i think jvg does a great job – he has certainly loosened up from what i remember him as when he was coaching the knicks. he is funny insightful and not afraid to call things as they are. mark jackson sounds like a video game commentator – jvg is the poop

I did not watch that game, but I’ve watched others where jvg was the color commentator, and he is excellent. He knows the game (obviously) and is not afraid to speak his mind.

JVG was spot on during the later stages of Mavs-Lakers, I couldn’t believe it when he called the Bass/Kobe situation like that. He’s not someone I’m prone to liking naturally but he sure knows the game, especially his defense, he can identify defensive breakdowns that I would otherwise miss and thereby gives me a better understanding of a teams defensive goals. Anyhow, as long as it isn’t Walton or (god-forbid) Reggie Miller, it’s a plus in my book.

I love listening to JVG. Him and JBarry are rapidly becoming my favorites. They don’t hold back and will call the ref if a bad call is made.

amen on jvg. as good as he is, he is even better as a coach. but watching him coach is like watching someone with a bad case of ulcers. he seems to suffer every game. he’ll live longer in the booth. actually, i really liked doc doing the games. he was very articulate and analytical. did not have the humor of jvg. jvg is a better announcer and better coach than doc, though i am not maligning doc.

The color commentator I can’t take is Doug Collins. Talk about an insufferable know-it-all—- except that he really doesn’t know and repeats the same cliches ad nauseum. I can’t recall a single moment of genuine insight from Mr. Collins.

amen, brick. collins is a blowhard. even tho, tommy can be rankling and has his stereotypic lines and overplays his ’WALTUH" and redhead from needham, and ref complaints, he is a veritable fountain of bb knowledge, and his undying enthusiasm is remarkable for a man his age. the last few years of desperation were kept alive on the air because tommy would support the young players. cousy was always a bit more realistic but too caustic. the biggest clowns are barkley and kenny, who tho not color analysts but studio men, are way overexposed and obnoxiously self important.

In terms of production, TNT is hands down better than ESPN. You get the same type of production for the Conference Finals with ESPN as you would a women’s college basketball game on a Tuesday in January.
Plus I’ll take Marv Albert over any announcer any day. Kevin Harlan is great as well.

*TNT? Gotta say I enjoy the studio show. Best basketball insight ever? In the end no, but it is entertaining and the insight does beat STEPHEN A SMITH on ESPN.

*Play by Play? Marv hands down. Clearly the best in the business. Not simply does he know the game well, have very sly and dry sense of humour, but he also just knows how a broadcast should be. Knows when to talk, when to be quiet, when to go to the commentator, when to shut him up. Did you watch tons of NBA ball in the 90’s? Do you not think of a YES! after certain shots? And “downtown” was his too.

*JVG. Gotta say he’s come along and I’m liking him now too. Though having lived in NYC for much of the JvG Knicks era always kinda liked him anyways. Similar to Marv in a NYC dry sense of humour (said in the LA/DAL game after the Mav’s had tried every way to stop Kobe and couldn’t: “Dallas should try a box and one next time down. A box on Kobe and the one on everybody else.” Was glad to hear some love for the box and one defense on a broadcast) and does certainly know the game. And Coach T’ was his man.

*Doug Collins. Quite simply the worst around. Absolutely awful. How this guy has been able to coach as many NBA teams as he has while exhibiting such a lack of knowledge about basketball in all his broadcasts is beyond me. And, he lets his biases get in the way of commenting on a game accuarately. Like Billy Packer and his Duke biases getting in the way and coloring his vision not allowing him to see what is glaringly obvious to everyone else. (Reminds me of when Costas used to call games, especially the Rodman era bulls ALL he would talk about was Rodman’s “antics” to the practical denial of the actual game unfolding).

*The TNT broadcasts are so far superior to the ESPN/ABC ones it always pains me to know that ABC gets the finals. Give me NBC or CBS please. I’d say those early 90’s NBC broadcasts were excellent. Seriously, ABC in the finals starts pulling out the absurd, “so if you’ve never watched basketball before you can’t sit in the key for more than three seconds” or, “For those not familiar you’re only allowed 6 personal fouls a game” I understand that there are some people watching who only watch the finals but please don’t pander to them and make the broadcast unbearable for those who, you know, actually like and understand the rules.