Why does Donny Marshall think he's relevant?

[TradeProposalDude]

I agree with the initial poster, however I was surprised that when I listened to Donny Marshall on CelticsStuffLive he was intelligent, made some interesting observations, and that I actually learned something from listening to him.  My main complaint about Donny Marshal is that when he is broadcasting games or in the studio at Comcast I never learn anything from his commentary: he either says something obvious or nonsensical.  I assumed that was because he is not very smart, but after listening to CelticsStuffLive, I realize he is very smart and knowledgable.  

I am not sure why that does not show up on the air, but my guess is that he is not yet comfortable, does not know what to say, and just tries to fill time.  Hell, I can do great commentary when watching the games with my friends, but if I had to do it on live TV then I'd probably sound like a complete idiot.  I have also noticed a reluctance on his part to say anything remotely critical about many players and coaches, as many are his friends: I feel like he holds back at times (which Tommy never does).

In any case, he can be a complete genius, but if he cannot communicate while broadcasting (and he cannot), then he is a bad broadcaster.

I remember in the early/mid 1980s that I did not like Heinsohn as a broadcaster.  But then I realized it was only the nationally televised games that I disliked him on. (In the early/mid 1980s Heinsohn did the CBS broadcasts with Dick Stockon in addition to the local broadcasts.)  Heinsohn would really dumb down his commentary during the nationally televised games.  I assume the network told him to do this (or maybe he tried to keep it at a level that Dick Stockton understood).  My favorite broadcast team was Heinsohn and Cousy as I learned a lot from listening to Cousy (and he still followed the league fairly close back then).  I feel like Gorman has significantly improved since the 1980s (when he was very deferential to Tommy and did not add much IMO) and that they have become an outstanding broadcasting team (if you are a Cs fan that is).  When either Tommy or Mike decide to retire or are unable to continue (hopefully not for many many more years), then I hope they bring in as a new TV team Max and Grande from the radio.

This is honestly a great post. If Donny were more "critical" in his evaluations of certain players, I think he'd come off as more genuine. His nice guy shtick rings as insincere because it doesn't give fans objective commentary about their players. Even being a 4 loss team, there are lots of topics to discuss that merit some form of bashing or criticism. Donny shies from it too much. I'm not saying he has to not root for the Celtics but he should know how to balance his positive evaluations with insightful analysis about what the team's doing wrong and what they can do to fix the problem. That's where his basketball mind comes in handy, or else he's unqualified.

[Redz]

At the risk of grouping us into some sort of elite group here, what percentage of viewers do you think actually give as much of a [dang] about what's being said as we do?

10%...50%

I'm guessing somewhere in the middle of those two.  Maybe we're not the target audience, and maybe we don't makeup the majority of the audience.  Especially given the new heights of popularity in the last year plus.

Will it be long before we see the Celtics equivalent of "Sox Appeal"?  "Celtx Appeal"?

Seriously...I think we just pay more attention than most people, but maybe we're not the target audience since we'll keep tuning in no matter what.

[Andy Jick]

because his brother is donyell...

i just can't believe that with this storied franchise the best they can find is donny marshall.  but i digress...

[Chris]

At the risk of grouping us into some sort of elite group here, what percentage of viewers do you think actually give as much of a [dang] about what's being said as we do?

10%...50%

I'm guessing somewhere in the middle of those two.  Maybe we're not the target audience, and maybe we don't makeup the majority of the audience.  Especially given the new heights of popularity in the last year plus.

Will it be long before we see the Celtics equivalent of "Sox Appeal"?  "Celtx Appeal"?

Seriously...I think we just pay more attention than most people, but maybe we're not the target audience since we'll keep tuning in no matter what.

Maybe 3-5%.  Just like the percentage of people at the Garden who follow the team as closely as people on this site, and have a problem with some of the "show" is maybe 10%...and that might even be generous.

The majority are more casual fans, who like guys like Marshall who seem like they know what they are doing, and like they actually are talking from experience.

