Mike Breen, The Voice of the NBA Finals on ABC

All righty, this is Zach Gelb Show, coast to coast on the Infinity Sports Network. How about the Indiana Pacers? They're up 2-1 in the NBA Finals. Their unbelievable run continues, and we'll see what's going to go down coming up tomorrow night for game four. Pacers got that game three victory, a buck 16 to 107, and Benedict Matherin was sensational off the bench with 27 points.

The man who was on the call, he is the voice of the NBA. That is the great Mike Breen here with us on the Zach Gelb show. Mike, appreciate the time as always. Thanks so much for doing this. How you been?

I'm good, Zach. Very good. After an unbelievable game last night, we might have a really good long series. Yeah, it's incredible. Has this series so far exceeded your expectations?

Because you never know what to expect, but a lot of people, in terms of what I do for a living, were thinking that the Thunder were going to win this series and win it pretty quickly.

Well, I didn't think that just because of the fact that the Pacers have been playing so well. I mean, their record They had 18 less wins than OKC during the regular season, but that's because they were hurt early. Uh they were still You know, trying to grow in their second half of the season, they were playing as well as anybody, and they've gotten playoff experience. Last year, they went through.

Some tough playoff wars. And I think that was a big part of that.

So I'm not shocked. Certainly OKC was the favorite, but I didn't understand why they were such a heavy favorite just because the Pacers were playing so well going into it.

Now, and full disclosure, I picked the Thunder in six. And even then, like people were like, oh, you think this is going six games? But it's still amazing to me with what the Pacers continue to do round in and round out, how there's still people that just are still trying to discredit the great success that they've had this year. Yeah, I don't know if people are trying to discredit their success. I mean, that's impossible to do.

What I think is, Oklahoma City was so dominant. Not only in the regular season, but in a number of their playoff games, that it was hard not to pick them. I understand that. You can't bolt that. And the Pacers.

I think they understand that as well. They're enjoying every second of proving people wrong. Um but this this You know, this series is far from over. Thunder had the same thing in the second round against Denver. Lost game one at home, lost game three on the road, down two to one.

And they wound up winning that series.

So I think both teams have showed they're pretty resilient. Mike Breen here with us right now, the voice of the NBA, and is on the call obviously for the NBA finals on ABC. How was that environment last night? Because it sounded ridiculous through my T V screen, but for you being there and having the best seat in the House, how would you describe that environment and what you witnessed?

Well, your TV screen gave you a pretty good feeling of what it was like. And what makes it great, Zach, is. You know, the Pacers have never won an NBA title. They have, they were a great ABA franchise, three titles, 20. Five finals in nine years.

So, you know, the basketball fans, they experience some professional titles, but never. With their pacers, and the pacers are so loved here.

So the crowd is just off the charts. And it's the same thing in OKC. You know, the Thunder have never won a title in Oklahoma City. when the franchise was in Seattle, you know, obviously one years ago. But the two fan bases are so hungry and they so love their teams that.

You know, the opportunity to have a dream season ending in a championship is pretty special for him, and that's resulted in just off-the-chart crowds. And you never know what you're going to be able to describe to us when you're calling these games going in. You know, there's storylines, and then there are storylines that none of us could see coming. I know Benedict Matherin, as of late, has been a good player for them, but 27 points off the bench when the Thunder only had 18 points off the bench as a team. And then an underrated part about the Pacers has been their defense.

And the longest tenured pacer, Miles Turner, at the end, that was a big defensive play. Just how about those two, Matherin and then Turner? Yeah, you know what, Zach? There's so many great individual stories. We don't have enough time to get all of them.

I wish we had more time to do it because they're. You know, you see what so many of these players go through.

Some of them, you know, it's an easy pass to have to start them, others. have to grind for years. And then the beauty of the finals is that there's always one or two games where somebody comes out of nowhere to had a game of have the game of their life. Benedict Matherin. I mean, he's so young.

But he's got so much talent, he just hasn't had a chance to find that consistent. Level of high excellence, and he showed it last night what he's capable of. But the beauty of that is a guy like him He knows right now he's part of a great team, and he's okay with that. He'd like to play 35 minutes every night. It's not going to happen.

But when he, you know, he we actually talked to him today and he says, you know, you just have to stay ready. And that's what he did. And for him to come out and have a game like that. This is magnificent. And Turner, he has such emotional ties to this city and to the fan base.

You know, you love to see.

