ESPN/ABC, TNT See Ratings Increases For Opening Weekend Of NBA Playoffs

ABC yesterday earned a 4.4 overnight rating for the Warriors’ 121-109 win over the Trail Blazers in their Western Conference quarterfinal Game 1, up 10% from a 4.1 for last year’s comparable Cavaliers-Pistons matchup. ESPN on Saturday averaged a 2.1 rating for a tripleheader that included Bucks-Raptors, Grizzlies-Spurs and Jazz-Clippers, up 3% from last year. ABC on Saturday afternoon drew a 2.9 overnight for the Cavaliers’ Game 1 win over the Pacers. Meanwhile, TNT averaged a 3.4 overnight in primetime last night for a doubleheader featuring Bulls-Celtics and Thunder-Rockets, up 39% from ’16, which featured Spurs-Grizzlies and Trail Blazers-Clippers in the same window. Bulls-Celtics yesterday drew a 3.4 overnight, up 18% from a 2.9 for Spurs-Grizzlies in ’16. Rockets-Thunder in the late window earned a 3.5 overnight, up 61% from a 2.2 in the same window last year for Blazers-Clippers. TNT yesterday afternoon drew a 1.8 rating for the Wizards' Game 1 win over the Hawks in their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal (Josh Carpenter, Assistant Editor).

ON THE CALL: In Tampa, Tom Jones writes the NBA has "by far the best announcers" of any sport. Whether it is studio-show hosts, studio-show analysts, play-by-play announcers or game analysts, it is "hard, if not impossible, to find anyone who doesn't do the job well." Even sideline reporters "are superb in the NBA." ESPN's "NBA Countdown" studio show with Michelle Beadle, Jalen Rose and Chauncey Billups is a "relaxed, smart show, and credit goes to all three." Beadle specifically "makes viewers feel like they are eavesdropping on a dinner-table conversation of people who really know what they're talking about." Meanwhile, game announcer Mike Breen was "spectacular calling Sunday's Game 1" of the Trail Blazers-Warriors series. Breen's "perfect blend of getting excited and reining himself back in to let the viewers catch a breath made for a sensational call" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 4/17). In N.Y., Phil Mushnick writes ESPN's Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson "were strong" throughout Saturday's Pacers-Cavaliers Game 1. After Cavaliers F LeBron James late in the game "missed a short, open shot, Van Gundy emphasized there's a difference between a defensive 'stop' and a miss -- and this was the latter" (N.Y. POST, 4/17).

DETROIT ROCK CITY: In Detroit, Kirkland Crawford wrote a "glance of the national TV scene shows plenty" of Michigan connections as NBA analysts. Rose is from Detroit and played at Michigan, and he is "ordinarily flanked by former Pistons captain" Billups. Rose's former Michigan teammate, Chris Webber, is the "lead game analyst for Turner." Like Webber, former NBAer Steve Smith also had a "big role during March Madness and is a top analyst for NBA TV." Former Pistons F Grant Hill "co-hosts 'NBA Inside Stuff' and is a game analyst for Turner/CBS," while Basketball HOFer Isiah Thomas also has worked for NBA TV and TNT (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 4/16).