I've watched a couple games he's announced in this playoffs, and honestly I think he's the best TV analyst working the playoffs. He dissects what's happening on the court so well, and he's also able to interject humor when appropriate. The only criticism I have (and this applies to all analysts who are/were coaches) is that he's a bit soft on critiquing the players or coaching strategy. Understandable that he wouldn't want to rub people the wrong way, of course. What do you think? And more generally, which tv analysts are your favorite?
I'm glad he is good at something cause he sure sucks at coaching. Here's wishing JVG is working full time with TNT next year. Seriously his commentary is not bad but his voice is annoying. He sounds like the weasel from ICE age.
Never watched Ice Age, but I don't find his voice annoying at all. Yeah, they would be #2 and #3 on my list. Coaches are so much better as analysts than former players.
I was just about to make a post on this. Its like JVG missed his calling. He is really a great analyst but more importantly... it sounds like a totally different person! Upbeat!? Positive!? Excited about Basketball!? Is this the same JVG our players know?
Collins voice is the most annoying out of all three. Even though the content of what he's saying might be the most insightful and accurate of all, his voice and delivery make it sound like he's desperate and begging you to believe what he's telling you, as if he's losing an argument and grasping for straws. He comes across as preachy and pedantic. Content, good. Delivery, annoying.
JVG's little rule proposals are pretty funny. He asked Stern if players could serve their suspensions during the next regular season. Later on he said that players should have unlimited fouls.
what about Fratello? what do you guys think? will TNT invite him to do some analysis now that he has "Gone Fishing"? I always thought him, JVG, and Kerr were pretty good( when Kerr isnt licking the respective jocks of the Bulls, Suns, and Spurs)
If I have to listen to Doug Collins do remedial end-of-quarter math one more time ("they get the block at one end, then come back down and score -- that's a four-point swing!"), I will blow my set out the window.
jvg has been damn good this season, like leiter was for the baseball playoffs, very insightful and actually funny at some times...its hard to believe its the same guy who pouts his way through the season im really not a jvg fan, but the rest of the tnt guys absolutely pale in comparison to him, doug collins is like a monkey on a sugar rush, i absolutely cannot stand the guy, he always states the obvious like its a huge gift to the viewing public and he rides certain players as if they were his sugar daddies; when he covered the rockets-lakers a couple years ago, he was so wrong so often; ive never gotten so furious over something so stupid as basketball commentary...while every so often (like once a season) he may provide something interesting to say, ive usually drowned him out at that point... now that ive finished off my insane rant on how much i hate doug collins, id like to add that i think hubie brown is a much better color guy than he was a sideline reporter
I think this is the way we see him talk during his analyst time is the way he is with his players, unfortunately from a fans perspective he does not give us the same impression. As far Im concerned I could care less about how he is with the media and public perceptionm. As long as we have a healthy team next year and the players continue to want to play for him I am content. This whole thing where people want to critique him for the way they feel about him as a person is crap. He knows basketball, players believe in him, and his playing style wins playoff games, that is all that matters to me.
btw the steve wonders? thing that steve kerr does is pretty bad too... i know i come off as negative, but i actually like tnts coverage
I really like his analysis also. The only problem is that he sounds like he is yelling into the mic, almost like he is talking to his team in the huddle with the crowd screaming in their ears. Don't they wear headphones that block out some or most of the crowd noise?
JVG has been a lot better. guess he just had to get back in the groove, cause his first game in the playoffs had him talking way too much...filling up every blank space with words. But his last 2 games have been really good
JVG is a very smart guy with a sick sense of humor; therefore, he has to be a very good analyst by default. It's not surprising to me at all. I think I like Hubbie's commentating job the best. Maybe because I am not very knowledgable in basketball, and Hubbie likes to break the plays down, and point out the flows of execution and background of those tactics, I feel I learn a lot from it, especially when I don't care which team wins.
I heard the unlimited fouls thing too. I'd have liked to have heard him explain more, because he kept insisting he was serious. On the surface it's a dumb idea, but if done with certain conditions, then it could be OK. An added penalty for fouls committed by players with more than 5 fouls (reinstate 3 to make 2 FT, or a technical). Or maybe a penalty box, lol. Otherwise, why keep track of fouls at all. The reason why it could make things better is that superstars probably get away with too much because of the refs' fear of fouling out who the fans paid to see. With no foulouts, the stars will get blown for fouls fairly all 48 minutes. Obviously, the better solution is for the refs to call the game fairly in the first place and let the stars foul out, but that ain't happenin'. Still, I dislike it because this will eat into substitute minutes even more. I like the prospect of unsung players from the bench being the hero once in a while. Just like I like occasional 18 inning baseball games when managers start having to use pitchers for baserunners.
I like JVG as an analyst because its funny hearing him say a great team needs this kind of player and a championship team needs this kind of player when his team is lacking those players.
I threatened the same thing back in 1999, but more or less gave in to Doug's wily ways. He never stops. A friend of mine charted this -- he mentioned it in every playoff game he covered in the 98 and 99 playoffs but one. I like Collins, but criminy, it gets old. JVG was good in his pre-Rockets days on the tube, but I actually think he's gotten much better. And remember, he's lined up with Matt freakin' Devlin, the worst play by play in the NBA today. Every single fast break in this CLE/WAS series is followed by a "now, that's some Jeff Van Gundy-style basketball, eh? Wink-wink, nudge-nudge, I'm Matt Devlin and I'm HILARIOUS!" I do think Jeff's idea about players never fouling out is crap, though. If players didn't foul out, Michael Sweetney would have registered around 27 fouls in Game 5 against the Heat, and I wouldn't have been able to file my report until around 5am. Ironically, Phil "Big Chief Triangle" Jackson espoused the same idea years before, even before he was coaching Shaq.
JVG is damn good. TNT treats him like a second stringer though, matching him up with Matt Devlin. I'd like to see him be prime time and paired up with Harland or Alpert, well maybe not with Alpert because there maybe some friction from their NY days.
