Phoenix Suns' Announcers Critique

Lots of basic mistakes buried this team's score.
Photos Courtesy of answers.com and hoopedia.nba.com

The appearance of Dan Majerle during our Toronto Raptors' critique really hyped up our eventual critique of the Phoenix Suns' announcers. We were ready to get the same type of treatment that the Raptors' telecast gave us while we took in a game with the newly acquired Shaquille O'Neal. What followed turned out to be a pretty big disappointment. Why was it so disappointing?
Phoenix Suns Announcers Critique

Boston Celtics Announcers Critique

This may be the most annoying and greatest thing of all time.
Photo Courtesy of fsnnewengland.com

Going into this Announcers Critique idea, I really thought that it would give us a platform and a chance to hammer the Celtics' announcers so that the rest of the world could know how bad and annoying they are. The problem with that theory of mine would end up being this crew turning into a pretty damn professional outfit that finds a way to cover up the alcoholic ways of Tommy Heinsohn.
Boston Celtics Announcers Critique

Portland Trailblazers Announcers Critique

Will these guys be able to overcome technical difficulties?
Photos courtesy of northwest.comcastsportsnet.com

Mike Rice reminds Zach Harper of watching a game with his dad. Mike Rice reminds Brandon Gallawa of a not so forceful Jerry Reynolds. Both guys seemed to enjoy Mike Barrett as the play-by-play man. But will that be enough to get the Blazers' crew into the top 5 so far or will they be slowed by problems that were easily fixable?
Portland Trailblazers Announcers Critique

Sacramento Kings' Announcers Critique

Would a rare sporting event occurence catapult these announcers towards the top?
Photos Courtesy of grantnapeargolf.com and nba.com, respectively

Critiquing our hometown announcers seemed like it would be an unfair advantage for them but we actually created this in order to hammer these guys on a public stage. But after watching other announcers around the league, we realized that Grant Napear and Jerry Reynolds are actually pretty good at calling a game. However, did they get an unfair advantage thanks to a special moment during the broadcast?
Kings' Announcers Critique

Cleveland Cavaliers' Announcers Critique

Did Fred McLeod and Austin Carr "bedazzle" us?
Photos Courtesy of clickondetroit.com and clevelandwomen.com, respectively

Since the first Announcers Critique when the Miami Heat's crew completely annoyed us and defacated all over the announcing community, we never thought that anybody would come close to their terrible score. Well, the Cavs' announcers changed that thinking. Would they beat out Eric Reid and Tony Fiorentino for the lowest spot?
Cavs' Announcers Critique


Why and How We Rate the Announcing Crews
There are two types of NBA fans:
1.) Fans that think that they have the best announcers in the league for their team.
2.) Fans that think they have insufferable announcers that cause them to mute most games.

Thanks to DirecTv and NBA League Pass, Brandon Gallawa and Zach Harper have decided to sit down, bang out some games and critique the best and worst announcing crews in the league. We've broken down the scoring system into 10 categories on a scale of 1 to 10:

Nicknames- We feel announcers that are constantly calling the home players by nicknames and first names are extremely unprofessional and take away from the game. Guys that use last names or full names get higher scores from us. However their are exceptions such as Shaq, LeBron, Kobe, etc. But we don't want to here Brian Cardinal called Brian or Mike Bibby called the Bibbinator (that's an actual nickname for him by Kings' color commentator, Jerry Reynolds).
Objectivity- This is a crucial category for casual fans of other teams and for hardcore fans that try to think logically while watching basketball. It's okay to get excited by the strong play of the team you announce for, but we don't want to hear complaints on every foul and phantom "non calls." This takes away from the enjoyment of watching a lot of teams in the NBA.
Color Commentator- Color commentators are like opening acts for comedians like Dave Chappelle, Patton Oswalt and Jerry Seinfeld. They can ruin the the flow and vibe of the night if they try to do too much and make it their show. The more that color commentators attempt to entertain, the harder they make the announcers' job. Just add to what happens on the court with expertise and that's it.
Sideline Reporter- Sideline reporters are about as usefull as Mikki Moore in a non-contract year. Rarely are the reporters interesting enough to add entertainment value to the game. I don't want to hear from a sideline reporter more than once per quarter and during interviews after the first half and end of the game. And if there are going to be bad color commentators, they better make up for it in the other ways.
Halftime Show- The Halftime show isn't a time to show me cute little stories about building houses or the home town of the 11th man on the team. Leave those short videos for pre-game shows or for weekly wrapup shows that some teams have. The halftime show should be about giving me highlights, analysis from an assistant coach, and pertinent stats that the average fan wouldn't be aware of. Lots of shots of the cheerleaders are also good at this time.
Replays/Production Value- Showing important and entertaining replays in a timely manner with coherent and fun commentary are the keys to showing replays during the game. Announcers need to know which replay is being shown and should never give analysis for a different play than being shown. As far as production, originality in how the game is presented is refreshing. It's hard for teams that are strictly on Fox Sports Net channels to set themselves apart due to the cookie-cutter production of the broadcast.
Make Funability- The easier it is to mock the announcing crew and the easier it is to make fun of them all game is not a good aspect of the way a crew presents themselves. Simply put; the easier it is to make fun of the announcers, the lower their score.
Postgame Show- The postgame show needs provide analysis of the game and reasons for why the outcome was the way it was. Show the best and most relevant replays and give us the stats the tell the story for the win or loss.
Play by Play Announcer- This is the most important part of the broadcast. A great play by play man can make up for a poor game, make up for a poor color commentator, and take a good close game to a great game that you won't forget. The best color commentators follow and lead all of the guidelines that we have already stated. He should be able to have entertaining banter with the color commentator when games are slow and find ways to bring the tension and excitement during crunch time.
Would We Watch Again?- The category is pretty self explanatory. Would these announcing crews make us watch again based on how well they broadcast the game? The quality of the players and the quality of the teams should not be a factor in answering this question.

Not to mention our resident cynic, Andy Eisner, has given a Dickter Scale Bonus Score (originally the Hot Chick Score) category to separate the best from the best with the hottest girls in the crowd and on the cheerleading squads. There is no rhyme or reason to these scores; it's simply based on Andy's instinctual feelings during the game.