TWC Sportsnet Needs to Fire Stu Lantz & Bill Macdonald (P. 2)

Okay it sounds like people are just really, REALLY annoyed with our announcers being a little NOT biased as opposed to other teams' announcers. I personally like the non-biased style. I mean...remember Portland's announcers? They were just ughhhhh. I personally like Stu Lantz a lot. The other guy...ehh Idk what to think of him. I never really paid attention to him. Almost seem like the other guy never left, I forgot his name too

Ive grown up watching Chick Hearn and Stu Lantz. To me Stu will always be in the Laker family!!! I dont want him to go anywhere. If theres any announcers I want to see gone is the Clipper guys Ralph Lawler and Mike Smith. Those 2 dikheads have no idea what theyre doing. Every time somebody on the other team drives to the lane its either a travel or a charge if its a foul on the Clips I hear Lawlers old crusty stank a$$ say "oh me oh my!!!". I love how Lawler thinks saying "BINGO" every time someone hits a 3 is the new catch phrase or something. Earth to Lawler NOBODY but Clipper fans know who you are!!!! Your not a trend setter!!! Smith is just a typical hater and dont know jack ish about basketball. Now Stacy King for Chicago is hilarious!!! Clyde Drexler for Houston not so much.

Stu can stay, but Bill MacDonald has to go.

Does Bill MacDonald ever shut up?

We in Los Angeles have been blessed with great announcers.

Vin Sculley

Bob Miller

Dick Enberg

Chick Hearn

They all knew when to stop talking and let fans enjoy the moment.

All Bill MacDonald does is yap yap yap like an annoying little dog.

It's about quality of words, not quantity of words.

I agree with liking how the Lakers announcers are not biased.

Personally I don't like Stu Lance he just repeats himself a lot game after game.

What kind of LAKERS fan disses Stu Lantz? That blows my mind. I learned so much about the game by listening to Stu.

Show some respect for one of the greats.

Would you rather listen to the garbage Clippers commentators? Or better yet, listen to the TNT guys go off on tangents all game long instead of talking about the game?

ya comon man, Stu lantz is a staple of lakers broadcasting, he's pleasant to hear and calls the games well. honestly don't know how you can't like the guy, he seems insanely nice and his knowledge is through the roof. in fact i would prefer him as a coach over dantoni (just kidding... or am I?)... billy mac i think will be replaced

"in fact i would prefer him as a coach over dantoni (just kidding... or am I?)"

hahaha nice one!

Stu Lantz go? wow... please just stop.

Stu Lantz go? wow... please just stop.

Exactly. A guy who has been apart of this organization since the 70's as a player and late 80's as a color commentator. Honesty I was liking Joel myers due to the fact he never talked so much like Bill does. I don't understand the Stu hate.

I love Stu but he does have a Captain Obvious take on the game at times.

I love Stu but he does have a Captain Obvious take on the game at times.

Dude, so agree. It's not that I hate him he just annoys me sometimes. He repeats himself all season and some things for years. When we had Ariza on the team every single game. "Ariza's a slasher" over and over.

How often does he say and for how many years. "If a big man can just grab three rebounds a quarter they would average 12 a game. That's what I try to tell these guys like Gasol."

Gasol just has to be like, "when you were a player did you grab three a quarter and average 12 a game?" like come on Stu you couldn't do that so don't tell other guys to like it's easy.

P.S. I wish he would shave that mustache.

Fire both of them and put Ireland + Thompson as the leading announcer

Stu Lantz is sort of boring to me but I like him, it's his voice I guess. However he's learned a lot from Chick and I learned a great deal from Chick just by him announcing the games. He was a marvel and I still miss him announcing, his honesty, sense of humor, his timing and so on.

i like Luke Walton on the crew. he is pretty smart though!

sometimes stu and bill annoys me with their commentary. Most of the time their comments are like putting salt on wound. Overall stu and bill are ok. Sometime it's be better if they don't talk too much during the game. lol i

Excellent post Randrew... As old as it may be... As i was telling you last night, the Cavs announcers were literally screaming their damn heads off last night towards the end of the game... You would think Cle just won the title... I mean they beat the Nets for cripes sake... Being a Directv subscriber, up until last season, we had no choice but to listen to the opponents broadcasters.. Now we can choose for either home or away games... At times I will watch to the opponents feed just for gits and shiggles... Some of these crews are horrific.. Just to name a few, SAC, LAC, MEM, MIA, BOS, HOU, and DET announcers are some of the worst I've ever listened to... I'd take Stu over any of them..

Billy Mac on the other hand kind of gets on my nerves as well... I actually preferred Joel Meyers (sp?) over Billy Mac... Hell, even Paul Sunderland was easier to listen to IMO...

