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Boston Globe
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
‘Inside the NBA' will live on, but the potential for meddling is a good excuse to celebrate it again
This crossed my mind recently for a few reasons. The show added the latest two Sports Emmys to its collection ('Inside the NBA' was nominated for outstanding weekly studio show, but lost to ESPN's 'College GameDay.' No shame in that.) Advertisement This year's awards occurred a few days before one of the funniest moments I've ever witnessed while watching 'Inside the NBA.' Analyst Kenny Smith was telling a long story about how his mother wouldn't allow him to have a car while he was a student at the University of North Carolina unless he got all Bs or better for grades. Barkley and fellow analyst Shaquille O'Neal needled him, as they do, and Barkley fired off a line that made everyone in my living room laugh out loud as the show headed for a commercial break. 'And to this day,' said Barkley, 'Kenny has never driven a car.' "The show is still here baby... WE DEM BOYZ!" Shaq has us ready to run through a brick wall 😤 — NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) Yes, as a matter of fact, I am sitting here guffawing like an idiot as I type those words. Advertisement That one-liner was quintessential Barkley, who has the Must-Watch factor in a way only John Madden and a very short list of other sports broadcasters have achieved. The joke was so perfectly befitting a show in which the talent interacts not as colleagues, but in the no-one-is-safe-from-being-a-punchline way that real, genuine, unfiltered friends do. The collective chemistry of 'Inside the NBA,' in which ego is consistently punctured for the sake of comedy, is extremely hard to find in sports television, as evidenced by pretty much every awkward and uninspiring version of an NBA studio show that ESPN has ever produced. That, of course, is the other reason the show has been on my mind, and the minds of most other NBA fans. TNT's superb run as NBA broadcast rights partner will end with the conclusion of the Pacers-Knicks Eastern Conference finals. 'Inside the NBA' will continue, but under different circumstances that should bring at least some skepticism about whether a show that needs not a single change will remain quite the same. After months of drama and uncertainty about its future, parent company Warner Brothers Discovery The full cast — Johnson, Barkley, Smith, and O'Neal, who have been together since 2011 — will remain intact. TNT will continue to produce the show. Make no mistake: Compared with where this originally appeared headed, the 'Inside'-to-ESPN outcome is awfully close to a best-case scenario. I just wish I could be convinced, as some of my other sports-media columnist brethren apparently are, that ESPN won't screw this up. Advertisement ESPN has spent years, even decades, trying and failing to come up with NBA studio programming that can be mentioned in the same book as 'Inside The NBA,' let alone on the same page or sentence. It has failed and failed again, and its worst version yet is probably its current one, with Stephen A. Smith chronically caterwauling about the Knicks and Kendrick Perkins inevitably contradicting something he said a few minutes earlier. Maybe its weird to be nostalgic for something that isn't truly ending, but the I'm-gonna-miss-this sentiments come in part out of fear for what ESPN might do to what TNT built. Related : Since TNT will produce the show, perhaps that will prevent some ESPN interference. But you're telling me Mike Greenberg, or Perkins, or Screamin' A., won't be shoehorned on the set from time to time, or perhaps more than time to time? ESPN's if-you-can't-beat-'em, license-'em approach is wise, and it saved a wonderful show, but I've seen too many TV executives screw up too many good things to believe ESPN bosses will be able to resist some wholly unnecessary tinkering. The thoughtful Smith — c'mon, he definitely has driven a car, Chuck — expressed some skepticism regarding whether the show will remain the same in 'We have the same crew of people doing the show,' he said. 'But the timing: are we a half hour now? Are we forty-five minutes? Fifteen minutes? Those are the things that you can control when you own your [intellectual property]. But we don't.' Advertisement We won't know how this is going to go until we see it a few times. So allow me, then, to be nostalgic for something that will still exist. I've thought often of Watching TNT's NBA coverage wind down the last few weeks has felt a little like watching Sam Malone close Cheers for the last time. Had he and the gang matriculated to a new bar, we still would have known their names. It would not have felt the same. Chad Finn can be reached at
New York Post
7 days ago
- Sport
- New York Post
Tyrese Haliburton's dad returns to cheer on Pacers — weeks after on-court Giannis Antetokounmpo flap
