Longtime diehard NBA fan. Due to a variety of reasons, not least among them the league's behavior, I had completely tuned out by 2021. My passion had declined from preseason games being must watch to not being able to be bothered to tune in for a single game all season or even watch highlights. This year, thanks to the Cavs being awesome and the NBA not going out of its way to piss me off the last few years, I'm back on the train. And the Cavs are fun to watch. But across the league, the 3s are out of control. Sure it’s analytics driven but guys are better long distance 3 point shooters now. Just like every reliever now throws 98+ in MLB, everyone seems able to consistently hit deep 3s. I imagine guys like McGrady, Kobe, and LeBron spent their formative years perfecting the turnaround fadeaway (a very difficult shot) and guys like Victor W spent their formative years learning how to step into 33 footers. LeBron's an interesting case because his shooting form now is so quiet (and better) compared to how much power and extra movement he had for the first half of his career. He can exert much less effort for the same end result. Guards have definitely gotten better at high degree of difficulty off-the-dribble 3s as well. The high difficulty stuff is still captivating and it's fun to watch guards catch fire from 3 even if it happens every night vs a few times a season. But all the big men firing away from 28-33 feet is absolutely brutal to watch!
The NBA needs to make some structural changes. Do whatever necessary to bring back powerful big men that anchored a defense. Bring back 92-89 games. There needs to be more variety in player type for the aesthetic to improve. People have been saying for years that you only need to tune into the last 5 minutes of a game and that's never been more true. The pace and volume of 3s is leading to wild swings. In the mid aughts every free throw miss led to crowd groans. Games were tighter, and it felt like games had more of an identity than simply which team made more 3s. It's funny, for a long time Taco Bell had a promotion where Cavs fans could redeem their tickets for a free Chalupa if the Cavs scored 100 or more points. Very often the Cavs would be up 99-91 or something with 40 seconds to go and they'd just dribble out the clock, both teams knowing this is insurmountable. The crowd would be chanting CHA-LUPE-AH! in vain. Cavs are regularly breaking 100 points in the 3rd quarter almost every night...it's insane. I was watching old highlights of players catching fire from way beyond the arc. They were heat checking and the crowds were just going ballistic. They had earned the right to take bad shots because they were so hot. The crowd knew it was witnessing something special. Everyone was jacked up. The players were running around trying to escape double coverage to keep their NBA JAM fire alive. Defenses were scrambling, ignoring everyone else. Now it's just a numbers game and random replacement level players are jacking up 30 footers. It goes in or it doesn’t. Sometimes a bunch go in in a row. Same outcome but aesthetically it's terrible.
Agree that the 3's are out of control. I just don't want to watch a sport where both teams shoot 50 3's a game and whoever makes more will win. Basketball was more interesting at least IMO when different players had different roles according to their strengths. You had a ball handler/ passer, a shooter, a rebounder etc. Now it's just can you switch on defense and shoot a 3? That's all that matters. You got a 7'4" guy, Wemby, taking half his shots from 3. It's ridiculous. I feel the same way about baseball. I'm not just picking on the NBA. Everyone trying to hit homers is ridiculous. You got a 175 pound shortstop hitting .217 and striking out 149 times, but at least he hit 12 homers!
Great guest. Andrew is spot on regarding his list of reasons why the NBA is declining in popularity/ratings. As a nightly League Pass watcher, the delays for replay review in particular make me question why I waste my time at all turning the games on.
Also, re: Inside the NBA, I agree that they would probably be better off riding off on a high note than becoming irrelevant on ESPN over the next decade. Also, my theory on the show is that, while I enjoy Shaq and he's definitely funny, seeing Chuck interact with Jay Wright during the NCAA tournament makes me think TNT really blew it by putting Shaq on the show rather than a former coach (maybe someone like Jeff Van Gundy). Barkley actually asks great questions to Jay Wright, so would have been really good in terms of basketball analysis, and there are plenty of coaches with lots of personality that would have kept the show light and funny as well. My $.02.
