The Toronto Raptors broadcasters are ready to do their work remotely

TORONTO – This Friday, the Toronto Raptors will have their first glimpse of fanless bubble basketball when they face the Houston Rockets in a televised scrimmage from the NBA’s Disney campus in Orlando.

It will be the first chance to face another team – and our first chance to see them live – from March 9, a couple of days before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the league to a four-month hiatus.

The new normal will take some time to get used to, but this does not apply only to those on the pitch.

“It will be interesting,” said longtime Raptors analyst Jack Armstrong. He and the rest of the Toronto TV team will call and produce games remotely for the duration of the 2019-2020 campaign.

“When I go to a game, I feel like my job is to meet the moment. When that red light comes on, it’s my time to meet the moment. Or when I’m on the radio and they say we’re on, it’s time for me to meet the moment. So this is a new moment and it is time for me to meet him, be prepared, be on my game and be sharp and be ready to go. It’s a new challenge, but I’m excited about it. “

“There is a reason why we are doing it remotely,” said team member Matt Devlin. “I think everyone understands why it’s appropriate, given the pandemic. We have received weekly calls, plus calls, since 9 March and we are communicating with each other. So, we will make the necessary changes and, as a broadcaster, I know that we will all do everything possible to provide the best possible transmission to the fans. “

It is a challenge facing all 22 restarting teams and their broadcast teams. In an attempt to limit the amount of people on the spot, only the two NBA US national broadcast partners – ESPN and TNT – had access to the bubble. Each local radio and television broadcast will be produced remotely, working on a clean video feed provided to them by the league.

This means that each network will be responsible for adding its own graphics, transitions and promotions. It also means that their talent on the air will have to call the action from a screen, in the case of Toronto, more than 2,000 kilometers away.

While circumstances are far from ideal, the Raptors’ crew should be familiar with the process of calling games from afar. Both have worked on several FIBA ​​television broadcasts over the years, covering numerous Canadian international qualification tournaments from a home studio.

Devlin estimates that he has called some 12 games remotely during his career, including his first professional broadcast – a game between Australia and New Zealand for ESPN International in 1998. His last came in October, when the Raptors traveled to Tokyo. , in Japan for a couple of preseason games.

Assuming that everything goes smoothly, most fans shouldn’t be able to notice the difference.

“When I was playing games in Canada or other international games, or when we did the [Raptors’] Tokyo Games, if we didn’t tell people that we weren’t there, 98% of people have no idea, “said analyst Leo Rautins.” I remember [when] Canada was playing in Mexico and that evening I was going to dinner people said, “Hey, when did you come back?” or “Will you come back tomorrow for the next game?” Like, seriously, many people don’t know. “

“I have no problems with the call [games remotely]as long as we have a very visible large screen where you can see everything. I have done it many times. So for me, I feel like I’m calling the game. “

Even when they are live from the arena, Rautins estimates that they spend at least half of a normal broadcast watching the monitors in front of them. Maybe they are watching a replay. Perhaps their point of view is blocked by a player or a coach (or Drake, as Rautins joked). Devlin will go back and forth between the monitors and look at the field so he can see – and delve into – what viewers are seeing.

What will be missing most are the small nuances that you cannot easily grasp without being at the center of the action.

“When you’re there to call a game live, you have a chance to make sense and feel for everything that’s going on – when the officers come to the table, what they’re coming to the table for. You have that ability to take the headset off and listen to a conversation, “said Devlin.” How many times have we seen this in the years Kyle Lowry will he make his way to our table to watch a close call replay? And so, all those elements in which you are able to get a little more intuition and then transmit it, share it with the public, which will not be there. “

Without being in the arena, they may not be able to see when an injured player limps on the bench or into the locker room. They cannot run into a scout or coach before the game or during the break for one of those short but important behind-the-scenes conversations that provide more information about the broadcast.

Instead, they will rely on the team to update them on injuries so they can pass that information on to the public. They hope that the meeting to be held with Raptors’ head coach Nick Nurse before home games can now be done virtually. But how do they adapt their approach if they are not there to collect all those little details?

“You just have to be a lot more composed and alert,” said Armstrong. “At least the games I played remotely had fans. Now, the game you are calling has no fans, so it is a challenge to be able to bring your mojo, your enthusiasm and your energy. You don’t want to be too coded, but at the same time you don’t want to back down too much. “

“I am really excited. For your personal development, you say it is a new challenge, it is a new opportunity to continue to grow and continue to improve as a broadcaster … At the end of October, when I reflect on the experience, I hope I can say, hey, I ‘ I got better, these are some areas where I grew up as an analyst. “

The Raptors will play three scrimmage games – starting on Friday, aired on TSN – before reopening the season against the Lakers on August 1st. TSN and Sportsnet will each broadcast half of the team’s eight seeding games leading up to the playoffs, which are slated to begin on August 17.

Each game will be produced by a satellite study in Oakville, Ontario, with strict health and safety guidelines. Masks must be worn when entering and exiting the building, as well as in common areas. All staff must practice adequate social distance while in the studio or working outside the production truck. Talents on the air will receive their personal headphones and all shared equipment will be disinfected frequently.

“Everyone is taking all kinds of precautions,” said Rautins, who spent much of the pandemic at his Florida home before returning to Toronto and starting his two-week quarantine last Wednesday. “Just like the NBA, we are doing everything to make it as secure as possible.”

The award-winning tandem of Devlin and Armstrong will continue to support TSN broadcasts. Pre-game coverage and intermission will include Rautins and Rod Black in the studio, as well as former Raptorshead coach Sam Mitchell through his home in Atlanta, and the relationships of Kate Beirness, Kayla Gray and me.

On the radio, Paul Jones and Sherman Hamilton will receive the call from studio TSN 1050, with pre-game and post-game shows hosted remotely.

“Much of this is work in progress [in terms of] calling the games remotely, “Devlin said.” There will be changes made along the way because you have to remain fluid and flexible. All of these conversations have been going on for some time and I’m sure as we head towards August 1st , and then eventually in the playoffs, we will have a better idea of ​​what we are able to do remotely because it will truly be the new norm for us “.

“I’m excited,” said Rautins. “I think the leaderboards are going to be crazy. People talk about how it will be for players who play without fans, but players also know that everyone in the world will watch each of these games. People have missed it.”

“I love the game,” said Armstrong. “I always tell people I can’t thank that orange ball enough. I started playing basketball when I was seven and here I am 57, I was 50 with that ball and I can’t thank that orange ball enough. I love that ball and I love the game. So being able to be part of it and calling games and chatting about the sport I love is a real blessing and I’m really lucky. I am enthusiastic about it and perhaps it takes people’s minds away for a few minutes from the challenges we are facing. “