CSNNE has a number of ways to advance analysis on Celtics broadcasts
Celtics guard Marcus Smart brings the fans to their feet at TD Garden.
COMMENTARY
Many of the tweaks to Comcast SportsNet New England’s already top-notch Celtics broadcasts were perceptible during its seven preseason telecasts. But with the curtain rising on the regular season Wednesday night against the Sixers, the forward-thinking changes will become even more conspicuous.
Some of the changes are aesthetic, designed to give a you-are-there feel to the broadcast. Celtics players will be mic’d up during select games. “AnnouncerCam’’ will offer an insider’s perspective of broadcasters Mike Gorman, Tommy Heinsohn and Brian Scalabrine as they call the action. But most notably, the telecasts will feature advanced analytics throughout. CSNNE will be collaborating with the Celtics (who have a particularly sharp analytic bent in the front office, led by assistant general manager Mike Zarren) to inform viewers on relevant modern metrics such as points per possession, effective field goal percentage, and pace of play.
CSNNE won’t overwhelm viewers with numbers, whether of the cutting-edge or conventional variety. Typically, statistics-based graphics will pop up on the screen during a broadcast 25-30 times per game. This season, according to CSNNE vice president of programming and production Len Mead, the plan is for five to 10 of those graphics to feature advanced metrics.
“We’re going to walk carefully there. It’s a balancing act,’’ said Mead. “You never want to go over the head of your audience. From everything we’ve seen, this is new language that serious basketball fans speak. There was a day when how you talked about baseball players was batting average, home runs, and RBIs. And that was it. That was how you measure a player. Now you look up and it’s OPS and WAR and various measures that in many ways have become mainstream.
“We’re looking at the same thing with basketball. The default setting with many basketball telecasts is points, rebounds and assists. We’re not going to lose any of that stuff, because they are all very important metrics. But more and more, there seems to be a much wider adoption of things like points-per-possession and effective field goal percentage. So our goal is to introduce that to fans this year. Scal is a great ambassador for that.’’
Scalabrine, a fan-favorite during his five seasons with the Celtics, returned to CSNNE’s broadcasts last year after a tumultuous season as an assistant coach with the Warriors. He is full-time on the broadcast for the first time, calling road games alongside Gorman since Heinsohn no longer travels while working mostly from the studio during home games. The analytic innovations on the broadcast will play to his strengths.
“Scal represents a lot of the things we’re trying to do,’’ said Mead. “He has a young, broad appeal. He has a big personality but a great basketball mind, and he’s extremely analytical. “Left to his own devices, he can get very, very technical , when he’s talking basketball. But as someone who is relatively newcomer to broadcasting, he understand that the language he might use with a player or when he was coaching might fly over someone’s head even if they’re an everyday basketball fan. We’re trying to get the best of both words.
“He’s a fun watch and a fun listen, but he also has a lot of insights to offer. We think he’ll be able to convey information in a way that is entertaining and advanced, but not overwhelmingly advanced, which meshes with our approach with the broadcast as a whole.’’
Chad Finn can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeChadFinn.
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