Time for some Monday morning quarterbacking over the weekend’s NBA Playoff action, and also trying to figure out exactly what was happening at our favorite NBA-analyzing show, Inside the NBA on TNT. A big, BIG game last night, and our man Shaq was missing in action.
While the early Sunday game (as of this posting) between the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks was kind of a snoozer (and a blowout), the late-night game was very interesting and totally eye-catching. Along with the game, there was the usual coverage from the Inside the NBA crew. Only on this particular night, O’Neal was replaced by another NBA legend, Vince Carter.
Carter joined the regular crew of Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, and Charles Barkley. There have been a few nights where the chairs at the outside edges of the table have seen replacements. Sometimes Chuck is missing, sometimes Shaq. Along with Carter, we’ve seen Draymond Green as part of the panel, too.
A lot of fans took to social media to ask about the Big Man’s whereabouts, and Shaq did indeed post a reply and comment. While O’Neal did check in, did the answers he gave about his absence provide good information, or just create more questions?
The BIG Podcast with SHAQ
Here at the ShaqFu Radio blog, we’ve been covering the developing story over what’s to come of the TNT network’s coverage of the NBA. The contract with the NBA is coming up for renewal, and several other big-money players have entered the ring to try to grab a piece of the hoops action.
Of course if some other network ponies up the big (huge!) money needed to win the NBA TV-rights contract, that could be the end of Inside the NBA. Of course it could morph into some other kind of show, or maybe some new network could just scoop up the entire TNT crew. Nothing is for sure yet, but it’s going to be an interesting offseason.
Some fans are already worried – and have taken to social media – over the idea of losing the TNT “Inside” crew. Shaq’s post last night probably only fanned the flames of concern. He wrote on Instagram, “Humble enough to know I can be replaced, but wise enough to know ain’t nobody else like me.” He followed up by giving credit where it was due for that cool quote: “Thanks had to steal this from my guy,” with credit to NBA legend Stephen Jackson for the quote.
Other members of the TNT crew have been talking too. Responding to some earlier comments from Shaq to the Daily Mail, Sir Charles said, “We’re in the bidding war with NBC… It’s down to one piece of the puzzle between us and NBC. The last [bid for TV rights] we’ve heard was around 2.5 billion, and we have zero idea what’s going to happen.”
NBC is owned by the cable and TV conglomerate Comcast. Media reports have confirmed that Comcast is indeed throwing around that number of two and a half BILLION dollars for NBA rights. Just for comparison, TNT paid less than half that to get the rights when they acquired them last time. Co
Comcast isn’t alone in the bidding war. Amazon Prime – which already has a weekly NFL football broadcast – also appears interested. So here’s an interesting idea: Of course NBC has it’s own sports-broadcasting teams and announcers. Amazon…not so much. Maybe Amazon makes the deal happen, and then absorbs the TNT broadcast team crew. Can that happen? Sure. But right now, that’s just us speculating…
Having Shaq, Chuck and the rest of the TNT crew cover the game is a really big deal. It’s possible the NBA front office itself might apply some pressure to “keep the band together.” On a recent podcast, Shaq’s friend and agent Leonard Armato said it’s possible NBA Commissioner Adam Silver might get personally involved.
Armato said, “Should TNT lose the NBA, the likelihood is that Shaq and Chuck break up, which would be a shame.” Other podcasters have talked about this, too. As Armato put it, “There’s no other show that even compares to Inside the NBA on TNT.” Hopefully, the powers that be in the NBA will make some moves to keep our favorite team together. Gonna be an interesting summer!