Jeff Zillgitt

USA TODAY Sports

For as many NBA games as there are on TV during the week – from League Pass to TNT to NBA TV to ESPN to ABC to local networks – there has never been a Saturday night primetime game on broadcast television.

Until now. ABC begins coverage of the first of eight Saturday night games as part of the new franchise NBA Saturday Primetime on ABC, and it will feature strong matchups with playoff seeding implications.

The games will be called by the A-team of play-by-play man Mike Breen and analysts Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson, and reporter Lisa Salters will be on the broadcast for most of the games.

Cavaliers know they must be better vs. top opponents

The first game is Cleveland-Chicago followed by Cleveland-San Antonio (Jan. 30), Golden State-Los Angeles Clippers (Feb. 20), Golden State-Oklahoma City (Feb. 27), Houston-Chicago (March 5), Oklahoma City-San Antonio (March 12), Golden State-San Antonio (March 19) and Cleveland-Chicago (April 9). All are 8:30 p.m. ET starts.

“The first thing that hits you is the schedule. It’s the best games,” Breen said. “During the course of a long NBA season, there’s a handful of marquee games that you can’t wait to see (and) there’s a handful of matchups that are clearly the cream of the crop for the regular season and we have most of them.

“All the best teams and all the best matchups are there. That’s what I can’t for it. You think of playoffs when you look at these matchups.”

The games will be under the care of veteran ESPN senior coordinating producer Tim Corrigan, who produces Finals games and will bring a Finals-like atmosphere to the games.

“We probably belong on Saturday night in prime time,” Corrigan said. “The Finals are played in prime time and so are many of the big playoff games. It just feels right and the matchups are terrific as well.”

ESPN’s studio show NBA Countdown with Sage Steele, Doug Collins and Jalen Rose will precede game coverage. Expect ESPN to create more content based on these matchups.

Cavaliers need signature win to be seen as true contenders

When it was announced ABC would televise Saturday night games, ESPN President John Skipper said, “We expect to establish this series as a big-time destination for NBA fans, along the lines of what we’ve accomplished with college football with Saturday Night Football on ABC.”

That destination event featuring the league’s best teams is the main reason why Breen, Van Gundy and Jackson are on the call.

“All of our jobs is to go there and document the event and there’s one thing they have in common. They love the game and are all about the game, so they always put the game first,” Corrigan said.

Corrigan called Breen the point guard, directing the pace and flow of the broadcast, realizing when the game is the focus and when league topics are the focus and allowing Van Gundy and Jackson to deliver pointed commentary.

“They’re capable of talking about any part of the game at any point – the things they like about the game, the things they think should be changed with the game and big-picture stuff that’s happening around the league,” Corrigan said. “Their comments resonate with fans because they tend to get a lot of reaction.”

Breen, Van Gundy and Jackson have known each other for nearly 25 years, a relationship that began when Breen called Knicks games on the radio, Van Gundy was a Knicks assistant and Jackson was the Knicks point guard.

“The most underrated part of our business is continuity. It’s not just that we’ve been working on the air for years. We’ve been friends for 25 years. When you have that kind of comfort level with people, it just makes it so much easier because you know you can say or ask anything and it’s cool with them.”

The games will include bells and whistles – special slow-motion cameras and a new LED-based board that will include a variety of added content as the announcers preview the game.

“If you look at where we’re going to put our most technology and our most equipment, it’s generally going to be specifically tied to matchups and ratings and the best stories,” Corrigan said. “The Saturday night games are going to check all the boxes for that.”