ABC will be “pulling out all stops in capturing” the Heat-Thunder NBA Finals, from “an innovative opening segment, to six slow-mo cameras, to bringing its studio crew on site and even using a former referee to provide commentary,” according to Mel Bracht of the OKLAHOMAN. The “unique two-minute opening segment, which will be used on all of the Finals games, uses videomapping technology.” ESPN Senior VP & Exec Producer Mark Gross said, “It really transforms a bunch of different fans into seats, and the next thing they know they are courtside at an NBA Finals game. Then the next thing you know they are transformed into different eras.” Gross said that “all the great NBA champions will be featured.” ESPN Axis will create “virtual replays, with video from live action processed via computers to create virtual freeze frames from several angles,” while SkyCam will “provide aerial views of the action.” However, 3D telecasts “won’t be available for this year’s finals” (OKLAHOMAN, 6/12). On Long Island, Neil Best notes Oklahoma City is the 44th-largest TV market in the country, but unlike in MLB and the NHL, where “familiar logos drive interest and ratings, the NBA is star-driven, and with Kevin Durant, the Thunder has the star power to match that” of Heat F LeBron James. ABC is “better off with the Thunder than the Spurs, whose numbing efficiency never has captured the fancy of casual fans.” The Thunder “should be able to do so” (NEWSDAY, 6/12). SI.com’s Richard Deitsch writes with the “star power of Miami and the majority of the audience rooting against LeBron and Co., expect this year's Thunder-Heat showdown to draw very high interest" despite the presence of the small-market Thunder. Deitsch: "Hate sells on television" (SI.com, 6/12).
THE HYPE MACHINE: In Miami, Barry Jackson notes the ABC/ESPN "Kia NBA Countdown" studio crew has “generated plenty of spirited dialogue in its first year without a natural host, but our issue is this: There’s too much sky-is-falling overreaction to every Heat loss, too much of an agenda to prematurely condemn and dismiss the Heat and the blueprint.” If the Heat lose the series, it "will not be because of will to win or finger-pointing.” Jackson: “Let’s hope the ABC studio crew realizes that and doesn’t bury the Heat before, you know, the series is actually over” (MIAMI HERALD, 6/12). In Baltimore, David Zurawik wrote he is “worried about what the coverage ... is going to be like” after watching ESPN's studio team "hyping the game Sunday morning.” ESPN’s Magic Johnson’s “way-over-the-top enthusiasm and litany of superlatives about the series and the matchup reminded me of how badly ESPN lost its moral compass in covering the signing of James with Miami two years.” Zurawik: “I don't know which was worse, that hype or one of Johnson's co-panelists, Chris Broussard, immediately jumping in to compare the Durant-James matchup to Magic and Bird. You could hear the sound of the giant suck-up right through the TV.” Compared to TNT's "Inside The NBA" studio show, ESPN's is “four guys in a sports bar who you wish would quiet down or find a way to focus their conversation so that their chatter enriched rather than annoyed” (Baltimore SUN, 6/11).
REPORT CARD: ABC’s Jeff Van Gundy said, “As far as grading myself, I really don’t think about it like that. I just try to do the best I can. If Mark (Gross) doesn’t fire me after a game and I get to do another one, then I’m doing fine. I sort of let others critique and understand that they have a job. Some will like you, some you’ll annoy, and others will down right detest the sound of your voice. But (I’m) just trying to do the best I can and be as fair as possible” (NEWSOK.com, 6/12).
