Why are NBA TV ratings down so much?

[justanidiot]

I just dont see how the NBA will be better without him. I know many said the same thing about Magic and Bird but then MJ came. After MJ it was Kobe. After Kobe ,its been Lebron. After Lebron , ???????

Ant

 

[justanidiot]

Such a shit post. Outside of Embiid, what other player is refusing to play b2b? We don’t even know if that’s legit either.

Blaming LeBron for this shows how dumb you are as he’s never been one to not want to play or complain about back to backs

considering the Golden State Warrior are the leaders in the no back to back schedule, I am pretty sure it is a problem amongst the players in the league.

You are clearly permanently attached to LeBrons sack, good for you, but I did not say anything about Lecrybaby and back to backs. I just will not watch any game he is in, I dont watch sports center because he is on there even when the Lakers do not play. The flops, the travels, the crybaby from a NFL Defensive end playing against 215 pounders just disgusts me.

So you will probably stop watching, and I will start watching again when Lebaby is gone.

 

[NCChiFan]

I love to travel. Just not in my NBA.

 

[tlance]

I don’t think the Nets have fans. I’m a Celtics fan. I grew up watching the Bird/Parrish/McHale teams squaring off against the Showtime Lakers with Magic and Worthy and Kareem. Looking back, that was the Golden Age of the NBA. I’m sure the ratings were nowhere near what they are now, but the product was fantastic.

I don’t watch anymore(everything to do with style of play and nothing to do with politics) but I do still hope the Celtics win.

That trade was a horrendous overpay and is the reason the Celtics have been a contender for the last few years.

I guessed you might have been a Celtic fan and was being sarcastic.

I get not wanting to sit through a rebuild, but KG and Pierce were almost washed when they got traded away. Allen had already left. Celtic window was fully closed.

 

[logic]

I don’t think the Nets have fans. I’m a Celtics fan. I grew up watching the Bird/Parrish/McHale teams squaring off against the Showtime Lakers with Magic and Worthy and Kareem. Looking back, that was the Golden Age of the NBA. I’m sure the ratings were nowhere near what they are now, but the product was fantastic.

I don’t watch anymore(everything to do with style of play and nothing to do with politics) but I do still hope the Celtics win.

I'm not sure that I would say that was the Golden Age of the NBA. It certainly was for the Lakers and Celtics, but there was very little parity through the league, it was all just warm ups for the Lakers-Celtics Finals. The league as a whole is much better now.

 

[The Q]

That trade was a horrendous overpay and is the reason the Celtics have been a contender for the last few years.

I guessed you might have been a Celtic fan and was being sarcastic.

I get not wanting to sit through a rebuild, but KG and Pierce were almost washed when they got traded away. Allen had already left. Celtic window was fully closed.

They aged in a hurry

They were still good when they got traded

Just perfect timing really

Plus the celtics took some rough salary

The nets mismanaged their cap after that year to make things worse

That was the real issue

 

[chappee11]

To be fair, bigs today who shoot the 3 can actually hit the 3. Back then, the 3 was pretty new and even guards weren't hitting it at a very high rate. On the Showtime Lakers, Michael Cooper was the "3 point shooter" but he only hit 34% while taking an average of 1.4 per game.

Heck as great a shooter as Larry Bird was, he it 38% of his 3's but only averaged 1.9 attempts per game.

Compare that to Dirk Nowitzki who also hit 38% from 3 and averaged 4 shots per game.

I saw an interview with Kareem where he was asked if he would shoot the 3 if he played today and he said, "I'd have to". Imagine what his scoring record might have been if he shot the 3 like Dirk.

I'm not a huge fan of the 3, but it is a legit weapon. I just wish players/teams had a little more discretion with it.

Wasn’t the 3 also further out in the time of Bird and Michael Cooper? If that’s right, they should move it back to make it less of an incentive to only attempt 3’s all night.

 

[logic]

Wasn’t the 3 also further out in the time of Bird and Michael Cooper? If that’s right, they should move it back to make it less of an incentive to only attempt 3’s all night.

