The NBA playoffs begin, will anyone stop the Thunder? | The herd
The NBA playoffs are underway, with the Play-In tournament starting tomorrow. The Oklahoma City Thunder are the big favorites to repeat their championship title. Colin Cowherd asks if the San Antonio Spurs, Boston Celtics or anyone else can stop the Thunder.
NEWYou can now listen to PK Press Club articles!
Mike Breen, the New York Knicks play-by-play announcer and featured voice of the NBA with ESPN, is not happy with a key move by the league ahead of the NBA playoffs.
And he didn’t hold back his frustrations during the Knicks’ regular-season finale Sunday night.
For the first time in NBA history, all local network broadcasts of playoff games are excluded from nationally televised games. These networks paid a premium to broadcast the playoffs, but the league had always allowed local home broadcasts as well as national TV spots to be broadcast in previous seasons.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON PK Press Club
ESPN play-by-play sports commentator Mike Breen watches before the game between the Boston Celtics and the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center on February 25, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Celtics beat the 76ers 110-107. (Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
Breen, alongside his longtime partner, Knicks great Walt “Clyde” Frazier, tore into the league’s decision on the final day of his broadcast duties for the Eastern Conference team.
“For the first time, the home team announcers and broadcasters can no longer televise the first round,” Breen said during the 110-96 loss to the Charlotte Hornets during a broadcast on MSG.
KNICKS BROADCAST’S JOKE COMPARING BULLS’ “OBLITERATED” DEFENSE TO IRAN LEAVES PARTNER STUNNED
“All playoffs are exclusive to national television networks. I mentioned that earlier this season. I personally think, Clyde, that it’s a bad decision. Fans want to hear their home team’s announcers, at least in the first round. For a lot of us, they’re family.”
Breen added that he understands that “networks pay a fortune for exclusivity,” given that he works for one of those networks at ESPN.
“But the fans deserve to be given a helping hand every now and then to allow the home team to enjoy a bit of the first round,” he continued.
The NBA struck a massive $76 billion broadcast rights deal that took effect at the start of this season and will last for the next 11 seasons. Like other professional sports leagues, the deal is being made across various platforms, both long-running networks and streaming.
ESPN play-by-play announcer Mike Breen announces the game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California on January 17, 2024. (Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports)
With the NBA reaching the deal it wanted with Disney, Amazon and NBCUniversal, Breen hopes it will consider finding a solution to bring local broadcasters back into the fold for the playoffs.
However, he knows how business is at the end of the day.
“One way or another, if there’s a way for them to come to some sort of compromise, I have no hope for that, but it would be wonderful to have it because it’s our last TV show of the season,” Breen said.
Breen, now, will focus on his ESPN duties as the lead “World Leader” on-field commentator. His famous “Bang!” » The call for three-pointers has been synonymous with the biggest moments of the NBA playoffs for years now, and it will begin very soon as the East and West teams attempt to win the Larry O’Brien Trophy and qualify as NBA Finals champions.
The reigning Finals champion Oklahoma City Thunder are once again the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, while teams like the San Antonio Spurs, Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers will battle it out to be crowned conference champions.
Mike Breen watches before the game between the Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 3 of the Western Conference Semifinals of the 2023 NBA Playoffs on May 6, 2023 at Crypto.Com Arena in Los Angeles, California. (Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE/Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE PK Press Club APP
In the East, Breen’s Knicks own the third seed, while the Detroit Pistons (No. 1) and Boston Celtics (No. 2) had successful regular season campaigns to clinch a top seed heading into the playoffs.
The Play-In tournament will be the first game of the NBA Playoffs, which will be streamed exclusively on Amazon Prime Video. Next, the first round will share their information on NBC/Peacock, Prime Video and ESPN.
