Deadspin - ESPN's booth trio of (from left) Mark Jackson, Jeff Van Gundy and Mike Breen will be the new voice talent for NBA Elite 11, according to a by-the-way mention at the bottom of an AP story on the broadcast team today.
No other details were given, just that they will appear. That means the five-year run of play-by-play man Marv Albert and analyst (and Phoenix Suns general manager) Steve Kerr has come to an end. Breen, Jackson and Van Gundy are a very well regarded broadcast team, with Breen's call providing a solid underpinning to the informed and occasionally testy banter between Jackson and Van Gundy.
I'm a little unsure how I feel about this. I guess I like it. The main guy there, Breen, isn't that bad. And neither is Jackson, really. Jackson's comments are good and make sense. At times, Van Gundy shows his knowledge. At others, he's just another broadcaster that makes you want to turn the television off (like last night, when he told the story of having a kid spit on his hand and rub his head for good luck after getting his head shaved... wait, what?). But ultimately, I think these three are better than the combo right now with Marv Albert and Steve Kerr. Does Albert even do NBA games anymore in real life? Those guys had their run, and now the passing of the torch has to occur. Hopefully it lives up to the expectations, and they keep the goofy, pointless stories to a minimum.
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