Scalabrine

[timobusa]

I like the fact that he can speak from the standpoint of both a player and coach.  I'd like to see him teach the audience a bit more about the nuances of the NBA game.  At times I've heard him get technical and he kind of assumes the audience completely understands what he's talking about, but I don't think its always the case.

But overall I think he's really good.  Helps that he's working with a complete pro like Mike Gorman.

Scalabrine talks way too much and he never says anything interesting.
Mike Gorman is the best announcer in all of sports as far as I'm concerned.

Scal is a color guy. Do you know what a color guy does?
Exactly what Scal does.

[Monkhouse]

Well this thread backfired.. Just like when someone said Smart was better than Rondo.. *cough* 

[DarkAzcura]

I like the fact that he can speak from the standpoint of both a player and coach.  I'd like to see him teach the audience a bit more about the nuances of the NBA game.  At times I've heard him get technical and he kind of assumes the audience completely understands what he's talking about, but I don't think its always the case.

But overall I think he's really good.  Helps that he's working with a complete pro like Mike Gorman.

Scalabrine talks way too much and he never says anything interesting.
Mike Gorman is the best announcer in all of sports as far as I'm concerned.

Really shows how much you actually care about the nuances of basketball. Scalabrine does a great job explaining the sets and has a much better grasp on the modern NBA than any of our other color commentators.

Is Scal good? Or is he only good in juxtaposition to Donny? I think he's decent.

Nah, he's actually good because of his intelligence. Maybe his humor isn't your (or the OP's) cup of tea, but the actual information he relays is pretty awesome. That whole brain doctor thing that made Ainge want to sign Scalabrine as a player actually makes sense to me now. That dude knows his basketball.

[LarBrd33]

I think Scal is doing a good job.

[strokeracevt]

I am also a huge fan of Scals. I watch at least a game a night on TV of different games around the NBA and I believe that we are so lucky to have the crew we have. Scal teaches me something every game. BTW, have you ever listened to OKC's crew? They are bad.

[Donoghus]

I am also a huge fan of Scals. I watch at least a game a night on TV of different games around the NBA and I believe that we are so lucky to have the crew we have. Scal teaches me something every game. BTW, have you ever listened to OKC's crew? They are bad.

I'd say a good 2/3 of the announce teams in the NBA are pretty god awful.  League Pass has certainly taught me that.

Celtics are fortune enough to have arguably the best play by play guy in the business with Gorman.  Obviously, Heinsohn is a homer institution that people either love or hate but there's no doubt there is chemistry with Gorman.  They're like the Summerall/Madden of local announce teams.

I think Scal is doing a really good job.  He actually teaches you things and isn't just full of basketball cliches (cough...Stacey King...cough).   Once he polishes up, he's going to be a fantastic color guy if he wants to be.

[D.o.s.]

I could see disliking Scal for aesthetic reasons, but if you're actually playing/have played basketball regularly (at any level) then I don't see how you wouldn't appreciate the way he describes the game.

On the other hand, if you don't want your color guy to say anything, I could see why you'd prefer someone like Cowens.

[slamtheking]

Scal is awesome. I love his commentaries and he's only gonna get better.

Yea, I love hearing about Scal's illustrious career.

I prefer Tommy, Cousy, or Cowens.

so your preferences are:
- Tommy - outrageous homer if ever there was one.  at the point now where anything positive he says about the team has to be taken with a grain of salt.  Personally, I love Tommy.
- Cousy - someone who's very unfamiliar with the players and style of the game at this point.  I liked Cousy when he was filling in for Tommy/Mike or joining in.  Doesn't sugar coat the bad stuff.
- Cowens - someone who doesn't say anything unless basically prompted by Gorman.  I liked when he'd relate the game to when he played but I found his broadcasts to be lacking otherwise.

Scal is very good.  brings a contemporary knowledge of the game both as a player and a coach.  shares some interesting insights into the game as well as humor in each broadcast. 

I don't get the hate on Scal.  if it's because he wasn't an all-star, get over it.  I've found that being a top player does not make someone a good color analyst nor does not being an all-star mean someone doesn't know what they're talking about or can't be interesting.

[Donoghus]

Sorry to be a bit harsh here but how much would an 86 year old Bob Cousy bring to the table these days?

[D.o.s.]

Well we assume his retirement fund is still going strong.

[Rosco917]

I like Scal, I think he really knows the game, and is always informative. He doesn't take himself too seriously.

He's way way better than Donnie.

I enjoy Tommy, he's a legend, but don't look for him to "tell it like it is".   

[Celtics4ever]

I hated Donnie, glad he is out of the picture.

[Donoghus]

I hated Donnie, glad he is out of the picture.

This might be one of the most universal shared thoughts in the history of this blog.  Can't say I recall many, if any, clamoring for Donny Marshall.   

[hapa17]

every time i'm watching a game scal is calling, my wife will be doing something else and ask if i'm watching something with jesse ventura in it. she SWEARS he sounds just like ventura.

i geek out to technical bball X-and-O stuff and behind the scenes stuff (e.g., last night when scal said KG would get up on the plane and scream that he was the alpha dog ... love anecdotes like that!). scal is great for that. i will admit he can be a little bit of a spaz at times, but like the other guy said, i hope that he finds a comfort zone with some more polish.

living in southern california and having watched a bunch of lakers and clippers games over the years and other broadcast teams on league pass, i think mike and tommy are top notch. my dad, who is something of a lakers fan (unfortunately so; though he's not a die-hard fan of any team, really), caught a celtics broadcast on an nbatv simulcast last year, and he made a point to text me that he thought tommy was REALLY on point with his basketball analysis. not to say my dad is some kind of great authority, but he did play div. 3 college bball, so he's not a complete layman with that kind of stuff. i felt vindicated that i'm not completely wearing my "green tinted glasses" when evaluating tommy.

p.s. cosign on donny marshall. seemed like a good guy, but didn't really bring anything to the table. he is the common ground that i think we can all go to during a disagreement.

p.p.s. nationally speaking, is it just me or is mike breen nearly intolerable? he's obviously got a good voice and handle on calling a game, but he defends refs, he's got that sort of smug delivery, and he's a knicks guy. he's the anti-tommy! blah!

[slamtheking]

is it just me or is mike breen nearly intolerable? he's obviously got a good voice and handle on calling a game, but he defends refs, he's got that sort of smug delivery, and he's a knicks guy. he's the anti-tommy! blah!

it's not just you.  I can't stand Breen.   makes me cringe when C's are broadcast nationally and blocked from CSN so we're stuck listening to that tool.   when he worked with Mark Jackson, I literally wanted to reach through TV and strangle the 2 of them.