NBA Thread

[MadBurgerMaker]

That's stupid.

[jimmy olsen]

That's stupid.

Because of...?

[katmai]

the nba sucks

[MadBurgerMaker]

Because of...?

Because it's stupid and tries, in a stupid way, to fix a problem that isn't really there.  Tanking isn't a big problem in the NBA (it requires teams to be specifically constructed to do so, only retards think that teams who have been annihilated by injuries or age or whatever else are tanking vs. just not very good), and it certainly doesn't guarantee the occasional team that tries it a specific draft pick.  What it DOES guarantee is lost revenue from missed playoff appearance and fans not showing up. 

[sbr]

If the NBA really wants to make a significant change to improve the product they need to knock about 16 games off of the season.

[MadBurgerMaker]

Maybe more than that. 

[Admiral Yi]

They need to thin the playoffs.

[jimmy olsen]

If the NBA really wants to make a significant change to improve the product they need to knock about 16 games off of the season.

Why? The season has been that long since the beginning hasn't it? Stamina is a part of the game.

[The Larch]

If the NBA really wants to make a significant change to improve the product they need to knock about 16 games off of the season.

Why? The season has been that long since the beginning hasn't it? Stamina is a part of the game.

Only since the mid-late 60s, the earlier seasons were around 60 games long, jumping to around 70 by the mid 50s.

[jimmy olsen]

They've played at least 80 games (with the exception of strike years) since 1961.

The league began in 1946, so that's  52 out of 67 years or more than 77% of league history.

[MadBurgerMaker]

The strike years had more interesting regular seasons because they were shorter.   

[sbr]

Maybe more than that.

Yeah, I think the last strike/lock-out shortened year was 66 games so that is what is stuck in my head.  I wouldn't be opposed to even 60 games in the regular season.

[sbr]

 

They need to thin the playoffs.

I wouldn't complain too much if they thinned the playoffs, but I like 8 per conference.  What they need to do is get the first round back to best 3 of 5.  Back then there was a realistic chance of an upset in the first round more than once a decade.

[sbr]

If the NBA really wants to make a significant change to improve the product they need to knock about 16 games off of the season.

Why? The season has been that long since the beginning hasn't it? Stamina is a part of the game.

Why am I not surprised you disagree?

It isn't about what-has-always-been-done or stamina.  Playing 66 games all across the country in just over 6 months is a fine test of stamina.

It is about the product on the floor.  The 7 weeks of NBA basketball before Xmas is close to a joke; the season is long enough that the games don't matter all that much and it is too much of a grind for the players to real care and play hard every game.  Anyone who actually watches early season NBA games knows the type of effort that is typical of most teams.  Anyone that actually watches a lot of NBA ball also can notice the very distinct change that happens around Xmas/the first of the year.  That is when the teams that are true contenders start to play serious every night and you start to see a serious decline in the silly nights where Milwaukee beats Miami (but they don't stop completely).

There are also way too many 4 games in 5 days stretches (usually on the road) and again, anyone who watches these games knows what the product on the floor looks like on the fourth of these games, even for the best teams.  If they even have the physical ability to play that game they are usually so mentally/emotionally burnt out it doesn't matter. The better team my still win, but the games are almost always poorly played and the product suffers.

It will never happen because the owners will never give up the revenue, and there are enough "fans" who can't see past the bridge of their own nose to realize more is not always better.

[sbr]

The strike years had more interesting regular seasons because they were shorter.

Much more interesting.   Why do you think more people watch the 100m dash than the marathon?