20 Second Timeout

NBC's NBA "Throwback Tuesday" Hit All the Right Notes

NBC's "Throwback Tuesday"  doubleheader telecast took viewers on a sentimental journey complete with the old NBA on NBC graphics and music. I grew up with the NBA on CBS in the 1970s and 1980s, but the NBA's run on NBC from 1990-2002 was very memorable both for the quality of play and the quality of the broadcasts. During those dozen seasons, the Michael Jordan-Scottie Pippen Chicago Bulls bagged a pair of three-peats (1991-93, 1996-98) bracketed around the Houston Rockets' back to back championships. Then, the San Antonio Spurs ushered in the Tim Duncan era by winning the 1999 NBA title in the wake of Michael Jordan's (second) retirement and a lockout that shortened the regular season to 50 games. Phil Jackson came out of a short-lived retirement from the Chicago Bulls to coach the Shaquille O'Neal-Kobe Bryant L.A. Lakers to three straight titles (2000-02). During that era, NBC also covered the exploits of the 1992 Dream Team in the Barcelona Olympics, an epic event that inspired many of the international players who have dominated the NBA in recent seasons.

Thus, the NBA on NBC covered one of the most consequential eras in NBA history, a period that featured three three-peats, Houston's repeat, the first of Tim Duncan's five NBA titles, and the debut of NBA players performing for Team USA in the Olympics, which planted the seeds for the emergence of European stars such as Dirk Nowitzki, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic, and Luka Doncic. 

Hannah Storm, Isiah Thomas, and P.J. Carlesimo hosted the "Throwback Tuesday" pregame show, fittingly called "NBA Showtime" in a nod to the NBA on NBC's original pregame show. Throughout the night, Storm, Bob Costas, and others made a point of acknowledging key members of the NBA on NBC family who have passed away or were not able to join "Throwback Tuesday" for other reasons, including Bill Walton (passed away in 2024), Steve "Snapper" Jones (passed away in 2017), Dick Enberg (passed away in 2017), Marv Albert, Ahmad Rashad, Julius Erving, and Matt Guokas. I did not hear Peter Vecsey's name mentioned; he has always been a divisive figure so perhaps his omission is not surprising--but the "Viper" was a memorable participant in the old NBA on NBC broadcasts.

The first game of the doubleheader was a dud on the scoreboard as the San Antonio Spurs routed the Philadelphia 76ers 131-91, but the telecast provided a great opportunity for Bob Costas, Doug Collins, Mike "Czar of the Telestrator" Fratello, and sideline reporter Jim Gray to reminisce not just about their shared time at NBC but their careers in general.

Costas mentioned the numerous great 76ers who started their careers in the ABA--including George McGinnis, Julius Erving, Bobby Jones, and Moses Malone--and he gave a plug to the recently released ABA-themed documentary "Soul Power." Costas began his broadcasting career as the play by play announcer for the ABA's Spirits of St. Louis, and he proudly calls himself an "ABA guy." His historical knowledge and his reverence for sports history add much value to every broadcast that he does.

Collins recalled scheming with his teammate Julius Erving to miss a free throw on purpose in a late game situation so that Erving could slam home the game-winning putback. It was very meaningful to Collins to return to Philadelphia, where his NBA playing career began and where he served as the team's coach from 2010-13.

Fratello talked about broadcasting games with play by play partner Marv Albert, who for decades was the witty, wry, and knowledgeable voice of the NBA. When Albert called a national game, his presence made it seem like a big event.

Gray recalled being a young reporter working in Philadelphia in the early 1980s when Erving was the NBA's biggest star, and Gray remembered covering a young Kobe Bryant for the NBA on NBC. It is poignant to see footage of Bryant at the start of his great career now that we know his life would end at just 41 years old in a helicopter crash that also took the lives of his 13 year old daughter Gianna and seven other people.  

As the Spurs put the game out of reach, Costas referenced Marv Albert's line about "extended garbage time," but Doug Collins gently countered by noting that Hubie Brown would get upset if NBA Draft coverage returned to air late after a commercial and missed announcing a draft pick; that moment was special for one of the 60 best players in the world, Brown would lament. Collins' point was that "garbage time" may seem insignificant, but it is important to the players who get on the court after not getting much action for most of the season. Collins also said that Hubie Brown is the "gold standard" for NBA color commentators, and Collins mentioned that he learned a lot from Brown. Brown is the best, but Collins is one of a select few who rank right behind Brown. 

