Game 7 of the NBA Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers is scheduled for Sunday at 8:00 p.m. at Paycom Center in OKC, giving media plenty of time to set the stage for the biggest game of the 2024-25 NBA season.
Well known ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith has been a mainstay during NBA Playoffs coverage, but not everyone is a fan of his style and demeanor.
On Saturday, analyst Mark Titus made comments critical of Smith that were shared by the New York Post, prompting ESPN's Michelle Beadle tadd her unfiltered thoughts in a surprising manner.
Michelle Beadle during the Super Bowl.
Michelle Beadle on radio row during Super Bowl LIX with Chris Russo's ''Mad Dog Sports Network.'
© Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Barstool Sports' Mark Titus, a former Ohio State basketball player, took aim at Smith with comments published in the Post.
"I would have zero problem with anything Stephen A. Smith is saying or doing if he wasn't on NBA Finals broadcasts," Titus said Thursday on 'Mostly Sports with Mark Titus and Brandon Walker.'
"The fact that ESPN has appointed him to be one of the voices you hear when you tune into the NBA Finals, that's the only problem I have.
Titus said he loves basketball but is not a fan of the ESPN host.
"If you choose to (tune in) you're going to get Stephen A. in your face. And you're just like, 'God (expletive), that guy's awful."
Beadle responded to the Post and its posting of the Titus comments in article form.
"No lies detected," the former ESPN personality said.
"I agree totally," one fan responded to Beadle.
"Not a solitaire fan Beadle?" another said.
"How are they not a part of this. Whoever is in charge failed miserably." "I mean Charles, Shaq, Ernie and Kenny...," another fan said.
"How are they not a part of this. Whoever is in charge failed miserably."
"You mad he took yo spot on the radio? LOL," another said to Beadle.
"Your crew isn't any better," another said in response to Beadle.
"100% TNT should have had the Finals," another fan added.
Beadle and co-host Cody Decker were replaced by Smith on SiriusXM radio earlier this month, a move she said she felt "blindsided" by afterward.
"I don't respect his work. He doesn't like me," Beadle said of Smith after she was replaced.
"I just don't respect him. I think he gets things wrong all the time. I'm not talking about opinions; those can never be wrong.
"But factually, when you spread yourself so thin, it's hard to be right. Not a fan," she added after the SirusXM news.