Detroit — Apparently, cutting promos isn’t exactly as easy as ABC.
The network is set to broadcast some of the NBA’s Eastern Conference finals games, starting next week, and somebody in some undisclosed control room got a bit ahead of their skis previewing the matchup.
“The Cavs eye another upset,” a narrator said in a brief, 14-second promo that aired on ESPN and ABC platforms Saturday, according to a social-media post from some eagle eyes at the sports-media watchdog website, Awful Announcing, “while the Knicks carry the dreams of all of New York.”
Just one problem … the Pistons.
The Pistons beat the Cavaliers, 115-94, in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals in Cleveland on Friday, forcing a Game 7 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Sunday night. The ABC/ESPN promo had the Eastern Conference finals starting Sunday afternoon.
Give ABC this much: The Knicks, at least, are locked into the Eastern Conference finals, having swept the Philadelphia 76ers in four games. Clearly, ABC cut a pair of promos in advance, and some affiliates ran one early.
Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals will be Tuesday, in New York … or Detroit. ABC and ESPN platforms will broadcast that series, with NBC and Peacock broadcasting the Western Conference finals, which are set with the Oklahoma City Thunder playing the San Antonio Spurs. The Western finals begin Monday.
tpaul@detroitnews.com
@tonypaul1984
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: ABC pumps up Eastern finals … with Pistons nowhere to be found
Reporting by Tony Paul, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