While the 76ers absorbed a blowout loss--something that 76ers' fans have often suffered through during the seemingly endless "Process"--Collins noted that he was not coaching the 76ers when they started tanking 13 years ago. Fratello wisely pointed out that some teams tank and never get out of the tank--a sentiment that applies to the 76ers, who advanced to the second round in 2012 with Collins as their coach, and have not advanced past the second round since going into the tank in 2013. The 76ers have not "tanked to the top," nor has any other team; the 2025 NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder obtained franchise player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander not by tanking but by shrewdly acquiring him via a trade with the L.A. Clippers--and in that same trade, the Thunder also acquired the draft pick that became Jalen Williams, their second best player. The Thunder then tanked to obtain more draft picks, but they acquired the two centerpieces of their championship team from one trade, not from tanking.

Near the end of the game, NBC ran a graphic comparing the NBA in 1990 with the NBA in 2026: in the 1990-91 season, NBA teams averaged 106.3 ppg and 7.1 three point field goal attempts per game, while in the 2025-26 season so far NBA teams are averaging 115.3 ppg and 37.0 three point field goal attempts per game. In 1990-91, the Denver Nuggets led the league with 12.9 three point field goal attempts per game, while in 2025-26 the Sacramento Kings rank last in the league with 30.1 three point field goal attempts per game. "Stat gurus" insist that NBA teams are optimizing possessions by jacking up so many three pointers, but there is no way to prove that to be true when every single team is jacking up three pointers; when every team jacks up dozens of three pointers per game then of course the championship team will be a team that jacks up dozens of three pointers per game--but high volume three point shooting is a high variance approach to the game, so it would be fascinating to see a team like the 1986-87 Showtime Lakers face any of the recent NBA championship teams. The 1987 Lakers averaged 117.8 ppg on .516 field goal shooting while attempting just 5.5 three point field goals per game. Would the Lakers' ability to relentlessly attack the paint wear down a modern team, or would a modern team's three point bombing shoot the Lakers out of the gym? I would pick the Lakers in such a matchup, and it would be fascinating if a modern NBA team had the courage to buck the trend of high volume three point shooting in favor of efficient shooting from all areas of the court.

Prior to the second game of the doubleheader, Isiah Thomas talked about the Spurs' sound organization (a marked contrast with how the 76ers have been run in recent years, though he did not say that), and he mentioned that when he visited Gregg Popovich he noticed that there was just one picture in the office: John Havlicek. Carlesimo said that he had not known in advance that Thomas would mention this, but that it brings to mind a story from when Carlesimo worked as an assistant coach for Popovich. Carlesimo recalled that Popovich was thrilled when Havlicek presented a trophy to the Spurs, and that is when Carlesimo learned that Havlicek was Popovich's favorite player. Carlesimo knew Havlicek, and he was able to arrange for Popovich to meet Havlicek.  

In the second game of the doubleheader, the Phoenix Suns defeated the Sacramento Kings, 114-103. The game telecast did not feature throwback broadcasters, but Grant Hill and Noah Eagle ably called the game while Storm, Carlesimo, and Thomas did the halftime show and the postgame show. During the game, NBC showed some highlights of Grant Hill playing for the Detroit Pistons in the 1990s when NBC broadcast his games--and then NBC showed a picture of Eagle as a child during the 1990s, reminding us how quickly time passes!

At the end of the telecast, Storm, Carlesimo, and Thomas talked frankly--and lovingly--about how much it meant to them to be back together on air again. As Thomas said, you never know when they will all be in the same place at the same time again, so this was a moment to cherish. 

I have seen wry social media comments prior to last night's telecast making fun of the people who suggest that NBA basketball was better back in the day; such comments argue that it would be odd that basketball is the only sport where basic evolution has not happened. I won't comment about other sports in this article, but I strongly feel that the NBA game was better in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s than it is now, and after watching a retro telecast it is evident that NBA telecasts--from the studio shows to the game broadcasters to the graphics (which were clearer and more readable on the retro telecast than on modern telecasts)--were better back in the day, too. It was refreshing to watch an NBA doubleheader devoid of screaming, hot takes, and general foolishness--and it was wonderful to listen to broadcasters who know and respect the history of the game, in marked contrast to uninformed and ungrateful commentators who disrespect the players who laid the foundation for the modern NBA: J.J. Redick is making millions of dollars per year now not because he is so intrinsically special, but because Bob Cousy and the other great NBA players from the league's early years laid the foundation for what has become a multi-billion dollar business in which even average players and average coaches become millionaires. Billy Martin once said that George Steinbrenner was born on third base but thought he hit a triple, a sentiment that applies to Redick and many others who now benefit from the hard work (and superior talent) of those who came before them.

