NBA is not fantastic

[captjack]

Basket Case: NBA is not fantastic
Randy Hill
FOXSports.com, Updated 21 hours ago STORY TOOLS:

The NBA - it's not fantastic
The NBA (new official motto: "Rise up and go to bed") is stuck in a two-month stretch of misery eclipsing any hard times currently being experienced by John McCain.

This stagger goes far beyond the painful fact that its next championship team has a French point guard on the cusp of marrying a Hollywood hottie, a back-up power forward with more rings than the Olympic logo, the best big man of his era, the best perimeter defender of his era, a sixth man who resembles Italian actor Roberto Benigni and still has managed to anesthetize a sporting nation.

If you've never played or coached, it's probably difficult to appreciate the San Antonio Spurs.

But this is not an indictment of the Spurs, who are doing whatever is necessary to conquer a league in serious trouble.

While the Spurs were becoming the most taken-for-granted great team since Ben & Jerry, the NBA has experienced several setbacks. We'll begin with the disaster-grabbing Dallas Mavericks, whose best regular-season record did nothing to prevent them from being gunned down in the first round by former coach Don Nelson and his Golden State Warriors.

In one barrage of 3-pointers, the league's MVP and most entertaining owner were goners.

Just as quickly, the Warriors' fan-friendly, free-wheeling style was choked to death by the Utah Jazz.

While that was happening, a dandy series co-starring the Spurs and Phoenix Suns managed to capture everyone's imagination. But instead of pushing our interest to a Game 7, the league's well-intentioned, bench-leaving rule sabotaged what should have been the greatest showdown of the year.

Commissioner David Stern, who backtracked like a frightened toddler when players whined about his new synthetic basketball, refused to make a rules interpretation that would have greatly assisted his sport's popularity.


Things haven't improved much for the NBA since this brawl during the Suns-Spurs series. ( / Getty Images)

Instead, two Suns who didn't touch anyone during this brief fracas were suspended for one game against the team whose backup power forward created the mess.

Then again, if Stern was as progressive-minded as some believe, the Spurs-Suns would have occurred in the Finals after surrendering to a conference-free, round-by-round playoff reseeding program that doesn't exist.

When the Suns and their highly appealing offensive tactics were eliminated, the NBA's opportunity to seize the interest of casual fans and previous deserters vanished. A league and sporting culture that was prepared to embrace a wide-open style had to settle for a quartet of final four playoff teams that emphasized defense.

As a coach, I understand the importance of defense and use it as a guideline for my sideline rants. But a commitment to defense shouldn't require a simultaneous commitment to prehistoric offense.

While the Magic Lakers and Bird Celtics and their fast-breaking philosophies now seem like touchstones from another sport, offensive greatness hasn't completely disappeared.

For example, the NFL's Super Bowl-winning roster includes recent entries by the score-happy Indianapolis Colts, St. Louis Rams and Steve Young's 49ers.

Without the Suns, Stern's flow-choking playoff officiating helped create a 75-72 tractor pull disguised as Game 3 in Cleveland.

On top of the on-court issues, the draft lottery came and went with the selections that will yield rare prospects Greg Oden and Kevin Durant secured by two teams from the prosperous Western Conference.

One team savagely mugged by the prevailing lottery-selection process was the formerly mighty Boston Celtics, whose ascent would greatly assist any NBA revival. But Stern remains married to his weighted ping-pong system because he's unable to prevent the league's worst teams from losing on purpose.

Additional angst or embarrassment was fielded when Billy Donovan backed out of his deal with the Orlando Magic and returned to coach the Florida Gators. In his place steps Stan Van Gundy, whose new job inspired Miami Heat boss Pat Riley (the guy who stole Stan's South Florida gig) to bring up compensation issues.

At least Kobe Bryant woke up on the wrong side of a newspaper story and provoked discussion about the league.

"We're looking forward to the series. We think it's going to be absolutely terrific."
— Stern before Game 1 of his 2007 Finals epic

[kjbad]

Well, there's a surprise. People like to be entertained more than they like "correctness" - just ask Mr. McMahon and WWE. Too bad Kobe & LeBron are stuck on inferior teams.

