The NBA is unwatchable. A heartfelt thread by your friend, MM

I grew up watching everything from every sport ... would spend hours watching Sportscenter reruns in the morning and not just the NBA, would consume any sports content I could. I'm not just a basketball fan, I was a sports junkie, playing myself, watching, whatever. Maybe it's getting older and having other priorities, maybe it's just that the games aren't that interesting because it's become 3pt shootouts and a giant copycat league, maybe it's that I recognize the Blazers have a snowballs chance in hell of ever winning a title in my lifetime. There is a reason fans in NFL and MLB will say "wait til next year" if they don't win it all, because they have a chance to turn it around in leagues that are much higher competitively. The NBA doesn't have that, because of the 'flaws' in the game and the ability for one or two players on the court to control so much of the action, if you don't have one of those guys, than you're likely screwed unless the stars align perfectly for a fluke run.

 

ftfy

 

Cricket is massive in India with 1.35 billion people living there, doesn't mean I or anyone in the US really gives a shit about it. Know what drives money to leagues, people showing up in the seats and watching on whatever channel the games are on in the US. I'd love to know, outside the US, just how many people are getting League Pass or watching games on legal means and not just pirated streams like so many on here brag about doing. Sure the international $ is nice but it's a cherry on top of the sundae for the NBA, they care about the US market because that's where their money is made. Yes the average NBA fan skews a little younger, but not by nearly as much as you'd think and MLB's lowest % of fans is actually in the 65+ category.

 

The NBA made the stars bigger than the game. They protect that investment. That's what is killing the NBA.

 

I’ll just end with the league is just fine and about to expand. Next TV contract will double the record one they just signed. If it’s unwatchable or being “killed” that’s news to Silver’s office.

 

Going to be fascinating, feels like the TV deals are a giant house of cards that's ready to implode. Traditional cable is essentially dead, that means no more non-sports fans subsidizing our viewing habits and when every streamer continues to jack up rates, at a certain point the model will break.

 

Says the fan of the Lavender and Urine...

 

Please read what you can stand. I think there's some valid points in here and I apologize for the length. I'm pretty passionate about the game I grew up loving and the frustration of what it's become. Here's my opinions on today's NBA:
*Special treatment of stars-everyone says the league is star driven, which is true. What makes that a liability is the league is why the stars remain on top. The players themselves, from game to game, should be how stars stay on top. Look at some of the big names in the league and it's a who's who of floppers. Fans don't want to see that.
*Officiating-games have almost become scripted. You never see stars in foul trouble, unless it's a game (usually playoffs) that the other team has to win. Influential calls often happen early in the game and that's how the league can hide it easier.
Watch how many fourth quarters start with several fouls called against the home team. Then, watch how evenly the foul comparison is by the end of the game. Can't say the home team got the calls because the count ended up even. This is the exact reason the league starts the bonus again at the 2 minute mark. There is absolutely no reason for it other than controlling the outcome.
Same thing with getting the ball at halfcourt on timeouts in the last 2 minutes.
*Stars are no longer relatable to normal fans. Sky high salaries and ticket prices have made it a rich man's game and normal people can't afford it. Not saying you have to be a millionaire to go, but look at the people sitting courtside. Most of them never get out of their seats or show ANY emotions. It's all about money, status and appearances for them. Most true fans would die to sit courtside just once.
*Social media-of course. It's been the undermining reason for many things losing their shine nowadays. Nobody ever cared about who Bird was dating or Magic making an album. Now, their personal lives are in our face 24/7. By the time they're in a game I'm already tired of seeing their faces. They aren't politicians or musicians or actors. And they are quickly becoming some of the worst role models a kid could have. We used to mimic the best moves and passes. Now kids mimic their overdramatic celebrations and primal screams after making a jumper. It's exhausting.
*Call a technical or other violations-right behind flopping being nauseating is whining. Why are players and coaches allowed to act the way they do?! And don't tell me it's a high stress atmosphere. That's bullshit! And forget about a second tech. Most guys get even more hysterical after the first tech because they know refs won't disqualify them with that second tech. Stars are already given plenty of preferential treatment...so why are they also the biggest whiners?!?! LBJ, Harden, Westbrook, Dray Green, etc. Get the calls (not technicals) and whine on every call.
And violations? Just go to youtube and watch what isn't called. Players don't have the skills they had in the past. It's often the biggest, fastest, strongest athletes on top. The reason Luka is so well liked, imo, has to do with his skills and not athleticism...even though his whining makes him unwatchable. The game is now too simple. Pick & roll, step back 3, or all the way to the rim, usually just hoping for a call. Very few teams actually run a set offense and late in the game forget about execution.
In the past, they said defense and execution wins games. Teams were bigger than individuals. There was parity and teams played to win every night. NOW it's individuals are bigger than teams. Execution is history. Defense is limited by officiating. Players dictate where they'll play and who will be their coach. Players take games off for rest!!!
The experience of being at a game was seeing these huge, amazing athletes show off their skill and teamwork. Now it's a circus. The music is annoying. Timeouts are 5 minutes, :30 second timeouts are only 2 minutes, though. There's 62 dancers on the court during breaks, a unicycle rider, a lady flipping stacks of ceramic bowls on her head, guys jumping off trampolines to dunk, tshirts being shot into the crowd (6 small tees between 20k fans), everything associated with a game is outrageously expensive.
I know I'm getting old, but I've played a lot of games in front of some pretty big crowds through college. It's not about basketball anymore. The business of the NBA is all that matters and it's slowly ruining what it was. I used live for NBA games on TV. Then it became where I'd rather watch a good college game. Now the only games I watch are college, the Blazers and a few random teams for certain individual players like the Celtics with Pritchard.