Also, as far as Marshall's personal comments, I think Marshall tells stories the same way comedian's tell jokes.  They sound better in the first person, and only the real sticklers care whether they really happened to him or not.

[the_Bird]

Donny's just...   meh, he's boring.  I like him better than either Dickerson or Tanguey, who both act like THEY'RE the reason we're tuning in (Gary was atrocious filling in for Gorman).  Donny's just...   I don't get WHY Donny Marshall is there.  He was only in the league what, three seasons, so it's not like he's got all that much natural credibility.  He was a fringe, preipheral player, which is fine - announcers need not be ex-jocks to be good - but it's not like he's all that good just as an announcer.  

Can't they find someone who used to play like, FOR THE CELTICS, who's got a communications degree and is somewhat more interesting?  How 'bout Eric Willims, wouldn't he be the greatest color commentator in league history?  .  

[RichT24]

because his brother is donyell...

i just can't believe that with this storied franchise the best they can find is donny marshall.  but i digress...

They arn't brothers...

I think Donny does ok. He is not the best but I have heard much much worse on NBA League pass over the years.  I feel like Donny dumbs down his knowledge a little bit for the broadcasts and purposefully stick to the stories about UCONN and such because that is what he is told to do.
Most casual fans like to the hear the stories about how he interacted with Ray or what Kenny Smith told him that one time.  I see myself as more of a die hard than  a casual and I like most of those stories too. 

I can agree however that he does go over the top on the Ray Allen man love sometimes but I can understand why he would.  Also, Ray deserves alot of the man love this year, the old man is playing superb.

[cordobes]

I can live with the name dropping and telling all those personal stories. Sometimes they don't even make sense and are clearly forced (unlike Tommy's) into the narration but whatever.

What's annoying is how boring he is. He's a gigantic lump of blandness. Just too vanilla for my taste.

[Andy Jick]

because his brother is donyell...

i just can't believe that with this storied franchise the best they can find is donny marshall.  but i digress...

They arn't brothers...

I think Donny does ok. He is not the best but I have heard much much worse on NBA League pass over the years.  I feel like Donny dumbs down his knowledge a little bit for the broadcasts and purposefully stick to the stories about UCONN and such because that is what he is told to do.
Most casual fans like to the hear the stories about how he interacted with Ray or what Kenny Smith told him that one time.  I see myself as more of a die hard than  a casual and I like most of those stories too. 

I can agree however that he does go over the top on the Ray Allen man love sometimes but I can understand why he would.  Also, Ray deserves alot of the man love this year, the old man is playing superb.

sorry, my lame attempt at a joke.  i'm just thankful for mike gorman...outside of him, the talent level begins to fade.

[Jaycelt]

 I don't understand all the criticism myself. He's not great but he's not bad either.
 I don't need anybody to entertain me during a game, that's what the game is for. 

[Steve Weinman]

At the risk of grouping us into some sort of elite group here, what percentage of viewers do you think actually give as much of a [dang] about what's being said as we do?

10%...50%

I'm guessing somewhere in the middle of those two.  Maybe we're not the target audience, and maybe we don't makeup the majority of the audience.  Especially given the new heights of popularity in the last year plus.

Will it be long before we see the Celtics equivalent of "Sox Appeal"?  "Celtx Appeal"?

Seriously...I think we just pay more attention than most people, but maybe we're not the target audience since we'll keep tuning in no matter what.

Boom.

-sw

[rrc589]

because his brother is donyell...

i just can't believe that with this storied franchise the best they can find is donny marshall.  but i digress...

They arn't brothers...

I think Donny does ok. He is not the best but I have heard much much worse on NBA League pass over the years.  I feel like Donny dumbs down his knowledge a little bit for the broadcasts and purposefully stick to the stories about UCONN and such because that is what he is told to do.
Most casual fans like to the hear the stories about how he interacted with Ray or what Kenny Smith told him that one time.  I see myself as more of a die hard than  a casual and I like most of those stories too. 