[NJCardFan]

Not one mention of the real reason why the NBA is falling and that is the thug mentality adopted by many of it's players. Thankfully players like James, Bryant, Shaq, and Duncan haven't fallen into this lifestyle but the thug mentality has turned alot of people off. Sadly, this is happening in the NFL as well. Another reason keeping me away is that the game simply stinks. Not many players are fundamentally sound anymore. As good as the Spurs are, they'd be killed by the Lakers, Celtics and Sixers of the early 80's and the Bulls of the early 90's.

[kjbad]

The concept of sports as a business and industry instead of a game has been around for a few generations, but people are adjusting and tuning out when the media blitz gets to be too much. Athletes are not the guys next door anymore, and the people at the games aren't all fans - they're businesspeople schmoozing clients and making deals during the game.

We have generations of kids that have been indoctrinated in sports now, and they are raised to think of sports as a lucrative job opportunity and not a game or pastime. For a lot of people, it's just not "fun and games" anymore.

[NJCardFan]

The concept of sports as a business and industry instead of a game has been around for a few generations, but people are adjusting and tuning out when the media blitz gets to be too much. Athletes are not the guys next door anymore, and the people at the games aren't all fans - they're businesspeople schmoozing clients and making deals during the game.

We have generations of kids that have been indoctrinated in sports now, and they are raised to think of sports as a lucrative job opportunity and not a game or pastime. For a lot of people, it's just not "fun and games" anymore.

This is probably the reason why I can count on 1 hand as many sporting events I have watched beginning to end over the past 5 or 6 yeas with the exception of games I've been to live.

[Darth Llama]

The reason the NBA finals are disinteresting to fans is because of the Eastern Conference total inability to put forward even one team that has a realistic chance against any team from the West.

If you look up and down the playoff Bracket, the Western Conference 8th Seed (Golden State) probably would have beaten the Cavs in 6 games or less. That's pathetic. The only entertaining part of the NBA Playoffs is the Western Conference Playoffs, as the east is all fighting for the same thing.. the right to get swept on the big stage. Say what you want about guys like LeBron who proved beyond a doubt that he's simply not in the same league as clutch Western guys like Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant or even Baron Davis. Lebron is great during the regular season, in the finals he was pathetic.

Of course, it's easy for me to point out everything that's wrong, what's not as easy is proposing a real solution. What that solution is, I really don't know but something must be done to equalize the playing field. The NBA Finals were a bore because it was the Spurs against a team that in the Western Conference, wouldn't have even made the Playoffs. The Cavs are just the Lakers with a less talented leader. I love the NBA.. but my god that finals was boring.

As far as Thug mentality, it's in all sports. Basketball, Baseball, Football.. as much as I hate to say it, people don't stop watching baskeball because players are "thugs." They do what I do and watch even more just to root against the Thugs.

[azbmxican]

I wanna see the ratings for this finals. My god!!! I can safely say that with all the time I spent watching the series it wouldn't even amount to 1 whole game.:garfield: :garfield: :garfield:

Pathetic!!! Only analyst that kept it real was Steven A. Smith, who even called the Eastern Conf. the JV squad of the NBA.:garfield: :garfield: :garfield:

[kjbad]

Let's see...here's a good Nielsens site: http://www.zap2it.com/tv/ratings/zap-ratings060707,0,2384523.story?coll=zap-tv-ratings-headlines

Fast National ratings for Thursday, June 7, 2007
"Are You Smarter Than a Fifth-Grader?" put FOX on top at 8 p.m. with a 5.7/10. CBS' "Pirate Master," 4.1/7, finished second for the hour. ABC was third with (in most of the country, anyway) the premiere of "Fast Cars & Superstars," 3.9/7, and the NBA pregame show, 3.5/6. Reruns of "My Name Is Earl" and "30 Rock" averaged 3.3/6 for NBC. The CW went with a "Smallville" rerun.

