Zach Lowe is back in NBA media, and he’s letting loose.
Discussing a rough-and-tumble first-round series in the Western Conference playoffs on The Zach Lowe Show, Lowe addressed the accusation that the Houston Rockets are targeting Steph Curry’s thumb injury while defending him. This is an accusation that has risen to the level of Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr and many corners of the fanbase.
But while Lowe believes the Rockets may be doing this, he and guest Michael Pina agreed it was par for the course in the NBA playoffs. Instead, Lowe set his sights on the NBC Sports Bay Area broadcast and the Warriors’ booth.
For much of the series, announcers Bob Fitzgerald and Kelenna Azubuike have accused Houston forward Dillon Brooks of intentionally trying to hurt Curry.
“There is no more homer broadcast in the entire NBA, and for all I know in the world of sports, than the Warriors’ broadcast,” Lowe chuckled. “You don’t have to take what they say with a grain of salt, you have to take what they say with a silo of salt. And of course they’re going to bring it up and accuse the Rockets of nefariousness.”
For years, Fitzgerald and Azubuike have showed extreme allegiance to the Warriors. They go beyond the lengths of usual hometown broadcasts to highlight the positives for Golden State and ignore any wrongdoing or mistakes by the team.
As Exhibit A, Lowe pointed to the infamous Draymond Green. While Green was potentially saved by the refs in Game 4 when he was called simply for a flagrant in a scuffle with Brooks rather than a technical, he has a very long history of toeing the line with physical play.
“You have Draymond Green on your team. You don’t think that dude is, A, ultra physical to the point that he’s borderline getting T’d up or ejected from half the games?” Lowe questioned. “And any … bit of extra physicality and, ‘Let me grab an arm’ … like OK, let’s give it a rest. Win Game 6 and move on if you can to face Minnesota.”
Lowe is hardly alone.
For two years running, Awful Announcing readers have placed the NBC Sports Bay Area Warriors broadcast at the bottom of the annual NBA local broadcast rankings. More than one-third of respondents gave Fitzgerald and Azubuike an “F.”
Once the Rockets series ends, the announcers won’t have such an easy target in Brooks. But history says they’ll find something else to rile up Warriors fans and take on a unified enemy.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.