It actually made them. nikkas might be MLS status if it wasnt for Bird/Magic and then Mike and then his kids and then Steph. Mainstream America has never actually fukked with basketball for basketball's sake. Its always needed a star and or some controversy to get traction. Is what it is.
Ratings For Christmas Day NFL & NBA Games Discussion
- Thread starter Rakpo98
- Start date
mastermind
Rest In Power Kobe
Conversations around TV ratings is another example of how corporations and the right wing won America. This shouldn’t matter to anyone who don’t have financial investments in these matters, but it’s some how important fan content. It’s bizarre until you understand that a lot of people are passionate about companies succeeding just as much as their favorite teams.
cartierhoe
Veteran
This is true, and all that is hard to come by on a year to year basis, especially in the modern era. Yall have been in multiple playoff series with the Bucks and Sixers for a few years now so they I guess could count as rivalries but it’s mostly because yall have been consistently successful in the conference since LeBron left for the Lakers. Before that you didn’t really have many rivalries because it was whichever team LeBron was on and whichever team stepped up to the plate to meet in the conference finals.
Titans/Vikings would trounce the NBA in ratings. It aint about rivalries or stars or even style of play...people will watch an NFL snorefest. NFL as a brand got a hold on mainstream America. There is nothing the NBA could do to compete with that.
No denying that, the 7th round of the NFL Draft can beat NBA playoff games heads up. They shouldn’t be trying to compete with them. But they can definitely improve independent of that
Saysumthinfunnymike
VOTE!!!
Lakers vs. Celtics is about more than just Bird and Magic though. I agree that they took the NBA to a whole other level but the Celtics and Lakers rivalry extends all through the 60's and 70's as well.
If the Bulls and Knicks was just about Jordan than nobody would have cared about their series the year Jordan was out playing baseball but that 7-game series was still a big deal with Pippen and Kukoc and Pippen staying out of the last play where Kukoc hit the game winner.
People want to cheer for teams and players and the NBA focused just on individuals.
But see now we get into what "improve" actually means. Is it providing a superior, more entertaining product or is it moving the needle and getting attention and money? Now in a perfect, ideal world those are one and the same but...I dont think I need to explain this to you.
IIVI
Superstar
Yup.
Imagine if Dallas and Phoenix were additional Division Rivals. That'd carry over after the Luka/Booker rivalry and add more animosity to it.
Once they're done though or go to different teams, that rivalry is over and the NBA gets nothing out of it to build either smaller franchise from.
It'd also make the relationship dynamics between teams more interesting. Your division rival drafts x so you need to counter them with y in order to make the play-offs (because the division winner is guaranteed a play-off spot). You'd have to account for your direct competition more. Unfortunately though, come play-offs with the 7 game series it may not be the absolute best to draft according to your division, so maybe not this so much.
That said, there are so many positives from a simple adjustment: add divisions that matter for something rather than all this over-the-top in season tournament, play-in for 9-10 seed hoopla. Complete violation of the 80:20 principle.
Have four guaranteed spots from divisions and 2 spots up for grabs for the rest of the conference. The others don't get in, tough shyt but at 7-10 seeds probably weren't winning anything anyways most likely - should've tried more during the season to win games then.
Like they say: keep it simple.
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But we talking about stuff that mainstream people respond to. People didnt care about NBA like that in the 60s and 70s. It wasnt until you had those two perfectly cast stars on those teams that the league really took off. NBA was just like the other sports back then and no one cared until they pushed the stars.
Knicks/Bulls was still about Jordan even with him being retired. Not to mention market still mattered then. It was also 30 years ago.
NBA cant do what the NFL does. People wont respond the same way. Its like the one guy in school that can pull chicks in the bathroom and feel em up and they giggle and the other guy that would get slapped and reported if he tried. Guy 2 merely impersonating guy 1 isnt gonna change that.
In The Zone '98
Superstar
Last seasons playoffs just had record viewership. Those into hoops are watching hoops.
Once again, the NBA not having NFL viewership does not mean the NBA is doing poorly.
The stakes aren't high enough across a 82 game season. Then having to wait at least 4 playoff games for a "winner" to be crowned. For the viewership to be tens of millions.
The NBA is great in its lane. The NFL is on the moon in theirs. And that's OK!
Football is just more entertaining tbh
I think people constantly overlook this. Every NFL game is an event. Its like a sprint. Every NBA game is part of a marathon. Peoples attention spans are short. Baseball used to be the national pasttime now it barely gets any coverage.
Cant discount the racial angle. Cant discount history. But like you said even with all that the NBA is doing just fine.
NFL could have players changing teams (already do), They could have homogenized play (already do that too), Less urgency with more games an expanded playoff field (wait a minute), focus on individuals...like QB this or QB that (am I the only one seeing this?) and people would still tune in in record numbers. Is what it is
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When I think of improvements I’m talking making divisions matter more, better promotion of young stars/teams beyond the usual suspects, the way the game is reffed, etc.
I don’t think there’s anything they can do to catch the NFL in the U.S. nor should they be trying to. The NBA has its own lane and that’s fine.
Tony D'Amato
It's all about the inches
I don't know how anyone watches the
League
League