Labels: ABA, Bob Costas, Doug Collins, Hannah Storm, Isiah Thomas, Jim Gray, Julius Erving, Kobe Bryant, Marv Albert, Mike Fratello, NBC, P.J. Carlesimo, Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns, Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs

posted by David Friedman @ 11:18 AM

0 comments

Remembering Willis Reed, the Heart and Soul of the New York Knicks

Willis Reed, the spiritual and physical leader of the great New York Knicks teams of the early 1970s, passed away earlier today. Here is the scouting report on Reed that I wrote in one of my articles about the NBA's 50 Greatest Players:

Willis Reed is the first player to win the All-Star Game MVP, regular season MVP and Finals MVP in the same season (1970). Michael Jordan (1996 and 1998) and Shaquille O'Neal (2000) are the only other players who accomplished this feat. Reed also finished second in the 1969 regular season MVP voting and fourth in the 1971 regular season MVP voting. His trophy case includes the 1973 Finals MVP and the 1965 Rookie of the Year award. Reed made the All-NBA Team five times, including one First Team selection (1970, the year he earned his only All-Defensive Team selection, also to the First Team). His New York teams advanced to the NBA Finals three times (1970, 1972-73) and won two titles (1970, 1973).

Reed never led the league in a major statistical category but he averaged at least 11.6 rpg in each of his first seven seasons and his career average of 12.9 rpg ranks 13th in ABA/NBA history. While Reed could post up and he had a good hook shot, his New York Knicks often ran an inverted offense featuring guards Walt Frazier and Earl Monroe attacking the hoop while Reed and forwards Dave DeBusschere and Jerry Lucas bombed away from outside. Reed did not display three point range--which, of course, was not necessary or desirable at a time that the NBA had not adopted the three point shot from the ABA--but he had a reliable shot in the 15-18 foot range. Reed was an excellent defensive player and he had great physical presence. He was not a great passer but he contributed offensively not only as a scorer but also as a screen setter.

While Reed put up impressive statistics during his prime, he is most famous for a game during which he scored just four points: in game seven of the 1970 NBA Finals versus the L.A. Lakers, a hobbled Reed limped on to the court after missing game six due to a hip injury and he made his first two shots from the field, providing inspiration as the Knicks rolled to a 113-99 victory. Walt Frazier had 36 points, 19 assists and seven rebounds in game seven but Reed received the Finals MVP after averaging a team-high 23.0 ppg plus 10.5 rpg during the series (Reed averaged 26.8 ppg during the first five games of the series before suffering the injury). 

Many current NBA players talk like they are tough and act like they are tough. Reed proved that he was tough through his actions, not through words or false bravado. He not only played through injury, but he never backed down from any challenge; not that fighting should be glorified, but during an era when real fighting--not the "hold me back" posturing that we see so much today--was common in the NBA there may not have been a more feared/respected player than Reed, perhaps best exemplified by a 1966 melee during which Reed took on multiple Lakers in succession "and just decimated this team," as his teammate Phil Jackson later put it. 

Reed made the All-Star team in each of his first seven seasons, but he fully hit his stride in 1969 after the Knicks traded Walt Bellamy and Howard Komives to the Detroit Pistons for Dave DeBusschere. The departure of Bellamy and addition of DeBusschere enabled Reed to shift from power forward to center while DeBusschere took over the power forward duties. In 1969, Reed earned the first of three straight top four finishes in regular season MVP voting as the Knicks went 54-28 before reaching the Eastern Division Finals for the first time since 1953. 

That set the stage for the Knicks' storied 1970 season, when they were the top overall seed in the NBA playoffs with a 60-22 record before defeating the Baltimore Bullets (4-3), Milwaukee Bucks (4-1), and L.A. Lakers (4-3) to capture the franchise's first NBA title. So much has been written and said about how tough Reed was to come back from a painful hip injury to play in game seven of the NBA Finals that it is often forgotten how dominant he had been in the 1970 playoffs before he got hurt. Reed averaged 21.3 ppg and 17.7 rpg versus the Bullets, who featured Hall of Famers Wes Unseld and Gus Johnson in their frontcourt, plus Hall of Famer (and future Knick) Earl Monroe in the backcourt. Reed then averaged 27.8 ppg and 12.2 rpg versus the Bucks while battling Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (who also had an excellent series, averaging 34.2 ppg and 17.8 rpg); Reed may not have outplayed Abdul-Jabbar, but he was productive enough to balance out that matchup, which enabled the Knicks to exploit matchup advantages at other positions. Then, as noted above, Reed averaged a team-high 23.0 ppg in the NBA Finals versus Wilt Chamberlain despite scoring just four points in game seven while hobbling around with his hip injury.

