Paul Pierce And Kendrick Perkins Had Some Of The Most Awkward Silence Ever On TV On ESPN’s The Jump

Kendrick Perkins has been something of a popular punching bag online lately. And you certainly can’t blame this production faux pas during ESPN’s The Jump on him or Paul Pierce. But it’s a very awkward moment that occurred this week on the daily show as Perkins and company discussed Victor Oladipo’s status for the Orlando NBA bubble:

'The Jump' with some hard-hitting analysis 😂 pic.twitter.com/vQIr6i6iam

— NBA Analysis Network (@HoopAnalysisNet) July 16, 2020

I feel bad calling out Rachel Nichols given recent reports of ESPN coworkers doing creepy things to torpedo her. And with those allegations, maybe there’s something afoul in how they left her in this situation. But I know from my thousands of hours of hosting shows remotely that, as a host, it’s your job to fill that air. Something weird happens? Jump in and right the ship. Your analysts/co-hosts lose steam or make a bad point? Get them back on track. It ultimately falls on the host to make a show as good as possible or, at the very least, suck as little as possible.

Though I guess you could also look at this like some sort of performance art piece and that Kendrick Perkins and Paul Pierce were so disappointed in Victor Oladipo not playing in the bubble that the only way to communicate that was stunned silence. If Kendrick had silence-based takes like that more frequently, he’d probably be an even better host than usual tbh.

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