The Sacramento Kings picked up a win over the Brooklyn Nets on national television earlier this week, but the performance from the Inside The NBA crew on TNT was a sticking point for Sactown Sports morning host Carmichael Dave.
“I’ll give you a quick whine,” Carmichael Dave said. “You’ve seen athletes say I always give my all because there could be a kid in the crowd who’s seeing me for the first time — maybe the only time. Maybe their parents have been struggling and this might be the only time they can go to a game and watch me. I want to make sure I put forth the best effort possible so I leave the best impression possible on that kid.
“Well you know what? Last night the entire city of Sacramento were the kids and TNT were the ballplayers. Our parents have been struggling forever, we finally got a chance to go, and what happened? The athletes didn’t do their homework. I’m not talking about the play-by-play, I’m not talking about the color — Jared Greenberg, I thought, was great — I’m not talking about Ernie Johnson. I’m talking about Kenny (Smith), Charles (Barkley), and Shaq (O’Neal). Certainly, there were some moments. Charles said replace all the Lakers games on TNT with Kings games, I get it.
“But Kenny calling Terence Davis ‘Terrance Harris III’, repeatedly, there’s just a bunch of difference mistakes. They just wanted to glide over to focusing on the Nets. At one point Ernie said ‘Let’s focus on the Kings here. They’re the one doing the stuff. They’re the story here.’ I just wanted more out of Charles and Shaq.”
He later added Smith was drafted by the Kings and has defended the city and helped keep the franchise in Sacramento during potential relocation proceedings. Carmichael Dave said “he expected better” from the TNT analyst.
