"And Nowitski is fouled on the play. He'll shoot two." Oh wait, are we talking about cliches or things that didn't happen?
In addition to despising the use of "the <a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=trifecta">trifecta</a>" as an erroneous term for a three-point shot, I am sick to death of hearing players referred to as "heady" (smart) or "gutty" (courageous). In the latter case, the correct term is "gutsy". In the former case, "heady" is technically correct, but just plain sounds wrong. There's also a hyphen in "anal-retentive".
When talking about young player.... "He's good now, it's SCARY that hes only [this age]" Whats scary about it? Even if it was scary, does that mean people arent going to watch Lebron play becuz its SCARY to know hes only 21 and plays that well? play. boo!
Although admittedly I haven't heard it in a while, I'm always dumbfounded when a player credits or thanks God for a victory. And this is not unique to basketball. One can sit and imagine God taking time out of his/her busy schedule to take sides in a sporting event. Perhaps the team with the most God-fearing Christians wins?
That's old school. Guys who started it probably never used the term the way we do. Then, maybe they did...I wasn't around back then or anything. Oh, and %110 is the worst. I hate that one.
We just didn't get the bounces we've been getting. (as opposed to rolling it down the floor?) We have to focus. (as opposed to having blurred vision?) I know what they mean, but those irk me. Just heard these, "Boy is he quick!" "He's long and athletic." Ya' think? He's in the stinkin' NBA, doofus.
This isn't exactly a cliche, but it bugs the hell out of me. I HATE IT when commentators say things like "Luther Head, the number one pick of the Houston Rockets...." Luther Head is a first round pick. He is a number twenty-four pick. He is not a number one pick. There is one number one pick per season. That is all. I've noticed that most of the time this comes from the guys who cover other sports too. Bill Worrell almost always does this. It makes some degree of sense when there are tons of rounds in the draft, but in the NBA draft there are two friggin' rounds. The most annoying part about that is that you never hear a player taken in the second round described as a number two pick, and I'm sure they'd prefer the sound of that to being a second round pick.
A team's #2 pick is not neccesarily a second rounder. Bryce Drew was the #2 pick of the Rockets in '98, and Rashard Lew... er Mirsad Turckan was the #3 pick.