What happened to the NBA?
I can’t believe how unwatchable the NBA is right now. I know I’m not the only one in this boat, because the buzz just isn’t there anymore.
I thought that when the LeBron, Melo, and Wade generation matured, the NBA would be at an alltime high. That coupled with the new generation of stars like CP3 and Kevin Durant enterring the league, I thought David Stern would be laughing to the bank.
But I’m just not feeling it. Until the playoffs come around, I am unable to watch any matchup that doesn’t involve my home team. Given the choice between the St. Louis Rams vs. the 49ers and San Antonio Spurs vs. the Phoenix Suns, I’m probably choosing the former.
All football biases aside, this college football and NFL season has so much excitement and interesting stories, it’s easy to see why the NBA is being left in the dust. In the NFL, you have the re-emergence of Brett Favre, the greatest team of all time New England Patriots, shitty teams from last year playing well this year and vice versa, and more. In college football, the BCS picture has looked different every week.
The NBA, on the other hand, is so predictable (granted, one could make the argument that the NFL is predictable since the Patriots are cruising to the Super Bowl, but at least we’re in the process of watching history being made!). We already know 6 teams from each conference who will make the playoffs. Yeah, the Celtics are a decent story, but the novelty has worn off for me until playoff time.
Stern has had this dream for the past few years of turning the NBA into the INBA (International). Whether it’s playing games overseas or hyping up and encouraging teams to draft guys from China or Slovakia, he believes the success of the NBA lies in Europe and Asia. Sure, this will be financially lucrative to the league in the short term, but should this be the case, it’ll be the end of the NBA as we know it. Once fans can no longer pronounce the last names of half the league, interest dies (just ask the NHL).
Stern needs to stay local with his league. The talent and characters are there, but they are missing the target market.
on November 29th, 2007 at 12:46 pm
dude, you need to watch the Magic. Dwight is a man possessed. They were on NBATV last night against the Sonics, and dude had 39/17/5… just unreal.
on November 29th, 2007 at 12:58 pm
yeah, i’ve watched him play. he’s good, but it just doesn’t do anything for me. watching an entire game to watch one guy is just brutal.
on November 29th, 2007 at 1:39 pm
No offense, but i think you’re selling the NBA short, or not paying attention. It is a long season, but come on, but remember where this is headed come playoff time. Last year, Golden State vs Dallas, Phoenix vs San Antonio, Jazz vs everybody, even Lebron vs. the Pistons?… spectacular.
I agree with the Brody, Howard’s becoming a force of nature. Lebron is putting up numbers not seen since Oscar Robertson and Michael Jordan (pts. + triple doubles). The Knicks ongoing horror show isn’t interesting? The collapse of pretender contender the Bulls? Kevin Garnett winning a chamionship isn’t as captivating is Brett Farve suddenly not seeming old? Or the pats franchise with a mantle full of superbowl trophies getting another one? Excuse me while I redirect my yawn in your direction. Durant? Kobe? Nash? Kevin Martin? Dirk needing to prove himself Peyton Manning-style?
It’s going to be a GREAT season. Just let it unfold. It’s long (too long), and that is the biggest problem in th eNBA: too low a ratio of significant games to insignificant ones. It’s not a dearth of talent or good/interesting story lines or a lack of nativism. I suspect the other problem is that you (like me, a Bulls fan) are having almost no fun watching my team right now. Give it some time.
on November 29th, 2007 at 3:33 pm
therein lies the problem… we shouldn’t need to wait for it to develop. the buzz and hype should already be there, which is why i started the post with it’s unwatchable for me UNTIL the post season. sure, all things you say are mildly entertaining to me, but nothing will truly captivate anyone until the playoffs begin. LAME!
on November 29th, 2007 at 6:08 pm
http://www.alexrudloff.com/media/2006/08/dwight-howard.jpg
yep, that’s Dwight, that’s a rim, and that’s a makeout session.