The iconic call by Marv Albert--"Now here comes Willis--and the crowd is going wild!"--combined with the footage of Reed walking through the tunnel on to the court before game seven of the 1970 NBA Finals is one of the classic moments in NBA history. Reed's willingness to play through pain and to sacrifice his individual statistics to help his team win stand in marked contrast to the "load management" and veneration of individual statistics over team goals that characterize so many of today's most talented NBA players.

Reed later said, "This was something we all wanted very badly. It was so close you could touch it. It's one game. It was what I dreamed of as a high school kid. It was what I worked so hard in college for. Not only me, but everyone in that locker room. The coaches. Management. For me to not go out there to try and be a part of that, to try and give whatever I could--and I didn't know what it was--then I would be letting them down and letting myself down. If I tried and failed that's the way I wanted it. I didn't want to be a guy who didn't come out and show he had the guts and grit to be there...That was the moment to try."

In my chapter about the NBA in the 1970s in the anthology Basketball in America, I mentioned that it takes nothing away from what the Knicks accomplished in 1970 to point out that, contrary to the mythology that has developed regarding the 1970 NBA Finals, the Knicks were not plucky underdogs but rather a young team stacked with Hall of Famers facing an aging Lakers team whose three main cogs--Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, and Elgin Baylor--were all in their 30s: "It is true that by the conclusion of the 1970 playoffs West (3708 points, 30.9 points per game) Baylor (3623 points, 27.0 points per game), and Chamberlain (2990 points, 25.8 points per game) were the three leading scorers in NBA playoff history. That is impressive and unprecedented, but it also reflects the fact that all three players were past their primes. Baylor's chronically bad knees would soon force him to retire and, as noted above, Chamberlain had not completely recovered from his early season knee injury. West still had plenty of great games left, but his body was also battered and bruised from so many years of battling deep into the playoffs. The Knicks were hardly an underdog team without a chance; there is a reason that they had homecourt advantage for game seven. None of these facts diminish Reed's courage, Frazier's clutch game seven performance and the overall greatness of the 1970 New York Knicks. Quite the opposite: the 1970 Knicks should be remembered as a great team, not as an underdog."

Reed was the undisputed leader of that great 1970 Knicks team. 

In 1970-71, Reed had another excellent season, but the Knicks' bid to win back to back titles ended with a seven game loss to the Bullets in the Eastern Conference Finals. Reed battled injuries in his final three seasons, but he won the 1973 Finals MVP while leading a balanced attack that defeated the defending champion L.A. Lakers, 4-1. Reed played in just 19 regular season games in 1973-74 before retiring.

After his playing career ended, Reed had a brief stint as the Knicks' head coach (1977-1979). He was Creighton University's head coach from 1981-85, and then worked as an assistant coach with the Atlanta Hawks and Sacramento Kings before becoming the head coach of the New Jersey Nets from 1987-89. During his time as the Nets' general manager in the 1990s, the Nets drafted Derrick Coleman and Kenny Anderson while also signing Drazen Petrovic. Those three players helped the Nets become a playoff team before Petrovic's tragic death in a car accident. Reed was the New Orleans Hornets' Vice President of Basketball Operations from 2004-07.

Reed received many honors after he retired, including induction in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, selection as one of the NBA's 50 Greatest Players, and selection to the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team.

Labels: Marv Albert, New York Knicks, Walt Frazier, Willis Reed

posted by David Friedman @ 11:52 PM

2 comments

NBA's 75th Anniversary Celebration Game Provided Stirring Trip Down Memory Lane

On Wednesday night, ESPN and ESPN2 did a simulcast of the Brooklyn Nets-New York Knicks game; ESPN did a regular broadcast, while ESPN2 presented an NBA 75th Anniversary Celebration game featuring old-school graphics from the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, plus guest appearances from legendary players and broadcasters. Dave Pasch and Hubie Brown handled the ESPN duties, while Mike Breen, Mark Jackson, and Jeff Van Gundy--each clad in 1970s-style yellow ABC blazers--hosted the 75th Anniversary Celebration Game. Normally, I would be glued to any broadcast featuring Brown, but I could not resist the stirring trip down memory lane provided by the 75th Anniversary Celebration Game. I have been following pro basketball since I was a young child in the 1970s, and this sport has been a huge part of my life: I love to play basketball, I love to watch basketball, and I love to write about/analyze basketball. The game changes and evolves, but my fascination endures.

