A few thoughts on the state of national NBA broadcasts while waiting for Reggie Miller to tell us another dozen times that Jalen Brunson won the Clutch Player of the Year award …
▪ The overall play in the NBA postseason has been consistently compelling. The same cannot be said for most of the broadcasts, in part because of a dearth of top-notch color commentators.
Miller, who was paired as usual with the always superb Kevin Harlan for Games 1 and 2 of the Celtics-Knicks series, is perplexing. He’s an A+ talk show guest, especially during his regular appearances on “The Dan Patrick Show,” but as an analyst, he talks incessantly without a whole lot to say.
I’ve heard from some Celtics fans that think Harlan and Miller sound like Knicks homers on TNT. I absolutely do not agree in Harlan’s case. I suspect that after listening to the we/us stuff from Brian Scalabrine and Eddie House all year on NBC Sports Boston that every neutral national voice might sound biased toward the opponent. Harlan calls every big play with his distinctive jubilance, and the Knicks made the big plays late in those two games.
But Miller? Well, let’s put it this way: Sometimes he does sound more like a guy that played for the Knicks than one who was their primary nemesis for a few years in the ‘90s. Doesn’t he remember that the Celtics were the team that actually wanted to sign him, before the 2007-08 season?
All facetiousness aside, I wish he’d limit his commentary to when he actually has something to say.
I’d much rather hear Stan Van Gundy as the analyst on this series, even though he has his annoying quirks. He’s handling color on the Warriors-Timberwolves, and I’m not saying he thinks every foul should be a no-call, but Draymond Green could pull a billy club out of his sock and whack Rudy Gobert in the kneecap, and Van Gundy would say while watching the replay it should be nothing more than a common foul.
That’s probably a remnant from his time as an assistant on Pat Riley’s gooned-up Heat teams in the ‘90s.
▪ It’s not any better on ESPN/ABC, but at least it is somewhat understandable. The departure of Doc Rivers from its No. 1 broadcast team in January 2024 to take the Bucks’ head coaching job led to the elevation of relative novice JJ Redick to the top team (alongside Mike Breen and Doris Burke). When Redick took the Lakers job following last season, ESPN/ABC was stuck with a depleted depth chart. Richard Jefferson was elevated in a move clearly out of necessity — if a three-person team is even a necessity — rather than one based on broadcasting skill.
ESPN couldn’t have anticipated that Rivers, and then Redick, would both bolt for NBA benches after less than a year as part of the top broadcast. But there might be some karmic justice in play here, because it was downright foolish to fire Jeff Van Gundy in June 2023. Breen, Van Gundy, and Mark Jackson (who also was let go) had the kind of chemistry that no current high-profile NBA broadcast team on any network has been able to replicate.
▪ I’m curious to see which new talent emerges next season when the league goes from two broadcast partners to three (ESPN/ABC, NBC, and Amazon). The LeBron James Generation has begun moving into broadcasting with some promise; Carmelo Anthony will be a studio analyst for NBC and Peacock next year, and if and when Chris Paul ever retires, he will be pursued heavily as an analyst.
Then there’s Dwyane Wade, who has plenty of reps with TNT, and was raw but enjoyable handling the color on NBC’s men’s Olympic basketball coverage last summer. Surprisingly, he joined Amazon as a color commentator and studio analyst rather than signing on with NBC, which was his widely anticipated route.
Taylor Rooks will host the NBA on Prime Video studio show, along with analysts Dirk Nowitzki and Blake Griffin, both of whom have legitimately great senses of humor. Steve Nash and Candace Parker will have the same role as Wade, while Udonis Haslem will spew nonsense about Heat Culture as a studio analyst.
NBC’s hires so far include Jamal Crawford and — ugh — Miller. Mike Tirico and Noah Eagle will be the play-by-play voices. Tirico was predictably exceptional during his shake-the-rust-off game with NBC Sports Boston in March, the memorable night Derrick White and Payton Pritchard each exceeded 40 points.
▪ Don’t know about you, but I’m not ready for “NBA on TNT” to end when the Eastern Conference finals are complete. Warner Bros. Discovery still will produce and sublicense “Inside the NBA” to ESPN and ABC beginning next year, but I can’t convince myself that the most entertaining sports studio show of all time will be quite the same.
Chad Finn can be reached at chad.finn@globe.com. Follow him @GlobeChadFinn.
