May 3, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; The Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers warm up before the start of game two of the 2023 NBA playoffs at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
The Celtics were trying to rebound in Game 2 against the Sixers but all fans could focus on for the NBA Playoff matchup was the annoying TNT drone camera.
Wednesday night was a big one in the 2023 NBA Playoffs as the Boston Celtics tried to even their second round series with the Philadelphia 76ers. Despite Joel Embiid being out for Game 1, the Sixers pulled off a major upset behind James Harden in Game 1.
All fans could focus on, however, was the biggest distraction in TNT history: a drone camera.
In a new venture, the TNT drone camera gave fans a wide-angle shot to offer a different look of the game.
The angle itself isn’t great, from my view, as it makes the screen look stretch and the game more difficult to see.
TNT drone camera during Celtics-76ers has NBA Twitter raging
Not only is the angle itself a tough watch, but on the main broadcast angle, you can still see the TNT drone camera moving on the opposite end of the floor. And all of this combined had NBA Twitter in a bad mood about the broadcast.
For one of the two major broadcasting networks for the NBA, it makes a lot of sense for them to experiment with different angles to present the game. With the rise of drone technology, it makes a lot of sense to at least try this.
Still, the camera angle it shows is very weird and doesn’t enhance the viewer’s experience at all. The view from inside the stadium makes it seem bad too as it looks to be interfering with the view of the paying fans.
With the negative reaction from NBA Twitter and fans everywhere, though, TNT seemed to ditch the drone in the second half. Experimenting isn’t a bad thing, but this should be a one-and-done thing, especially based on the reaction it got.