NBA Tip-Off 2024: ESPN Gets Going With New Big Three in Philadelphia, Regular-Season Debut of Intuit Dome in L.A. Broadcaster's slate includes six Emirates NBA Cup games, six games on Christmas Day By Kristian Hern ndez, Senior Editor Wednesday, October 23, 2024 - 7:00 am
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The NBA landscape is changing - new faces in new places, new arena opening - and ESPN is spotlighting the changes in two major U.S. cities tonight. Milwaukee Bucks vs. Philadelphia 76ers at 7:30 p.m. ET is the first regular-season game of the Sixers' new Big Three: Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and newly signed Paul George. All eyes, though, will be on the regular-season debut of Los Angeles's Intuit Dome featuring the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Clippers, and ESPN is relishing the opportunity to showcase the venue to a national audience.
You get only one chance to open up a building like this, says Tim Corrigan, VP, production, ESPN. We want to make sure we capitalize on that and deliver for our fans on this really important night.
Bi-Coastal Affair: Schedule Gets Going in City of Brotherly Love, City of Angels With solid teams on both coasts, ESPN's production and operations staff will be split for the first night of the 2024-25 NBA season. Bulking up coverage from Intuit Dome, the broadcaster will air live studio shows from the venue. With an impressive onsite presence and extensive live and studio coverage, ESPN has to balance producing the game as a sports event with the opening of a $2 billion venue as a news event.
We've done some walkthroughs [of the building] to understand what's special about it and what fans can expect once they're inside, says Corrigan. Part of our responsibility [as a national broadcaster] is to document the event and [encourage] fans to head out to Intuit Dome and experience the venue for themselves.
Two nights later, both ESPN crews will travel a short distance for another NBA doubleheader on Friday, Oct. 25. In the East, the folks in Philadelphia will drive up I-95 to New York City for an Eastern Conference Semifinals rematch between the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden at 7:30 p.m. In the West, the crew at Intuit Dome will travel further into the heart of L.A. to Crypto.com Arena for Suns vs. Los Angeles Lakers at 10 p.m. Logistically, having these national telecasts at venues so close to each other helps the crews produce four games in three days in three cities.
It allows us to share equipment being used in two separate cities, which is always beneficial, notes Corrigan. But, in our 23rd year of NBA on ESPN, Senior Remote Operations Specialist Eddie Okuno and his team put a ton of attention to detail into planning. We could be in cities that are far apart, and I'd have the same degree of confidence that we'd be able to pull it off and be good to go.
Two separate commentary teams will call the games. Tonight, play-by-play announcer Mike Breen, analysts Doris Burke and Richard Jefferson, and sideline reporter Cassidy Hubbarth will be in Philadelphia, and play-by-play announcer Dave Pasch, analyst Tim Legler, and sideline reporter Jorge Sedanno will be in Los Angeles. On Friday night, play-by-play announcer Michael Grady, Burke, and Hubbarth will be in New York City, and play-by-play announcer Ryan Ruocco, Jefferson, and sideline reporter Angel Gray will be in Los Angeles.
Gimme More Threes: Three-Point Distance Tracker Is Expanded Along with numerous off-the-field changes in the offseason, the game itself has continued to evolve. The three-point shot is king, and, although it was once reserved for smaller point and shooting guards like Golden State Warriors sharpshooter Stephen Curry, the big men at the forward and center positions - for example, recent Knicks addition Karl-Anthony Towns and Boston Celtics' Kristaps Porzingis - let the ball fly with success as well. Knowing that this trend isn't fading any time soon and players are shooting shots farther from the three-point line, ESPN's graphics operators are increasing the use of the three-point distance tracker with Second Spectrum data to all levels of broadcasts.
The number of threes taken in a game, as well as the distance that a lot of these players are shooting from, is remarkable, says Corrigan. It's one of the changes in the game that we needed to look at and needed to adapt our coverage. [The tracker] is presented in a passive manner - it's not intruding on the viewing experience - so [viewers] can process or choose not to process the information.
Not only will shots distance be displayed during the regular course of play, but the tracker's use on high-leverage shots like buzzer beaters, game-winners, and contested heaves converted in crunch time will heighten the drama. For example, Sabrina Ionescu's recent three-point dagger in the dying seconds of last week's Game 3 of the 2024 WNBA Finals is a moment when this on-screen element could accentuate a clutch shot. In addition, some storytelling pieces could also be created around this graphic and real-time info.
Last year, we showed pregame warmups of Stephen and Kristaps and compared those [practice] shots with the ones that they take during the game, Corrigan explains. These aren't crazy shots for fun; there's purpose and intention behind each one.
Holiday Hoops: Crew Keeps Close Eye on Christmas Day Schedule Santa Claus, opening presents, and spending time with loved ones are synonymous with Christmas, but, to ESPN's credit, so is a packed slate of NBA action. The broadcaster is focused on Opening Night and the first two months of productions, but, given the massive attention on Christmas Day games over the years and the intriguing matchups that the league reserves for the day, it's
