NBA TV's "Silent" Game

Yesterday I watched the Orlando Magic take on the Houston Rockets on NBA TV. NBA TV was trying out a "Silent Game", meaning there were no announcers describing the action.

They claimed that they had added more courtside mics and turned up the volume on them so that we would feel like we were watching the game "courtside".

Not even close. The only bit of audio that was at all interesting was Grant Hill complaining that he got hit on the arm on a drive to the basket. Other than that, it was your typical grunts and squeaking of shoes.

That said, I did like the concept. It's not something I would go for every time -- there are a few announcer teams that really add to the game -- but for a random Sunday afternoon, it was worth a shot. I would definitely recommend turning up the sound on the mics though. A well timed "Muthaf***a" would have made watching the entire game worthwhile.

Also, I should note that it is possible that Darko Milicic, who was recently traded from his spot on the bench in Detroit to a spot in the rotation in Orlando, *might* have some game. He blocked three Juwan Howard shots in the span of 3 minutes and finished the game with 2 steals and 4 blocks. He also played every minute of 4th quarter crunch time and looked, for at least one game, like a real NBA player. Let's not go buying a Darko jersey just yet though, boys.