Hahah. I remember that play. Hard to blame them, they are so accustomed to a whistle and refs have a tendency to swallow their whistle at the end of the game. At this point, I want less fouls called except for post players who get ****ing hammered all the time. And definitely less calls on 3point shots. The refs have to be consistent though. Call the game the same at the end of the game compared to the middle.

That’s fair. Truthfully I didn’t watch any of the basketball game tonight either so I have no idea what even happened in this one.

Really would have loved to see Porter actually play at MU. He has been big in the 4th to keep the Nuggets alive

How did Hong Kong LeBron do?

Yes! Celtics advance to ECF. That was a fun competitive series

Heat x Celtics should be great series too

Siakam was a no show. Turnovers killed the Raptors and Siakam was in the middle of it. Eastern conference so weak this year. Finals will be a blowout.

Better team won that series in the end. As good as Lowry was, the Raptors just struggled too much in the half court offensively (Siakam is clearly not ready to be a #1 option against the very best defensive teams).

The Celtics should also keep playing Smart this much when Hayward returns as I really feel he was the difference really.

Another absolutely dominating game (and series) from the real GOAT to get back to another conference finals. They’ll be the underdogs against the Clippers but they’ve got a shot as long as LeBron plays like this.

Yep Lakers had another easy win. I think I predicted Lakers in 5 because small ball only works for so long

The Clippers- Nuggets game is at noon CST tomorrow. There will be like 5 people watching that game. NBA needs to change game time.

There would be even less watching during SNF (which I believe is the highest rated show on TV by a wide margin).

I thought it would be way more difficult for them but it appears you were right about the size issue.

I feel like someone here (me) called the Rockets not being able to come close to handling the Lakers.

I hope Denver forces a game 7, but it's just delaying the inevitable LA vs LA series. Which SHOULD be great.

I wasn't around and didn't watch and I don't suppose anyone else did, but what the **** are the Clippers doing? Anything can happen in a game 7.

Shit I forgot all about the NBA game tonight. The Clippers just faded away in the 4th quarter. I knew the Nuggets would come all the way back just to lose in game 7. They'll probably lose by 25.

Damn you jimmy lol

Damn Bam stuffed Tatum to win the game

What a block. One of the clutchest blocks I've ever seen.

Holy ****in shit. Tatum almost still made that 3 at the buzzer. What a game.

That was probably the best block I have ever seen. Wow

Bam just erased Tatum’s manhood. Unreal.

Greatest block since LeBron’s Finals block. Get that shit out of here.

Also Jamal Murray scoring 25 in the first half and his team still losing doesn’t bode well for them.

Tatum didn’t think he’d get there. If he goes up with 2 hands it’s probably a foul.

I always thought Jokic was a discount Doncic. But that dude is ****ing bringing it.

Nuggets are a team that doesn't have a true superstar but Murray, Joker and Porter are all under 25. Unlike some other smaller markets, Kroenke has the cash to keep the team together.

Leonard as great as he is be laying an egg.

Are the Nuggets really gonna come back from 3-1 again?

Safe to say that anything less than a title this year will be a blemish on LeBron’s resume?

Playoff P LMAO

Clippers are getting the shit kicked out of them. Choking hard.

LeBron laughing away tonight. Maybe Kawhi shouldn’t be leaving championship teams to go play with one of the all-time playoff chokers next time.

Lakers are going to coast to the finals

Jokic out here whipping passes behind his head like Larry Bird.

That’s brutal. The Clippers curse might be a real thing.

Clippers were better but WOW they couldn’t do shit once Murray and Jokic warmed up.

They never really played like a team all year. Didn’t run much of an offense and Paul George and Lou Williams are notorious playoff underperformers.

Also remember that Kawhi had the Clippers trade Gallinari, SGA (who may end up better than PG within a year or two) and five first round picks. What a disaster.

Welp, any intrigue in these playoffs is long gone now.

Is Kawhi going to demand more load management next year so he can play better in these games?

Absolutely.

The lane has opened up so much for him. The Nuggets don't match up well against the Lakers, IMO so if they fail to get past Denver that's a massive failure.

And if they get to the finals its either Lakers - Celtics or LeBron vs. the team he left. Lose either of those and LeBron permanently carries it with him.