^ Ditto to all that Randy and John. This topic seems to come up every year for some reason. I have to think it gets started mostly by those who haven't had to listen much to commentators from other teams. It's an education when you see how bad some of them are. I can't stand "homers" and would rather mute the volume than listen if that's the case.

It may not mean much to everyone else, but another reason I respect Stu Lantz is how he treated Chick Hearn in the final stages of his career. As Chick got older, he tended to make a LOT of mistakes in his calls. Stu was brilliant in how he would just go with the flow and eventually make a correction down the line if he felt it was needed. But NEVER did he make a correction in a way that might have been embarrassing to Chick. Of course Chick deserved that respect too. It made them a really good announcing duo. By the way, I hated to see the days of the radio and tv simulcast dropped.

As for the "Captain Obvious" line of thinking, some of that may be true. But I think Stu harps on some of the same issues because they're so consistently there.

For those who happen to think Stu doesn't know much about basketball, you couldn't be more wrong. I've heard so many other big name commentators mention how they love to listen to Stu because they almost always learn something from him. Of course he's not going to say something new every 5 minutes...but who does?

John, I agree with you on Joel Meyers. I'm not sure why, but a lot of fans didn't warm up to him. I'm not saying he was the best, but he was light years ahead of Billy Mac. But Joel will never be hurting for a job. He has a classic announcer's voice no matter what anyone thinks of his knowledge of the game.

Bill is annoying as hell, especially when we are looseing and I'm mad or irritated anyway. Bill act's like he's been up before work all night drinking , for a long time now. He's always beat a** red and everything he say's backwards or mixed up. Sometimes when he say's **** , its like are you watching the same game?

Stu Lantz--- Hand Down Man Down

Bigs don't like to go out and play D on the perimeter where the air is thin

If you feed the bigs on offense, they hustle back to play defense

Reward the bigs if they run on the fast break

(guard player name) does not have to rush and take that shot. He can do that just as easy with 5 seconds left on the shot clock

knock it down

I see you big fella

bigs want to be guards and guards want to be bigs

read the scouting report...

"charity stripe"

*after the Lakers score and timeout is called* commentary on what the passer and finisher are thinking during the play

I actually don't really like Stu, but now that I listed out the phrases he says over and over again, I think I would miss that if he was gone. Reggie Miller is my favorite guy to listen to on the sideline.

The only thing that really annoys me about Bill Macdonald is when he says "That's cash!". Play by play announcing he is middle of the road.

Like MrLandlor said, Stu is very repetitive. I think for novice NBA fans and up to the middle of the pack fans he is very educational. I know I learned somethings from him when I was young. But now that I know basketball a lot better, he bugs me a bit. I don't even care that he admonishes us more than he compliments us. It is certainly a different approach, most hometown stations are completely biased and maybe that's what separates him from the pack. And he certainly has a lot more credibility to his comments compared to a joke like Tom Heinsohn. Every play that goes against the Celts he calls a foul and every good play he acts as if the players walk on water, so you can't get a true gauge of how the game is actually going. At least when Stu says "It looks like Mr. Mo is on the Laker's side", I know how it is actually going. I hate the saying now because I've heard it so often, but at least it is unbiased and informational. Bottom line is everyone pales in comparison to Chick and Stu.

"Bang from the outside!" "Yes Sir!"

In all fairness, "The game is in the refrigerator;" "The Jello's jigglin';"

"He really put him in the popcorn popper;"Etc, Etc, Etc.

Did I make my point? For some reason, it wasn't offensive when Chickey Baby did it. It didn't grate on you when he did it - instead, it put a smile on your face, because of the emotion he put into it every single time. He really gave a crap. You could tell: You could feel it.

Remember when he used to refer to Cookie? That's an example. I listened to the guys refer to Cook the other night, and had a tear in my eye for Chick. He never called him Cook, not once that I know of. That's because he thought of the guy like his son. Chick Cared! When he referred to Cookie, it was like he was talking about things his boy was doing on the floor.

For some reason, it really feels like these guys are doing their job, but NOT THAT THEY REALLY CARE!

For me, that's the difference. And until you get someone in that boot that really knows the players, wants to get that close to them, and has fun doing the broadcasts and shares that experience with us, the fans, none of us are going to be satisfied with the broadcasters. But these guys don't exude that feeling - like they give a darn - or that they are personally close with the players. That distance - distances us from them. And you can feel it!

Bill is annoying as hell, especially when we are looseing and I'm mad or irritated anyway. Bill act's like he's been up before work all night drinking , for a long time now. He's always beat a** red and everything he say's backwards or mixed up. Sometimes when he say's **** , its like are you watching the same game?

LMFAO!!!

