The NBA Finals was such a riveting combination of on-the-court action and behind-the-scenes story lines, most having to do with LeBron James and The Decision, that nothing seemed to be wanting as the games unfolded. In retrospect, however, it would have been nice to hear more from Heat fan needler Charles Barkley during the series, says Dusty Saunders of The Denver Post.

It’s not that the ABC-ESPN quartet (Stuart Scott , Michael Wilbon , Jon Barry and Magic Johnson ) were lacking.

They produced solid food for thought, pointing out the pluses and minuses of the two teams.

It’s just that the Barkley Bite would have added even more drama to the telecasts because of his season-long anti-Miami attitude.

You may recall that Barkley’s derisive comments about the Heat produced so much heat from Miami fans that when TNT was covering a game in Miami in the playoffs, the network’s outside studio show was moved inside because fans were yelling at Barkley.

Barkley in many ways did become the media vessel for fans’ overwhelming resentment of the Heat. He poked fun at bandwagon Miami fans who materialized after the Heatles came together last summer. And he called the players themselves a “whiny bunch” whom he wouldn’t even pick to beat the Washington Generals. In those regards Barkley would have lent a subjective voice to an ostensibly objective presentation. On the other hand, did we really need a commentator holding the whammy bar on our own inner voices?