Somebody achieved their dreams where they wanted to achieve their dreams.

Now he still has two wins to go. But for him to have big games like this, he's had a couple of really great games in the playoffs. It's fun to watch. As you said, there's two more wins to go for the Indiana Pacers, but you look at Halliburton two and a half months ago, right? We all read that poll in the athletic that his peers voted in the most overrated player in the league.

What he did in the first round, right? Most people will be content having a moment like that in one shot like that in a playoff run. He's had four of them. How do you put it into words just the stardom of Tyrese Halliburton right now? And he's really been able to do these last two months.

Well, th he's had such an interesting season. It started back in Paris where he's on the Olympic team. They win a gold medal dramatically, but he doesn't really play a role. But he understood it. Here's this: an all-NVA performer who's not getting minutes.

Jason Tatum was the same thing. But they were part of a of a team that won a gold medal. And he was able to gather experience that helps him. in his um in his NBA life because of that.

Now he starts the season and he started slowly, wasn't playing well. You mentioned the poll. I hate those polls when that's the question because You know, somebody's feelings are going to get hurt. Um but he handled it really, really well and it's motivated him at times. He plays the game with such joy, and he loves playing.

That it's good to see him be able to deal with the negative stuff, and it's part of a business, we all know that. Um and now perform in the biggest games of his life. And I thought last night. He played great defense. He's not a great defender, but he played some great defense last night, and that was a big part of why they won.

And we know how many great coaches there are in the NBA. And, you know, we've had a lot. Right, change through the year. But what Rick Carlisle has been able to do, and I know he already has an NBA championship, but now this second chapter with the Pacers, and he won that championship with the Mavericks, defeating the big three of the heat, to see what he's doing this time around, to see that national respect now really be there and be the focus. When a lot of people talk about the Pacers, it's Halliburton and Carlisle.

It's pretty cool to see for a guy like Rick Carlisle who's been doing this for a long time and has had a lot of success. Yeah, he's, you know, we talk so much about players who improve throughout their careers. Coaches do too, and he was talking about that as well. You know, he was a great coach back when he won the Maverick, won it all with Dallas, and now he's. You know, he's still learning.

He's still figuring out the best way to... for teams to play, best way to communicate with players. You know, he's lived a great basketball life. Larry Bird, when he was Larry Bird's assistant when they were in the finals back in 2000, Larry Bird used to talk about. Um, what a great basketball mine Rick Carlisle was.

And if Larry Bird's saying that, that's good enough for me. And I also thought it was neat too. And I know sometimes there's a weird relationship that could be painted right now, or a hostile relationship between the teams and the media. When the report from Marshan came out about Doris Burke, I know the broadcasters don't want to be the focus, Mike, especially in an NBA Finals. But I thought that was pretty neat what he said about Doris the other day.

Yeah, we all thanked him for it because he didn't have to do that, especially on that stage. she was overwhelmed by by his words and his kindness and You know, like I said about Rick Doris, has spent her whole life in the game of basketball. Her passion and her love for the game and her knowledge of the game comes through every broadcast. And Rick pointed out what she has done, her pioneer work is has changed the lives of so many young women who now have the confidence to get into the business and go far. It's there's not many that can say they actually changed the culture.

And she certainly did that. And for him to take the final stage and do that was magnificent. Getting back to the series, Mike Breen here with us for a few more moments on the Zach Gelb show. You know, after game one, thrilling victory, obviously, by the Pacers. I saw a playout right at Madison Square Garden in game one.

I was in the building for that. It was basically the same thing. I was curious what the response of the Thunder was going to be in game two, because as you know, in that Knicks Pacers series, the Knicks lost game two, and that's where I really thought they lost the series. The Thunder bounce back. You go to last night, and you see that the Pacers win game three.

Now, all eyes are on the Thunder again for a game four. The Thunder have had a miraculous season, 62 wins this year by double digits, which is still a ridiculous number and stupid good. What type of response do you think we'll see from the Thunder? Because all postseason long, I do believe that there have been some people that have been sitting there and saying, All right, when is the inexperience going to show? When is this story going to come to an end?

What's the response you think we'll see tomorrow night by the Thunder?

Well, they were saying that in the second round when they were down 2-1 to Denver, and Denver's a brutal place to play, and they want a great game. Game four against the Nuggets. that uh tied that series up. And then they lost to game six And have a game seven.