Tyrese Haliburton's dad was all smiles while attending Game 4 of the Pacers-Knicks Eastern Conference finals Tuesday night in Indianapolis. John Haliburton appeared thrilled to be back at Gainbridge Fieldhouse after he missed eight games due to a confrontation with Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo after the Pacers eliminated Milwaukee in Game 5 of their first-round series. John, dressed in a bright blue Indy sweatshirt, was spotted raising both of his arms and pointing from a suite. 4 John Halliburton, father of Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton, raises his hands from a suite before Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals against the New York Knicks in Indianapolis, on May 27, 2025. AP The Pacers met with John after he stormed the court and argued with Antetokounmpo, and determined that he would not be attending the team's games for the foreseeable future. That decision was rescinded, though Haliburton still will not attend road games, ESPN reported Monday. 4 John Halliburton, father of Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton, raises his hand from a suite before Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals against the New York Knicks in Indianapolis, on May 27, 2025. Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images The Pacers eliminated the Bucks in the first-round series behind Haliburton's go-ahead layup with 1.3 seconds left in overtime that gave them a series-clinching 119-118 victory in Indianapolis. John walked over to Antetokounmpo and waved a towel with his son's face on it in front of the Bucks star while swearing at him. Tensions heightened when Antetokounmpo approached John, and they exchanged words while going forehead-to-forehead. In his postgame press conference, Antetokounmpo called it 'very disrespectful.' Haliburton said that he wasn't aware of the altercation until he got back to the locker room. He then explained that he spoke with his father, saying he was in the wrong. 4 Tyrese Haliburton's dad, John during a confrontation Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo after the Pacers eliminated the Bucks in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series on April 29, 2025. X 'I don't agree with what transpired there from him,' Haliburton said after the incident. 'Basketball is basketball, and let's keep it on the court. I think he just got excited, saw his son make a game winner and came on the court, but we had a conversation. Follow The Post's coverage of the Knicks in the 2025 NBA Playoffs Sports+ subscribers: Sign up for Inside the Knicks to get daily newsletter coverage and join Expert Take for insider texts about the series. 'He needs to just allow me to play basketball and stay over there, and I'll come to him to celebrate. But the emotions of the game got excited there. I talked with him. I'll talk with Giannis. I don't think my pops was in the right at all there.' John later issued a public apology to the organization and Antetokounmpo on social media. 'I sincerely apologize to Giannis, the Milwaukee Bucks and the Pacers organization for my actions following tonight's game,' John wrote. 'This was not a good reflection on our sport or my son and I will not make that mistake again.' 4 Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton celebrates with his father, John Haliburton after winning Round One, Game 5 of the 2025 NBA Playoffs against the Milwaukee Bucks on April 29, 2025 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. NBAE via Getty Images The now viral moment stirred a 'free pops' campaign from Pacers' fans, which the two-time NBA All-Star has referenced during the Eastern Conference finals. John missed the Pacers' second-round series against the Cavaliers and Games 1-3 of the Eastern Conference finals. He was spotted publicly supporting his son and taking in some of the Pacers' playoff games at local Indiana bars, according to videos on social media that showed him getting particularly excited in Game 1 of the ECF when Tyrese sent the game to overtime. Game 5 is set for Thursday night in New York.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Tyrese Haliburton's Blunt Response to Eastern Conference Finals Berth
During the NBA's regular season, the Indiana Pacers played solid basketball and finished fourth in the Eastern Conference with a 50-32 record. But few people expected them to get past the second round of the playoffs. In the second round, they faced the Cleveland Cavaliers, who went 64-18 and were being picked by some to reach the NBA Finals. But Indiana quickly took control of the series by winning the first two games in Cleveland, and on Tuesday, it closed out the series in five games at Rocket Arena. Advertisement The team will therefore head to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second year in a row, and two-time All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton has led the way. After Game 5 on Tuesday, he lauded his team. "It's a special feeling... this group is special," he said. Haliburton averaged 18.6 points and 9.2 assists a game while shooting 47.3% from the field and 38.8% from 3-point range during the regular season. He upped his play a bit during the second half of the regular season, and in the playoffs, he has been big when the Pacers have needed him to be. In Game 2 versus the Cavs, the Pacers were down 119-116 with 12 seconds left. Haliburton was fouled and made the first of two free throws, then got his own rebound after missing the second foul shot and nailed a 3-pointer to give his team a stunning 120-119 win. Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton celebrates after winning Game 2 against the Cleveland Cavaliers.© David Richard-Imagn Images In Game 5, he scored 31 points on 10-of-15 shooting while nailing six 3-pointers and added eight assists to send the Cavs home for the summer. Advertisement The Pacers will now await the winner of the New York Knicks-Boston Celtics series. The Knicks lead that matchup three games to one, which means a Pacers-Knicks Eastern Conference final series is very likely to take place. Last year, Indiana outlasted a banged-up Knicks squad in the second round by winning Game 7 at Madison Square Garden. Related: Steve Kerr Reveals Unfortunate Jimmy Butler Feeling Amid Playoff Deficit
