...suck
Sorry, Charlie...
So, I'm watching TNT's broadcast of the Wolves/Warriors game. The Wolves took care of business against the Warriors, who were riding a three game winning streak coming in. During the halftime show, Barkley can't believe that the Warriors have that kind of streak, because they just looked awful in the first half. Barkley asks Ernie who they beat in those three games, and Ernie deadpans "Denver, Phoenix...and Denver." Barkley and Kenny Smith give a genuine guffaw when they hear the list.
And that's why I need to tell Chuck I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I dissed Barkley and the whole TNT halftime crew some weeks ago. Are there times when they are out of control, and difficult to follow? Sure. But I forgot one of the cardinal rules of entertainment: Anything that's going to be truly great or revolutionary is going to stink sometimes. I call this the Saturday Night Live rule, but it also applies to home-brewed beer or Democracy. But Barkley didn't stop there. Hearing Ernie mention Phoenix caused Charles to go off on a Suns tangent before Ernie eventually made a joke that Barkley wasn't emtionally over his departure from Phoenix. Barkley said he was over it, and Ernie said "Come on, Charles, you said all that it would take for you to get over it was a couple of deaths." Damn, that's harsh. And funny. Not that I'm wishing for anything bad to happen to Jerry Colangelo...
For his final act of candor, Barkley was panning the Warriors recent draft picks, saying that people like Jamison, Richardson and Dunleavy are all nice enough players, but they all play the same position or are out of position because of the duplication (True.) Barkley then asks who the GM is, and is told it's Gary St. Jean. Barkley says "That would explain it." Kenny and Ernie go dead silent. Hey, you know what? Barkley's not saying anything any Warriors fan isn't already thinking, right Kieran R.? But you just wouldn't hear that on NBC, or even on ESPN, who now seems more establishment than outside barometer. TNT is chaotic when it's off, but when it's on, there's no better way to follow the NBA. Sorry, Charles.
Tell It Like It Is...
Another thing you notice on the TNT broadcasts is that they are less compelled to "sell" their games. Let's face it, only people who have a genuine interest in the NBA are going to be tuning into a Thursday night tilt between the Wolves and Warriors. As long as you know you have an audience that knows and likes your product, it gives you liberty to be more frank about the game. Danny Ainge and John Thompson spent much of last night being critical of both teams, and it was deserved. I think most broadcasts on NBC or ESPN are either gushingly positive, or negative bombast from Bill Walton, just to get a reaction. Ainge and Thompson spent a fair amount of time last night talking about WHY the Warriors were bad, what mistakes were made, where the improvement needed to come from. Even a game that doesn't involve a marquee team can be interesting; there's always a lot going on out there, and I think TNT's broadcasts do a very good job of making it interesting for what it is, without making up some kind of hype about it.
On the Warriors...
The Warriors do have some talent, but not as much as I thought. Jamison is a nice offensive player, but his game is strange. He's awesome on the offensive glass, but doesn't seem to give much effort at all on the defensive end. Jason Richardson shoots way too many threes, and doesn't seem to know how to take advantage of his athleticism. Dunleavey isn't getting major minutes, and that's partly a function of their bad roster construction. Troy Murphy played well last night. I like Arenas, but he's only 20. There is no trust on that team at all. Weakside defensive rotations were a problem for them all night; the Wolves looked like they were holding their own personal dunk contest at times, and that just doesn't happen much for a jump-shooting team. Dunleavey and Jiri Welsch don't play much, but waiver-wire guys like Earl Boykins and Oscar Torres do play. Eric Musselman's got a hard job to wade through there. They have a lot of bad habits, and they just didn't have any energy at all last night. Who is their leader on the court? Everybody seemed to be looking around for somebody else to do something. Bad sign.
Bad News For Wally?
So, Wally's supposed to be maybe 10 days away from a return. The party line is he will rest for a week, then practice, then play. Wally says he feels much better now. So why is he going to see Shaq's foot doctor in LA today? I don't like the sounds of that one bit. You don't see a foot specialist if you know what you have and have it under control. Why would you come out with a timeline if you know your player is going to a foot specialist in the meantime?
11:41:15 AM 
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