OT: NBA regional ratings down 10%, TNT prime time games down 18%

[spurraider21]

Durant ruined the league. It was like seeing Magic join the 86 Celtics or if Shaq got drafted by the 92 Bulls. No point in watching when you know Golden State is already the champion.

yeah before it was exciting when two of the elite teams had a big matchup on TNT or somethin. LeCavs vs Celtics, Spurs vs Thunder, etc.

[midnightpulp]

Good write up. Yes, basketball has been a complete dud to me since TD retired, and not just because TD retired. The last really good hardcore basketball game was the Cavs over the Warriors in Game 7, June 2016. I believe the score was 94-89 which is roughly how basketball was meant to be played.

And it's not like the NFL where parity reigns supreme and it's really a total team game, and most importantly a true match of strategy. People will always love football. Basketball is a pretty simplistic game of something all of us do in real life (ex: throw crumpled paper into a garbage can). Sure, there's strategy and luck involved, and it'll be always be better than the boring games where the only way to score is to put something past a goalie into a net. But it'll never be as good as football because of a lot of reasons.

The reason I feel football and baseball are the best team sports ever invented is because both are designed around the achievement of, for lack of a better term, "mini-goals" as you progress toward a proper score. In football, this is the down and yardage structure. In baseball, this is the count, on base, and outs structure. These structures create a natural "narrative" build-up toward scoring (or defending) and add a lot more drama to non-scoring situations, i.e. can my team convert here on this 3 and 5 to keep the drive alive? Can my batter hold up here on 3-2 to draw a walk and put some pressure on the pitcher? Also fascinating is how the odds dramatically shift with each achievement or failure to achieve these goals. Ex. 3rd and 3 is totally different situation than 3rd and 8, as is a 2-1 vs 1-2 count in baseball.

Most other team sports don't "build up" like this. You either stop the score/possession or score/retake possession. In the common goal sports, there's no defined mini-goals in between to achieve or prevent that increases/decreases the odds of scoring.

[Chris]

Ever since the CBA it seems like the league has gone to . Maybe those lucrative contracts created zero incentive.

[midnightpulp]

nyquil prices have gone up

Yeah, it's being sold to NBA fans

[spurraider21]

Yeah, it's being sold to NBA fans

that doesn't help you.

people are turning to MLB because they cant afford nyquil anymore.

if NBA fans are needing nyquil, that means they cant fall asleep (sport is too exciting)

[Chris]

Ruin the game right?

[SpursforSix]

The reason I feel football and baseball are the best team sports ever invented is because both are designed around the achievement of, for lack of a better term, "mini-goals" as you progress toward a proper score. In football, this is the down and yardage structure. In baseball, this is the count, on base, and outs structure. These structures create a natural "narrative" build-up toward scoring (or defending) and add a lot more drama to non-scoring situations, i.e. can my team convert here on this 3 and 5 to keep the drive alive? Can my batter hold up here on 3-2 to draw a walk and put some pressure on the pitcher? Also fascinating is how the odds dramatically shift with each achievement or failure to achieve these goals. Ex. 3rd and 3 is totally different situation than 3rd and 8, as is a 2-1 vs 1-2 count in baseball.

Most other team sports don't "build up" like this. You either stop the score/possession or score/retake possession. In the common goal sports, there's no defined mini-goals in between to achieve or prevent that increases/decreases the odds of scoring.

That's a very interesting take.

[midnightpulp]

that doesn't help you.

people are turning to MLB because they cant afford nyquil anymore.

if NBA fans are needing nyquil, that means they cant fall asleep (sport is too exciting)

Damn, you Philo'ed me on that one.

[spurraider21]

Damn, you Philo'ed me on that one.

[DMC]

Were these Spur games tbh?

No you can't get 10% of nothing.

[LkrFan]

No you can't get 10% of nothing.

[DMC]

I am not that interested in watching these second and third level stars try to out schoolyard each other.

you're watching some 6 ft 112 lb player shoot 30 foot shots all night long with some rich man's Baron Davis take 60 3 pointers a game and 30 free throws... that's not my idea of a game at all. Might as well be playing shuffleboard.

When one of the top 5 players in the league is an autistic team killer who sits out every other game because he can't wipe his own ass, you can't expect people to get excited about the prospects of the NBA.

[Millennial_Messiah]

The reason I feel football and baseball are the best team sports ever invented is because both are designed around the achievement of, for lack of a better term, "mini-goals" as you progress toward a proper score. In football, this is the down and yardage structure. In baseball, this is the count, on base, and outs structure. These structures create a natural "narrative" build-up toward scoring (or defending) and add a lot more drama to non-scoring situations, i.e. can my team convert here on this 3 and 5 to keep the drive alive? Can my batter hold up here on 3-2 to draw a walk and put some pressure on the pitcher? Also fascinating is how the odds dramatically shift with each achievement or failure to achieve these goals. Ex. 3rd and 3 is totally different situation than 3rd and 8, as is a 2-1 vs 1-2 count in baseball.

