Part of becoming a great broadcaster is having a great vocabulary and finding ways to vary your verbiage. That is why a regular feature on this site will be “Announcer Alterations” where we take short clips of pre-existing play-by-play synced to video and come up with five different ways to call the same sequence of events.
We are in the midst of one of the worst NBA Playoff 1st rounds in recent memory. It’s for that reason that I chose the late Chick Hearn’s call of Magic Johnson’s famous baby hook for this round of announcer alterations.
Original Verbiage:
Cooper takes the ball out of bounds baseline. Kareem and Worthy to the left. Worthy comes to the right. To the left goes Magic. He’s got it, he didn’t shoot it. Five seconds left. Magic down the middle, just what I thought. A hook shot at 12….GOOOOOOD!!!! Two seconds left, the Lakers take the lead!
And five ways to alter the call:
Cooper to light the fuse baseline left. Kareem and Worthy set up on the ball side. Magic off a screen to the left corner. Shaded by McHale he surveys the floor. Five seconds. Magic attacks middle, running hook from 12. KaBoom! Lakers lead with two seconds remaining!
Cooper to flip the switch from the baseline. Two high two low on the set. Magic breaks to the left corner. Faces up against McHale. Down to five seconds. Blows by McHale into the lane. The hook shot from 12 feet … hits the jackpot! Lakers on top with two seconds left.
Baseline left out of bounds for the Lakers. Cooper to set things in motion. Box set. Magic slips away and catches in the left corner. Looks at the chess pieces. Down to five. Charges into the paint, righty hook from 12 feet… PURE THROUGH THE PAIL! LA with the lead with two ticks left!
Cooper to ignite the play baseline left. Kareem and Worthy closest to the ball. Magic flashes to the left corner off a pick from Kareem. Pauses to check the lay of the land. Five ticks left. Johnson blitzes the lane. Hook on the move from 12…SMOOTH LIKE BUTTER! Lakers lead with two on the clock!
Cooper to set things in motion baseline left. Kareem and Worthy left of the lane. Magic gets loose from McHale in the left corner. Scans the defense. Five on the clock. Magic forces his way into the lane, hook from a step inside the free throw line… ORANGE PAINT IN THE BUCKET! Lakers pull ahead with two to go!