I can agree however that he does go over the top on the Ray Allen man love sometimes but I can understand why he would.  Also, Ray deserves alot of the man love this year, the old man is playing superb.

Yea I actually like the stories.

I like when BOTH he and Gorman mention that they talked to a player before the game or on the plane. Whether it be a conversation involving encouragement or just shooting the breeze, I usually find it interesting.

Everyone in this thread who is crying about him telling these stories from his playing days or his current conversations with the players before games comes off as sour grapes to me.

"WHO IS HE TO GIVE HIS OPINIONS AND TELL OF HIS PLAYING DAYS ON THE AIR!!!"

Give me a break.

Just because he wasn't a great player doesn't mean he should be relegated to keeping his mouth shut on his past/current interactions with players on the team.

[housecall]

In the beginning i didn't understand why Comcast would find a non xCeltics or even a (homegrown sportscaster) New Englander.I was waiting for Donny to turn into a Felger(bitter) who is also a non New Englander.Im not saying you have to be from New England to do a good job,but to do a fair/balance job it just seems the way to go.As time has passed Marshall has his strong points even though i could live without some of his personal stories of past NBA experiences.After i thought about it for a minute(exactly),i came to the conclusion that he sometimes try to hard to convince us that he is Celtics convert.I like the idea of  getting some knowledge of what life is like in the NBA as a role player that got little playing time.I dont think its easy being a guy who sees little action on a team.He seems to have dealt with his career with a sense of humor in ways.Also i think he runs out of material and sometimes repeats stories just to make conversation.He needs to work on some new material in his spare time or off time.But all in all,it could be worst...while im on the subject Tradepoposal who would you suggest instead?Seeing that this is your thread are there any guys/gals out there you prefer or think would do a much better job?

[RebusRankin]

I haven't heard him do any games but he can't be the worst in the NBA. The GS guys were terrible Friday. Worst I have heard.

[xmuscularghandix]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5ZO8kUURxI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijjsYCUVZNg

Donny is COOL. if he was the same exact player except he played one season for the C's we'd all love him.

[crownsy]

because his brother is donyell...

i just can't believe that with this storied franchise the best they can find is donny marshall.  but i digress...

They arn't brothers...

I think Donny does ok. He is not the best but I have heard much much worse on NBA League pass over the years.  I feel like Donny dumbs down his knowledge a little bit for the broadcasts and purposefully stick to the stories about UCONN and such because that is what he is told to do.
Most casual fans like to the hear the stories about how he interacted with Ray or what Kenny Smith told him that one time.  I see myself as more of a die hard than  a casual and I like most of those stories too. 

I can agree however that he does go over the top on the Ray Allen man love sometimes but I can understand why he would.  Also, Ray deserves alot of the man love this year, the old man is playing superb.

Yea I actually like the stories.

I like when BOTH he and Gorman mention that they talked to a player before the game or on the plane. Whether it be a conversation involving encouragement or just shooting the breeze, I usually find it interesting.

Everyone in this thread who is crying about him telling these stories from his playing days or his current conversations with the players before games comes off as sour grapes to me.

"WHO IS HE TO GIVE HIS OPINIONS AND TELL OF HIS PLAYING DAYS ON THE AIR!!!"

Give me a break.

Just because he wasn't a great player doesn't mean he should be relegated to keeping his mouth shut on his past/current interactions with players on the team.

i think people have problems with him because A) hes the most netraul color guy ever, because he wants a national job. so "every one is great mike. this guy plays 2 minutes a night, but he's the best in the nba at playing 2 minutes"

and that, you know, he had hardly ANY playing career, yet he talks like he's a mover and shaker in the league. I don't really think jealousy (beyond the norm) plays into it. I think what plays into it was that the man scored 290 points in 5 seasons, yet if you didn't know who he was, you'd think he was a major player on several teams. he sounds fake to basketball people, because he is.