Oscar Robertson was the first guest, as the first quarter of the 75th Anniversary Celebration Game focused on the 1960s. He talked about how competitive the NBA was when the league had just eight teams, and he mentioned playing each team 13 times per season. When Robertson was a rookie in 1960-61, his Cincinnati Royals were a Western Division team. The Royals played the other three Western Division teams--the Bob Pettit/Cliff Hagan-led St. Louis Hawks, the Elgin Baylor/Jerry West L.A. Lakers, and the Bailey Howell/Gene Shue-led Detroit Pistons--13 times each, and they faced the four Eastern Division teams--including Bill Russell's dynastic Boston Celtics stacked with future Hall of Famers, Wilt Chamberlain's Philadelphia Warriors, the Dolph Schayes/Hal Greer-led Syracuse Nationals, and the Willie Naulls/Richie Guerin-led New York Knicks--10 times each. 

Robertson also praised the skills of today's players, and he marveled at Kevin Durant's ability to handle the ball so fluidly at seven feet tall. 

Marv Albert was the next guest. He talked about the 1960s--when his career began--but he also discussed covering the 1992 Dream Team (the only real Dream Team; the other teams were Team USA, but not Dream Teams). Albert said that when he first did a Dream Team game at the Tournament of the Americas he got chill bumps as the players came on to the court, and he added that without question this was the greatest set of talent ever assembled on one team in sports history. Albert explained that his trademark "Yesss!" call evolved from the "gyrations" of NBA referee Sid Borgia, channeled through one of Albert's friends who would do play by play while he and others played pick up games. Albert recalled that he first said "Yesss!" during a broadcast after a Dick Barnett jump shot, that fans and players began repeating the line back to him, and he soon incorporated it into his routine--but only for spectacular shots and/or shots that happened at key moments.

The second quarter focused on the 1970s. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar talked about doing the Mikan drill as a fifth grader, and how this practice helped transform him from a gangly, awkward player into a skilled player who wielded the sport's greatest weapon ever: the skyhook. Asked why more players do not shoot the skyhook, Abdul-Jabbar provided a very insightful answer: he said that coaches do not teach the shot properly, because after a player masters the Mikan drill fundamentals he should learn to shoot the skyhook in a way that fits his athletic abilities; Abdul-Jabbar insisted that it would be wrong to try to teach another player to shoot the skyhook with the exact same form that he used, because his form was based on his physical characteristics. 

Abdul-Jabbar said that Wilt Chamberlain was the strongest player he ever faced, but quickly noted that he never played against Shaquille O'Neal. He explained that both big men were physically imposing in a similar way, but with different physiques.

Another guest representing the 1970s, Bill Walton, was in typical form: he talked straight through his whole segment without giving anyone a chance to ask a question. He remembered playing against NBA players as a 14 year old high schooler, and he noted that Marty Glickman (who also influenced Marv Albert) helped him to overcome his speech impediment. Walton praised David Stern and Adam Silver as two NBA commissioners who have helped grow the sport. Stern was certainly a trail blazer, but I am much less impressed by Silver's legacy thus far.

My favorite NBA decade is the 1980s. In 1981, Julius Erving, after winning three ABA regular season MVPs and two ABA Finals MVPs, became the first non-center to win an NBA regular season MVP since Oscar Robertson (1964), and two years later Erving teamed with Moses Malone for a glorious, record-setting championship run. The Bird-Magic rivalry was outstanding, and the Isiah Thomas-led back to back champion Detroit Pistons remain underrated. Michael Jordan's incredible NBA career began in the 1984-85 season, though he did not start winning championships until 1991.

The third quarter guest who discussed the NBA in the 1980s was Dick Stockton, who is one of the most gracious people I have ever had the privilege of interviewing. I have an indelible memory of the first time I met him: "When I approached Stockton face to face--without prior notice--at a Cleveland Cavaliers game and asked him if he could take a few moments to answer some questions for my upcoming Andrew Toney article, he could have politely--or impolitely--declined: he was a big-time national TV star who had no idea who I was. Instead, Stockton warmly agreed to my request and he enthusiastically answered my questions. I bumped into him on a few subsequent occasions at other games and he always gave me a friendly greeting. I can assure you that this is not typical behavior in this business."

