TNT to Broadcast a Game Tonight With No Play-by-Play

No Marv Albert, no Kevin Harlan … just two-and-a-half hours of banter between Steve Kerr, Chris Webber and Reggie Miller (sigh). TNT will experiment with this format during tonight’s matchup between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Golden State Warriors. Per USA Today: “Kerr says he won’t be trying ‘to be Marv Albert or Kevin Harlan’ but will act as ‘point man leading us to breaks. Maybe a little bit of a traffic cop if the game calls for it. It is more like three former players having a round table (discussion) almost during the game.’ So has Kerr informed the other former NBA All-Stars that the offense will be running through him Thursday night? ‘In no uncertain terms,’ Kerr says with a laugh. ‘Well put.’ The idea for the new booth came from a conversation between Turner Sports COO Lenny Daniels and Senior VP Craig Barry. ‘Lenny and I are always talking that television has always been done the same way for the last 40 or 50 years,’ Barry said. ‘Why not just have a team captain and have three guys who know the game inside and out? They are all charismatic, they are all capable of carrying a show, so why not just have them talk basketball?’ […] ‘We all know each other, like each other genuinely. That is always a good start,’ he said. ‘What will be interesting is that each guy will be looking at the game a little differently. Chris was a superstar big man. Reggie obviously was an All-Star himself. I was more of a reserve. We all came at the game from different angles. I always thought that big men and guards look at at the game a lot differently. I think it will be good to get different perspectives on it in the same telecast.’ Kerr has no idea whether he’s participating in a one-time deal or a new type of sportscasting offense but just figures Thursday will ‘sound much different than what a normal telecast would.’ Viewers will convince Barry whether TNT will repeat the analyst-only booth.”