was pretty bad, but I would rather have him doing it then having Walton do the game. Walton is terrible.
Glad someone started a thread on this. I was about it do it myself. Here are my thoughts. PREGAME SHOW - I don't like them standing around. Sit behind a desk. It looks disorganized when they stand around. If you want to get up and show some moves on a "court" then fine (i.e. the guys on NFL Countdown on their field) but otherwise, sit down! No offense to Tim Hardaway but he doesn't cut it. When I first heard he was hired by ESPN to do something like this I was shocked. He just does not speak well. He looks VERY uncomfortable up there making statements. I liken it to Eric Dickerson doing sideline reporting the last two years on Monday Night Football. He was pretty much unwatchable as is Hardaway. They just look like they want to make ANY comment just to move the show along because they are uncomfortable in the situation. Kevin Fraser as studio host is decent. I am kinda surprised Boo-ya Stewy Scott did not host the show. As for the segments.... I thought "Walton's World" was stupid. Walton having diarrhea of the mouth spouting of topics that are not germaine to the NBA is ridiculous! I actually don't mind Walton but that segment was just stupid. The spot where they had all the color guys talking about different topics was alright. I like different takes on multiple subjects. GAME PRESENTATION - John Saunders is a decent play by play guy. Sean Elliott is also decent but somewhat vanilla. I don't expect to see many controversial comments coming out of his mouth. He kinda of goes with the flow. Mike Tirico is decent on the second game and Tom Tolbert is stellar. I think he is one of the best color guys as he seems to really tell it like it is. Not as vanilla as Elliott is. I thought the FREE FLIGHT camera was cool. It was like the camera they use for Sunday Night NFL Football. Nice feature. Michelle TaFoya is decent on the sidelines. That guy in the second game, someone from the X-Games? What the hell??? Not impressed. Very lame. What makes it even funnier is they picked THAT guy instead of Jim Grey or Peter Vescey (both of which I hate mind you) but how hilarious is it that they picked some X-Games guy over two former veteran NBA sportswriters! ha ha ha! Talk about a slap in the face! NOTE: Wednesday night's game will be Brad Nessler and Bill Walton. I expect this team to be as solid as the Tirico/Tolbert team. Nessler is as solid a play by play guy as there is around and Walton is pretty decent. David Aldridge will be doing the sideline reporting. He always seems to be on top of things so I think he will do well here. I thought overall that ESPN did a good job. The benefit of it being on ESPN is they probably will do a BETTER job of checking "other games" in action each night and will give more coverage to the NBA on their SportsCenter programs which is a huge bonus to us fans that want to get as much NBA as we can get. The only REAL downpoint I feel is Tim Hardaway. The guy just can't speak and his analysis really is pretty pedestrian. I am not getting any insight there. I really don't think he will last long, maybe just for this season. Let's see how they do this upcoming week during the regular season. Hopefully they will "tighten" up the show a bit. P.S. Hey, How about the fact we have no Jim Gray, Peter Vescey, Amad Rashad! WOW, if nothing else that is one of the BEST things about ESPN getting the NBA! Chris
Turner will be showing double headers each Thursday. Their teams will be Marv Albert, Mike Fratello, Jeff Van Gundy Kevin Harlan, Danny Ainge, John Thompson. They guys that get left out are Dick Stockton and my favorite color guy, Hubie Brown. How they could leave him out shocks me! He has the most insight over all the other color guys. His downfall is he doesn't make "witty" comments like the others do and I guess that hurts the "entertainment" of the broadcast. I could care less as he really disects the game. He is particularly good late in games layout out all the options a team has during a final posession. I heard that TNT might use them for a few games but nevertheless, they are the odd people out. NOTE: Along with Kenny Smith, Barkley and Ernie Johnson, Magic Johnson is joining the Inside The NBA team. I think this is a bad move. The original 3 guys have a nice chemistry and brinking in Johnson is just going to upset the balance of the program. How are they going to fit Kenny's, Charles' and Magic's egos on that set at the same time? I have no idea! Chris
That Sal guy is doing the sidelines? I like that. Bringing somebody out of their usual element sort of.
LOL. Ming actually speaks pretty good English. Hardaway obviously isn't great at putting full sentences together.
Bang On! Hubie is the best, hands down. If I could listen to him analyze every game I watched, I'd be a very happy fan. Yeah, he isn't a comedian...so what? I watch other things to laugh, I watch basketball for the love of the game, and Hubie brings a better understanding and ability to communicate that understanding than anyone going. He and Costas would be awesome...
Hey Macbeth: You know the guy that I told you was going to Kansas? I saw him at church last Sunday and he told me that he didn't have good enough grades to get in, so he is going to Bucks County Community Collage for 2 years and then transfering to Kansas. BCCC is in my town. It is like 2 miles from my house.
Don't ever question anything that takes Ahmad Rahshaad (sp?) away from NBA coverage? I mean, how the hell can you be an Islamic leaning black American & an Uncle Tom!?!? I like Hubie's knowledge of the game, but he's a "shill" for the NBA party line. Ainge (I hate to say it b/c I despised him as a player) is the best color guy by leaps & bounds.
Yeah, Tim Hardaway SUUUUUUUUCKED. I like Bill Walton, because I think he's funny (I used to hate him...), but listening to him ramble on about Bruce Springsteen & Rolling Stones concert is not what I want. Frazier was pretty funny, especially when he turned the rookie comments back around on Tim Hardaway, but the show needs some work.
How do you reckon? Was it when he was asked a question about who was involved with the hallway fight, and he said, "I kind of dove out of the way, I didn't see who was fighting. I was thinking about myself." Yeah, great journalistic credibility there. He should go back to reporting on how well rich white kids do tricks with their roller blades.
Just give us more Walton and it'll all be okay! I really don't understand Sean Elliott? He did commentary for like one year with the Spurs, and now he's doing it for a national audience? Couldn't they get some more experienced announcers? I guess they're trying to get people that viewers will recognize. That's the only way I can explain Elliott and Hardaway. Maybe when Reggie Miller he retires he could take over on ESPN. It seems like he'd make a good commentator while still being recognizable.
Thanks for the update...too bad about the grades, though..I was really looking forward to rooting for him. Maybe in 2 years...Are you going to go watch him play for BCCC?
