ESPN's Inside The NBA Show Schedule Has Been Released And It Stinks

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Ever since it was announced that Inside The NBA was heading to ESPN this upcoming season, every update we've gotten of what that will eventually look like has been worse than the last. The first update we got was that it appeared the show would only be 30 minutes long, which would be a disaster in my opinion

But hey, these things are fluid. We weren't exactly off to a great start, but given it was August, there was a chance in reality it wouldn't be that bad once things were ironed out.

Well, then a few weeks later in early September, Chuck gave us a look behind the curtain of how things were going, and let's just say that also didn't sound all too great

This didn't exactly give you the vibes that ESPN was going to hold up their end of the bargain when they said they weren't going to touch the best sports show on TV. Their whole thing was that they were going to leave it alone and not ruin things. Can't say Chuck shared that same feeling.

Today, we have additional updates and it's a bit of a mixed bag. The official TV schedule of the show has been released, and you'll never believe this, but it stinks out loud. That's the not so great part

20 days all season?

Only 5 times from now through Christmas, and then a month break until the end of January?

Another month off from mid-March to mid-April? You know, the part of the year where we'll be seeing playoff races and seeding battles take place? 

Maybe I'm alone here, but I think this stinks. Inside The NBA during the year is one of the best parts of every NBA season. The analysis may not always be great, but it's beyond entertaining. Being able to tune in all year long is half the fun. Now we're going to go weeks in between shows? Do we think any of those guys are going to be staying up to date with what's going on?

So that was the "bad" part of today's updates. Thankfully, there were some bright spots

ESPN announces just now that there will be 20 days when Ernie/Shaq/Barkley/Kenny will host Inside the NBA - pregame, halftime and postgame - on ABC/ESPN games during the regular season (not including playoffs, Finals). 2 of 20 are opening week… They'll even delay local news on ABC affiliates after a few games to accommodate them. Excellent.

I guess this is better than nothing, right? This was always my biggest question when it came to this transition. The best part of the show is the fact that the fellas just shoot the shit until the wee hours of the morning after the games. They basically go until they've had enough, which is where we got some of our best moments through the years. With the transition, how would that work? 

While this doesn't completely answer that question, at least we know that in some cases they'll be able to go outside of their allotted window. What does it mean for the games during the week on ESPN and SVP's SportsCenter? Who knows. But at least the weekend appearances should be good. 

I guess time will tell, but if respected media people are now also saying this, my hope is that it's not all bullshit. When it comes from ESPN, I tend to not believe a word they say. But outside sources? Maybe it's my wishful thinking, but I want to believe it's true. If it is, then this is an encouraging update. 

All in all, I suppose the big picture takeaway is that at least the best sports show on TV lives on. Given there was a legit fear it would be gone forever when TNT lost its TV rights, I guess this is better than nothing. Like everything else, I'm sure we'll get used to it, and at the end of the day, if everyone is telling the truth and it's the same show it's been for the last 30 years, that's all that truly matters.

It sucks we're only getting it 20 times a season with huge gaps in between shows, but technically that's better than getting 0 shows, so I guess that's a win? At the very least, we can always just go back and watch highlights of the good 'ol days, because there's truly nothing like it in sports television history