Here’s a hot take to get the NBA back on track: put the games on local over the air broadcasters. The Florida Panthers started that this season and ratings are up 120%. I don’t need to buy a package, just a $20 antenna from CBS. I think the OTA broadcasts are also a key reason the NFL continues to dominate
Watching FIBA games this summer was a rude awakening on how far the NBA product has fallen. In FIBA they just play basketball, swallow their whistle, and keep it moving. The NBA is a total slog, pinned down by cramming every possible ad down the viewers throat.
There are simple things the NBA can do, like allowing players to inbound the ball themselves on an out of bounds play, similar to soccer. Why does a ref have to hold the ball and hand it to the player? A small improvement but it keeps the game moving. These outside the box ideas are completely lost on a league run by lawyers. An entertaining product for the customer should be the #1 goal of any business selling entertainment, everything else falls into place if that is achieved. Look at the Savannah Bananas…
Want to know why ratings are down? How about looking at the show you guys seem to be always praising.
Inside the NBA is not good for the league.
Cs were handling a 15-0 team without their all star center and the half time show is about how streaky the celtics are and how they don’t rebound. I can’t figure out why ratings are down!
Imagine a half time show that was going “what a statement from the Champs! That shows why they’re a true champion, here’s how they locked in on defense……and mentioned that Jayson Tatum has 17, 8, 4 and 2!” No mention of Tatum.
But we got some highlights of Kenny dribbling!
These guys are funny, but they can’t and don’t actually talk hoops. Just hating on today’s league and reminding the fans how they would dominate. It’s a joke.
Ratings are not down because of players resting/sitting out, because of all the threes being shot, because the last 2 minutes of some games take 30 minutes to finish, because every team plays the same way, or because it is simply not a good television product. Ratings are down because of the 4 guys in the studio who talk about the games once a week? Sure, buddy.
There’s a million reason. The way the league is covered def doesn’t help. But also, does it matter? When I can’t bring my kid to a game because the NBA is shutting down I’ll worry about ratings.
What if every postseason each team had to pick a representative throwback home and road and wear them for the duration AND the shoes had to match? White or yellow at home, dark on the road. You could even do throwback courts.
Longtime diehard NBA fan. Due to a variety of reasons, not least among them the league's behavior, I had completely tuned out by 2021. My passion had declined from preseason games being must watch to not being able to be bothered to tune in for a single game all season or even watch highlights. This year, thanks to the Cavs being awesome and the NBA not going out of its way to piss me off the last few years, I'm back on the train. And the Cavs are fun to watch. But across the league, the 3s are out of control. Sure it’s analytics driven but guys are better long distance 3 point shooters now. Just like every reliever now throws 98+ in MLB, everyone seems able to consistently hit deep 3s. I imagine guys like McGrady, Kobe, and LeBron spent their formative years perfecting the turnaround fadeaway (a very difficult shot) and guys like Victor W spent their formative years learning how to step into 33 footers. LeBron's an interesting case because his shooting form now is so quiet (and better) compared to how much power and extra movement he had for the first half of his career. He can exert much less effort for the same end result. Guards have definitely gotten better at high degree of difficulty off-the-dribble 3s as well. The high difficulty stuff is still captivating and it's fun to watch guards catch fire from 3 even if it happens every night vs a few times a season. But all the big men firing away from 28-33 feet is absolutely brutal to watch!
The NBA needs to make some structural changes. Do whatever necessary to bring back powerful big men that anchored a defense. Bring back 92-89 games. There needs to be more variety in player type for the aesthetic to improve. People have been saying for years that you only need to tune into the last 5 minutes of a game and that's never been more true. The pace and volume of 3s is leading to wild swings. In the mid aughts every free throw miss led to crowd groans. Games were tighter, and it felt like games had more of an identity than simply which team made more 3s. It's funny, for a long time Taco Bell had a promotion where Cavs fans could redeem their tickets for a free Chalupa if the Cavs scored 100 or more points. Very often the Cavs would be up 99-91 or something with 40 seconds to go and they'd just dribble out the clock, both teams knowing this is insurmountable. The crowd would be chanting CHA-LUPE-AH! in vain. Cavs are regularly breaking 100 points in the 3rd quarter almost every night...it's insane. I was watching old highlights of players catching fire from way beyond the arc. They were heat checking and the crowds were just going ballistic. They had earned the right to take bad shots because they were so hot. The crowd knew it was witnessing something special. Everyone was jacked up. The players were running around trying to escape double coverage to keep their NBA JAM fire alive. Defenses were scrambling, ignoring everyone else. Now it's just a numbers game and random replacement level players are jacking up 30 footers. It goes in or it doesn’t. Sometimes a bunch go in in a row. Same outcome but aesthetically it's terrible.