Yeah - it's title or bust for LeBron right now.

LMAO at permanently carries it with him. I hate to break it to you guys but it's title or bust for LeBron every year. He's gotten destroyed (sometimes fairly, but mostly unfairly) for just about every playoff series loss in his career (or at least every one for the last 12-13 years now). That's just the nature of being who he is. Can you imagine the reaction if he laid an egg like Kawhi did last night in a game 7(the guy many here and elsewhere ridiculously said was better than him)?

Nothing has changed this year other than the fact that we just received confirmation that he's still far and away the best player in the world (even nearly at age 36) and the road to the finals just got easier. Nothing is guaranteed, though.

Dude - you really think losing a Lakers/Celtics series OR a series vs. the Heat wouldn't carry a disproportionate amount of weight on his historical resume?

I get it - guys like him are always playing to a different standard, but this sure seems like something where a loss would mean a hell of a lot more than losing to a stacked Warriors squad or even that Maverick's series that has largely been lost to history.

I think you're whistling past the graveyard a bit if you don't believe the stakes are a tick higher here.

Every loss gets shit on endlessly until he wins again. That's just the nature of the beast when you are LeBron James. He's learned to bear that weight and he's been doing it for almost 15 years now.

A loss to the Celtics (who are quite good actually and remind me a bit of the young Thunder team a decade ago that LeBron also beat) would most certainly not be good, but assuming he plays well, it would hardly be on Mavericks level (one of the few playoff series in his career where LeBron wasn't very good at all).

It matters though HOW LeBron losses (if he does).

If he goes off in a series, the Lakers just aren’t losing to anyone.

He’s going to have to disappear for them to lose, so that’s why I think anything but a title this year is a blemish. Probably not to the extent of the Mavs series, because that also had the Big 3 hype behind it too.

If he played for any other team but the Lakers, I'd agree with you.

It's the 'Lakers vs. Celtics' aspect of it, for a guy who hand-selected the Lakers. He managed to insert himself into the NBA's marquee rivalry and if he comes up short, that will resonate in perpetuity for Lakers fans and for many 'old school' NBA fans.

It will literally be ONLY because of the color of the jerseys involved. Yes, the Celtics are a good team and if he played for the Clippers there'd be no shame in losing to them. But since he plays for the Lakers it means something different.

As a Lakers fan and a HUGE Kobe fan, had the 2010 series not happened, the 2008 one would've been a black mark on Kobe's entire Lakers career to me. Specifically what happened in game 4 was something that made me question a decade of unqualified adoration I had for Bean. I think I said it on this board at the time - any attempts to put him in the same breath as Jordan died right then because as far as I was concerned, that's nothing that Jordan would've ever let happen.

Now I don't know if that was fair or accurate - but it was passion from a massive Kobe fan - THAT'S what the Lakers/Celtics rivalry means. And had Ron Artest not happened in Game 7 of 2010, Kobe's 6-24 night goes down in infamy. Fortunately they won it and a lot of 2008 was wiped away.

But yes, it means something different because of the teams involved. This isn't about LeBron as a player at this point - it's now about his presence as the focal point in this rivalry.

These last two series have been huge for Jamal Murray. He's been playing so well. It's a good bit of vindication for him after last year.

So regarding Artest - has history decided the deal with that guy yet?

Violent, short-tempered shithead with impulse control and mental health problems? Or good natured idiot...with mental health problems.

Or both? There does seem to be two distinctly different phases of his life both on and off the court. Even after The Palace he wasn't the guy he ended up as in the last few years of his career. Sacramento Artest was not the same guy as Lakers Artest.

I thought he ended up really easy to root for by the end.

I agree that at some point he seemed to transition to a good natured idiot but not sure when that was. I didn’t see all that much of him earlier on in his Bulls and Pacers days since I don’t watch as much of the eastern conference.

Also he is apparently going by Metta Sandiford-Artest now.

I think he had legitimate impulse control problems that he learned to control with therapy and maturity. Stephen Jackson's story about Artest's response in the immediate aftermath of the Malice was extremely telling-- the guy didn't understand the consequences of his actions in a truly childlike fashion.

