The only thing worse than the game may have been the halftime show. We're talking about Game 1 of the NBA Finals, in which the Boston Celtics easily raced past the visiting Dallas Mavericks by a 107-89 count.
So yeah, the game didn't offer much. But hey, at least it offered more than the ESPN halftime show, which gave the world less than one minute of analysis, as relayed by Awful Announcing.
The entire non-commercial portion of the ESPN on ABC halftime show for Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
Segment 1: Gettin' Buckets.
J.J. Redick talks about the Celtics three-point shooting in the first half.
(1/4) pic.twitter.com/WL32Re9x32
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 7, 2024
This website wasn't alone. The whole basketball-loving universe seemed to notice.
Via @mookiealexander: "ESPN trotting out the most embarrassing halftime show. It's the NBA Finals and they put up about 45 seconds of analysis."
Added Jake/@Cautionn2: "I can't stand the ESPN Halftime show...... It's 1 minute of saying nothing then 14 minutes of commercials."
The Blue Co. Project Podcast: "ESPN has the worst NBA Halftime Show I have ever seen. 50 commercials, 90 seconds of analysis."
So yeah, it's safe to say nobody was a fan.
Segment 4: We hear highlights of Luka Dončić and Jayson Tatum being mic'd up in the first half.
After briefly going over the stats, J.J. Redick and Doris Burke briefly go over the first half as the second half begins.
(4/4) pic.twitter.com/y59R9oxoxH
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 7, 2024
Meanwhile, Zach Dean of Outkick offered the following analysis:
"I mean, I hate the NBA. I hate ESPN. So, obviously, this is going to seem pretty biased coming from me ...
"... but that was the most embarrassing, pathetic thing I've ever seen from the World Wide Woke Leader, which is saying A LOT. Like, what are we doing here? That's it? Seriously?"
ESPN's specialty these days is hot-take programs, with Stephen A. Smith leading the way. Speaking of, Stephen A. was also among the stars of the broadcast, with the network showing him walking into the arena. That too drew some criticism.
Oh well. This is pretty much expected from ESPN these days. A once-proud sports cable network is lacking leadership at the top, and therefore, lacking quality programming.
