The fourth game of the Talkhoops.net Announcer Critiques came to us courtesy of the Orlando Magic visiting the San Antonio Spurs on November 21st. The crew we were critiquing tonight happened to be the broadcasting team of Bill Land (play-by-play announcer) and the kidney-less Sean Elliot (color commentator). Going into this game, other than the Celtics, there weren’t two better performing teams than the Magic and Spurs. The Magic came into the game with a 10-2 record in which they had won 5 in a row and 9 of their last 10 games. They had not lost on the road going into this game. The Spurs on the other hand were 9-2 coming into this game and had not lost a home game. They were on the second night of a back to back after defeating the Hawks in Atlanta by 12.
It was a fantastic game to watch and one that really showed the true colors of this announcing team. It was a tight contest that had Orlando leading the defending champions by 5 points at halftime, 64-59. However, the second half belonged completely to the Spurs. They outscored the Magic 69-46 (35-20 in the 4th) in the second half and won the game easily 128-110. It gave the Orlando Magic something to build on. They were able to hang with the defending champs for 3 quarters before being completely picked apart by a patient and opportunistic, veteran team.
Dwight Howard had a fantastic game by scoring 34 points, grabbing 16 rebounds, and blocking 3 shots. He helped open up the floor for Hedo Turkoglu, who dropped 26 points on 9-18 shooting. He also had 5 rebounds and 5 assists. The problem for Orlando was the bench play and Jameer Nelson’s inability to stay with Tony Parker. The Orlando bench scored only 11 points in the entire ballgame. Tony Longoria led all Spurs with 32 points and 9 assists. Manu Ginobili came off the bench to pitch in 27 points and Tim Duncan had 20 points, 16 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 blocks. Brent Barry also had his best game of the year with 19 points, including 5 three-pointers, off the bench. It was a great game played by both teams that just saw the better and more experienced team persevering.
Here’s how the announcing crew faired in the game:
Nicknames- Zach Harper: 3; Brandon Gallawa: 2
Zach Harper- This team was pretty brutal with nicknames. A lot of Tony’s, Timmy’s and Bruce’s. The Timmy’s were acceptable from Sean Elliot because they were teammates together, but I don’t think Bill Land has the rite to call Tim Duncan, “Timmy.” The good thing about this team is they didn’t make up any nicknames for their guys. A not-so-clever nickname can really ruin their chance of getting anything over a 1. The first name thing is okay a few times, but after a while, Sean Elliot makes you wonder if he can even read the name on the back of the jersey.
Brandon Gallawa- The thing that really killed me in the nicknames department is the fact that this is a championship caliber team every year. But I have a theory on that a little bit further down. Sean Elliot really brought the score down in this category. He is suffering from “I Played With These Guys” disease. With this being the case, it was only acceptable for him to use the first name with Duncan because that is the only guy on the team with whom he ever played. Unfortunately it spilled over to other guys like Manu Ginobli and Tony Longoria. If I had a dollar for every time I heard Manu during this broadcast, I’d quit the website and move to Mexico. Bill Land also really got into the act of using a lot of first names. I think winning the NBA Championship is the reason behind this. This team won Bill Land a championship ring, so he has to feel a little bit indebted to these guys. Using first names during the broadcast may be his way of paying them back and showing he’s close to them.
Objectivity- Zach Harper: 1; Brandon Gallawa: 2
Zach Harper- Wow, if you didn’t know going into this game that the San Antonio Spurs employed these guys, you knew after about a quarter of basketball. They were complaining from a lot of calls against the Spurs. Every charge against the Spurs should have been a block. There were a few instances that a Spurs player was called for the charge and the replay showed that the defender’s feet were definitely outside of the restricted area, only to have Bill Land say that you couldn’t really tell from that angle. Really Bill? Because it looked pretty crystal-clear to me. The reason they ended up getting a 1 from me instead of something higher was during a key sequence in the 4th in which the Spurs completely pulled away from the Magic, Brent Barry hit a three-pointer to make it a 13-point game. Bill Land yelled, “Take that sucker!” That completely ruined it.
Brandon Gallawa- I actually blame the team for this one. Complaining to the referees after every call against is deeply ingrained in the culture of the team. If all the players on the team are complaining after every call then it is bound to spill over into the broadcast. Going back to my earlier theory about championship, the broadcast team is bound to side with the guys that win them a ring every other summer. It’s sad that a team this good feels the need to complain all the time. And it’s really sad that they have done it so much that it has started to affect the broadcasters. But Manu Ginobli is so bad that if you caught him in bed you’re your girlfriend, he would complain about it and blame you. Duncan would make the Tim Duncan face if you caught him at the crime scene with the knife in his hand. Of course these broadcasters will go with their guys. They probably should have received a 1, but my rule is to save my 1 in objectivity until the Celtics broadcast.
