David Thorpe is an NBA analyst for ESPN's "Scouts Inc." He's got that job because he runs a player development center in Florida where college and players go to train.
The list of players he's trained is impressive... so there's no doubt he's good at what he does. But that's where he should draw the line. Unfortunately, when asked about TV announcing crews in a recent chat... he didn't.
John (Houston)
Follow up to the Heat announcer being your favorite, which other local crews are in your top 5?
David Thorpe (12:47 PM)
I liked the guys from Memphis, folksy but fun and smart. Did they change color guys? Lakers crew always so professional. Utah's too. Magic guys are very good too.
David Thorpe (12:48 PM)
Oh, and the guys from Minny are improving and actually pretty good.
kshiz (Chicago)
Please say Tommy Points!!!
David Thorpe (12:50 PM)
Ugh. Homer points is more like it. Celts and Spurs have terrific organizations, but their tv guys are not remotely objective or particularly informed.
This is what happens when you put someone in a position where they have to handle more than they're capable of. They say things that expose themselves as such.
No one here is going to argue that Tommy Heinsohn is calling games down the middle. He is biased, no doubt. But the man has won NBA championships as a player and a coach. To put it bluntly... Tommy Heinsohn has forgotten more about basketball than David Thorpe will ever know.
And to lump Mike Gorman in on this is ridiculous. Yes, Mike bleeds green too. He's a local guy who has been paid to call Celtics games for 30 years. But Mike also doesn't hesitate to acknowledge a good play by the opposition. He knows the game as well as anyone calling it, and that's evident in his broadcasts.
What Thorpe said is nothing more than a cheap shot. Neither Mike nor Tommy would make a comment about this guy's ability to train players... because they're not trainers and they're not qualified to question Thorpe's ability to train athletes.
Thorpe, simply put, is no more an authority on the quality of broadcasters than any Joe on the street. Training an NBA player doesn't give this guy one iota of credibility as a media critic. And as a representative of ESPN, he needs to remember his place rather than pop off and insult two men who have been involved in the NBA for much longer than he has.
Thorpe needs to stick to his level of expertise: evaluating players. Tell me what big-name college player doesn't have the physical skills to make it in the NBA and I'll listen to that all day. Straying from that, and leveling insults, however, makes him and his employer look bad.
