I understand why there are criticisms about the announcing crew but I think the criticisms miss what is actually grating about the crew.
Jefferson is the problem to me, and Redick was the problem before him. And the issue is simple, these broadcasts for these events are supposed to exist separately from the internet monoculture and belong to a different and better world. But these two guys are way too online to be able to do that. A few years ago Redick made a criticism of Bob Cousy that he was playing against "plumbers and firemen", a played out Twitter joke. Jefferson in Game 1 mentioned that Haliburton's stat line looked like "tour dates", a super played out Twitter joke that was being used about like James Harden stat lines in 2019. Today Jefferson threw out the "triple single" joke, which we are all well acquainted with. Maybe he'll make a "get ready to learn Chinese, buddy" joke in Game 3, who knows.
We need more distance in these broadcasts from the troll slop trough we feed on online. The Breen/Burke/Third combo probably would have worked if Doc Rivers didn't ditch ESPN to go lose more playoff games, but Rivers doomed us.
So far anything but a blowout. I still think OKC wins this game easily in the end, but the longer the game goes without a big run, the more pressure builds up.
Edit: there it is, although there's still a ways to go until halftime
What a day of sports - I saw the ending one of the greatest French open finals ever - Alcaraz came back from down two sets, and then down 3 championship points in the 4th set to win in a 5th set tiebreak against Sinner - absolutely terrific 5hrs 30 mins of tennis!
Then a great soccer match between Spain and Portugal - also ending in penalties and Portugal finally beating Spain in a championship game.
Lets hope the nba game can come close to either of these two games!
Hall of Fame head coach and former Dallas Mavericks coach Don Nelson called out the team's decision to trade Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2024-25 season.
"My philosophy was always, when you've got a great player, he's yours for a lifetime," Nelson said, per NBA insider Marc Stein. "You don't get rid of great players. When that happened, I was pretty disappointed."
Nelson also called Dončić a "dear friend" and revealed his plan to wear the star forward's shoes to "protest" the trade when receiving the 2025 Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award (via Stein).
Webber had a falling out with Nelson that Nelly made no effort to heal. As I recall, both of them handled the situation poorly. Webber at least had the excuse of being young and foolish. Nelson was mature and foolish.
Hype-wise, in NBA terms, it's sort of like 17-year-old (he turns 18 in July) LeBron, except that Yamal is a key starter in some of the biggest games in the world (both for Barca and for Spain), so maybe like if LeBron averaged 20/7/7 at 17 while helping the Cavs to the best record in the league and reaching the conference finals (although Barca has a lot of great players, and winning LaLiga is a huge achievement separate from their Semi-Finals loss in the Champions League).
Yamal has better stats than Messi at 17, but that's probably only because Messi couldn't get as much playing time at 17 for a variety of reasons. Also, Yamal passes the ball a lot (they had Lewandowski and Ferran Torres at striker and Raphina on the other wing), so he can definitely play like football 'combo-guard' more than a pure scorer.
Yamal is also a top-3 finalist for the Ballon D'or (doesn't mean a whole lot, but there's a good chance he wins it before he turns 20, which would break Ronaldo (Nazario)'s record.)
TL:DR: The best 17-yr old in decades (if ever). Probably won't be the GOAT, even on his own team or even La Masia (because of Messi). Plays in a similar position to Messi, so can continue to score and assist, and like Messi is too well-rounded to solely focus on goals. Messi is a once-in-a-century player, though (IMO), whereas Yamal could be a generational player (or better).
Recent Barca / La Masia products have been slightly overhyped too right? Not saying they're terrible at all but haven't some of them run into issues recently? (Injuries, overexposure and lack of consistency.)
Gavi could be amazing but his recent career has been badly messed up by injuries.
Eric Garcia has been up and down.
Ansu Fati - what a weird arc - loaned to Brighton (!) and now out of the starting lineup
Balde and Cubarsi - good, especially Pau
Casado - was good, has an injury
Fermin (Lopez) - was amazing at the Olympics, but might be transferred this summer
Olmo - good, but just came back after he left at age 16
And Yamal, of course. Don't know anything about the next generation still at the academy.
So, quite a few starters on a La Liga-winning team and a UCL semi-finalist. Definitely not Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Fabregas, etc, but a big improvement from before.
