When you think about historic NBA playoff series, teams such as the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs, Miami Heat, Detroit Pistons, and Chicago Bulls come to mind. Two teams you seldom think about are the New York Knicks and the Indiana Pacers—unless, of course, we are talking about historic playoff losses. Neither the Knicks nor the Pacers has won a championship since 1973—the Knicks in the NBA, and the Pacers in the old ABA. They have, however, had an epic run of playoff series spanning decades.
This year’s Eastern Conference Finals is the ninth playoff series between the two teams dating back to 1993. With their win in Game 4 of the series, the Pacers have 29 wins and the Knicks 23 wins in their playoff battles. The 2010 ESPN 30 for 30 documentary Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. the New York Knicks, directed by Dan Klores, provided a terrific chronology of the rivalry to that point.
Speaking of history, the current New York vs. Indiana clash is the last series that the NBA on TNT will cover before the league moves to Amazon, NBC, and ESPN next season. As of this writing, through four games, the series has not disappointed from a TV standpoint.
Despite the Pacers’ commanding 3–1 series lead, the teams have battled back and forth, and the action and intrigue have been vintage Knicks-Pacers. TNT/truTV’s broadcast team for the series has been up to the task as well.
Capturing The Moments That Matter
Play-by-play announcer Kevin Harlan, analysts Reggie Miller and Stan Van Gundy, and sideline reporter Allie LaForce are a formidable quartet for sure. LaForce is a top-tier reporter with a solid repertoire of experience across a number of sports. She does solid work ferreting out interviews and interesting tidbits, then speckling them across the broadcast.
Harlan, Van Gundy, and Miller possess gigantic personalities, but this does not stop LaForce from making her mark on the game. She has cultivated a strong social media presence and is one of an elite group of sideline reporters working today.
Van Gundy, in my opinion, has yet to tap into his full potential as an analyst. I’d like to see his gruff, rough-and-tumble, hard-nosed coaching style translate more to television. Van Gundy’s histrionics and antics on the sideline as a head coach in the NBA are legendary. He truly was one of the more entertaining guys to watch as he instructed players and deconstructed referees in an extremely emotional manner.
Van Gundy’s hoops acumen is top-notch, and he is a good watch and listen. I get that he has to pick his spots around Harlan and Miller, but here’s hoping that in future broadcasts, he brings more of that Stan Van Gundy theatrical personality to the forefront.
The Impact And Callback Of Reggie Miller
If the Knicks vs. Pacers rivalry is indeed part of NBA history, then Reggie Miller is the lead historian. He played the starring role in many of those past playoff series and actually co-produced the aforementioned 30 for 30 documentary. Miller’s legendary three-point daggers and equally legendary choke signs to Knicks maven Spike Lee have become the stuff of folklore. Miller has been excellent behind the microphone right from the jump. He seamlessly transitioned from being one of the top players in the league to one of the top analysts on television. Miller’s personality lends itself to TV. He knows the game inside out and, ironically, his failure to win a championship during his career makes him even more interesting.
Like his TNT colleague Charles Barkley, there is always that air of what might have been with Miller. Barkley’s studio mates Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith often chide Sir Charles about his lack of a ring. You can feel some of that same pain and anguish as Miller dissects plays and comments on happenings in a contest. They say that losing builds character. It also builds perspective in a broadcaster.
Let’s not paint a negative picture of Miller’s career, however. The guy did a lot of winning over the years in Indiana, especially during the late 1990s and into the 2000s with Larry Bird as head coach. There must have been something in the Gatorade with those Pacers teams, as Miller and teammates Mark Jackson, Jalen Rose, and Stephen Jackson have become three of the best NBA analysts and storytellers on multimedia platforms.
Networks often get social media heat for having ex-players call games featuring their past teams. Back in the 1980s, CBS was criticized for having Celtic legend Tommy Heinsohn call many of Boston’s playoff and Finals matchups. To me, if analysts have unique insight on one or both teams in a playoff series, let them do their thing.
Miller has ably walked that line of objectivity and has not been a homer for the Pacers on his TNT and truTV telecasts. He has a direct, upfront, and experiential approach to analyzing a game—whether it is talking about stars like Tyrese Haliburton and Jalen Brunson or offering more in-depth thoughts on the intricacies of the game. Miller gives you everything you want in a broadcaster: knowledge, the ability to communicate that knowledge, and the further ability to wrap that knowledge and communication in an entertaining package.
There is definitely a dramatic slant in Miller’s broadcasting style. However, it is his play-by-play partner who leads the league in drama.
Kevin Harlan’s Versatility Shines Again
Kevin Harlan is one of the most popular and busy sports broadcasters working today. In fact, there may be no more recognizable voice in sports. His enthusiasm is palpable. He knows that, in the playoffs, he is calling a do-or-die, win-or-go-home matchup. In terms of preparation and working well with a bevy of analysts, it’s hard not to like what Harlan brings to the broadcast.
Harlan has taken some hits on social media, with some saying he seems to be rooting for one team over another in these playoffs, but that’s just sour grapes from fans. There are times, however, when his penchant for excitement and drama is a bit over the top. Other than a key injury, nothing cataclysmic happens in the first few minutes of an NBA game. There may be no better broadcaster to call the end of a close contest, but Harlan is sometimes a bit heavy on the drama. This is especially true during the regular season. I mean, there is no such thing as a life-or-death game in February.
I love when Harlan’s élan is well-timed, as it was with LeBron James’ memorable dunk in Game 4 of the 2008 Eastern Conference semifinals between Cleveland and Boston. Harlan bellowed a line for the ages: “LeBron James with no regard for human life!” In those moments, I’ll take Kevin Harlan over any broadcaster in the business.
With the Indianapolis 500 having just taken place, and Indiana being a hotbed for auto racing, this TNT/truTV team has a fitting backdrop. The production pit crew is quick and ready, the overall broadcast is firing on all cylinders, and with Harlan, Miller, Van Gundy, and LaForce, viewers are getting a powerful four-on-the-floor transmission.
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John Molori is a weekly columnist for Barrett Sports Media. He has previously contributed to ESPNW, Patriots Football Weekly, Golf Content Network, Methuen Life Magazine, and wrote a syndicated Media Blitz column in the New England region, which was published by numerous outlets including The Boston Metro, Providence Journal, Lowell Sun, and the Eagle-Tribune. His career also includes fourteen years in television as a News and Sports Reporter, Host, Producer working for Continental Cablevision, MediaOne, and AT&T. He can be reached on Twitter @MoloriMedia.
