Mark Cuban likes Chris Webber as a person, but he thinks the former NBA All-Star is “horrible” as an analyst for TNT.
Webber was in Oakland calling the Dallas Mavericks-Golden State Warriors game on Thursday. Apparently Cuban, the Mavs’ owner, didn’t like what he was hearing from C-Webb.
Cuban chimed in on a tweet sent by Haralabos Voulgaris, an expert NBA gambler, who noted that Webber was “blabbing” a lot during the telecast:
. @haralabob @rider221 CWebb = great guy. Horrible analyst. Got nothing to add at all.You can tell he does no homework before the game
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) February 1, 2013
Cuban called Webber a “great guy” but “horrible analyst” who adds nothing and doesn’t do his homework before games.
We’re not sure exactly what Webber said to irritate Cuban, but we have a few ideas.
First off, FOX Sports Southwest writer Matt Mosley says Webber was critical of the way the Mavericks’ roster was constructed. Mosley says Webber said the Mavs have too many free agents on their team who are only going for themselves.
Then it’s quite possible that Webber’s analysis leading up to Dallas’ final possession left Cuban perplexed. The Mavs were trailing 100-97 with two seconds left and had the ball. Webber began talking about how the Mavericks missed Dirk Nowitzki and how they would normally give him the ball in that situation. Webber figured Dallas would probably give the ball to OJ Mayo, Darren Collison, or Vince Carter for the last shot.
Not only was Collison on the bench for the final possession, but Webber seemed to totally whiff on the Mayo factor in his analysis. Mayo was 3-for-5 on threes in that game, and has been among the league’s leaders in 3-point shooting this season (he’s currently No. 15 at .419 for the season). Anyone who has followed the Mavericks at all this season would have expected the ball to go to Mayo; he has been their top scorer and 3-point shooter. It seemed pretty clear that the Mavs designed the finaly play for Mayo and only passed it to Carter as a second option after Mayo was covered. Had Webber been following the game and done his homework on Dallas, he would have known that Mayo was their go-to guy.
We think Webber does good work as an analyst in studio, but on at least that occasion, he provided poor analysis.
