TNT and NBA TV All Over The Western Conference Finals

TNT’s last NBA postseason games of 2010 will be during the Western Conference Finals and it’s with one of the league’s glamor teams, the Los Angeles Lakers as they take on the Phoenix Suns. And yes, ESPN will carry the Eastern Conference Finals and it’ll start either Sunday or next Tuesday. In any event, here’s the press release from Turner Sports.

TNT and NBA Digital Take the Court with Exclusive Western Conference Finals Coverage Beginning Monday, May 17

TNT to Feature Exclusive Sit-Down Interviews with new New Jersey Nets Owner Mikhail Prokhorov and Los Angeles Lakers Head Coach Phil Jackson

NBA.com to Provide Live In-Game Video Chats with Charles Barkley, Kevin McHale, Reggie Miller and Others

                       

Turner Sports today announced its extensive coverage for the NBA Western Conference Finals featuring the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers, which will air exclusively on TNT, with fully integrated content on NBA TV and NBA.com. TNT’s exclusive coverage of the series tips off on Monday, May 17, with play-by-play announcer Marv Albert, analyst Doug Collins and sideline reporter Craig Sager.

As part of the overall coverage, TNT will feature an exclusive sit-down interview by David Aldridge with new New Jersey Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov, which will air during the Game #2 pre-game show on Wednesday, May 19. Additionally, Albert will sit down with Los Angeles Lakers head coach Phil Jackson and look back 40 years to the 1970 New York Knicks championship team that Jackson played on and how it shaped his coaching future. The feature will air during Game #4.

For the first time during Conference Finals coverage, TNT and NBA TV analysts will host live streaming video chats on NBA.com and Yahoo.com, during which they will answer fans’ questions live after halftime of select games. The chats will feature Reggie Miller (Game #2), Chris Webber (Game #3), Charles Barkley (Game #4), and Kevin McHale (Game #5, if necessary).

TNT will tip off Games #1, 2, 4, 5 (if necessary) and 7 (if necessary) with a new, long-form, 60-minute NBA Tip-Off featuring Emmy-Award winning host Ernie Johnson alongside analysts Kenny Smith, Barkley and Miller, who will be on site for each game. The pre-game show will lead directly into TNT’s exclusive game coverage. The telecast will conclude with Inside the NBA. TNT will air a 30-minute pre-game show for Games #3 and 6 (if necessary).

TNT, NBA TV, and NBA.com’s additional comprehensive coverage of the series will include: 

• NBA TV’s marquee Fan Night crew of host Matt Winer and analysts Webber and McHale, broadcasting from the network’s Atlanta studio, will provide analysis during TNT’s pre-game coverage.
• In addition, NBA TV’s Winer, Webber and McHale will provide an exclusive, 30-minute pre-game show prior to TNT programming for every Western Conference Finals Game.
• Fans will also have access to complementary companion broadcast coverage with the TNT Mosaic available on TNT OverTime on NBA.com with live video streaming from various camera angles, including two Player Cams following two opposing players each quarter as voted upon by fans and two Robo Cams positioned in the arena.
• Behind-the-scenes videos via HD handheld cameras of TNT and NBA TV productions will be posted to NBA.com, Twitter and Facebook. 
• NBA TV’s Dennis Scott will continue to provide insight into playoff matchups with “3D’s 3 points” via Twitter, which will also post to a landing page on NBA.com that aggregates the tweets of the NBA’s best analysts, writers and insiders.
• NBA TV and NBA.com will continue to air live press conferences following both the Western and Eastern Conference Finals games. The network will air a pre-game show prior to network coverage of the Eastern Conference Finals.

“Turner Sports has provided extensive, comprehensive and innovative coverage of the NBA Playoffs across multiple platforms. Our coverage of the Western Conference Finals will be no exception,” said Jeff Behnke, executive producer of Turner Sports. “Our game announcers and presentation are outstanding and, combined with hour-long studio shows that incorporate marquee NBA TV talent, we will give fans an immersive experience for one of the most anticipated series of the NBA Playoffs.”

Thanks to Turner Sports for sending this over.