Stockton shared his memories of covering the great Celtics-Lakers NBA Finals in the 1980s. He made two interesting points: (1) those series were competitive, but often the individual games were blowouts as first one team asserted its will over the other, and then the situation reversed in the next game; (2) CBS marketed team matchups over individual matchups, which Stockton liked because he firmly believes that basketball is a team game. Breen recalled that Stockton influenced his style by telling him that broadcasting is about reaction and not just preparation; Stockton said that viewers will react a certain way to what happens during a game, and if the broadcaster is not in tune with that then he loses credibility. Stockton deflected some of the praise directed toward him by making a point of lauding Sandy Grossman, Pat O'Brien, and the rest of the NBA on CBS crew, stressing that it was a team effort and not just about the announcers.  

My favorite NBA broadcasting duo of all-time is Dick Stockton doing play by play alongside analyst Hubie Brown; they first teamed up at CBS, and then they later reunited at TNT. Stockton talked about Hubie Brown's meticulous preparation and attention to detail. Stockton has such a great grasp of what it takes to have a top notch NBA game broadcast: he is right that the play by play announcer must have the ability to react to game flow changes, and he is also right that no analyst matches Brown's ability to not only prepare for a game but to then seamlessly weave into the telecast the insights that he gained from his preparation. Stockton noted that Brown talks to the viewer like he would talk to a player who he is coaching. I will always remember Brown telling me that he never talks down to the viewer but rather attempts to help the viewer understand basketball's strategic nuances. 

Several of the guests talked about how blessed and fortunate they feel, so I must say that I feel blessed and fortunate that I have had the opportunity to interview Robertson, Erving, Stockton, Brown, and so many other legends.

In the fourth quarter, guest Bob Costas recalled covering not only Michael Jordan's six NBA titles, but also having a close-up view of the excellence of the other stars of the era--many of whom played on the Dream Team. Costas noted that the standard set by the Dream Team led to the emergence of international players on the NBA stage. Asked to weigh in on the ubiquitous Michael Jordan-LeBron James comparisons, Costas said simply, "Statistically they be may be equal, but Jordan was greater." Costas explained that Jordan has had a greater impact on the game by virtue not only of winning more championships but also having more iconic moments, from winning the 1982 NCAA title at North Carolina all the way to the Dream Team and his six NBA titles. Costas emphasized that taking Jordan over James is not a knock on James, comparing this to a baseball historian taking Willie Mays over other great players.

Breen asked Costas about starting his career not in the NBA but in the ABA. Costas is an ABA guy through and through, and it was great to listen to him add some much needed ABA flavor to the telecast. Costas recalled serving as the play by play announcer for the Spirits of St. Louis from 1974-76, and he talked about the noteworthy "in perpetuity" deal executed by the team's owners, the Silna brothers; in exchange for giving up the right for their team to join the NBA via the ABA-NBA merger, the Silna brothers received a share of NBA TV revenue "in perpetuity," which turned into a windfall worth at least several hundred million dollars.

The NBA has a rich history that has produced indelible memories, and it was tremendous fun to revisit so many of those great moments.

Labels: Bill Walton, Bob Costas, Dick Stockton, Hubie Brown, Jeff Van Gundy, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Mark Jackson, Marv Albert, Mike Breen, Oscar Robertson

posted by David Friedman @ 1:06 AM

0 comments

The Incomparable Marv Albert, Forever "The Voice of the NBA"

Marv Albert has announced that he will retire after doing the play by play of the 2021 Eastern Conference Finals for TNT. Albert, who will turn 80 on June 12, is one of the most decorated and respected broadcasters ever. He received the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame's Curt Gowdy Media Award in 1997, plus five national Emmys, three local (New York) Emmys, 20 selections as the New York State Sportscaster of the Year, and a host of other honors, including his 2014 induction in the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Hall of Fame.

Albert has called New York Rangers hockey games, nationally televised NFL games, boxing, horse racing, and Wimbledon. Between his television and radio duties, Albert called eight Super Bowls, 12 NBA Finals, eight Stanley Cup Finals, and four Olympic Games.

However, Albert will forever be remembered as "The Voice of the NBA," providing a soundtrack of memorable NBA calls that have endured across generations--from "Now here comes Willis--and the crowd is going wild!" to "A SPECTACULAR move by Michael Jordan" to "Extensive garbage time" to "On the hop!" to his trademark "Yes!" Those calls need no explanation or context for any NBA fan. Albert had a long stint as a local broadcaster for the New York Knicks, and a shorter run later in his career with the New Jersey Nets, but he is perhaps best known for his work for the NBA on NBC and his work for TNT's NBA coverage. He meshed well with a variety of broadcast partners, but he always had special chemistry with Marv Fratello, who Albert affectionately dubbed "The Czar of the Telestrator."