Nope. 23'9" and 22' at the sidelines except for 94-98 when it was all 22'.
Unless you go way back to some early trial runs.

 

[chappee11]

That trade was a horrendous overpay and is the reason the Celtics have been a contender for the last few years.

I guessed you might have been a Celtic fan and was being sarcastic.

I get not wanting to sit through a rebuild, but KG and Pierce were almost washed when they got traded away. Allen had already left. Celtic window was fully closed.

I was a huge NBA fan in the 80’s and 90’s. I even stuck around for the horrible teams with Antoine Walker and Pierce in the disastrous Pitino era. Then I mostly lost interest but still watched some of the games.

I was brought all the way back when the Celtics got Garnett, though. He was always one of my favorites and that team was so much fun to watch. But the style of play was bugging me at the end of that era(particularly the reliance on the 3 and the never ending last 2 minutes of the game). I turned it off for good after Pierce and Garnett were traded. It was time. I do realize it was one of the best trades they ever made, but it was the final nail in the coffin for me as an NBA fan.

 

[chappee11]

I'm not sure that I would say that was the Golden Age of the NBA. It certainly was for the Lakers and Celtics, but there was very little parity through the league, it was all just warm ups for the Lakers-Celtics Finals. The league as a whole is much better now.

That’s fair. But it wasn’t just a 2 team league back then. The Sixers were loaded(Moses Malone, Barkley, Mo Cheeks, Andrew Toney). So were the Pistons. The Bucks were trouble. The Rockets were usually pretty good. Jordan’s Bulls were on the way up. There were a lot of other great players like Kiki Vandeweghe, George Gervin, Adrian Dantley, Alex English etc…. That was a fun era. You are right that I’m particularly lucky to have been a kid watching those Celtics teams, though. I didn’t know how good I had it.

 

[chappee11]

Yeah you clearly haven’t watched nba recently at all also how is this any different than football teams calling timeouts to stop the clock in the last 3 minutes

I’ve already said I haven’t watched since the Garnett/Pierce trade. That means I’ve never seen Steph Curry play in the pros(I do remember seeing him in college, though, during the NCAA’s). Has the NBA fixed the reliance on the 3 or the endless last 2 minutes of the game over the last 10 years?

Football has its own issues. I find the NFL to be mostly unwatchable now, too. Too many penalties. Too many phantom calls. I don’t like the wide open pinball machine/2 hand touch-style offense now with no hitting and final scores of 45-42 every week. I understand the need to protect the QB’s, but they’ve gotten carried away and killed the concept of defense. That’s become a shitty product, too.

 

[bksballer89]

I’ve already said I haven’t watched since the Garnett/Pierce trade. That means I’ve never seen Steph Curry play in the pros(I do remember seeing him in college, though, during the NCAA’s). Has the NBA fixed the reliance on the 3 or the endless last 2 minutes of the game over the last 10 years?

Football has its own issues. I find the NFL to be mostly unwatchable now, too. Too many penalties. Too many phantom calls. I don’t like the wide open pinball machine/2 hand touch-style offense now with no hitting and final scores of 45-42 every week. I understand the need to protect the QB’s, but they’ve gotten carried away and killed the concept of defense. That’s become a shitty product, too.

What about baseball?

 

[ROMOTOOWENS]

I was a huge NBA fan in the 80’s and 90’s. I even stuck around for the horrible teams with Antoine Walker and Pierce in the disastrous Pitino era. Then I mostly lost interest but still watched some of the games.

I was brought all the way back when the Celtics got Garnett, though. He was always one of my favorites and that team was so much fun to watch. But the style of play was bugging me at the end of that era(particularly the reliance on the 3 and the never ending last 2 minutes of the game). I turned it off for good after Pierce and Garnett were traded. It was time. I do realize it was one of the best trades they ever made, but it was the final nail in the coffin for me as an NBA fan.

No Rondo mention ??