A "CSI" repeat, 6.8/11, gave CBS the lead in households at 9 p.m. FOX, however, had more total viewers with "So You Think You Can Dance," 6.7/11. Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and Cleveland Cavaliers drew a 5.3/9 for ABC. NBC aired reruns of "The Office and "Scrubs," while The CW got a 1.2/2 from "Supernatural."

CBS held the lead at 10 p.m. with "Shark," 6.3/11. The NBA game improved a little to 5.9/10, and NBC's "Studio 60" came in at 3.1/5.

Fast National ratings for Sunday, June 10, 2007
A second hour of "Dateline," 5.9/11, moved NBC to the front at 8 p.m. The 61st annual Tony Awards, 4.5/8, put CBS in second. "Fast Cars & Superstar" and the NBA pre-game show averaged 2.9/5 for ABC, edging a "Simpsons" rerun, 3.0/6, and "The Loop," 2.1/4, on FOX. The CW aired a "Hidden Palms" repeat.

ABC took the lead at 9 p.m. with Game 2 of the NBA Finals, 5.0/9. The Tony Awards dipped slightly to 4.2/7. A "Friday Night Lights" rerun on NBC averaged 2.4/4, tying in households with FOX's "Family Guy," 2.7/5, and another episode of "The Loop," 2.2/4 (FOX had more viewers). The CW finished its night with "Supernatural."

At 10 p.m., ABC's NBA telecast held steady at 5.1/9. A "Law & Order: SVU" rerun, 4.0/7, took second for NBC, while the Tonys slid a little more to 3.8/7.

Fast National ratings for Tuesday, June 12, 2007

"America's Got Talent" drew a 7.0/13 at 8 p.m., holding off an "NCIS" rerun, 6.5/12, on CBS. "Fast Cars & Superstars" and the NBA Finals pre-game show put ABC in third. FOX got a 1.9/3 from "On the Lot," which was good enough to beat The CW's "Gilmore Girls" rerun, 1.3/2.

NBC stayed in front at 9 p.m. as "America's Got Talent" improved to 7.9/13. Game 3 of the NBA Finals between San Antonio and Cleveland posted a 5.1/9. "The Unit," 4.6/7, was third for CBS, beating out a "House" rerun, 4.2/7, on FOX. The CW aired a "Veronica Mars" rerun.

At 10 p.m., a "Law & Order: SVU" rerun completed an NBC sweep of the night with a 6.1/11. ABC's NBA coverage improved a little to 5.7/10, while CBS' "48 Hours Mystery" scored a 5.1/9.

So...Game 1 couldn't beat out "So You Think You Can Dance" or "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?"

Game 2 couldn't beat out the last "Sopranos" episode...

Game 3 couldn't beat out "America's Got Talent" or "NCIS", coming in #3 on the night.

Game 4 probably lost out to "So You Think You Can Dance" and "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" again (I haven't seen the numbers for last night yet).

Pretty sad if you're expecting NBA-size ratings. :frown:

[kjbad]

Another sad fact from FOXsports.com:http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/**13728

ABC did a 6.3 rating for the first game — down 19 percent from the previous year's opener — and a 6.5 for the second. Compare that to, say, the World Series. Last year's five games between St. Louis and Detroit was the lowest-rated World Series ever. It did a 10.1.

:eek:

It's official-David Stern outsmarted himself.

[captjack]

i am surprised it was that high SA/CLE. didn't know there were that many people in two small market cities.

that WS comparison is what really stands out to me. 10.1 and the nba was half that. WOW. nice job stern, somebody stop him before they decide to merge with the nhl in a desperate attempt to save both leagues.

any idea how stanley cup ratings compare?

[captjack]

Not many players are fundamentally sound anymore. As good as the Spurs are, they'd be killed by the Lakers, Celtics and Sixers of the early 80's and the Bulls of the early 90's.

ive been saying this for a while. I would just add that, to me, fundamentals are the reason we see such an influx of foriegn players now days and why more and more of them are top level players. They are taught early on how the game is supposed to be played, team basketball, they can knock down a mid range jumper, etc. etc. The world is catching us in basketball and they are theatening to blow right by us.

