Perhaps my lucky clover glasses had something to do with the Nets’ win over the Suns on St. Patrick’s Day.
Mike Looks Back
January 6 by Leave a Comment
Came across this New York Times Q&A with sportswriter Vincent Mallozzi from when I first joined YES.
How did you get the nickname The Czar of the Telestrator?
That came from my first-ever broadcast with Marv on NBC. We had been working on some stuff in the weeks before we went on the air, and I guess Marv appreciated the way I was able to handle the Telestrator, so that’s how he introduced me to the national television audience that first day. I had no idea it was coming
Who was the greatest player you ever coached?
Dominique Wilkins. He was a great competitor who had such a zeal for the game of basketball. He was a phenomenal dunker who loved it most when one of those great dunks really got our fans going. Before Dominique got to Atlanta, we had sold about 3,300 season tickets and averaged about 5,800 fans per game. By the time I left seven years later, the Hawks had 13,000 season tickets sold and average attendance was 15,000 per game…. Keep Reading!
Fratello Fundamentals
November 19 by Leave a Comment
FRATELLO TEACHES PICK AND ROLL
Nets broadcaster Mike Fratello teaches Ryan Ruocco and Sarah Kustok how to properly defend the pick and roll.
Around the League
November 7 by Leave a Comment
Which NBA teams will earn most improved accolades this season? Brooklyn Nets correspondent Lou DiPietro asked the YES announcers to weigh in.
Ian Eagle and Mike Fratello both chose to omit Brooklyn from their answers on the most improved teams, with the “Birdman” giving some love instead to those Pistons that won the league consensus. . . . One other team, though, that both Eagle and Fratello cautioned to be on the lookout for is one of the five that tied with the Nets in the GM survey: the Cleveland Cavaliers. “There are so many rebuilding teams, but if Andrew Bynum plays, I think Cleveland, with a lot of the young guys they have, could surprise a lot of people and make a lot of noise, a lot more than people think,” Fratello said. “They have a great frontcourt if Bynum plays, and Anderson Varejao is back and Anthony Bennett comes along, and you have to love Kyrie Irving. That could be an interesting team.” Read more…
Around the League
October 31 by Leave a Comment
I talked to YESNetwork.com columnist Lou DiPietro about the upside and flipside of the Nets’ new lineup.
The Brooklyn Nets acquired a lot of experience, especially championship experience, when they imported Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Jason Terry from Boston this summer and added Andrei Kirilenko as a free agent – but as Nets on YES analyst (and 1985-86 NBA Coach of the Year) Mike Fratello warns, experience also could mean a little bit of a breakdown if the team isn’t careful.
“The team’s biggest X-Factor…can I say the team’s medical staff? Because I think that their biggest concern is going to be the status of these older players as they go through the season,” Fratello said. “The big question is, can they remain healthy for an 82-game season? They’re relying on a lot of guys who have a lot of mileage on them, and while these guys have always kept themselves in good shape and have always been in good health, in a season where the expectations are as high as they are in Brooklyn, the team can’t afford to have key guys go down with big time or serious injuries.” Read more…
