The NBA has nobody to blame but itself. Ever since Jordan arrived, the NBA has always marketed individual stars instead of teams. If the stars make it to the finals, then there will be good ratings. If the stars don't make it, then it's bad ratings. It's definitely high risk/high reward. However, I think that the money and exposure the NBA gets from a star laden series more than makes up for a series with poor ratings.
Funny thing is, Steve Francis sells more jereys then Yao. Spurs vs Det is not the best bball to watch. Miami vs Suns, thats what fans want to see!!
