NBA Finals: Spurs vs Heat 2

[TOO]

hahaha.. Simmons is a shitbird. Collins should have the show to himself.

[Superbone]

Rick Barry on ESPN: "The guy on the end is a jerk, Jalen tries too hard. Doug is outstanding. Why they have that gal on - give me a break."

Did he see this?

http://deadspin.com/pouty-bill-simmons- ... socialflow

That's hilarious!

[Superbone]

What a tool bagel Simmons is.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.p ... ol%20Bagel

[Mori Chu]

I don't think TV is the best fit for Bill Simmons. He's a good basketball analyst and writer, but I prefer him so much more in columns and podcasts.

[Sunsfan4life]

That whole NBA Crew is a wreck, but they are an upgrade from Magic and Wilbon blowing each other. "Yes EARRRRRRRRRVIN" "you are so great EARRRRRRRRRVIN" Please just take personal shots at D'antoni for no reason "EARRRRRRRRVIN"

ESPN hasn't had a good NBA crew for sometime now. I prefer TNT, minus shaq, over them by far.

[Mori Chu]

I like Bill Simmons, I like Jalen Rose, I like Doug Collins. But I like them all in different contexts than the ones they're put in right now. Simmons and Jalen I prefer as podcasters. Collins I much, much prefer as a color commentator in the live game action; he's superb there and ordinary in the studio. The girl who hosts with them, she's just eye candy. A very attractive girl who brings absolutely nothing to the table. I'm not saying that she doesn't know hoops, but she just can't add anything that the other guys haven't already added. She's entirely superfluous. It all adds up to a pretty mediocre crew overall.

[INFORMER]

They need to stop jerking Doris Burke around. She's not a sideline reporter; she's not a studio host. She's a color commentator. She knows the game and she can talk about the game, and she does without any agenda, without any need to contrive lame catch phrases or feign excitement.

[INFORMER]

The girl who hosts with them, she's just eye candy. A very attractive girl who brings absolutely nothing to the table. I'm not saying that she doesn't know hoops, but she just can't add anything that the other guys haven't already added. She's entirely superfluous. It all adds up to a pretty mediocre crew overall.

Sage Steele. You need a host there, so her presence is necessary. They tried to do the whole host-less, roundtable discussion studio show and it was beyond abysmal. Her problem is that she doesn't have good chemistry with the rest of the panel, and she tries to have charm and energy but it just isn't smooth or appealing.

Hannah Storm was the best at being a studio host for NBA coverage.

[Mori Chu]

The girl who hosts with them, she's just eye candy. A very attractive girl who brings absolutely nothing to the table. I'm not saying that she doesn't know hoops, but she just can't add anything that the other guys haven't already added. She's entirely superfluous. It all adds up to a pretty mediocre crew overall.

Sage Steele. You need a host there, so her presence is necessary. They tried to do the whole host-less, roundtable discussion studio show and it was beyond abysmal. Her problem is that she doesn't have good chemistry with the rest of the panel, and she tries to have charm and energy but it just isn't smooth or appealing.

Hannah Storm was the best at being a studio host for NBA coverage.

I don't dislike Sage, but she just doesn't fit in there with the others. The others clearly don't fully respect her. I'd be fine with Hannah Storm or somebody neutral like Mike Tirico (though I don't love him).

I agree about Doris Burke. She's wasted as a sideline reporter. ESPN has this uncanny gift for hiring good people and then putting them in exactly the WRONG spot for their talents.

[Shabazz]

Ernie Johnson's the best. He's by far the best thing about Inside the NBA.

[Superbone]

Ernie Johnson's the best. He's by far the best thing about Inside the NBA.

He does his job very well. He's the glue guy.

[Mori Chu]

Great article by Marc Stein about Boris Diaw and his great season for the Spurs.

http://m.espn.go.com/nba/story?storyId= ... ShM4%22%7D

[Mori Chu]

Ernie Johnson's the best. He's by far the best thing about Inside the NBA.

He does his job very well. He's the glue guy.

They really need to get rid of Shaq, though. He drags the whole show down.

[Mori Chu]

An interesting thought: Who should be the Finals MVP? The Spurs are so freaking balanced as a squad that honestly no one player stands out as deserving it. On SpursTalk some of the posters are saying Lebron will win it despite a Heat loss in the series, a la Jerry West's famous FMVP on the losing team many years ago. But I don't think Lebron will win it.

You can make a legit case that Kawhi Leonard deserves it for his all-around play and guarding Lebron James. But I think getting FMVP would be the worst thing for Kawhi. Right now he's still so young and has bought into the team concept. Winning FMVP will make him think he's the man, that he deserves max money, that he should get more shots, touches, minutes, ... Not good stuff.

I think it's more likely that they'll give it to Duncan as a nod to his great career, or to Parker for his numbers. Duncan is the best choice IMO since it'll be a great bookend for his career, having won it in 1999 and then again in 2014 (wow).

[Ring_Wanted]

Duncan-Kawhi-Parker. Make three players share it for the first time ever. Would be a testament to the kind of roster and game the Spurs have used the last two seasons.

[Sunsfan4life]

Leonard deserves it most. Sure he didn't do anything in games 1 and 2, but the series has been won in games 3 and 4 and he's been the best player on the court in both games.

If not Leonard, you give it to Parker I think.

[INFORMER]

But I think getting FMVP would be the worst thing for Kawhi. Right now he's still so young and has bought into the team concept. Winning FMVP will make him think he's the man, that he deserves max money, that he should get more shots, touches, minutes, ... Not good stuff.

I don't agree that it will lead to him wanting more minutes and touches, but it will lead him to be overpaid. His stupid agent is going to be like, "My client outperformed LeBron James! Give him the max!" And he'll have some terrible GM/franchise like Sacramento or Cleveland ready to pony up the max.

I freaking hate how the NBA works sometimes.

[Phoenix219]

An interesting thought: Who should be the Finals MVP? The Spurs are so freaking balanced as a squad that honestly no one player stands out as deserving it. On SpursTalk some of the posters are saying Lebron will win it despite a Heat loss in the series, a la Jerry West's famous FMVP on the losing team many years ago. But I don't think Lebron will win it.

You can make a legit case that Kawhi Leonard deserves it for his all-around play and guarding Lebron James. But I think getting FMVP would be the worst thing for Kawhi. Right now he's still so young and has bought into the team concept. Winning FMVP will make him think he's the man, that he deserves max money, that he should get more shots, touches, minutes, ... Not good stuff.

I think it's more likely that they'll give it to Duncan as a nod to his great career, or to Parker for his numbers. Duncan is the best choice IMO since it'll be a great bookend for his career, having won it in 1999 and then again in 2014 (wow).

The other day I was messing with an archive of N64 emulation, and ended up playing a game called "NBA Jam" that was actually more like a 5 on 5 sim, and it had the Robinson/Duncan team; I played for like 5 minutes, and got scored on repeatedly, and kept hearin "Duncan scores!" over and over again on this old ass ancient game... and he's in the Finals right now. What a fantastic career.

[TOO]

Ha NBA Jam, nice. I'll always remember watching Timmy at Wake Forest while I was in highschool, he's what got me really into NCAA basketball. Before him all I'd watch was the NCAA tourney.

[Superbone]

If not Leonard, you give it to Parker I think.

Yep.