Commentators

[RebusRankin]

Harlan is much better than Breen.

[Donoghus]

TNT blows anything that ESPN is trotting out there out of the water.

Breen is terrible and JVG doesn't take himself seriously enough which is a real shame.

[Boris Badenov]

JVG is very good. Agree with the other posters: Mark Jackson was bad for him, because they were too focused on being cute and not focused enough on basketball. Marv does the same thing to good people he works with.

As for the halftime show: Magic is an utter disaster. His halting delivery is bad enough, but he's also wrong on the basketball half the time. I don't really think he's that ignorant - but he just can not think on his feet, so he ends up saying things that make people cringe (like calling the C's a good offensive rebounding team the other night).

[Finkelskyhook]

I would love to see VanGundy and Harlan paired up.  I'd think it'd be hard for VanGundy to take himself seriously when he's got a clown wearing a heat uniform doing play by play.

Ditto to what Boris said about the great liar.  earvin brings nothing but slow narcissism...When a rare coherent thought actually comes out of earvin's mouth...It always has incredible flair for the obvious.  Like last night's stroke of brilliance about tempo to close the pregame show.

[ChainSmokingLikeDino]

TNT blows anything that ESPN is trotting out there out of the water.

Breen is terrible and JVG doesn't take himself seriously enough which is a real shame.

Not a Breen fan. Do like JVG. Doesn't play league politics, is willing to criticize refs, rules as he sees fit.

TNT studio show is the best, and on the whole they broadcast a better product BUT they do employ the single wore commentator in Reggie Miller. Just atrocious.

[snively]

Breen's got that smarmy establishment feel. 

Van Gundy's great now that the awful Mark Jackson isn't around to bait him into moronic banter.

I'm still mad Houston took McHale away from broadcasting.  He was great.

Dirk Nowitzki needs to hurry up and retire and start a hall of fame broadcasting career.
http://youtu.be/x6uALYCAaoM

[snively]

Oh and Fratello is pretty good.  Not always forthcoming with the insights but very likable.  Makes Reggie more likable too.

[RebusRankin]

Shaq calling games would be entertaining. Put him and Barkley together and I'd tune in. Might be poor announcing, might be great but it would entertain.

[soap07]

Shaq calling games would be awful. He is almost as bad as Magic as an analyst. What makes anyone think he'd be any good as a color commentator where he'd have to think fast on his feet?

[cman88]

if not for van gundy, the espn crew would be HORRID

[blink]

yeah, i wish it was TNT doing the east instead of espn.  I am not sure why, but they just seem to know way more about the game.  The in studio guys are more fun with TNT too.

TNT blows anything that ESPN is trotting out there out of the water.

Breen is terrible and JVG doesn't take himself seriously enough which is a real shame.

[slamtheking]

if not for van gundy, the espn crew would be HORRID

Van Gundy is no prize either.  Breen's so bad he makes him look tolerable. 

We're spoiled all season with Mike Gorman who's a top-level professional and Tommy (who I know rubs some people the wrong way but I enjoy him).  having to suffer through what the other networks offer up is painful

[cman88]

if not for van gundy, the espn crew would be HORRID

Van Gundy is no prize either.  Breen's so bad he makes him look tolerable. 

We're spoiled all season with Mike Gorman who's a top-level professional and Tommy (who I know rubs some people the wrong way but I enjoy him).  having to suffer through what the other networks offer up is painful

van Gundy is at least less biased than Breen...its funny hearing him call out breen.

like on that KG delay of game

Mike Breen "that was definitely a foul according to the rules"
van gundy "ya, and so are palming the ball and travelling"

[guava_wrench]

Breen is very good. While he does not directly contradict JVG, he does take indirect swipes when JVG is over the top or when the replay disproves JVG.

One thing that is a bit off-putting for me with Breen is that he gets a bit over excited on any exciting plays for a national broadcast. He does it for both teams, which is appropriate, but it still feels a bit spastic to me.

[guava_wrench]

I know Breen is biased, but I can't help but like him.

"Bang!!!!!"

I've heard some very heartbreaking bangs against us.

He's really good at Bangs against us but hardly ever for us.

I disagree. He gets very excited about a lot of Rondo's plays or Pierce's more exciting plays.

Breen will always seem to be more excited about the team that dunks more because he is all about spectacular plays. He has never seen anti-Celtic to me. I suspect that when he gets excited about a play by the Celtics, it flies under the radar of certain fans. When he gets excited about a play by the opponent, it aggravates those same fans.

He seems pretty consistent in his over excitement over flashy plays by either team.