Artest to Jackson: Do you think we'll get in trouble?
Jackson: Ron, we're probably going to get kicked out of the league.

Yeah, I forgot about that interview.

Jackson's got some stories, man. That was a great interview (had some good back-story w/ Ben Wallace as well; mom had just died or something).

The Heat just playing great team basketball. Celtics had 2 huge leads in both but shit them away.

**** all things Boston. Those one who sucks the peniss in that city should never have anything nice again.

LOL @ the Heat being 2-0 against the Celtics. Also **** LeBron James and all things Los Angeles. Insufferable ****ers.

The Heat are hooping.. would love to see a Heat vs Nuggies Finals.

Giannis is now joining MJ as the only players to win multiple MVP and DPOY awards. Congrats!

Celtics being down 0-2 before the Lakers take the court is a real problem for the Nuggets, IMO.

The league's gotta be sweating bullets about their ratings right now and they can't have Denver wrecking the party.

So unless Denver is just unconscious from 3, they officials will be swallowing their whistles on plays inside and with the Lakers length, I'm not sure how Denver can pull it off.

If the games are called tight and Denver gets to the line a lot, they can win it. But if it's looking like the league's about to lose the northeast audience, they ain't gonna risk losing the west coast as well.

Damn. I didn't realize so few people were watching. Honey Boo Boo reruns are drawing better.

Spoelstra is such an underrated coach. A lot of people thought he'd let the Heatles walk all over him as a new head coach at the time, but as it turns out it wasn't just him getting the job through inheritance. He actually deserved it.

The dude can coach. That's clear.

It's been a bloodbath.

But the truthers all have an excuse of some sort.

Televised golf out there setting records but folks still want to pretend like there's any reason OTHER than the obvious one for the decline in the NBA's ratings.

It's really strange to see the hand-waiving of it all. I don't think the Game 2 ratings are out yet, but they don't have the "well we started early so the Clippers could get the prime time slot" excuse. If those ratings are equally bad, I don't see how you just keep ignoring them.

Oh sure, they'll blame a Bengals/Browns game (because there's always something), but c'mon - this has to be a concern to them at this point.

He really is.

The Heat aren't as talented as the Celtics and I think Stevens is an excellent coach in his own right.

But man, Spoelstra is putting on a clinic.

There are A LOT of people in denial about this.

Hell, I have completely stopped watching since the Clippers were eliminated because it’s a foregone conclusion that the Lakers will win it all now and I’m not going to support it at this point.

Streaming!
Out of season!
No fans!

Lets the LeExcuses begin.

The most enjoyable thing about the NBA now is Charles Barkley.

I still can't see how even FLAT ratings would've been considered a success.

My god, people were BEGGING sports to come back. And yes, many people are still shutting themselves in and watching TV rather than going out into public spaces, especially in dense population areas. Social interaction scores are still way down.

So how can they just act like they weren't situated for excellent ratings? This idea that there's a perfect venn diagram of football/basketball fans (and the irony of NFL citing the NBA to explain their reduced ratings) is just wrong. There's not a 1-1 overlap here.

If basketball fans were truly starved for the product, they damn sure wouldn't be watching Bengals/Browns instead of an eastern conference finals game. And those that were would be easily offset by the simple increase in people at home right now.

It's just...weird. I have to figure that behind the scenes they're handling this differently than they are in public. That or they're just going to accept that they're largely held hostage and try to ride it out.

So I listened to an interview Artest did about a year ago regarding it and...well...let's just say I'm not so sure he's grown up THAT much.

I mean he's harping on the fact that he went into the stands and punched a guy that punched him first. He just keeps saying "I defended myself after I got hit" and conceding only that he takes some responsibility, but he was not terribly contrite about it.

And he kinda glossed over the fact that he just hit some random dude - NOT the guy that hit him.

So I still don't really know what to think about the guy.

MLB is up 6% on all of the RSN's.

The Fox NFL double header on Sunday was up 10% over last year and averaged over 20 million viewers for each game.

You may disagree but I don't think it's fair to compare the NBA's numbers in September to NBA's ratings in the Spring. The real determination will come next Spring and if the NBA's playoff ratings continue to decline, then they will have a serious problem on their hands.

