Jim Williams: Wall-to-wall NBA playoffs for
Baltimore hoop fans
Jim Williams, The Examiner
Apr 20, 2006 7:00 AM (0 mins ago)
BALTIMORE -
It is no secret that Baltimore is a hotbed for basketball, and from a ratings’ standpoint we love to
watch basketball, be it college or the NBA.
So with the NBA Playoffs starting this weekend, you can bet that Charm City hoops fans will be in
front of their TVs.
WMAR, ESPN, ESPN2 and TNT will telecast every NBA playoff game, making Baltimore
basketball fans very happy.
How much basketball?
How about at least 40 games in 40 nights.
Let’s add to the mix that for the second straight year the Wizards have made the playoffs, and that
means Comcast SportsNet will be doing wall-to-wall coverage of the team.
So who are the favorites and who could be the surprise teams as the playoffs begin?
Well, when I need help it is always good to go to ABC lead color analyst Hubie Brown, whom I
spoke to via conference call about all things NBA.
Jim Williams: So whom do you see as the favorites as the teams to beat in the NBA Finals?
Hubie Brown: Well, in the East it has to be Detroit because they play defense and could be the most
complete team in the NBA. From the West, you of course want to say the Spurs, but really you can’t
count out Dallas, or Phoenix. Surprise teams would be the Lakers and Cleveland; both could
advance a great deal further in the playoffs than most people expect. But in the end I like a
Detroit-San Antonio rematch in the finals.
JW: How about the Wizards?
HB: Well, they have the big three back: Gilbert Arenas, Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler. So they
have to be respected with that kind of scoring talent and ball skills. The real key for the Wizards, as
it is for all NBA teams, will be how they play defense. If they can play solid defense then they can
advance in the playoffs.
CSN plans to have full pre- and post-game shows for all Wizards playoff games. If you can’t watch
the games you can hear them, as SIRIUS will have total coverage of every NBA playoff game
through the finals. And of course you can follow all the action on NBA.com.
Jim Williams is a seven-time Emmy Award-winning TV producer, director and writer.