The second ABC Saturday Night NBA primetime matchup of the 2015-16 season will feature LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers taking on his long-time rival, the San Antonio Spurs but it will have a little twist.
For some reason, the NBA and ESPN decided to start taking a page out of football broadcasts and include something for fans to check out during the game. ESPN announced recently that they will be debuting a new light-up three-point line during their broadcasts on the family of networks.
Following from the Associated Press.
ESPN said Thursday that it is using new technology to show viewers when a player attempts a jumper from beyond the 3-point arc. ”ESPN Virtual 3” will debut for Saturday’s matchup between the Cavaliers and Spurs.
For a made 3-pointer, the line will briefly remain lit up. For a miss, the illumination will end immediately.
While some first saw this and thought it was a questionable move and could detract from the broadcast experience, it doesn’t actually look that bad and could help fans check out the game a little easier, especially when it comes to three-point shots that could be close to being two-point shots.
Check out the difference in the three-point line.
There’s two side of the coin. Everyone will be keeping their eyes on the line as opposed to where the shot goes until the line disappears on the miss and there’s also those people who might get annoyed with the lights going on everytime Stephen Curry drills a 34 foot three-pointer in the second quarter.
Guess we’ll have to wait and see how it looks on the court on Saturday night.
(H/t to Dan Devine of Yahoo! Sports.)