I'll be honest: I've tried to watch NBA games but it just doesn't "feel" right and I have far less interest in tuning in when the games are on midday or early afternoon. Add to that, I really do not care for ESPN's coverage of the NBA, at all. I don't care for their announcers, their halftime or post game shows and I just find them to be boring overall.

I'd be far more interested if TNT aired all of the games because I love their announcers and for me, Ernie, Chuck, Shaq and Kenny host the best pre-game, halftime and post-game show of any sport or sports network. More often than not, I find them to be more entertaining than the games.

But overall, I'm just disinterested in Fall NBA overall and I doubt I'm the only one.

With MLB playoffs nearing (and the Padres for the first time in like two decades having a team worth watching), the NFL is here, i've completely forgotten about the NBA until seeing this thread today.

MLB being up is an indictment on the NBA - it's a demonstration that the appetite for sports is still there and the viewership is certainly there as well.

And c'mon - you cited the one NFL time slot where viewership was up when at least through last nights game it had been down everywhere else. That's the kind of thing the NFL is doing right now as well and I think it's a mistake. It's excuse-making rather than a sober analysis, IMO.

That said - I suppose your 'seasonal' discussion could have some merit, but it's also fair to point out that NBA ratings had been falling in the spring a bit as well before really bottoming out on the re-start. I don't imagine your alone but surely that's not enough to drive a 25%+ decline.

Ultimately I think it probably is a confluence of factors, but it seems very odd to me that the public face is very Baghdad Bob/Frank Drebin esque. Nothing to see here folks, all is well, move along...

I don't think that's right.

The SJW stuff is pretty overwhelming, and this coming from a guy who doesn't mind the SJW stuff.

But, as a casual fan that only tunes in for the post season, the fact that i can't read the damn Jersey name irritates me.

Yeah, i know the biggest stars, but everyone else, i need to see the name on the back to know who the **** they are.

With out it the players feel like a bunch of fill-in NPC's.

"Oh look, there's goes #24 Equality running down the court".

It's just....idk, there's no connection there right now and the players effectively being a bunch of nameless wonders makes me lose interest fast.

Every team has a couple of "Black Lives Matter" and i'm having trouble knowing and remembering who they are.

I'm just not sure there's a correlation there because a true comparison does not exist for NBA viewership in the Fall.

I'm not seeing the NFL as being down a significant amount, anywhere. The Texans-Chiefs game was down 7% from 2019 but up 11% from 2018 and the NFL is still dominating the ratings, which are down nearly 18% overall vs. 2019.


As I mentioned earlier, it's really unfair to compare September ratings to May or June NBA ratings. Again, if the numbers are down next Spring, then the NBA will most certainly need to address the problem.

And your suggestion that it's not enough to drive a 25% decline is without a comparison. Day games, NFL and the MLB chase have all contributed to the decline.

If overall viewing is down 18%, then a 25% decline in NBA viewing isn't that big of deal, especially considering the odd timing of the games and the fact that they're playing games in the Fall, which is normally reserved for playoff baseball, college football and the NFL.

Again, we'll see. But the notion that lower NBA ratings are somehow caused by the league's SJW stance needs a true comparison, which does not exist at this point in time.

I don't disagree. I disagree w/ very little you said above, in fact.

But absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.

And right now it's considered blasphemy to even consider the possibility. That's wrongheaded, IMO.

I'm not ruling out the possibility that the SJW stuff is turning off viewers. I'm sure that it IS happening without a doubt. But it's difficult to quantify when there are so many other extenuating factors involved. Matchups are absolutely a factor in the ratings, especially given how Americans viewing habits have been changing rapidly, with more people subscribing to multiple streamers than ever before.

But as we can see, with premiere NBA matchups, the ratings have been very, very good:

https://therookiewire.usatoday.com/2...ockets-lakers/

Rockets-Lakers Game 2 delivers most-watched 2020 NBA Playoffs game

Game 2 between the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday became the most-watched broadcast of the 2020 NBA Playoffs after generating 5.4 million viewers on ABC, according to Nielsen. The game, which saw the Lakers post a 117-109 victory over the Rockets, peaked with seven million viewers. Game 2 was the most-watched television program among adults 18-49 since the season finale of “The Masked Singer” on FOX on May 20 with 2.62 million viewers.

