Van Gundy and Jackson, Not Their Finest Hour

by Moonman111 on Jun 9, 2011 1:27 PM EDT

Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson are insightful, entertaining, and two of the best announcers in any sport. They obviously know the game. I would love to have Van Gundy end up as coach of my woeful Wizards and I think Jackson was a good hire for the Warriors. They are entertaining as well. A couple of seasons ago when ABC showed a NBA superstar’s yearbook photo during a Sunday broadcast, Van Gundy went on a rant about the unknown student next to the superstar in the yearbook. He said who cares about the Superstar? I know what happened to him, I want to know about the guy next to him, Jason Smith. Did Jason Smith reach his potential? Is Jason Smith lighting the world on fire? Announcing gold. When Mike Breen said Pat Riley went to Brendan Haywood’s house before the season started to convince him to come play for the Heat, Mark Jackson questioned what in the world was going on in today’s NBA. Pat Riley traveling across the country to recruit the likes of Brendan Haywood, come on. Announcing gold. Last night their assessment or lack of assessment of Lebron James’ performance was not one of their shining moments, not announcing gold.

As Lebron James stood in the corner possession after possession, detached from the game, clearly not even trying to any objective observer, Van Gundy and Jackson didn’t feel it was worth mentioning the two time MVP would have been equally effective if he ran to mid-court during each offensive possession and did the Dougie for twenty four seconds. Mike Breen, who goes out of his way not to offend the guy selling pretzels in the upper bowl of the arena was the only one who mentioned Lebron James was having a tough night from the floor. Lebron James is an athletic freak, he is 6’8” with the body of a linebacker, he can jump out of the gym, and if he wasn’t in the flow of the offense he should still be able to crash the offensive boards and end up with at least twelve points on putbacks. If he would of focused on the offensive boards there is nobody who would be able to push him out of the lane or outjump him for the rebound. He checked out and so did Van Gundy and Jackson.

I sent a text to my friend, Hootie, in the third quarter. “I can’t believe they are not mentioning what a debacle of a night James is having.” The following play Lebron missed a fastbreak lay-up and got the rebound. Jackson stepped in to assess the play and said something along the lines of “I really like how James didn’t give up on the play and got the rebound.” Dear God. Hootie probably summed it up best with his text back to me. “They just found a way to compliment Lebron on a missed lay-up…that’s never happened before.” At some point Jackson or Van Gundy should of said something to the effect of “the Heat are up but James is an absolute mess tonight.” Ignoring how poorly James played and the lack of effort he gave during a Finals game, coming off a sub-par game for him, was absurd. Van Gundy and Jackson end up looking like fanboys of Lebron James, afraid to upset James by commenting on one of the top storylines of the games.

Van Gundy and Jackson are great announcers who had a bad bad night. Jackson will go to the Warriors and do well, although his head might explode when his players refuse to give a quarter of the effort he gave in just about every game of his NBA career. I am sure if a Warrior players gives the same effort Lebron did last night it will not be met with kid gloves. Van Gundy probably shouldn’t go to the Wizards on second thought. Andray Blatche would have the same explosive effect on his head. If either were coaching the King last night I am sure the kid gloves would of come off at some point during the game, unfortunately as announcers an intern probably spent a few minutes helping Van Gundy and Jackson unlace them after this game was over.

This represents the view of the user who wrote the FanPost, and not the entire Bullets Forever community. We're a place of many opinions, not just one.

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Van Gundy LOVES LeBron

Wasn’t he the one who said the Heat would win 72 games or something. Also he spent an entire quarter in game 1 of the NBA finals defending the “decision”. He would never say anything bad about LeBron. You right. James was ignored completely by the crew. I forgot about James until 1 minute left in the 4th. The ABC NBA crew are ok but they don’t beat any of the TNT guys.

by nhlnflnba18414 on Jun 9, 2011 1:41 PM EDT reply actions

Also he spent an entire quarter in game 1 of the NBA finals defending the "decision"

Yeah that was REALLY bad. And clearly they were just jibberjabbering nonsense, trying to paper over the guy’s problems. If there was no ESPN hour long show then all of America would be Heat fans? Not likely.

by MR on Jun 9, 2011 4:28 PM EDT up reply actions

I don't think Mark Jackson is a good announcer at all

I feel like he just likes to spit out strange sayings on the way to commercial breaks. In fact I just did a google search of “mark jackson sayings” so that I could put a few here, and the first result was a drinking game involving his quotes

by HIBACHI GOLD on Jun 9, 2011 1:48 PM EDT reply actions

My least favorite being

“HAND DOWN, MAN DOWN!”

by bassguy4 on Jun 12, 2011 9:10 PM EDT up reply actions

Wow

I completely disagree, he’s one of my favorites and they all bring their own dynamic.

