Tim Legler has a pretty good explanation for why ESPN’s NBA Finals broadcast didn’t give De’Aaron Fox’s crucial late-game decision the scrutiny it deserved at the time: the pandemonium that followed.
Legler was a guest on the Awful Announcing Podcast last week and addressed the criticism that the ESPN/ABC broadcast crew of Mike Breen, Richard Jefferson, and Legler barely examined Fox’s decision to go for a breakaway layup rather than hold the ball and force a foul in the closing seconds of Game 4 of the Knicks-Spurs series. The layup was blocked by OG Anunoby, helping set the stage for New York’s stunning comeback victory, and the debate over whether Fox should have taken the foul instead immediately consumed the collective sports media, with First Take, Get Up, and social media all piling on the next morning.
Legler acknowledged the play deserved more attention and said he wished the broadcast had gotten a comment in. But he was also clear about what made that difficult. The moment Fox’s layup was blocked, the Knicks were already racing the other direction, and the broadcast had to immediately reckon with whether the Spurs could take a game-winning shot.
“You got a chance potentially to be calling a game-winning shot right there going the other direction,” Legler told host Brandon Contes. “So it’s like a lot was going on in that moment.”
Then came a bizarre sequence in which Jose Alvarado was fouled at half court with both feet in the front court and the ball in the back court, which had viewers convinced it was a backcourt violation.
Legler was a guest on the Awful Announcing Podcast last week and addressed the criticism that the ESPN/ABC broadcast crew of Mike Breen, Richard Jefferson, and Legler barely examined Fox’s decision to go for a breakaway layup rather than hold the ball and force a foul in the closing seconds of Game 4 of the Knicks-Spurs series. The layup was blocked by OG Anunoby, helping set the stage for New York’s stunning comeback victory, and the debate over whether Fox should have taken the foul instead immediately consumed the collective sports media, with First Take, Get Up, and social media all piling on the next morning.
Legler acknowledged the play deserved more attention and said he wished the broadcast had gotten a comment in. But he was also clear about what made that difficult. The moment Fox’s layup was blocked, the Knicks were already racing the other direction, and the broadcast had to immediately reckon with whether the Spurs could take a game-winning shot.
“You got a chance potentially to be calling a game-winning shot right there going the other direction,” Legler told host Brandon Contes. “So it’s like a lot was going on in that moment.”
Then came a bizarre sequence in which Jose Alvarado was fouled at half court with both feet in the front court and the ball in the back court, which had viewers convinced it was a backcourt violation.
2 months ago