Prior to Game 2, the previously most-watched broadcast of the playoffs was Game 7 between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets on Sept. 2. The game drew an audience of 4.11 million viewers and was the most-watched broadcast since Jan. 31.

Then there's this:


<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">��ABC&#39;s broadcast of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Lakers?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Lakers</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Rockets?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Rockets</a> GM2 on Sunday generated 5,432,000 viewers, peaking w/ 7,012,000 viewers from 1045-11PM ET. (Nielsen)<br><br>✔️Most-watched 2020 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBAPlayoffs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBAPlayoffs</a> broadcast.<br><br>✔️Most-watched TV program in M18-34 demo since the finale of The Last Dance on ESPN (May 17). <a href="https://t.co/Yt1Cy8gOkR">pic.twitter.com/Yt1Cy8gOkR</a></p>&mdash; Ben Cafardo (@Ben_ESPN) <a href="https://twitter.com/Ben_ESPN/status/1303722796384739333?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 9, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

---
So, are the NBA's rating down because of their SJW stance or is it because the matchups haven't been appealing or because the NBA is head-to-head with the NHL, NFL and MLB for the first time in modern history or a combination of all of the above?

IMO, it's too early to draw conclusions. That said, I certainly wouldn't dismiss the notion that the SJW stance is turning off the casual viewer and maybe even some of the hardcore NBA fans as well.

But at this point in time, it's just impossible to know why the ratings haven't lived up to some people's expectations because 2020 has been such an odd year.

I dunno, I barely even notice the BLM stuff anymore. This has been my favorite NBA playoffs in quite a while, starting with the games during the day (although not everyone was working from home and could enjoy it as a poor substitute for the NCAA tournament). I must be the outlier...not that I really care :shrug: I watch KU football FFS.

Taste is an interesting thing. I had very little interest in watching Rockets/Lakers, but I've enjoyed much of the other series. Neither of those teams does much for me. The Heat and Nuggets, OTOH, have been incredible to watch.

The Rockets are a hard watch, man.

Rockets/Lakers is interesting from a 'basketball academic' standpoint because there's such a contrast in styles. So you watch it from a strict curiosity standpoint because you want to see if the Lakers and their length/defense approach can slow down the Rockets run and gun strategy.

Then Vogel just goes 'small' (when his guys are STILL way bigger than Houston) and just crushes 'em.

But from a strict entertainment standpoint, watching the Rockets sling the ball around the perimeter or even drive/kick is boring as hell because you KNOW they're just looking to set up a 3 ball that has maybe a 38% chance of falling. So it's just so many missed shots and a repetitive, bombs away style.

D'antoni has steered so hard into the skid with the 3-ball that even his 7 seconds or less approach has largely gone by the wayside unless it's an open 3.

And the Lakers haven't played 'pretty' basketball in their own right all season. Seeing 2 guys drag a roster full of role players to Ws through defensive execution and spurts of offense is pretty typical Vogal stuff, but not fun to watch.

Yeah, I could see how Lakers/Rockets would just be shitty to watch if you're not vested in it. Whereas the Nuggets and Heat could be fairly entertaining because of their even shot distribution and varying tendencies.

But I still think the Lakers are a damn tough matchup for the Nuggets and I'd be surprised if it even gets to 6 games.

Reminiscent of the Warriors doing the same in their first run and realizing their full potential. Going small has been so successful over the recent past that I'm not sure why some coaches still resist it (looking at you, Bill Self)

Yeah but at a point it becomes like MLB's 'all or nothing' era.

Statistically, winning baseball is disregarding strikeouts and swinging for extra bases. It's an efficient offensive formula.

It's also just god-awful to watch.

So while I recognize the efficiency of teams like the Warriors - they're fun for about 8 minutes. Then the novelty wears off and you're like "oh...I guess they really ARE just going to shoot 3 pointers all day..."

What's efficient and what's aesthetically interesting/appealing are just two very different things here.

I don't disagree one bit, but I've maintained all along that I don't see the Lakers losing much at all this postseason. Could the Heat beat them in 7? I guess. Outside of them? I don't see how it happens.