Chris Webber's abrupt recent departure from TNT has opened up some color commentating opportunities, and it was a treat to watch and hear Albert reunited with Fratello--for the first time in several years--for TNT's broadcast of Washington's 142-115 victory over Indiana in the Play-In Tournament. Albert has always combined good knowledge of the game with a smooth vocal delivery, and the capacity to inject humor in the broadcast without taking the focus off of the game, particularly if the game is competitive. For a long time, if he was on the call you knew that you were watching a big game, and you knew that he would deliver an enjoyable and informative broadcast. As the saying goes, Father Time is undefeated, but even in his twilight years Albert still calls a very good game, and a better game than most of his peers, some of whom are barely half his age. He more than withstood the test of time, and he had a courtside seat from the Chamberlain/Russell era all the way through the latter stages of LeBron James' career.

Labels: Indiana Pacers, Marv Albert, Mike Fratello, NBA, Washington Wizards

posted by David Friedman @ 11:55 PM

0 comments

TNT Broadcasters Steal Show During NBA's First Outdoor Game in 36 Years

"Basketball calls us all outside to play, for outside is where the game lives"--David Aldridge during TNT's introduction to the AutoTrader.com Open

The Indian Wells Tennis Garden hosted the NBA's second outdoor game ever, a 77-72 Denver victory over Phoenix. Denver All-Stars Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony sat out due to minor injuries, as did Phoenix All-Star Amare Stoudemire. J.R. Smith and Mateen Cleaves led the Nuggets with 12 points each, while Steve Nash paced Phoenix with 16 points. Denver shot 29-80 from the field (.362), including 1-11 (.091) from three point range, while Phoenix shot 25-79 from the field (.316), including 2-16 (.125) from three point range.

Considering the lack of star power plus the fact that this is just the second preseason game for both teams, one would expect a sloppy game. Add in windy conditions and rapidly dropping temperatures and we found out that the concept of an outdoor preseason game is good but the execution--at least in this case--left something to be desired. Remember those backyard pickup games on crisp fall nights when the wind was gusting, you could not get loose and there were more airballs and bricks than swishes? That is what this game looked like, particularly in the second half.

Or, as Charles Barkley is fond of saying, "The operation was a success but the patient died." In this instance, the banter among TNT's broadcasting trio of Barkley, Reggie Miller and Marv Albert was often more entertaining than the game itself, although after this airballapalooza/brickathon I don't think that Commissioner David Stern will follow up on Barkley's suggestion to play the All-Star Game outdoors. However, Miller's idea that the game should have started an hour earlier is worth implementing if the NBA decides to have another outdoor game.

With both starting units on the court--albeit bereft of the injured All-Stars mentioned above--Phoenix outscored Denver 20-18 in the first quarter. The Suns enjoyed a 41-37 halftime lead, a Bizarro world score for two teams that are known for playing run and gun ball. The Suns went ice cold from the field in the third quarter, scoring just 13 points, and the Nuggets pulled ahead and hung on for a win that will not be replayed on ESPN Classic any time soon.

The Suns have replaced Mike D'Antoni and his offensive philosophy of shooting in "seven seconds or less" with Terry Porter, who plans to place an emphasis on defense and half court offensive execution. As Porter put it, the Suns will still run this season but they want to do so after defensive stops, not after taking the ball out of the basket after the opposing team scores. The Nuggets feature the same coach (George Karl) and the same stars (Iverson and Anthony) that they have had in recent years. They lost defensive hub Marcus Camby but the defensive intensity of their bench figures to improve with the addition of energy players like Renaldo Balkman, Chris Andersen and Ruben Patterson. However, the "knucklehead quotient" on this team is reaching levels not seen since Portland housed the "Jail Blazers": let's just say that a locker room with Iverson, Anthony, Patterson, Andersen, Kenyon Martin, J.R. Smith and Smush Parker will never be a dull place (not to say that all of those players are bad people but they all have repeatedly demonstrated bad judgment on and/or off the court on more than one occasion).

Shaquille O'Neal looks like he is in decent shape but it is obvious that his days of being an explosive and nimble inside player are long gone. He is huge and he literally throws his weight around but his game is shockingly ground bound now; he seems to struggle to dunk in traffic, something that he did with ease during his prime, often while defenders clung helplessly to him trying in vain to foul him before he slammed the ball through the hoop. That said, O'Neal still has an impact on the defense--literally and figuratively; he has to be guarded and at times still has to be double-teamed and that creates space for the other Suns. The Suns were a better team last year after they acquired him, even thought that truth became somewhat obscured by their meltdown in the first round of the playoffs versus San Antonio.

