TNT Debuted A Drone Camera In Game 2 Of Sixers-Celtics That Fans Weren’t Thrilled About

TV networks often use the playoffs to debut new things, whether it’s a different graphic package, a new broadcast feature, or a different camera angle. On Wednesday, TNT made waves with a drone camera flying around TD Garden during Game 2 of Sixers-Celtics, but unfortunately it did not get the intended rave reviews.

The general reaction online was “please stop with the drone camera,” albeit there were a select few who said they thought it was cool. The objections to the drone were for a few reasons. For one, it was mildly distracting seeing the drone flying around in the regular camera shots of the game. For another, while it was a slightly different angle, it wasn’t providing groundbreaking images from above the play or right behind the action over the court — one would assume because the league wouldn’t sign off on having it flying over actual play for understandable reasons. And finally, the camera quality of the drone is simply not as good as the incredibly crisp, clear HDTV cameras we are accustomed to.

It’s not a bad addition, in that aside from seeing it buzz around in the wide shot it’s not a distracting change from what we’re used to seeing, but it also just doesn’t seem worth it. We’ve seen the sideline tracking camera before — ABC used to have it in the Finals and I believe CBS still uses it in Final Four coverage — and this is basically just a higher angle version of it that then sets up more in the middle of the halfcourt, but with a little worse quality. If there is value to it, it’s more in providing another angle for replays rather than necessarily being part of the camera cuts for live play, but even so it feels like a superfluous addition for the sake of doing something new — again, assuming they can’t start flying it over the actual court during play.