Say what you want about guys like LeBron who proved beyond a doubt that he's simply not in the same league as clutch Western guys like Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant or even Baron Davis. Lebron is great during the regular season, in the finals he was pathetic.

I am not a lebron guy (i don't mind him to much) but he is way to young to think he has peaked. Lets not forget it took jordan a while, of course, james had a lot easier road this year. Jordan had a lot of very good teams to beat when he started and it took a while, but give james a couple more years and i think you might change your opinion. guy is scary good, gotta be the greatest of all time at his age, doesn't he? can't believe i just said that.

[kjbad]

I am not a lebron guy (i don't mind him to much) but he is way to young to think he has peaked. Lets not forget it took jordan a while, of course, james had a lot easier road this year. Jordan had a lot of very good teams to beat when he started and it took a while, but give james a couple more years and i think you might change your opinion. guy is scary good, gotta be the greatest of all time at his age, doesn't he? can't believe i just said that.

I think Magic Johnson was the greatest of all time at his age; he was a 20-yr old rookie when he played that Game 6 of the Finals vs. PHI where Kareem was hurt and Magic played center and scored 42 pts, grabbed 15 rebs, and 7 assts. That was the most amazing thing I'd ever seen - The Lakers put up 123 pts in regulation to win that game and the title. I doubt Kobe, LeBron, or anyone else could switch positions and still dominate a game like that.

There were games where Larry Bird would actually challenge himself to shoot left-handed the entire game because the other team offered no challenge to him defensively. And he's a distant second.

[captjack]

I think Magic Johnson was the greatest of all time at his age; he was a 20-yr old rookie when he played that Game 6 of the Finals vs. PHI where Kareem was hurt and Magic played center and scored 42 pts, grabbed 15 rebs, and 7 assts. That was the most amazing thing I'd ever seen - The Lakers put up 123 pts in regulation to win that game and the title. I doubt Kobe, LeBron, or anyone else could switch positions and still dominate a game like that.

There were games where Larry Bird would actually challenge himself to shoot left-handed the entire game because the other team offered no challenge to him defensively. And he's a distant second.

good points. in '79 SLC comparing the sycamores (other players) to the spartans, i am not to sure larry is that far behind or it would not have been nearly that close. i think it was about 10 points? larry did have a couple years on magic at the time though.

how about throwing moses into that mix? MVP at 24, i think Magic was 28 before he got his first.

edit: was mcadoo there in '80? i think not till 81, 82. anyway, magic had a multiple MVP winner in 80, (kareem)(have to check on Bob) and 2 different MVPs playing with him in both 82 and 85(lew and bob).

[KidStallyn]

The NBA is a joke still and it has been ever since Jordan left (the first time)...that's really when I stopped caring about the league....I also take issue with allowing children (and that's what they are) come straight out of high school and forgo getting an education. I have a huge problem with that, as these leagues should take a stand a put some value on college education. Sure they're players now, but what about AFTER their NBA career is over. That's a VERY large portion of their life, and they are going to need something to fall back upon. Just as the old school NFL players that founded the league are finding with respect to health care and support, the NBA is doing a SERIOUS disservice, in my opinion, to the future of the player POST NBA.

[SO. CAL Heart-Throb]

this is the first time neither i or any of my friends watched a single game of the nba final

[JollyRoger]

The NBA blows! Is it football season yet?

[dillon1]

The NBA blows! Is it football season yet?
Bump!

[kjbad]

The NBA is a joke still and it has been ever since Jordan left (the first time)...that's really when I stopped caring about the league....I also take issue with allowing children (and that's what they are) come straight out of high school and forgo getting an education. I have a huge problem with that, as these leagues should take a stand a put some value on college education. Sure they're players now, but what about AFTER their NBA career is over. That's a VERY large portion of their life, and they are going to need something to fall back upon. Just as the old school NFL players that founded the league are finding with respect to health care and support, the NBA is doing a SERIOUS disservice, in my opinion, to the future of the player POST NBA.

