ABC was by this time, coming increasingly under fire for what perceived to be a less than spectacular presentation of the NBA. "Sports Illustrated"s Frank Deford in particular, singled ABC out for their coverage of the 1971 NBA Finals. Deford felt that ABC was making a mistake in trying to cover the NBA the same way that they covered a football game, because they were two different games. On that end, Deford wrote that neither ABC's announcers nor cameras were able to isolate the important phases of the game. He added that replays were used only to second-guess officials rather than "capture the grace and precision of the performers". Meanwhile, Deford also criticized play-by-play man Chris Schenkel his failure to appreciate the nuances of the game and their halftime shows, which Deford saw not innovative or imaginative.