It’s even crazier watching old games from the W—say from ten years ago. The amount of contact they allowed was wild. Like if every player on the court was Steph going against the Rockets.
Interesting to me seeing how much Pacers's assistant coach Jenny Boucek seems to be doing diagraming plays etc. even at the ends of close playoff game. And just as interesting is how little attention this seems to be getting from national media (although correct me if I'm wrong as I usually watch with sound muted).
I had heard about other female assistant coaches in NBA, but was not aware of her. Solid experience in WNBA, including Sacramento Monarchs head coach.
Great to see that girl power is not just limited to their physical abilities but also recognized for their BBIQ!
Part 2 of my conversation with NBA shooting coach Marc Campbell is coming at 8pm Pacific. Move over there whenever you’re ready.
I understand why there are criticisms about the announcing crew but I think the criticisms miss what is actually grating about the crew.
Jefferson is the problem to me, and Redick was the problem before him. And the issue is simple, these broadcasts for these events are supposed to exist separately from the internet monoculture and belong to a different and better world. But these two guys are way too online to be able to do that. A few years ago Redick made a criticism of Bob Cousy that he was playing against "plumbers and firemen", a played out Twitter joke. Jefferson in Game 1 mentioned that Haliburton's stat line looked like "tour dates", a super played out Twitter joke that was being used about like James Harden stat lines in 2019. Today Jefferson threw out the "triple single" joke, which we are all well acquainted with. Maybe he'll make a "get ready to learn Chinese, buddy" joke in Game 3, who knows.
We need more distance in these broadcasts from the troll slop trough we feed on online. The Breen/Burke/Third combo probably would have worked if Doc Rivers didn't ditch ESPN to go lose more playoff games, but Rivers doomed us.
Well, so far, that is a bit of thunderous bounce-back game by OK...
Bob Myers is such a doofus as an announcer. His next interesting comment will be his first.
It’s the NBA Finals. Still can’t believe these four clowns are the best a major network thinks it can do.
Who is gonna turn down that easy money? Can't blame Bob for letting a network shovel cash into the trunk of his car. lol
I mean he was pretty brutal interview as a GM though. His saving grace is that beautiful mane he hauls arounds
He was a good interview as a GM!
Unless you mean his Wiseman interview. In which case, brutal.
As GM, he always came off like a good guy.
Good guy but annoying to listen to.
Pacers missing some open shots. Would be much closer if they just made their averages.
Yep, unfortunately Thunder are showing they are able to play some mean defense, also...
Pacers down 21 now but the main thing is I don't like the way Indy's offense looks vs OKC's D. OKC has them on their heels.
I don’t know why the national media hasn’t picked up on the main thing being how you feel about Indy’s offense.
Is that snark or do you have a point?
I was just busting your balls.
Fair enough!
Now get your shine box! 😂
Pacers down double digits early to OKC... They have the Thunder right where they want them!
Ohkaycceee sucks
So far anything but a blowout. I still think OKC wins this game easily in the end, but the longer the game goes without a big run, the more pressure builds up.
Edit: there it is, although there's still a ways to go until halftime
What a day of sports - I saw the ending one of the greatest French open finals ever - Alcaraz came back from down two sets, and then down 3 championship points in the 4th set to win in a 5th set tiebreak against Sinner - absolutely terrific 5hrs 30 mins of tennis!
Then a great soccer match between Spain and Portugal - also ending in penalties and Portugal finally beating Spain in a championship game.
Lets hope the nba game can come close to either of these two games!
And LA protesters are up 1-0 on NG and US troops. I don't expect that to hold.
I might be a little tipsy.
Alotta tiosy
Hall of Fame head coach and former Dallas Mavericks coach Don Nelson called out the team's decision to trade Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2024-25 season.
"My philosophy was always, when you've got a great player, he's yours for a lifetime," Nelson said, per NBA insider Marc Stein. "You don't get rid of great players. When that happened, I was pretty disappointed."
Nelson also called Dončić a "dear friend" and revealed his plan to wear the star forward's shoes to "protest" the trade when receiving the 2025 Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award (via Stein).