Color Commentator (Sean Elliot)- Zach Harper: 7; Brandon: 7
Zach Harper- Sean was a fantastic color commentator in terms of breaking down the game, giving key things to look for during replays, and providing insider knowledge on player’s tendencies and why they were playing a certain way. I was ready to give him a 9 for most of the game but he simply would not stop complaining about every little call. I expect a little hometown bias from most of these guys but this was just excessive. I felt like Tommy Heinsohn was wearing a Sean Elliot suit. Even late in the 4th when the game was all but decided, he still complained about fouls by Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili against Howard that were blatant.
Brandon Gallawa- Elliot was fantastic at breaking down replays and using the telestrator. You can tell he looks at the plays like a thinking-mans player, and it seems like he is really showing his stuff for future coaching consideration. Early in the game I thought he would be a solid 9 or 10 as a result of this, but his complete lack of objectivity killed his score. The score that Zach and I both gave him really reflects how good he was at adding to the broadcast and breaking down plays on the offensive and defensive end. Unfortunately it really appeared that he was just defending his guys throughout the broadcast. When you complain after every call (not just the close ones) then your score will be hurt. Luckily for him we already have an objectivity category. Otherwise his score would have been a lot lower.
Sideline Reporter (Andrew Monaco)- Zach Harper: 6; Brandon Gallawa: 6
Zach Harper- In the first half of the game, this guy was great. You only saw him once before the game, once in the 1st quarter and once in the second quarter. What he had to say was succinct, relevant and he didn’t try to keep pining for more air-time by chatting with the announcers. But in the second half, he reverted to the bad things that sideline reporters always do. You heard from him 4 times in the second half and he got real chatty with Bill Land. If he could have stuck to his formula in the 1st half, he would’ve gotten a sure 9.
Brandon Gallawa- As Zach wrote, Monaco did a fantastic job in the first half. He was concise and to the point. He didn’t take away from the action on the court; in fact he added to it. As the Spurs started to play better in the second half, they started using him more and more. He started to have a back and forth with Land. He appeared far too often, and he also started to inject his opinion into the conversations. With sideline reporters, the trick is that it is better to be quiet and thought a fool than open your mouth and confirm it.
Halftime Show- Zach Harper: 2; Brandon Gallawa: 1
Zach Harper- There literally was nothing going on. They had a pretty good looking woman named Emily Jones that was basically just selling ticket packs to upcoming games. It was almost like one big infomercial for Spurs tickets. The only reason that they didn’t get a 1 is that Ms. Jones isn’t too bad to look at.
Brandon Gallawa- I don’t continue to watch a game at halftime, so that some chick behind a sports’ desk can hock a bunch of crap that the Spurs are selling. Think of the now national audience a little bit. I don’t want to know about Spurs’ ticket packs starting at $100. They showed an upcoming schedule, but I can’t be convinced that it wasn’t to sell tickets to those games. Far too many teams are screwing up their halftime shows. We kept waiting for some analysis. Tell us what is going on around the league. That night two division rivals of the Spurs (Dallas and Houston) were playing one another. I’m sure Spurs fans would rather know what is happening in that game than hearing about Fabricio Oberto appearing at the River Walk.
Replay/Production- Zach Harper: 10; Brandon Gallawa: 8
Zach Harper- The breakdown of the replays, the use of the telestrator, and the fact that it didn’t appear to be another cookie-cutter FSN production made this game pretty enjoyable to watch. Sean Elliot isn’t the best in the business at breaking down replays and how the plays worked but he’s in the conversation. Bill Land was never confused about what replay was on the screen (see: Miami Heat team). It was a joy to get a foul called (after Sean quit complaining) because they were about to break down previous plays that were the cause for certain runs in the game.
Brandon Gallawa- Their replay packages and use of the telestrator was top-notch. It wasn’t the standard FSN production. When they went to commercials their replays had a white tint to them which really kind of bothered me, but I couldn’t hold that against them because they were good replays that told the story of what was happening in the game. What lowered their score was the fact that the broadcast kept dropping out. The picture would go away or freeze, and we would be left with what seemed to be an in-house audio feed. It sounded like Land and Elliot were on a radio broadcast. Normally I would give them a pass, but this kept happening and at key points in the game. The worst part is that the Spurs play in one of the newest facilities in the league, so they should have the most up-to-date technology. It was kind of inexcusable.
Make Funability- Zach Harper: 6; Brandon Gallawa: 5
Zach Harper- It was pretty hard to make fun of this announcing crew for most of the game (unless you love Sean Elliot/bad kidney jokes). But once they started complaining about obvious foul calls or whistles for violations, it became easier and easier. The second half in which the Spurs pulled away was just too easy. Once the whistle blew, you could imitate Sean Elliot’s voice and start complaining before the call was even made.