 

Yeah. Good post. There are some examples of good team play like with Memphis, etc.

I don't really like a ton of set plays. I prefer a system with a lot of ball movement and player movement. And definitely not ISO heavy offenses.

But sometimes you may have to have set plays. Or you may need to ISO to take advantage of situation. And then they are fun to watch.

I'd like to see rules changes that encourage teams to play like the 2014 Spurs. That was fun basketball.

 

You keep preparing for that. The league has already began transitioning to all streaming in the near future. They will continue to thrive. Now hockey and baseball on the other hand

 

I think of the Drexler, TP, Buck & Duck teams when I think of set plays. I wouldn't call it iso ball. There's movement and continuity. Now it's just high pick & roll with a backside seal for a 3 pt'er. Late, late in games if you don't have a very good creator, you may have to settle for a long, tough shot.
Some teams do still run some half court sets, but most don't. It seems like it would be an advantage if a team knew how to grind out a set play for a specific shot. A lot of guys have never had to defend against it and it is different than guarding a motion offense. Obviously you have to have the personel for it, which we don't necessarily have. But any team can learn to do it with decent coaching.
Just to show my age, I still think teams are missing out on a few easy buckets (or free throws) by not having any low post scorers. Working from the inside to the outside is a great way to get open looks.

 

Yeah, I agree. I prefer run and gun and set up plays when they take away the fast break.

 

Precisely! Fast break doesn't mean fast shot.

 

All streaming isn't going to work though, there aren't enough die hard fans to pay the price for full streaming to keep the league at revenue models they are currently going at. It goes hand in hand with the NBA becoming more and more like MLB/NHL where it's a regional sport. Just look at the TV ratings, they are down. Now diehard fans of this stuff will point to Youtube and TikTok clicks but that's not paying the NBA at the same rate as an old school viewer watching a game and being subjected to ads. Much smarter and connected people than you or me are discussing these things and they tend to agree that at some point the balloon has to pop.

 

What's stopping those same viewers from watching the same ads on a stream? It seems like the league (or service) would just need to charge an accurate rate for those ads...

 

Do you think that the advertising money that drives the increases in the cba is going to last?
I don't. I see the bottom falling out eventually. i think enough people will see how much corporations are paying to advertise(feeding the cba monster) and eventually stop supporting it.

 

I think Americans are coming close to a breaking point. I think they would prefer to see these corps lower prices of goods or invest in upgrading communities they are a part of instead of paying more and more into advertising, feeding the beast.
This advertising money bubble is gonna burst eventually, in my opinion.

 

I agree. Prices have gone crazy.

Though I don't think any prices would need to be raised for the public in this scenario. Just for the companies who want to advertise. And even then I don't the cost would have to go up, just shift from the old platforms to the new.

 

If only we could get people to stop spending so damned much money on shoes...