BY KIA TYUS

Ray Allen was the main topic of conversation this week as the Boston Celtics took on the Miami Heat in a much-anticipated matchup. The announcers focused a lot on the negative side of the Allen trade. They tried to emphasize the drama that surrounded Allen and Kevin Garnett.

When the trade first took place, Kevin Garnett spoke vocally about his displeasure with the choice Allen made. Both announcers made sure to quote what was said multiple times throughout the game. Kevin Garnett said things such as,  “I lost Ray Allen’s phone number. “ And, “Me and Ray Allen are no longer friends.”

When they focused on this, I feel as though they forget the NBA is a business and people leave teams all the time. It was said Allen left the team because he and Rajon Rondo did not get along. At this point in Allen’s career, he is too old to deal with Rondo’s childish antics.

At the half time show, the panel was discussing the Allen to Miami Heat move. They agreed with the negative comments Garnett made and brushed it off as “just Kevin Garnett being Kevin Garnett.”

They even went on to compare this to the Shaq and Kobe confrontation. This is bringing up the past. Why bring up something that brought so much negative affect on the game of basketball? They then went on to say Allen went to the enemy team and last year, while they were playing in the playoffs, Allen wanted to be on the Heat instead of the Celtics.

The announcers also mocked the famous controversial LeBron James quote, “I have decided to take my talents to South Beach.”  They said Allen also decided to take his talents to Miami. This upset me as it seemed they used James’ quote to cause even bigger problems for Allen.

One of the game announcers was biased toward the Heat. He praised them and talked about how they improved so much. He talked about the bench and how players would help the team this year.

This same announcer also made personal appeal about James. He talked about how LeBron has less pressure on him this year; How LeBron is trying to shoot fewer threes and can focus more on attacking the rim.  He acted like James was on the court by himself. James is a major part of the team, but he is not the only one on the team.

Announcers should focus more on the game and not the negative aspects of what happens off the court or in the past.