Sports Fans Will Have to Choose Between NBA Playoffs and NFL Draft

Get NFL prospect scouting reports and team breakdowns in SI’s draft tracker.

1. If you’re a sports media nerd like me, a look ahead to later in the week shows quite a scheduling matchup.

My regular readers and podcast listeners know that my biggest beef with sports on streaming services (besides the absurd costs for all the subscriptions) is that you can’t flip around to different channels while streaming something.

I bring this up because I noticed that all three NBA playoff games on Thursday (Knicks-Hawks, Cavs-Raptors and Nuggets-Timberwolves) and Friday (Celtics-Sixers, Lakers-Rockets and Spurs-Blazers) will air exclusively on Prime Video.

What else takes place Thursday and Friday? The NFL draft, which will air on ESPN, ABC and the NFL Network. I’d argue the draft is the optimal “flip around” sporting event since there’s so much downtime.

The time in between picks has changed for this draft. Teams have eight minutes to make a pick in the first round and seven minutes in Round 2 and five minutes in Rounds 3-6.

So, if you want to watch the NBA playoffs AND the NFL draft you better have a second screen handy.

2. Remember last week when NBA fans got all up in arms because Prime Video’s picture cut out in overtime during the Hornets-Heat play-in game?

I actually think NBC’s mistake during Monday’s Hawks-Knicks game was more egregious.

As I wrote when it happened, Prime Video’s problem was a technical issue that could have happened to any network. It had nothing to do with Prime Video being a streaming service. A buffering problem, for example, would be something to hammer Prime Video over.

NBC, though, had an inexcusable blunder. The network showed the wrong amount of timeouts remaining for the Knicks in the scorebug during the closing minutes of the team’s 107–106 Game 2 loss to the Hawks.

Knicks coach Mike Brown took a beating on social media from fans who didn’t understand why he didn’t call a timeout on the Knicks’ final possession. Brown didn’t call a timeout because he didn’t have any left despite NBC’s scorebug showing the Knicks with one timeout remaining.

To NBC’s credit, Maria Taylor addressed the gaffe after the game, but this was a BAD mistake.

Maria Taylor: "We just want to say that the scoreboard showed a timeout that the Knicks did not have on the final play, but due to a data issue, the wrong timeout information was communicated. So, that's why you see a timeout on the (NBC) scorebug." 🏀📺 #NBA #NBC https://t.co/HYmVpAyBh9 pic.twitter.com/ScKbussPZg
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 21, 2026

3. The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand reported Tuesday morning that former Steelers coach Mike Tomlin is headed to NBC’s studio show. I already wrote about Tomlin and TV back in January and explained why his hiring is much ado about nothing.

4. If you are a fellow degenerate, you’ll want to see what took place in Kansas City Monday night between the Royals and Orioles.

The under in Orioles vs Royals was brutal pic.twitter.com/rDSl33r96b
— World Sports Network (@WSNsports) April 21, 2026

5. If anyone has the piece of bone that was removed from Josh Allen’s foot, he’d like it back.

Josh Allen explain his offseason foot surgery, where they took out a piece of broken bone and ‘threw it out’

“I really wanted it… It may be floating out there. Who knows. Black market or something.”#BillsMafia @BuffaloPlus pic.twitter.com/ZwJBHAWxyZ
— Dan Fetes (@danfetes) April 20, 2026

6. The latest episode of SI Media With Jimmy Traina features an interview with ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania.

Charania talks about getting his start in sports media at just 17 years old, getting hired by Adrian Wojnarowski at 21 and how he feels about the day-to-day grind of being an insider. He also weighs in on the recent narratives about reporters in the wake of Dianna Russini’s resignation.

In addition, Charania takes us through what it was like to break the Anthony Davis-Luka Dončić trade. He also weighs in on LeBron James’s future, the NBA’s tanking issue and recently getting called out by Doc Rivers.

Following Charania, Sal Licata from SNY TV joins me for our weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. This week’s topics include Russini resigning from The Athletic, the putrid starts by the Mets and Yankees, Netflix’s upcoming documentary on Hulk Hogan, the season finale of DTF St. Louis and more.

You can listen to the SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast below or on Apple and Spotify.

You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina on YouTube.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: Brutus the Barber Beefcake turns 69 years old today. Given that he’s part of one of the most popular wrestling GIFs, this would be a good day to remember the entire segment that led to the GIF. This was also Bobby Heenan at his best.

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on X and Instagram.

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