Most other team sports don't "build up" like this. You either stop the score/possession or score/retake possession. In the common goal sports, there's no defined mini-goals in between to achieve or prevent that increases/decreases the odds of scoring.

I guess the only mini goals in basketball are fatigue management and foul trouble, but you're right it's a lot less than football and baseball. In baseball you left a major mini goal out: to win the pitcher stamina battle. The team with the most pitches generally loses unless they have a bonafide ace on the mound.

The thing that kind of always sours me on baseball is the 162 game season. Like, that's ridiculous. Cut it in half, for starters. But the playoffs are awesome, if not too short.

[FrostKing]

The reason I feel football and baseball are the best team sports ever invented is because both are designed around the achievement of, for lack of a better term, "mini-goals" as you progress toward a proper score. In football, this is the down and yardage structure. In baseball, this is the count, on base, and outs structure. These structures create a natural "narrative" build-up toward scoring (or defending) and add a lot more drama to non-scoring situations, i.e. can my team convert here on this 3 and 5 to keep the drive alive? Can my batter hold up here on 3-2 to draw a walk and put some pressure on the pitcher? Also fascinating is how the odds dramatically shift with each achievement or failure to achieve these goals. Ex. 3rd and 3 is totally different situation than 3rd and 8, as is a 2-1 vs 1-2 count in baseball.

Most other team sports don't "build up" like this. You either stop the score/possession or score/retake possession. In the common goal sports, there's no defined mini-goals in between to achieve or prevent that increases/decreases the odds of scoring.

Yes but these "mini-goals" also result in countless breaks. Games move faster at the amateur level but MLB & NFL, you are watching more replays than live action.

But at the amateur level it is an interesting point as Tennis also follows this formula and is probably GOAT to be honest

[AlexJones]

[Play Boban]

I am not that interested in watching these second and third level stars try to out schoolyard each other.

you're watching some 6 ft 112 lb player shoot 30 foot shots all night long with some rich man's Baron Davis take 60 3 pointers a game and 30 free throws... that's not my idea of a game at all. Might as well be playing shuffleboard.

When one of the top 5 players in the league is an autistic team killer who sits out every other game because he can't wipe his own ass, you can't expect people to get excited about the prospects of the NBA.

Worst thing is the last paragraph applies to Kawhitter AND LABron tbh.......

[midnightpulp]

Yes but these "mini-goals" also result in countless breaks. Games move faster at the amateur level but MLB & NFL, you are watching more replays than live action.

But at the amateur level it is an interesting point as Tennis also follows this formula and is probably GOAT to be honest

Don't mind the breaks (within reason) in either sport as it gives you time to contemplate what play an offense is going to run/what pitch is going to be thrown and heightens the tension. The breaks probably naturally work better for baseball since it allows you to get inside the head of the pitcher ("Damn, Kershaw missed with his curve again. 3-2. He looks shaky, Is he going back to it? Maybe not. Catcher is setting up inside.") and batter ("Just chased a slider out of the zone. 1-2. He's likely getting that same pitch. Can he hold up?").

I do agree modern baseball needs to pick up the pace. 15-20 seconds in between seconds is enough time for all of that. But since clubs are so overly paranoid about sign stealing and pitchers are throwing with more max effort than ever before, you're getting 25-35 seconds between pitches. Pitch clock is coming, thankfully. NFL could probably benefit from a 30 second play clock. Also get rid of the two minute warnings.

[313]

who watches cable tv anymore tbh lol

[Trainwreck2100]

It will be much worse if Sinclair gets their hands on the regional Fox Sports networks

[FrostKing]

Don't mind the breaks (within reason) in either sport as it gives you time to contemplate what play an offense is going to run/what pitch is going to be thrown and heightens the tension. The breaks probably naturally work better for baseball since it allows you to get inside the head of the pitcher ("Damn, Kershaw missed with his curve again. 3-2. He looks shaky, Is he going back to it? Maybe not. Catcher is setting up inside.") and batter ("Just chased a slider out of the zone. 1-2. He's likely getting that same pitch. Can he hold up?").

I do agree modern baseball needs to pick up the pace. 15-20 seconds in between seconds is enough time for all of that. But since clubs are so overly paranoid about sign stealing and pitchers are throwing with more max effort than ever before, you're getting 25-35 seconds between pitches. Pitch clock is coming, thankfully. NFL could probably benefit from a 30 second play clock. Also get rid of the two minute warnings.

In terms of watching my personal favorite teams - MLB playoffs are the only ones that don't leave me thirsty for more. I truly feel spent because of the mental gymnastics. The irony to me is MLB regular season is the most helped by Fantasy and possibly not as utilized. When I still participated roughly 6 years ago it really got me thru the grind of midseason games. I think what most American sports fans don't appreciate about Baseball is that once you achieve the long process of building a contender, the joy lasts for an extended period of time. The difficulty in building a quality club also means it takes that long for your rivals to also build one to overtake you. But the biggest negative is payrolls size play too big of a role in success. A team in the NFL can overcome cap squeeze. It might be good for TV ratings but I don't think it is good for the sport how the A.L East is always the top division and many times by a large margin.