Dub

I agree... When Norm Nixon and Billy Mac used to do the halftime, pre and post game analysis, they both appeared to be liquored up.. My dad would come over a lot to watch the Lakers with me, and he too said the same thing..

Dan

I believe you are correct my good man... Joel is actually the Pelicans announcer now... He's all over the place... He works a ton.. I caught a snippet of an NCAA football game in which Joel was calling.. I had no issues with him as an announcer for us.. None whatsoever...

Stu's great but yeah Bill you can tell pretty easily he's hitting that bottle to hard fumbleing and turning over his words., last year he did it a lot like for example if Hill comes in to the game Bill say's "now we have Nash on the floor" and just keep going like nothing happened? Once in a while we all make mistakes but that's dude job and he does it all the time making no sense.

I love listenting to Stu, I've learned more about basketball from him talking then from most other sources. Anyone that questions his knowledge of the game hasn't listened to him much, this is a guy that's been around the NBA since the 70s and knows how players think.

Billy Mac I'm totally indifferent towards. He has a tendency to get a bit too excited over things but it's not as bad as some other commentators. I still can't help but think we would have the best broadcasting team if Spero Dedes was signed up to be alongside Stu. Oh well.

Isn't Bill a volleyball guy? He is annoying. Anyone remember the guy who took over after Chick? I'm blanking out....

Stu Lantz is awesome. He calls the players out when they mess up. Can't stand biased announcers; I want to hear what my team can do differently to get better, not about how good we are.

Bill is kinda annoying, surprised they gave him the job.

Dude, you seriously must've missed out on Utah. THE WORST IMO. Back in 2011 I happen to have watched 4 games from Utah through the web via my cousin's NBA League Pass.

Why do I say Utah has the worst commentating in the NBA? Have any of you guys heard of a 4th quarter w/ NO COMMENTARY? As in dead silence up until the last 3:30 minutes of 4th Quarter, and then the 1st thing you hear is one commentator screaming "COME ON, PASS IT TO AL!" or something similar. All 4 games I unfortunately watched were like that. The commentating stopped as the game comes to an end while Utah is either losing their lead or in a very close game.

THOSE 4 games are my baseline for the how bad a game's commentating can be. Compared to that, Stu and Bill are okay by that standard.

Fluke

Yes... I also forgot Portland's announcers.. they're awful too....

You guys are missing Lawler. Guy makes my skin crawl when he's calling a Clippers game. Part of the Clippers Joke legacy, I think.

Indeed!!!!! Portland's are the worst...last night against the Spurs one of them called their own team Pittsburgh. Maybe he was daydreaming about the old ABA...Smh...

Best anouncer team out there must be Marv Albert/Steve Kerr...even if the rest of the TNT crew is pretty average.

I love listening to JVG calling a game. He gives one of the best analyses around, and doesn't let politics get in the way of him expressing his opinions. If given a choice, I would listen to Van Gundy over any of the other announcers I've heard. Used to like Doug Collins too, for the same reasons.

I have always thought Stu Lantz was a horrible announcer.

Bill is a little better.

Ha! Yep John. He's probably one of those guys who has a few million frequent flyer miles. He's all over the board. I wouldn't mind a gig like that, but when you factor in the CONSTANT travel that Meyers does, it's probably overrated if you want any kind of family life. Stu just sticks with the Lakers, even though I guess he does commute to/from San Diego during homestands which can be a nasty trip.

I vote Tommie Heinsohn as the single biggest homer I've ever heard. It's actually kind of entertaining to watch & listen to catch the ridiculous lengths he goes. He gets fired up quite regularly too. He sees only Green.

btw, I'd probably mark the Warriors announcing team as the most fair and easy to listen to of any in the League.

i like Mike Breen even though he doesn't give much inside the basketball he seems pretty fair to me and i love his voice. all i can say is his voice i for national TV caliber and you have Van Gundy on your side? i like it!

Dan

Heinsohn is a piece of, of, of, um, work.... A few times he and longtime partner Mike Gorman have had disagreements on calls.. After replay Gorman would see that the Celtics player did commit a foul and Heinsohn would still go on and on... I remember 1 time Gorman said "you can't see that Tommy"??? "I feel badly for you"... I was shocked...

Another announc team that blows is that of the Spure.. Sean Elliot is horrific... He's like Heinsohn in training.. In Elliot's eyes, the next foul a Spurs player commits will be their first....

Dan

Seeing this is a Stu Lantz thread, did you see the little stat chart he went over last night about Pau's FGA's? He broke it down from 5ft and in, then 5-10ft, then 10-15ft, then 15ft+... Going into last night only 21% of Pau's shots were from 5ft and closer.... I did PM you on this topic too... Pau's 5-18 or 28% from the field is absolutely horrible... Keep shooting 20 footers Pau... Perhaps you'll crack 45% by seasons end... Remember last season Dan? Pau was in the low 40s until the last 10 games or so.. He got himself up to 45%.. Which is pathetic for a man (used loosely) who just might have the best low post game in the league.... It's time to trade Pau I'm afraid...