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/25203635-hofer-don-nelson-rips-mavs-luka-doncic-trade-you-dont-get-rid-great-players
These shoes are also, conveniently, designed by and for his body type.
Chris Webber says, “hi.”
Ha! Got halfway through that quote and started thinking about Webber.
Mitch Richmond also sends greetings.
My perhaps fuzzy recollection was Webber wanted out and forced the trade. Doncic, clearly, did not.
Webber had a falling out with Nelson that Nelly made no effort to heal. As I recall, both of them handled the situation poorly. Webber at least had the excuse of being young and foolish. Nelson was mature and foolish.
I think Webber was pretty overrated
Even if you that, it’s hard not to think a team with Webber, Hardaway, Mullin, Sprewell, Seikaly and Donyell
haha, it is hard not think about that team
yeah, definitely a 'pot-meet-kettle' moment.
Nelson: "someone said pot?"
My first thought…
OT: Nations League final starting soon on Fox (Spain vs Portugal: Yamal vs Ronaldo)
Klay, Rocco, and the Bay Area-
From Peter Hartlaub in Sf Chronicle:
https://www.sfchronicle.com/totalsf/article/rocco-klay-thompson-bulldog-bay-area-20359076.php
For those that follow football closely: is Lamine Yamal the real deal?
Hype-wise, in NBA terms, it's sort of like 17-year-old (he turns 18 in July) LeBron, except that Yamal is a key starter in some of the biggest games in the world (both for Barca and for Spain), so maybe like if LeBron averaged 20/7/7 at 17 while helping the Cavs to the best record in the league and reaching the conference finals (although Barca has a lot of great players, and winning LaLiga is a huge achievement separate from their Semi-Finals loss in the Champions League).
Yamal has better stats than Messi at 17, but that's probably only because Messi couldn't get as much playing time at 17 for a variety of reasons. Also, Yamal passes the ball a lot (they had Lewandowski and Ferran Torres at striker and Raphina on the other wing), so he can definitely play like football 'combo-guard' more than a pure scorer.
Yamal is also a top-3 finalist for the Ballon D'or (doesn't mean a whole lot, but there's a good chance he wins it before he turns 20, which would break Ronaldo (Nazario)'s record.)
TL:DR: The best 17-yr old in decades (if ever). Probably won't be the GOAT, even on his own team or even La Masia (because of Messi). Plays in a similar position to Messi, so can continue to score and assist, and like Messi is too well-rounded to solely focus on goals. Messi is a once-in-a-century player, though (IMO), whereas Yamal could be a generational player (or better).
Recent Barca / La Masia products have been slightly overhyped too right? Not saying they're terrible at all but haven't some of them run into issues recently? (Injuries, overexposure and lack of consistency.)
Course I could be totally misreading them.
Yeah injuries have been bad.
Gavi could be amazing but his recent career has been badly messed up by injuries.
Eric Garcia has been up and down.
Ansu Fati - what a weird arc - loaned to Brighton (!) and now out of the starting lineup
Balde and Cubarsi - good, especially Pau
Casado - was good, has an injury
Fermin (Lopez) - was amazing at the Olympics, but might be transferred this summer
Olmo - good, but just came back after he left at age 16
And Yamal, of course. Don't know anything about the next generation still at the academy.
So, quite a few starters on a La Liga-winning team and a UCL semi-finalist. Definitely not Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Fabregas, etc, but a big improvement from before.
Me seeing unnecessary contact no calls in the WNBA..."that's a flagrant if Draymond did that."
It’s even crazier watching old games from the W—say from ten years ago. The amount of contact they allowed was wild. Like if every player on the court was Steph going against the Rockets.
Interesting to me seeing how much Pacers's assistant coach Jenny Boucek seems to be doing diagraming plays etc. even at the ends of close playoff game. And just as interesting is how little attention this seems to be getting from national media (although correct me if I'm wrong as I usually watch with sound muted).
I had heard about other female assistant coaches in NBA, but was not aware of her. Solid experience in WNBA, including Sacramento Monarchs head coach.
Great to see that girl power is not just limited to their physical abilities but also recognized for their BBIQ!
Wife and I were just speculating that we’re not too far away from a female NBA HC
Golden State's Natalie Nakase may be ready when Steve Kerr's contract expires...