ESPN NBA analyst Jeff Van Gundy is "funny, informed, self-deprecating, opinionated, and blunt," and it is when he is "putting that last adjective to good use that he’s at his absolute best," as he did Wednesday night's Clippers-Mavericks game, according to Chad Finn of the BOSTON GLOBE. When Mavericks fans booed Clippers C DeAndre Jordan, who spurned the team in free agency, Van Gundy said, "I would also like the Dallas fans to acknowledge the sheer lunacy and absurdity that they’re booing DeAndre Jordan tonight, and they’ll be cheering someone like [Cowboys DE] Greg Hardy on Sunday. That, to me, is absurd." Finn writes it was "satisfying to hear Van Gundy use his platform and high profile to point out the intrinsic silliness of booing or cheering a player depending on the uniform he is wearing rather than basing it on the magnitude of his actions" (BOSTON GLOBE, 11/13). ESPN's Skip Bayless said Van Gundy is the "best NBA analyst on television bar none, and I like him even more because occasionally he will have the guts to venture forth with a little opinion that’s beyond the game, about larger issues." But Bayless added, "This one, I must admit, really offended me and I think it’s out of bounds. ... I’ve got to ask Mr. Van Gundy a question here: What are Cowboys fans supposed to do?" ("First Take," ESPN2, 11/12). ESPN's Jemele Hill said one of the "best parts of the game is when (Van Gundy) just goes off on a tangent and he starts getting those hot takes on." Hill: "With this particular subject, I thought he was really unfair to a lot of Dallas fans. He made a sweeping generalization" ("His & Hers," ESPN2, 11/12). Radio host Dan Patrick: "I knew what Jeff was saying. I just thought it was a stretch. ... I just didn’t agree with it” (“The Dan Patrick Show,” 11/12).