^ Hey John, I answered you back in a PM. It's either that Pau has abandoned the interior game all together or he's been sick and is winded and weak. I'll withhold an answer, but it looks like he couldn't care less about supplying this team with a solid inside game.

Another thing that gives me some pause about the topic is how perhaps Pau is more effective for the rest of the team from the high post instead of the low post. Is it their plan or just their personal choice? I don't know. I think Nash really likes working with Pau, but I'm sure he would prefer that Pau attack more as opposed to just looking to receive passes at the high post or further outside and make feeds (or take long shots).

Anyone watching the Clips against the Rockets right now? That Mike Smith (think that is his name) makes the game unwatchable! Lawler isn't any better with that BINGO crap he yells out. Better turn the volume down to watch the game without getting distracted by the garbage info they're spewing out.

Anyone watching the Clips against the Rockets right now? That Mike Smith (think that is his name) makes the game unwatchable! Lawler isn't any better with that BINGO crap he yells out. Better turn the volume down to watch the game without getting distracted by the garbage info they're spewing out.

yeah he is pretty friggin bad. there was a play when blake griffin basically wrapped is arms around aaron brooks on a loose ball, an obvious foul even for anyone to see, and that smith guy said it was clean. i laughed thinking about how there is a thread on here that is calling to oust Stulantz and mcdonald when there are kooks like that out there. be happy with two of the best announcers in the league because some of the other younger less experienced guys are just flat out annoying. that said, i could possibly see mcdonald being replaced by a better fit to Stu. but damn,dont give Stu crap. he's a legend and learned from the best. why do you think chick kept him by his side all those years? not for nothing...

Never like Billy Mac. Hyper yapper yup. Tho pre-game chats with Phil were embarrassing. For a town based on entertainment, hard to think they can't find a better guy than that. Stu tho has to stay. He's alright. Ok never very edumacational. Says the same thing over and over. But at least he's subtle and not as annoying. I could take him or leave him. Now let's talk about Lawrence the arena announcer...horrible.

Drifted off topic, but I agree. Pau is playing more like a bench / role player, rather than the starting 5 at $20mill. If he's going to be this soft on O as well as D all season it's time to trade him now. He had 2 pts last night against Houston. Ok he grabbed some boards but Odom can do that. He's our starting center and scores 2 pts in a game. Not good enough. Maybe he knows it's likely his last year in LA and he's coasting. Dunno...

I hate Stu Lantz , not as a person but as a commentator for Laker Basketball,

I find him "stupid" I'm sorry to say,

I did not like the way he trated Chick Hearn also!1

Ressurecting an old thead from 2013? LOL

I really don't have a problem with them. That's just me.

Bob- why do you "hate" Stu? He always seems to make honest assessments of the game IMO.

He is a bit of a broken record. Maybe too long on the job, any job, does that to you. Always was disappointed to took BMac on as tv guy. Never liked him. Always a bit of an a** licker. Not a knowledgeable b-ball guy at all. Even after all this time. Hated those coaches corner things he did with Phil when Chick was still around. Not as good as the 'national' guys at all, of course.

Never heard other team's announcers to be able to compare. Maybe they work cheap?

I don't find Stu & Billy Mac annoying. Who would you want to replace them with?

Here is my proposition. Bill McDonald needs to go. I explained this in a different thread, but it speaks volumes to why he should not be a Lakers announcer. I was watching the Grizzlies game the other night and walked away for amoment. I heard, from the other room, Bill going crazy like Lebron just dunked on the entire team. I ran back to where the game was on to catch the replay to what I figured, was an incredible Lakers play. HE WAS GOING NUTS OVER THE GRIZZLIES! This is not the first time. He unquestionably shows more excitement over the other team than he does for the Lakers. I don't want to hear that there is nothing to be excited about with this current Lakers squad. I get that completely. We are fans and can be disgruntled. IT IS HIS **** JOB! My advice, we replace him with John Ireland and keep Stu. Back in the day, I would mute these two and play John Ireland’s radio broadcast over the televised game. It was perfect.

I dunno. John does the same thing. I had that game on the car radio and he was doing backflips when the other team got a dunk or good layup. All game long. "Wow, beautiful move by so and so, wow monster dunk, best one we've seen all year by so and so". All referring to the opposing player.

I guess the stations they work for, or the team need to tell them to stop doing that. Coz they all do the same thing. It is annoying for sure.