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CHAD FINN | SPORTS MEDIA

ESPN commentators can relate to NBA playoff series

Former NBA coaches Mark Jackson (left) and Jeff Van Gundy (center) will watch their former teams compete in the Western Conference finals. Jackson and Van Gundy are analysts for ABC and ESPN, which is broadcasting the series.Scott Clarke/ESPN/AP/File 2010/Associated Press

Hours upon hours of meticulous and exhaustive research confirm that Mike Breen, ESPN/ABC’s play-by-play voice for the NBA Western Conference finals series between the Rockets and Warriors, has neither been employed nor fired by either of the competing teams.

All right, I confess, that “exhaustive” search was a cursory Google search that brought me to his bio, which reminds us that Breen’s specific NBA allegiance is with the Knicks, for whom he began calling games in 1992. Given the state of that franchise, it’s fair to presume he’ll have no perceived conflicts of interest or rooting interests in the postseason for the foreseeable future.

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The reason I bring this up, other than to take a cheap and irresistible jab at the Knicks, is to acknowledge this: Breen’s lack of allegiance or direct history with either of the Western Conference finalists makes him the outlier on his own broadcast team. Both analysts for the series — Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson — have been fired by the teams playing.

A broadcaster calling the games of a team for which he once worked is not that uncommon — television has long been the soft and lucrative landing spot for coaches in all sports in between jobs. ESPN’s Wednesday night telecast of the Red Sox-Rangers matchup gave a local angle to such a scenario when Bobby Valentine, who spent one disastrous season (2012) as the Red Sox manager, served as a guest analyst.

But the scenario currently in play with ESPN/ABC and the Western Conference finals is unusual, not only because both analysts worked for teams involved, but because in Jackson’s case, the parting was recent and especially messy.

Despite guiding the Warriors to consecutive playoff appearances — current NBA Most Valuable Player Stephen Curry blossomed into a superstar on Jackson’s watch — he was fired last May amid much controversy and innuendo.

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One assistant, Darren Erman (now a Celtics assistant), was fired after being accused of secretly recording meetings. Another, Brian Scalabrine (now a Celtics broadcaster), was demoted to the D-League.

Accounts of what went wrong suggested there was a culture of paranoia during Jackson’s tenure, that his approach wasn’t so much about team-building but in essence the opposite approach: divide, divide again, and then conquer. There were teams — factions, really — within the team.

That the Warriors blossomed even more under Jackson’s replacement, the jovial Steve Kerr, adds another fascinating element to the dynamic of the broadcast. ESPN/ABC clearly has no problem with Jackson’s contentious personal history with the Warriors — it’s viewed as another ancillary but appealing story line.

Jackson was nothing but gracious while discussing his time with the Warriors during a conference call Wednesday.

“I’m happy for them, proud of what we were able to accomplish the three years I was there,’’ said Jackson. “There was a lot of great work by players, by ownership, by management, by my staff, so proud of that. I’m thrilled that they’re continuing that. At the end of the day, three years ago if you said that they would be the favorite to win the NBA championship and have the season that they’ve had, it’s an unbelievable accomplishment. There’s a lot of recognition across the board including this current staff of Steve Kerr and his guys. They’ve done an outstanding job, so wish them nothing but the very best.”

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Van Gundy’s connection to one of the conference finalists is less compelling, in part because of the passage of time and in part because it wasn’t particularly contentious as far as firings go.

He was dumped by current general manager Daryl Morey as the Rockets coach in May 2007. If the pathologically candid Van Gundy, who belongs on the short list of the best analysts in any sport, has ever had a moment in which his personal history even slightly compromised his perspective, it has never been evident during a broadcast.

“For me there’s not many people left, you know, no players left,’’ he said. “But I’m still, you know, very friendly with the guy who fired me, Daryl Morey. I consider him a good friend. And that may seem odd, but we worked together for a year and I really, really respect him, his work ethic.

“I have a lot of respect for the people I used to work for there and for their drive to be a championship-caliber team. But it’s just different because to me, I don’t know the players there at all and so I don’t really have that feeling about their accomplishment other than the people in management and ownership.”

As far as Jackson goes, if the change from coaching the Warriors to analyzing them for an audience as they ascend to greater heights has left any residual bitterness, he’s not letting on.

“You know, I’m having the time of my life calling these games,’’ he said. “It was a dream of mine to be a player, to be a coach and to be an announcer. I’m sitting beside friends for over 25 years, guys I respect and love, and ESPN, ABC has been great to me. So I’m really enjoying what I’m doing.”

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Chad Finn can be reached at finn@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeChadFinn.