The NFL is popular because most males play football growing up and understand the rules and enjoy watching the games on TV. I know that the same can be said about basketball or baseball, too, but the unspoken popularity of the NFL is the gambling, office pools, fantasy football (which is really gambling in a different form), etc. I have watched the 4th quarter of a Thursday night game between two last place teams in the NFL because of the office pool, but would never do the same thing for an NBA game. I think the other aspect that enhances the gambling opportunities is simply that the games are played once a week on a regular schedule. Also, a team can lose a few games without being eliminated from a championship. but at the same time, there are few enough games that each game does matter. I guess that is where I am going with this, that other major sports could learn a lesson from this strategy as well.
Baseball is talking about adding another two teams to their playoffs because more fans will be excited about post season play and more fans will attend late season games, making more money. This argument is false. Just look at the NBA where more than 50% of the teams make the playoffs but no one really starts watching the games until the semi-finals anyway.
At this point in the season, most of the NBA teams have played 20 games, or 25% of their season is complete. Today, we can look at the standings and already know who will make the playoffs. There may be some jockeying for position between teams to be the #6 or #7 seed, but nothing of any consequence. Really, the remaining 60 games are for owners to make money to pay outrageous player salaries and give more opportunities for fans and dads taking their kids to games to pay $6 for a hot dog and $9 for a beer and $5 for cotton candy, etc. For my family to go to an NBA game, it is between $250 - $350 dollars for tickets, parking, and popcorn and a drink. If we bought any souvenirs, add another $50 minimum. Or, I could buy the kids an iPad for the same price that will last much longer.
Additionally, it doesn't help when only 9 teams win the championship in the last 34 years. It drops to just 7 teams when you take out one-year champions, Philadelphia and Dallas. Only 8 other teams have been to the finals and lost. Put another way, for the past 34 years
- only 23% of teams have ever won a championship,
- over 50% of the teams in the league have never played in the championship finals.
In the same 34-year time period, 16 different teams (50%) have won the Super Bowl and only 5 teams (12%) have never been to the Super Bowl. And one of those, the Jacksonville Jaguars have only been in existence since 1995. From a fan's perspective, on opening day, only 1 in 4 NBA fans believe their team can win the championship while each year in the NFL brings new hope. Some of the NBA fans are just hoping to win one series in the playoffs for it to be a really, really good year before they get beat by the Lakers or the Celtics or the Heat.
I do not watch games on TV because the schedule is so erratic. My favorite team might play five games in one week and two games the next, and not even on the same day of the week. I do not even know which games will be televised. However, with football, I know that my team will be on TV every Sunday. It is either the early or the late game, but Sunday afternoon, I can watch football with my friends and root for my favorite team. Owners could make more money by having fewer games that were more meaningful in deciding the league champion. The TV and radio broadcast rights could be sold for more money if more viewers watched. More viewers would watch and more fans would attend if there were fewer games and the schedule was played at the same time each week. Games could be played on Wednesday and Saturday for 17 weeks, just like the NFL does. The NFL plays a schedule where not every team plays all the other teams and that has not dampened enthusiasm for their sport. Why does the NBA insist on having every team play every other team, both home and away?
Eastern Conference Western Conference
1. Toronto 16-6. 1. Golden State 19-2
2. Atlanta 15-6 2. Memphis 17-4
3. Washington 15-6 3. Portland 17-5
4. Cleveland 13-8 4. Houston 17-5
5. Chicago 13-8 5. LA Clippers 16-5
6. Milwaukie 11-12 6. San Antonio 16-6
7. Miami 10-12 7. Dallas 17-7
8. Brooklyn 8-12 8. Phoenix 12-11
1. Toronto 16-6. 1. Golden State 19-2
2. Atlanta 15-6 2. Memphis 17-4
3. Washington 15-6 3. Portland 17-5
4. Cleveland 13-8 4. Houston 17-5
5. Chicago 13-8 5. LA Clippers 16-5
6. Milwaukie 11-12 6. San Antonio 16-6
7. Miami 10-12 7. Dallas 17-7
8. Brooklyn 8-12 8. Phoenix 12-11
9. Boston. 7-13. **12.Oklahoma City 9-13
I included Oklahoma City because they had early season injuries and should be significantly different the rest od the season. The teams that are currently 9th, 10th, and 11th in the Western Conference d not really matter. At best they can hope not to be swept in the first round of the playoffs.
Update in June...
So, here are the playoff teams for the recently concluded NBA season.
Eastern. Western
Atlanta. Golden State
Cleveland. Houston
Chicago. Los Angeles Clippers
Toronto. Portland
Washington. Memphis
Milwaukie. San Antonio
Boston. Dallas
Brooklyn. New Orleans
That is it. In the interest of reviewing crazy predictions, let's look and see what would be different if there really only had been 30 games in an NBA season.
So, if the season had ended after 30 games, all of the teams listed above would have still been in the playoffs except for two teams -- one from each conference. Phoenix fell out of the playoffs and Miami was the other playoff team after 30 games that missed the cut after the full 82-game season.
New Orleans edged out Oklahoma City in some tie-breaker procedure -- the team we highlighted at the 30-game mark, while Phoenix had a late season losing streak to fall by the wayside. Miami was the team from the Eastern Conference that avoided being swept by the #1 seed and missing the lottery by a slim one game difference.
Projecting one step further, none of the #6-#8 seeds advanced to the second round, and they only won eight games for all teams combined. Almost half of them by San Antonio, The defending champions. If there is one positive thing as we go into the second round, it looks like there will be a new NBA champ this year instead of the usual group of 6-8 teams. Next year when I write this post, maybe the NBA will be celebrating its 10th champion in the last 35 years. Or to view it from a different perspective, 67% if the NBA teams have not won a championship in the past 35 years.
Bring on the 30-game season! Stop the charade of a real competition when the other 50 games are nothing more than a money grab by greedy owners. More excitement for the fans!
