TNT’s NBA schedule was obviously interrupted by the league’s suspension of play in the wake of Jazz center Rudy Gobert testing positive for coronavirus.
They elected to go with a special edition of Inside the NBA tonight, along with re-airing the All Star Game.
TNT will have a special one-hour “Inside the NBA” tonight, followed by a replay of the NBA All-Star Game and then the Bucks-Lakers game from Dec.19. Gotta fill that content void somehow.
— Chad Finn (@GlobeChadFinn) March 12, 2020
Tonight, the TNT broadcast opened with Charles Barkley revealing that he’s been ill in recent days, and is therefore self-quarantining. Barkley has been tested for the COVID-19 coronavirus, though he says he does not yet have the results.
Charles Barkley reveals he fell ill and has been self-quarantined, has taken a coronavirus test but has not yet gotten the results pic.twitter.com/yyZnZ7z0eH
— gifdsports (@gifdsports) March 13, 2020
Obviously, we wish Barkley a quick and full recovery.
As the show continued, NBA commissioner Adam Silver joined the show remotely, and it seems like everything from a resumption of games after the 30-day break to further delays to a full cancellation of the season is possible.
Silver, on resuming the season: Hiatus “will be at least 30 days.” Then question is protocol for resuming play. That part is unclear. “It’s frankly too early to tell.” Depends on spread of virus.
— Howard Beck (@HowardBeck) March 13, 2020
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver joins Inside the NBA to talk about the league's hiatus during the coronavirus pandemic.
(via @NBAonTNT) pic.twitter.com/RJ75dYbUhs
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 13, 2020
Adam Silver on suspending, rather than canceling, the season: "This was a split second decision. That was the word I chose at the moment."
— John Ourand (@Ourand_SBJ) March 13, 2020
It remains surreal that this is the conversation we’re having, but it’s actually all too real.
