Club Sportico: What’s the Deal With the Cavaliers’ ‘Diff’ Graphic?

This week’s Club Sportico investigates a unique element of Cleveland Cavaliers TV broadcasts. Starting this season, FanDuel Sports Network calculates the score differential of games in real time, with a pop-up metric, “The Diff,” telling fans how much the Cavs lead or trail.

The Diff has earned ribbings from Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr and other outsiders who have suggested it must be some form of betting tie-in or tool for those who “can’t do math.” The Diff was actually Cleveland owner Dan Gilbert’s idea, the team told Sportico. The stat first appeared on the Cavaliers jumbotron in 2006 and migrated to the TV screen in 2024.

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“When someone asks you what the score is, you don’t say, ‘It’s, you know, 90 to 80,’” Cavaliers CMO Chris Kaiser said in an interview. “You say, ‘We’re up 10’ or ‘We’re down 10.’ He thought it was an easier way for folks to kind of get to that number.”

Here is an excerpt of that Club Sportico essay ✍️:

The more I thought about it, the less ridiculous the concept seemed. Aren’t there myriad other aids in sports broadcasts, anyway, from clocks that tick down rather than up to yellow lines that tell us exactly where players need to go for a first down?

Kaiser also explained that “The Diff” goes well beyond a scoreboard enhancement. Before it appeared on the jumbotron and TV screen, capital letters and all, “the diff” started as an internal mantra for an organization that likes to separate itself from 29 peers, along the lines of “go the extra mile.” The team even honors local helpers as “Diff Maker of the Game” (sponsored by Jif, naturally).

“The ‘be the diff’ piece, it works its way into a lot of different conversations,” Kaiser said. He acknowledged dropping the phrase two-to-three times a week in corporate chats (and more if the “The Diff” broadcast element somehow malfunctions.)

But, Kaiser clarified, “be the diff” isn’t an official team “ism.”

Yes, the Cavaliers have official isms.

Read the full story here.

P.S. Don’t forget to let us know how you feel about The Diff in our poll at the bottom of the post!

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Tags: NBA