2010 NBA Playoffs Tip Off Saturday Across ESPN Platforms

ESPN’s comprehensive coverage of the 2010 NBA Playoffs – up to 44 games, including The Finals exclusively on ABC – will begin with five games this weekend.  On Saturday, April 17, NBA action will tip off with the Cleveland Cavaliers and LeBron James hosting the Chicago Bulls and Derrick Rose at 3 p.m. ET on ABC.  ESPN will follow with a tripleheader – the Milwaukee Bucks and Brandon Jennings visiting the Atlanta Hawks and Joe Johnson at 5:30 p.m.; the Boston Celtics and Paul Pierce hosting the Miami Heat and Dwyane Wade at 8 p.m.; and the Utah Jazz and Deron Williams visiting the Denver Nuggets and Carmelo Anthony at 10:30 p.m. Weekend coverage will resume on Sunday, April 18, with the Los Angeles Lakers and Kobe Bryant hosting the Oklahoma City Thunder and Kevin Durant at 3 p.m. on ABC.  All ESPN telecasts will also be available on ESPN3.com, and select games can be seen via ESPN Mobile TV. Play-by-play announcer Mike Breen, analysts Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy and reporter Lisa Salters will provide commentary for both ABC broadcasts.  Dan Shulman, analyst Jon Barry and reporter Ric Bucher will call Milwaukee vs. Atlanta; Mike Tirico, analyst Hubie Brown and reporter Heather Cox will be the commentator team for Miami vs. Boston; and Dave Pasch, analyst Doris Burke and reporter Holly Rowe will be in Denver for Jazz vs. Nuggets. GMC NBA Countdown will preview this weekend’s ABC broadcasts Saturday, April 17, and Sunday, April 18, at 2:30 p.m.  Hall of Famer Magic Johnson will return as a studio analyst throughout the postseason, regularly joined by host Stuart Scott and analysts Jon Barry and Michael Wilbon. ESPN Radio will broadcast two games this weekend – Miami at Boston, with coverage beginning Saturday at 7:15 p.m.; and Oklahoma City at the Los Angeles Lakers Sunday at 2 p.m.  Jim Durham and Hall of Famer Dr. Jack Ramsay will call both games. The upcoming first-round NBA Playoff schedule (through the first two weeks):

NBA Fastbreak: 2010 NBA Playoff Preview ESPN will televise a one-hour NBA Fastbreak: 2010 NBA Playoff Preview special Friday, April 16, at 7 p.m.  Mark Jones will host with analysts Byron Scott, Jamal Mashburn and Jalen Rose. NBA Playoffs on ESPN ESPN will offer multimedia coverage of the NBA Playoffs across 15 platforms: ESPN on ABC, ESPN on ABC HD, ESPN, ESPN HD, ESPN2, ESPN2 HD, ESPN Radio, ESPN Deportes, ESPN International, ESPNEWS, ESPN Classic, ESPN.com, ESPN3.com, ESPN Mobile TV and ESPN The Magazine.  ESPN will produce up to 44 NBA Playoff games – including The Finals on ABC – all in high definition. The Finals on ABC are scheduled to begin Thursday, June 3.  Additionally, for the 15^th straight year, ESPN Radio will provide extensive NBA Playoff coverage including first- and second-round broadcasts, every game of both Conference Finals and The Finals. -30-