Personally I don't mind, but if I were him I would feel kind of weird broadcasting a game where his brother Stan is coaching in the finals. It would be hard to be unbiased in his situation, but i guess will find out. What do you guys think? You guys care?
TV sports analysts don't ask if they should lose their assignments to call title games.
But Jeff Van Gundy says he last week asked his producer, who then talked to ESPN/ABC higher-ups, if he should be dropped from the on-air team — with analyst Mark Jackson and play-by-play announcer Mike Breen — scheduled to call ABC's NBA Finals. "I had absolutely no problems if they wanted to take me off games and put me in the studio or take me off altogether. It was right to discuss it. I'd be fine with anything. They're going to get criticized either way."
Undoubtedly. But Sunday, Van Gundy says he still has his assignment even after his sole sibling Stan coached Orlando to a win over Cleveland Saturday night and a berth against the Los Angeles Lakers in the finals.
Not that Jeff could watch that win. He couldn't bring himself to watch any of Orlando's playoff games live — "I take long walks and hope for the best" — and Saturday night went to a college baseball game "to kill time." He was ambling outside his house when he checked the score with 1:49 to play and felt Orlando's win was secure and thus the end was watchable.