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Good morning! Today, weâre talking about playoffs.
Swan Song: NBA on TV about to look way different
The Timberwolves eliminated the Lakers, live on TNT, and then longtime NBA play-by-play man Kevin Harlan said something that hit me harder than I expected.
That, Harlan told us, would be the last time we saw LeBron James play on TNT.
Itâs not like it was unexpected. All the way back in July, the NBA announced $77 billion worth of new TV deals starting next season. Disney, Amazon and NBC were all there, but TNT parent Warner Bros. Discovery was not. WBD made a big fuss about it, filing and then withdrawing a lawsuit. This season would end a relationship that began in 1989 â or at least pause it, given that nothing in rights agreements is ever permanent.
On some levels, our NBA-watching lives wonât transform overnight. Basketball will still be basketball, and many of the people talking about the games will be familiar. Disney made a deal to license âInside the NBAâ for ESPN and ABC, ensuring the beloved studio show does not die without games to lead in and out of it. Charles Barkley and the gang will keep rocking.
So much will change, though:
- The NBA will have an entire new cohort of in-game commentators and studio talent soundtracking the sport. Lately, Amazon and NBC have made splashy analyst hires to fill out their new teams. (Hello to Stan Van Gundy on Prime Video and to Carmelo Anthony on NBC and Peacock, for just a couple of recent examples.) For a long time, the leagueâs national games have had the TNT fellas and a rotating cast of ESPN studio talent guiding us all through the games. Now itâll have a much broader cast.
- The days of channel-surfing and finding NBA games will wane. To date, 100 percent of the NBAâs national games have been on network or cable TV. Now, Prime Video will show 66 regular-season and at least 20 playoff games. Peacock will show âapproximately 50â streaming-only games, NBC has said, including some in the playoffs. Weâre all familiar with paying for streaming subscriptions by now, but an underrated shift will be the intentionality required to put on the NBA. Weâll be less likely to just stumble into it. Maybe thatâll be OK; I focus more on something that makes me open up a new app.
- The tech experience will be different, and Iâm not just talking about NBC using AI to bring back a beloved voice from the â90s. (Personally, Iâd rather create new things and hope people will be nostalgic for them in the 2040s.) What will be the NBAâs version of âThursday Night Footballâsâ Prime Vision broadcast? Weâll see.
I had a question for Andrew Marchand, a senior writer for The Athleticwho reports on the sports media business all the time: On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is âthe sameâ and 10 is âa totally different viewing experience,â how will it feel to watch the NBA next season?
đŹ In honor of NBCâs top studio hire, Anthony, Iâll say a 7. ABC/ESPN will likely have the same feel. Even the aspect that TNT is most known for, âInside the NBA,â is moving over to ABC/ESPN, so that piece will remain the same. Meanwhile, NBC and Amazon have mixed the old and the new in their hires, with Amazon adding Ian Eagle, Blake Griffin and Dirk Nowitzki, while NBC has Anthony, Mike Tirico, Jamal Crawford and Reggie Miller. I do think that both new entities will try to celebrate the game in a way that âInside the NBA,â as great as it is, does not.
TNTâs last series will be the Eastern Conference finals. Who makes the last bucket on the channel? I say Jalen Brunson.
News to Know
Vegas steals one at the horn
These playoffs have invented new ways to make your jaw drop every day. Two weeks ago, Aaron Gordon had this buzzer-beating dunk. Last night, Reilly Smith might have one-upped him.
With Vegas and Edmonton two seconds away from overtime, Smith picked up a centering pass and made one final move toward the goal. He flung a last-ditch effort across the crease, which somehow managed to find Leon Draisaitlâs stick and ricochet into the back of the net with 0.4 seconds remaining. The Golden Knights suddenly have life.
Oh yeah, there were three other games yesterday too. Quickly:
Carr calls it a career
Saints quarterback Derek Carr announced his retirement after 11 seasons. The 34-year-old was already in danger of missing the entire 2025 season with a shoulder injury and will now forgo his guaranteed $30 million contract. An unfortunate end to a career full of plenty of ups and downs. Read free more on Carrâs complicated legacy and the Saintsâ bleak QB room.
Race for the Champions League
Liverpool already ran away with the Premier League title, but the race to fill out the rest of the top five and secure a Champions League berth is heating up. No team outside of Liverpool has guaranteed a top-five finish. Even Arsenal isnât safe. More on what to watch for in todayâs Premier League action shortly. Hereâs where things stand at the top of the table:
More news:
What to Watch
đș Soccer: Nottingham Forest vs. Leicester City | 9:15 a.m. ET on USA
Three matchweeks to go. Forest sits seventh in the Premier League, two spots out of Champions League eligibility, but still controls its own destiny thanks to a season finale against fifth-place Chelsea. Teams from outside the âBig Sixâ rarely make the UCL, but among the recent teams to do it was ⊠Leicester, nine years ago, after winning the league. Now Leicester is a relegated cautionary tale, and Forest may never get another chance like the one it has over the next few weeks.
đș NHL: Jets at Stars, Game 3 | 4:30 p.m. ET on TBS
Speaking of opportunities to maximize: I think a lot about Dan Robsonâs piece one year ago on the Jetsâ major business difficulties in the NHLâs smallest market, Winnipeg. I sometimes wonder about the teamâs future, but one thing is guaranteed to fly forever: a banner. No Presidentsâ Trophy winner has won the Stanley Cup since 2013. These guys have the skill.
đș NBA: Cavaliers at Pacers, Game 4 | 8 p.m. ET on TNT
The Cavs are still in danger after cruising in Game 3 to get their first win of the series. On Friday, they didnât look like a team that was about to get bounced in the second round, but things will get dicey if they canât win in Indianapolis tonight.
Get tickets to games like these here
Pulse Picks
Youâve already heard about Pope Leo XIVâs White Sox allegiance, but Matthew Futterman has the tennis angle covered, too.
Claiming the high ground here: This weekendâs top picks are my wife, my mother and my mother-in-law, three of the best moms this planet has seen. Mmm, brownie points. â Chris Branch
This masala chai concentrate has been improving my afternoon caffeine routine â I also add a shot of espresso â at a fraction of the cost per serving of going to a cafe (the reusable glass bottle is a bonus). â Torrey Hart
Esfandiar Baraheniâs video analysis of how Evan Mobleyâs offensive emergence turned the Cavaliers into title contenders.
Virginia Tech, home of the âEnter Sandmanâ entrance, hosted a packed Metallica concert. â Jason Kirk
Calling my mom. â Alex Kirshner
I donât know why I havenât stuffed more breakfasts in more biscuits, so I resolve to do more. How? There are 5,392 videos but since this is peak Pioneer Woman territory, I found one that ends âLetâs eat, yaâll.â â Chris Sprow
Jayson Jenksâ Q&A with MLB veteran Mark Canha about creativity and weird ideas, which includes thoughts that resonate beyond baseball.
Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Red Sox owner John Henryâs one-on-one meeting with disgruntled star Rafael Devers.
Most-read on the website yesterday: That fun pope tennis story above.
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(Top photo: Andrew Burke-Stevenson / The Boston Globe via Getty Images)