Phoenix rookie Robin Lopez played with a lot of energy, contributing eight points, five rebounds and seven blocked shots. He looks like Anderson Varejao with his wild, flowing hair and he plays like Cleveland's frenetic Brazilian center/forward.

Suns forward Boris Diaw drew Barkley's ire on several occasions for being too laid back and lacking a killer instinct. "He gives up more layups than any player in the NBA," Barkley grumbled about Diaw's propensity for passing the ball when he is right in front of the rim. That was a mild remark for Barkley on this night as he offered wide ranging commentary not only on the game but also on politics, the 1984 U.S. Olympic Team and seemingly any other thought that came into his mind. TNT executives were probably alternately laughing, cringing and wondering if it was too late to put Barkley's microphone on eight second delay. At one point, Albert wryly asked, "Are we on the air?"

Barkley made a candid admission that he has mentioned a few times on TNT: "One of the big regrets of my career is that I did not become a better defender." Of course, he then (half jokingly) took a shot at his first team, the Philadelphia 76ers: "I blame that on all the dead weight I had to carry with the 76ers." Barkley suggested that he could not play defense with the Sixers because he had to do all of the scoring and rebounding. He did carry a heavy burden at one point in his career but in his formative years with the Sixers Barkley played with Moses Malone, Julius Erving and Maurice Cheeks, so there were plenty of opportunities for him to learn how to play defense and plenty of role models from whom he could have sought guidance. The reality is that Barkley was a great talent and a very productive player but he never took his conditioning or his defense as seriously as Michael Jordan did or Kobe Bryant does. Barkley added that he is still made at the Sixers for not drafting Brad Daugherty in 1986 and I completely agree that that was a travesty.

Miller offered a clip and save prediction--"Houston is my pick to win the West"--but Barkley is not convinced, largely because of the unreliability of Ron Artest, of whom Barkley said, "He's a couple sandwiches short of a picnic." Miller also said, "Larry Brown got on me as much as any coach in my career and made me a better player. I think he's the best thing that ever happened to me in my career in Indiana."

Speaking of demanding, hard driving coaches, Barkley recalled that he, Karl Malone, John Stockton and Terry Porter rode to the airport together after Bobby Knight cut them from the 1984 Olympic Team. Keep in mind that Joe Kleine, Leon Wood, Jon Koncak and Jeff Turner made the cut.

Barkley touched on Phoenix' inability to win a championship despite having a two-time MVP and a host of All-Stars and skilled role players. He said point blank that the Suns probably could have won a championship or two if they had focused more on defense and rebounding. Miller offered up the same weak excuses that Suns' fans--and sometimes Suns' players--cite, including what Phoenix supporters call the Horry game but what should properly be called the Stoudemire/Diaw game; after all, it was their overreaction that cost the Suns, not Horry's shove of Steve Nash. If Stoudemire and Diaw had kept their cool, then Horry would have been the only player who go suspended. Anyway, Barkley rightly insisted that if the Suns had defended and rebounded better then they would have had a much better opportunity to defeat the Spurs.

As for the Nuggets, Anthony told TNT's Cheryl Miller, "I think that when I put my mind to it, I can defend whoever I want to." Needless to say, that begs the question of when/if Anthony will in fact put his mind to playing good defense on a consistent basis. Barkley said flatly that Denver is Anthony's team and that how much he buys into what Karl is selling will determine how far the Nuggets go. Miller is convinced that Anthony learned how to step his game up from his experience playing alongside former NBA champions Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade with Team USA but Albert said, essentially, that talk is cheap: the Nuggets need to see real progress from Anthony, not just hear him say the right things during preseason. I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for Anthony to play good defense or to even know exactly where he is supposed to be defensively.

Postscript:

The venerable Joe Gilmartin describes the NBA's first outdoor game, a preseason contest in 1972 in which Phoenix defeated Milwaukee 113-100: "The game marked the debut of Butch van Breda Kolff’s brief (seven-game) stint as Suns’ head coach, and with Neal Walk scoring 15 points and Charlie Scott 14, the Suns beat the Bucks, who were led by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Robertson, 113-110. As he usually did, Suns forward Connie Hawkins drew the most oohs and ahs with some of his patented swoops."

Labels: Allen Iverson, Carmelo Anthony, Charles Barkley, Denver Nuggets, Marv Albert, Phoenix Suns, Reggie Miller, Shaquille O'Neal, Steve Nash

posted by David Friedman @ 1:33 AM

1 comments