So they've shown every test that's been in front of them, they've passed with flying colors.

So here's the latest test. You know, it's a legitimate question. Are they still too young? Do they need another year? But they don't feel that way and they've shown that they're ready.

Um I don't expect anything but a great performance, but which again, you never know in what happens is, you know, does one team have a night where they shoot lights out from three? There's another team have a night where two of their key players get in foul trouble early.

So you never can. you know, it's so difficult to predict. But I can't imagine them not coming in with their best effort in terms of of toughness in defense and playing with force. When we get to the NBA, you know, outside of the NBA finals, the biggest story right now is what's going on with the Knicks. You know that organization, obviously, very well.

What's your reaction to Tom Thibodeau getting fired? Were you surprised by it? Yes, you know, clearly it's one of the great seasons they've had in a quarter of a century. They make the conference finals. It just seemed everything was so positive.

Obviously, it ended in a disappointing fashion, but we're seeing. You know, the Pacers are a heck of a team, and that wasn't easy, even though the Knicks won more games during the regular season. Um so it was it was hard to see, but You know, Tom Thibodeau has been around a long time, and I'm sure he was disappointed, but it's you know, it's part of the business that team sometimes think that for them to take the next step They need to change change voices. It's a it's it's Taking a gamble, letting Tom Thibodeau go, but obviously they had reasons for doing it and. And now the search is on and and they still haven't figured out what to do.

But quite honestly, right now they shouldn't be in a rush. They should You know, turn over every stone before they make a decision and see what would be the best fit for the team going forward. And I agree with what you said at the end because a lot of people right now are sitting there and saying, Hey, this has turned into an embarrassment. They don't have a plan. But if they would have hired a coach five days ago, people would have said that they didn't do their due diligence and they rushed too quickly.

So, what do you say to people that look at Leon Rose right now and the Knicks organization right now and say they don't have a plan currently?

Well, they clearly had a number of candidates that they were thinking, let's talk to them. And sometimes teams allow their head coach, if the head coach doesn't want to go or they want to part ways to talk to other teams. You know, the coaches they have expressed interest in are all really good coaches, and you can understand why the teams don't want to let them go. But that's what they're doing. They're checking all the boxes to see who's going to be best because.

It's a tough job who takes over. There's a lot of pressure. You went to the conference finals this year.

Now you're expected to take the next step.

So they want to make sure they get it right. Do you think experience is required there? Do you think they have to hire a coach that has experience, or could they take a chance on someone that knows the organization like a Johnny Bryant?

Well, even some of the greatest coaches, I mean, all of the greatest coaches who've ever coached basketball on any level. they had to get that first head coaching job.

So You know, sometimes it works.

Sometimes it doesn't.

Sometimes it takes a few years. for a first year head coach to kind of get his feel. and get his feet underneath him and and figure out the best way to coach. Other times the best approach is to get somebody who's been there before, who knows you know, what it's like the ups and downs of being head coach, of of coming in and trying to Meet expectations. It's all a matter of your feel as an organization when you interview people.

You know, do you get the right vibe? Is this the guy for you? And anytime you hire somebody, it's always taking a chance. But that's why you make sure that you You know, you go through all the process to make sure you talk to everybody and figure out who's going to be the best to fit your team. Last thing I'll ask you, Mike Breen, just from a broadcaster's perspective, so you do the game last night.

When you walk out of the stadium, what is that like for you until what you do today to get you ready for the turnaround tomorrow for a game four?

Well, you're exhausted because it's you know, it's it's such a fun night and you you you put a lot of work in during the course of the day, but then of course you can't go to sleep 'cause you're wired because it's You know, it's so exciting, and the adrenaline's flowing. Get a little rest. We met with players today. And talk to them about tomorrow and time to get back to work and get ready for tomorrow night. And you know, you have the best call going when people were disappointed in game one when you didn't say bang for it for Halliburton.

I'm surprised by the blowback you got for that. Um well I guess it's it's it's a compliment. They like the call. Um I didn't expect to have people angry with me, but that's okay. You know what that all that means, Zach, is that They love the game, they're passionate, and when you get to the playoffs, that passion Skyrockets.

Yeah, absolutely.

Well, he's the best call in the NBA in the business. He is Mike Breen, the voice of the NBA. And you can obviously watch him call these great games on ABC and ESPN for the NBA Finals. Mike, we appreciate it. Thanks so much.

Okay, Zach, nice talking to you.