Agree that the 3's are out of control. I just don't want to watch a sport where both teams shoot 50 3's a game and whoever makes more will win. Basketball was more interesting at least IMO when different players had different roles according to their strengths. You had a ball handler/ passer, a shooter, a rebounder etc. Now it's just can you switch on defense and shoot a 3? That's all that matters. You got a 7'4" guy, Wemby, taking half his shots from 3. It's ridiculous. I feel the same way about baseball. I'm not just picking on the NBA. Everyone trying to hit homers is ridiculous. You got a 175 pound shortstop hitting .217 and striking out 149 times, but at least he hit 12 homers!
Great guest. Andrew is spot on regarding his list of reasons why the NBA is declining in popularity/ratings. As a nightly League Pass watcher, the delays for replay review in particular make me question why I waste my time at all turning the games on.
Also, re: Inside the NBA, I agree that they would probably be better off riding off on a high note than becoming irrelevant on ESPN over the next decade. Also, my theory on the show is that, while I enjoy Shaq and he's definitely funny, seeing Chuck interact with Jay Wright during the NCAA tournament makes me think TNT really blew it by putting Shaq on the show rather than a former coach (maybe someone like Jeff Van Gundy). Barkley actually asks great questions to Jay Wright, so would have been really good in terms of basketball analysis, and there are plenty of coaches with lots of personality that would have kept the show light and funny as well. My $.02.
Here’s a hot take to get the NBA back on track: put the games on local over the air broadcasters. The Florida Panthers started that this season and ratings are up 120%. I don’t need to buy a package, just a $20 antenna from CBS. I think the OTA broadcasts are also a key reason the NFL continues to dominate
Watching FIBA games this summer was a rude awakening on how far the NBA product has fallen. In FIBA they just play basketball, swallow their whistle, and keep it moving. The NBA is a total slog, pinned down by cramming every possible ad down the viewers throat.
There are simple things the NBA can do, like allowing players to inbound the ball themselves on an out of bounds play, similar to soccer. Why does a ref have to hold the ball and hand it to the player? A small improvement but it keeps the game moving. These outside the box ideas are completely lost on a league run by lawyers. An entertaining product for the customer should be the #1 goal of any business selling entertainment, everything else falls into place if that is achieved. Look at the Savannah Bananas…
Want to know why ratings are down? How about looking at the show you guys seem to be always praising.
Inside the NBA is not good for the league.
Cs were handling a 15-0 team without their all star center and the half time show is about how streaky the celtics are and how they don’t rebound. I can’t figure out why ratings are down!
Imagine a half time show that was going “what a statement from the Champs! That shows why they’re a true champion, here’s how they locked in on defense……and mentioned that Jayson Tatum has 17, 8, 4 and 2!” No mention of Tatum.
But we got some highlights of Kenny dribbling!
These guys are funny, but they can’t and don’t actually talk hoops. Just hating on today’s league and reminding the fans how they would dominate. It’s a joke.
You're wrong. The TNT show has nothing to do with why the ratings are down.
https://x.com/awfulannouncing/status/1869103900118430062?s=46
And there it is.
There what is? Someone else who is wrong? lol
Ratings are not down because of players resting/sitting out, because of all the threes being shot, because the last 2 minutes of some games take 30 minutes to finish, because every team plays the same way, or because it is simply not a good television product. Ratings are down because of the 4 guys in the studio who talk about the games once a week? Sure, buddy.
There’s a million reason. The way the league is covered def doesn’t help. But also, does it matter? When I can’t bring my kid to a game because the NBA is shutting down I’ll worry about ratings.
What if every postseason each team had to pick a representative throwback home and road and wear them for the duration AND the shoes had to match? White or yellow at home, dark on the road. You could even do throwback courts.
How long will we talk about the death of the NBA?
As long as we want to!!!! And when it dies 200 years from now, I will say I told you so.