DESCRIPTION: (from ESPN's press release, January 2018) The third season of NBA Saturday Primetime on ABC presented by YouTube TV launches Jan. 20 with two blockbuster games, including a special matinee broadcast. First, the Cleveland Cavaliers and LeBron James will host the Oklahoma City Thunder and Russell Westbrook in an NBA Saturday Primetime Special on ABC at 3:30 p.m. ET. Mark Jones, Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer and analyst Hubie Brown, and reporter Israel Gutierrez will provide commentary. At 8:30 p.m., NBA Saturday Primetime on ABC returns when the defending NBA Champion Golden State Warriors and Kevin Durant visit the Houston Rockets and Chris Paul. The longest-tenured NBA Finals broadcast team - Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson - will call the action with reporter Lisa Salters. Salters will provide reports for most Saturday night broadcasts. ESPN NBA officiating expert Steve Javie will also contribute analysis on NBA Saturday Primetime on ABC broadcasts from the NBA Replay Center. All NBA Saturday Primetime on ABC broadcasts tip off at 8:30 p.m. and are also available on the ESPN App. NBA Saturday Primetime on ABC broadcasts will include the use of I-MOVIX cameras, plus select players and coaches will be mic'd up for the games. NBA Countdown, ESPN and ABC's NBA pre-game show, will air at 8 p.m. each Saturday night, leading into the game. Michelle Beadle, in her second year as the host of NBA Countdown, will be joined by a star-studded array of analysts, including NBA veteran and famed member of "The Fab Five" Jalen Rose, and former NBA Finals M.V.P.'s Chauncey Billups and Paul Pierce.