I have a bigger problem with colleges that pretend to educate a lot of these kids when the reality is that they are earning a "sports" degree to go the NBA, NFL, etc. Only the most dedicated students are actually playing sports AND earning degrees, the rest of these guys are just scraping by so they can make it to a big payday.

They need to be honest and actually give parents and kids the truth - you will be majoring in football science, basketball science, etc. instead of pretending that a lot of these guys are going to contribute to society in any other way. (Communications degree? Riiiight....)

[Darth Llama]

I am not a lebron guy (i don't mind him to much) but he is way to young to think he has peaked. Lets not forget it took jordan a while, of course, james had a lot easier road this year. Jordan had a lot of very good teams to beat when he started and it took a while, but give james a couple more years and i think you might change your opinion. guy is scary good, gotta be the greatest of all time at his age, doesn't he? can't believe i just said that.

I'm not denying the kids talent, my only point was he's not ready yet. Taking such a young kid and slapping titles on him like "the chosen one" puts way to much pressure on a player of his age. I don't think he's better then Magic or Kobe were at that age, that kind of poise at 20 is very rare indeed. Lebron will be a great player, sure.. I know that. I just think they need to ease up on him a bit and let the game come to him at a natural pace. The kid is under too much pressure. He was forcing shots and making bad decisions he normally doesn't make. Magic came onto a team with Kareem, all the pressure wasn't on him out of the gate, same with Kobe. Kobe spent the first year on the bench behind Nick Van Excel and also had Shaq leading the way early. Lebron is trying to do it all himself.. that's a pretty tall order.

[kjbad]

I'm not denying the kids talent, my only point was he's not ready yet. Taking such a young kid and slapping titles on him like "the chosen one" puts way to much pressure on a player of his age.

Tell that to Nike and Sprite...the kid had $60M before he even played an NBA game, so it's pretty easy to slap a title on him when people are already investing in him to be a winner.

[captjack]

I'm not denying the kids talent, my only point was he's not ready yet. Taking such a young kid and slapping titles on him like "the chosen one" puts way to much pressure on a player of his age. I don't think he's better then Magic or Kobe were at that age, that kind of poise at 20 is very rare indeed. Lebron will be a great player, sure.. I know that. I just think they need to ease up on him a bit and let the game come to him at a natural pace. The kid is under too much pressure. He was forcing shots and making bad decisions he normally doesn't make. Magic came onto a team with Kareem, all the pressure wasn't on him out of the gate, same with Kobe. Kobe spent the first year on the bench behind Nick Van Excel and also had Shaq leading the way early. Lebron is trying to do it all himself.. that's a pretty tall order.

i think the weakness of the east exposed him. i would compare his situation, as far as coming into the league, much more to jordan than to magic or kobe. the difference to me between him and jordan is that he didn't have to try to get by teams like birds celtics or thomas pistons. jordan had time to learn the nba game, how to play D, etc. james was simply thrust onto a stage he wasn't ready for because the east was to weak to stop him.

[Shadowhearts]

[QUOTE=Darth Llama;298249]The reason the NBA finals are disinteresting to fans is because of the Eastern Conference total inability to put forward even one team that has a realistic chance against any team from the West.

I think the reason the east is soo weak is because of the way they run gm positions, if you look at the west , most of them have been built on free agency, trades, and luck in the draft.

the west has been willing to pay more money and make smarter deals to compete, they have taken many players from the east. for example; Kobe came from charlotte, ray allen from the bucks , allen iverson 76ers, baron davis new orleans, etc

the few eastern nba teams that built though free agancy and trades were the pistons nets heat bulls and knicks . most of those are the sucseeful ones of the confrence.

san antonio didnt do much free agency , they remind me of the pacers before they reggie retired and ron artest did a bunch of dumb stuff.

anyways my point is , is that the west is competitive all year long esp the off season because they have to be. the west is an arms race and i dnt see that changing