I'm not going to think of something extra witty or clever to say, I don't want to convince you to see things my way, I just have 2 words for you: JEREMY LAMB

by qthaballa on Jun 13, 2011 2:26 AM EDT up reply actions

ESPN(BSPN) couldn't resist mentioning his disappearing act

Problem I see in this post, Jackson and Van Gundy are far from the best. They’re like 3rd tier color commentary, but b/c of their record as player and coach they get a pass. If they were just observers of the game and were announcers, they’d be lucky to call WCAC games! Its like an NFL announcer, they will never say a bad thing about Peyton or Brady cuz of their career numbers. LeBron will continue to get a pass for the simple reason of how much he is worth to the NBA. Granted, if it was Kobe who ‘checked out’, you would never hear the end of it, during and postgame.

Why so serious? Its just DC sports...

by LoveThatJoker on Jun 9, 2011 2:12 PM EDT reply actions

Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson are insightful, entertaining, and two of the best announcers in any sport.

I dont agree with that statement at all. I’d say Hubie Brown and Doug Collins are the two best basketball analysts…Doug Collins can break down a play like no other. He makes the game so easy to understand while also explaining the nuances of the game.

by tw10 on Jun 9, 2011 4:07 PM EDT reply actions

I think Van Gundy and Jackson have run their course

At first they weren’t good, but then they became mildly entertaining but now they are just like anyone else on ESPN. I think ESPN in a lot of way is ruining the coverage of sports with their lack of integrity. It is completely self-serving for them not to openly criticize the Heat given how much coverage they give them, including dedicating a website to them. I think ESPN has absolutely destroyed the quality of NBA coverage. That’s why I really enjoy TNT.

Barkley has had his moments too, but this year, since he’s sobered up, he has been great. He’s not afraid to call it like it is. He was right 100% correct about the Wizards during the first game of the year when he said Wall has a lot to learn if he think he’s just going to take this team to the playoffs. He also was on point for calling the Heat a whiny bunch. It’s not to say that he hates those guys, but he’s calling it like he sees it. We need more commentators who are like that instead of being ones who prostitute themselves and their integrity just to make more money. That’s another reason why I miss Bill Walton, heck I miss the NBA on NBC period. ABC can’t hold a torch to their coverage back in the day.

by ThePGPhenomenon on Jun 9, 2011 4:32 PM EDT reply actions

You have a friend named Hootie?

by disgrunted on Jun 9, 2011 4:40 PM EDT reply actions

I like Van Gundy. I like Jackson’s analysis, but it’s so wrapped up in his own schtick that it’s hard to take for a whole game.

They are ok as a team, I think they state their opinions more honestly and openly than most announcers, but they do fall into the promotional rut sometimes.

But you have to remember, they aren’t investigative journalists. They are there to keep the product interesting, which probably includes fluffery. I have been impressed at times at their willingness to criticize the officiating and even at one point said it threatened to undermine the credibility of the league.

by MR on Jun 9, 2011 4:42 PM EDT reply actions

Van Gundy is pretty funny, they are (were) a good team

by DCrez on Jun 9, 2011 5:02 PM EDT up reply actions

I’d give them a solid B, maybe B+

Just thank god Walton isn’t around anymore. I just couldn’t even listen to him, and it’s a lot more fun to watch tv with the sound on.

by MR on Jun 9, 2011 5:11 PM EDT up reply actions

You're crazy

Bill Walton was that dude.

“Come on guys, what are you doing out there?”

“Throw it down, big man, throw it down”

by ThePGPhenomenon on Jun 9, 2011 8:15 PM EDT up reply actions

I loved Bill Walton

He was a hyperbolic genius that kept the product interesting.

Van Gundy’s fine by me except he sometimes goes over the edge – love the nuance to his basketball points. Mark Jackson is annoying as hell.

SB Nation DC | Bullets Forever | SBNation.com | Twitter.

by Mike Prada on Jun 9, 2011 8:34 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

I usually like to say things like "I disagree" or "In my opinion" on this site.

But you guys are just flat out wrong about Walton. Wrong wrong wrong.

He was horrible. He and Steve Jones just brought out the worst in each other too.

by MR on Jun 10, 2011 1:28 AM EDT up reply actions

walton and snapper were painfully bad together, unlistenable

“throw it down big man” is pretty classic tho

by DCrez on Jun 10, 2011 9:41 AM EDT up reply actions

Different strokes for different folks I guess

I loved Walton and Snapper myself mostly for entertainment’s sake.

SB Nation DC | Bullets Forever | SBNation.com | Twitter.

by Mike Prada on Jun 10, 2011 3:14 PM EDT up reply actions

Im a Walton fan too. I watched a lot of Kings basketball this past year...they have good announcers too.

But again Doug Collins and Hubie Brown top my list. I like listening to guys that know the game

by tw10 on Jun 11, 2011 5:17 AM EDT up reply actions

I mention the Kings because Bill was a guest announcer for them a couple games.

by tw10 on Jun 11, 2011 5:17 AM EDT up reply actions

"Annoying as hell"?

Wow, disagree of course. Wonder what you think of Tommy Heinsohn

I'm not going to think of something extra witty or clever to say, I don't want to convince you to see things my way, I just have 2 words for you: JEREMY LAMB

by qthaballa on Jun 13, 2011 2:27 AM EDT up reply actions