Brandon Gallawa- For the record, Zach and I both like bad kidney jokes, but we did get over that when the broadcast started. A lot of times making fun of the broadcast is really a result of the city and players involved (just wait for our Golden State critique), so this game had a lot of make funability in that regard. We had a lot of Big Fundamentals, Tony Longoria, Bald Spot Ginobli and Hack-a-Bowen jokes flying during the broadcast, but that was only the appetizer to the complaining about every call main course. I never had a Sean Elliot impersonation in my arsenal, but I started to work on one after he started to complain about every single call. I even started making the Tim Duncan face a few times. Unfortunately I can’t get my eyes to pop that far out of my head.
Post-Game Show- Zach Harper: 10; Brandon Gallawa: 10
Zach Harper- The post game was solid. I guess they saved up everything in the halftime show for the end of the game. Emily Jones made an appearance and kicked it to Bill and Sean. They did a fantastic job at breaking down the game with highlight packages for all of the stars of the game. It wasn’t awkward. It didn’t run too long. They gave you every important stat that told the story of why the game ended up like it did. Maybe the best format we’ve seen for a post-game show so far.
Brandon Gallawa- I can’t believe how well done this post-game show was. It only made me more upset with the halftime show and the announcing crew during the game. I’m convinced that it was an excellent post-game show because the Spurs won. After seeing how well done the show was, I wanted to see a Spurs’ post-game after a tough loss. I would love to hear them complain about the officiating or how an opponent lucked into a win. Either way the broadcast team did an excellent job on this game. Their analysis was spot-on, and we got all the important statistics.
Play-by-Play Announcer (Bill Land)- Zach Harper: 4; Brandon Gallawa: 2
Zach Harper- I was not very impressed with Bill Land. He wasn’t giving you some shtick like he was trying out for ESPNNews the whole time. But he also wasn’t very lively for most of the game. The “take that sucker” line really was the only time that he injected much life into this broadcast and it was completely inappropriate. Overall, he was just pretty boring and didn’t add to the action on the court. You’d think that you’d get a little excited over Dwight Howard going up against Tim Duncan. But maybe when your team is expected to win a title, you don’t get excited for individual regular season match-ups.
Brandon Gallawa- Maybe my hopes were too high coming into the broadcast for the defending champions, but I was not happy with Bill Land’s performance whatsoever. I didn’t make me want to watch the game. I’m not saying that he has to scream after every play, but he should paint the picture without sounding like a homer. As Zach has mentioned saying “take that sucker” is one of the most unprofessional things I’ve ever heard in a sport’s broadcast (except for Steve “Psycho” Lyons and Keith Hernandez). If you can’t get up for the Greatest Power Forward of all time going against the future of big men in the league, then I don’t know that you should be in broadcasting. He must be bored with the regular season at this point, but NBA fans aren’t.
Would We Watch Again? Zach Harper: 9; Brandon Gallawa: 8
Zach Harper- For the quality of basketball alone, it’s an absolute yes. I really did like Sean Elliot and his analysis of the game. I really wish that he hadn’t become such a homer during the game. Not enough color commentators know how to use a telestrator (probably because most don’t know how to write) and Sean Elliot did it like he was John Madden. This team overall did a pretty decent job, but I can’t congratulate a crew that openly roots for the team to the point that it makes an unbiased viewer to actually WANT the affiliated team to lose. I can’t even believe how great the post-game show was. It was extremely thorough and it completely told the story of the game. Overall, it was a pretty good telecast that was ruined by a lack of objectivity.
Brandon Gallawa- It’s the Spurs. We could watch the game on mute for all I care. If there are hick-ups in the picture like there was in this game we may not be able to watch it with the sound off. There really isn’t a team in the league that plays more cohesively on both ends of the court. They are a blueprint for how to coach and how to play. The team almost got this score in spite of the announcers. Elliot was phenomenal at his analysis. But just imagine you’re an Orlando Magic fan living in another part of the country. I wouldn’t want to watch the Spurs’ broadcast again if that was the requisite. It would just end up making me angry. I’m thankful that Sean Elliot was doing national telecasts, so I know his skills just seem to be diminished because his boys are involved. Bill Land on the other hand doesn’t get me ramped up for more Spurs’ basketball, but when the team is winning championships a lot can be forgiven.
Zach Harper’s Final Score: 58/100; Brandon Gallawa’s Final Score: 51/100
Andy Eisner’s Dickter Scale (aka Hot Chick Bonus): +1 Points
I don’t think that there was one girl that they focused on in the stands. There may or may not have been cheerleaders at the game because this team didn’t show them. I’m guessing women live in San Antonio but maybe they aren’t allowed to go to Spurs’ games. Ms. Emily Jones was the sole reason that there was a single point for this Dickter scale bonus. A very disappointing aspect to this broadcast indeed.
Overall Score (Average of 2 sides + Andy’s Bonus): 55.5/100