"I was embarrassed for ESPN"- Sportscaster flames Stephen A. Smith and Co. for partial coverage of Pacers-Knicks
ESPN on ABC provided national TV coverage of the win-or-go-home Game 7 battle between the Indiana Pacers and the New York Knicks. The stage was set for the mouthwatering decider after the Pacers’ 116-103 win back in Indiana evened the series at 3-3. Madison Square Garden in New York hosting the said showdown only increased publicity for the event.
While the game was interesting and thrilling, particularly for Pacers fans, the coverage was ripped to shreds by many on social media. They complained about how the network turned everything into an obvious lovefest between the hosts and their fans. It seemed like only one team showed up based on how Indiana was placed on the periphery nearly everything that was shown.
Veteran sportscaster Dan Patrick, in his podcast, had this to say about how Game 7 was presented to the masses:
"The Pacers did play in the game, I just want to let ESPN know. If you want to buy into East Coast bias, you have every reason to buy into ESPN's East Coast bias watching that game. How about some impartiality here? I was embarrassed for ESPN.”
The pregame show was quite cringy especially when Stephen A. Smith, an unabashed Knicks fan, was shown arriving at Madison Square Garden. Patrick said that he didn’t need to watch that clip as Smith works for the network and not for the Knicks.
During Smith’s talk just minutes before tip-off, he also grabbed director and fellow Knicks diehard Spike Lee. The two couldn’t contain themselves and shouted “Orange and Blue skies!” like New York had won the NBA championship. Indiana was an afterthought for nearly the entire game and even the series.
Dan Patrick ended up rooting for the Pacers to ruin ESPN’s Knicks coverage
The Pacers is a small market franchise that played a series, particularly a Game 7 against one of the NBA’s marquee teams. ESPN couldn’t be faulted for why it did its best to milk the attention of the team that is based in the Big Apple. Still, the fans lambasted the network for making the showdown almost all about the New York Knicks.
Dan Patrick had this to say about why the coverage went that way:
“It felt like it was all about the Knicks, even at halftime it was all about the Knicks. The Pacers aren’t exciting, I get it. No big names, not a sexy team. But you still have to cover the game! You gotta be fair.
“I didn’t care who won, but after that, I was rooting for the Pacers. I thought, ‘You know what, let’s make this uncomfortable for you.’”
In the end, neutral fans probably got some revenge after Indiana sent the home team on vacation with a 130-109 victory. Injuries ultimately robbed Tom Thibodeau’s group of the chance to make it an even more interesting game. O.G. Anunoby, who desperately tried to play, was on the court for just five minutes as his hamstring refused to cooperate.
Jalen Brunson, who had been putting up eye-popping performances in the playoffs, was significantly slowed by a broken hand. Josh Hart grimaced with every jump to get a rebound or attempt a shot due to an abdominal strain. New York’s players deserve their stories but so did the Pacers who had to win Game 7 on the road in what is called “The Mecca” of basketball.
Dan Patrick said that the network was anticipating a mouthwatering matchup between New York and Boston, traditional rivals in almost every sport. The Celtics and the Knicks would have been ratings gold. But Patrick and many fans were happy the Pacers ruined it for ESPN as Indy will now travel to Boston to take on the top-seeded team in the entire NBA.