ABC/ESPN announcer MIKE BREEN is in the middle of working his 12th NBA Finals, and this year’s edition may just prove to be his biggest task yet with the Cavaliers and Warriors meeting for the third summer in a row. Breen: “I grew up watching the Finals, and some of the announcers that made me a sports fan called the series when I was younger -- guys like DICK STOCKTON, BRENT MUSBURGER and of course MARV ALBERT. For me to call an event that some of the greatest names in the history of broadcasting also called is really an honor. I don’t take it lightly.” Breen took some time to give his personal take on the juggernaut superteams, his preparation for Sunday's Game 2 and how he may spend his off-days through the series. *Note: THE DAILY spoke with Breen ahead of Thursday night’s Game 1.
QUICK TURNAROUND: The prep for Game 1 and 2 is vastly different. Game 1 is a total setup of all the matchups and histories of the teams. But once you have Game 1 in the books, so much of the next game’s prep depends upon what happened in the first tilt. Then you really gear your comments and thoughts to what adjustments will be made by both teams. Talk to both coaches and players, get their reactions, see what they did well, what could be improved. You also have to make sure you know your stuff about the role players on each squad. You never know who will step up and do something special and it seems to happen every single playoffs, every single Finals.
DON’T WEIGH IT DOWN: The research for this Finals was a little different in that the coverage of both teams is so extensive, I could read up on the teams for the next 24 hours non-stop and I would not put a dent in everything out there. You have to figure out when enough is enough and trust the information you have. You don’t want to overload, and at the end of the day you still have to be reactionary to everything on the court. I may have five or six things that I’ve prepared for that I can’t wait to get out on the air, but if they have no relevance to how the game evolves, then there’s no need to try to jam it in.
TABLE TALK: In between games, JEFF VAN GUNDY, MARK JACKSON and the rest of our crew will go out to dinner and a lot of what we talk about on the air actually frequently comes from those conversations. DORIS BURKE might mention something she talked about with an assistant coach that I can then use to go to her during a game. As much prep as you do on your own, when we get to dinner or have our production meetings, a lot of info that’s shared generates what is then discussed on the air. When I first started commentating, Van Gundy was an assistant coach with the Knicks and Jackson was still playing for them. I’ve grown up in the NBA with those guys.
ONE FOR THE AGES: Both teams can say they weren’t at full strength when they lost their respective Finals. Now, they are both healthy, have the history and may give us a great matchup. We get to meet with each coach before and after every game along with three players from each team. Sometimes it’s on camera, sometimes it’s not. You almost get better info off the air because folks seem to be a little more free talking.
MISSING LINKS: I like to run and also golf in my free time. San Francisco has many great golf courses and I may try to sneak away on one of our off days between Games 1 and 2 and squeeze in a round. It would be a good way for me to clear my head before the rest of the series.
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