 

[chappee11]

No Rondo mention ??

I loved Rondo on that Allen/Pierce/Garnett team! He was so much fun to watch and a really unique talent, in general.

 

[msgkings322]

My take:

• No (big) problem with the game itself. A lot of 3's are fine. Up tempo (more pace) is fine. These can absolutely be parts of a great basketball product.
• I like the recent move by the league to allow a little more physicality and call less fouls. It was a move in the right direction.
• Load management is a problem. It's never fun for fans to have their favorite players sit for any amount of games.
• Additionally, its been true for a while that regular season intensity is spotty across the league. It's a long season, and many guys/teams (simply put) don't bring it 100% every night.
• Playoff NBA basketball is a superior product... that's when professional basketball really sizzles.

I don’t think anyone would argue playoff sports are better in all sports

 

[chappee11]

I’ve already said I haven’t watched since the Garnett/Pierce trade. That means I’ve never seen Steph Curry play in the pros(I do remember seeing him in college, though, during the NCAA’s). Has the NBA fixed the reliance on the 3 or the endless last 2 minutes of the game over the last 10 years?

Football has its own issues. I find the NFL to be mostly unwatchable now, too. Too many penalties. Too many phantom calls. I don’t like the wide open pinball machine/2 hand touch-style offense now with no hitting and final scores of 45-42 every week. I understand the need to protect the QB’s, but they’ve gotten carried away and killed the concept of defense. That’s become a shitty product, too.

What does baseball have to do with your comment that I “haven’t watched NBA recently”(which I freely admitted in the first post of the thread)? What has changed in the NBA over the last 10 years that I have missed to dispute my criticisms? Have they streamlined the last 2 minutes of the game? Is every game no longer a 3 point shooting contest?

 

[tlance]

It is not, no freekin way

Biggest reason is leflop

That show put on during the all star game, puke, was orchestrated by leflop himself, and it was brutal, and pretty much sums up the NBA. All show, no blow!

The talent is better, no doubt, but the game itself, does not match that talent

If you can shoot the 3, you’re in

Would Kareem be the same player today?

Kareem is not the example you want.

He was highly skilled and he could move his feet. If he grew up in today’s era you don’t think he would be able to shoot the 3?

My guess is Kareem would be a more athletic Jokic if he played today. Might even be more dominant.

Guys like Shaq would be hurt by modern rules.

Hakeem, Kareem, David Robinson, Ewing etc would still be great players. Because they were skilled enough to be focal points of an offense while also being forces defensively (maybe not so much Ewing on that one).

 

[tlance]

They aged in a hurry

They were still good when they got traded

Just perfect timing really

Plus the celtics took some rough salary

The nets mismanaged their cap after that year to make things worse

That was the real issue

It was both.

They gave their future for 2 good players who were no longer great players. And they mistakenly thought they had the pieces to win right away.

 

[tlance]

I was a huge NBA fan in the 80’s and 90’s. I even stuck around for the horrible teams with Antoine Walker and Pierce in the disastrous Pitino era. Then I mostly lost interest but still watched some of the games.

I was brought all the way back when the Celtics got Garnett, though. He was always one of my favorites and that team was so much fun to watch. But the style of play was bugging me at the end of that era(particularly the reliance on the 3 and the never ending last 2 minutes of the game). I turned it off for good after Pierce and Garnett were traded. It was time. I do realize it was one of the best trades they ever made, but it was the final nail in the coffin for me as an NBA fan.

And that is fair.

If you don’t enjoy watching it, don’t waste your time. Much better things to do.

Just like others have said, the product as a whole is doing quite well. Everyone is entitled to watch or not as they see fit.

But relying on TV ratings give haters an opportunity to misrepresent the truth.

 

[The Q]

It was both.

They gave their future for 2 good players who were no longer great players. And they mistakenly thought they had the pieces to win right away.

True.

They also got rid of terrible salary for the going rate of future firsts

I forgot how bad the salary the Celtics took back was