Yep. The NBA needs to follow the NFL. Even if my Texans aren't playing (I lived in DFW for two years and didn't get many Texans game), I'll watch ANY NFL game that is on TV. Can't say the same for the NBA.
Overexposure. Between TNT, ESPN, and NBA TV you have at least 5 televised games a week, during the regular season. That's not even counting a local team's schedule.
Is the TV money the reason why the teams are struggling? I am thinking it's probably the economcy reducing corporate sponsorship, corporate and individual season ticket purchases, etc.
There is nothing the NBA could do to reach the level of the NFL. NFL games are a unique phenomenon to American sports that baseball and basketball can't hope to match right now. You could reduce the number of games, reduce the number of teams, fix all of the referee mistakes and eliminate flopping. NBA games still wouldn't be much more than a dime a dozen to most people. The NFL is king and will stay there a long while despite their arrogance. Even if there is a work stoppage, all it would do is make fans more hungry for NFL games.
NFL's mentioned adding extra games to the 16 game season. Its all about being as profitable as possible. Though the NFL could easily replace 2 preseason games with regular season games. Hardly anyone watches 162 + baseball games, yet they seem to be alright. Cuz they already know there's gonna be toss-aside boring filler games, dont see why NBA HAS to be different. Though NBA playoffs are too long. 6 teams a conference in the playoffs with no divisions is the way to go. Top 12 no conferences if you gotta be all Euro about it.
with the rule changes the league is more guard oriented which is what sells i guess. thats why you see the steve nash's and chris paul's when you didnt see them before. nash is the most clear case because he came out of the blue and became MVP after the perimeter rule changes.
I've tried to be aware of talent dilution cuz its said expansion affects gameplay and talent quality. I'm sure a more compacted number of NBA players would to lead to more quality play. I just never noticed the dilution issue though. In 20+ years I've never stopped and said to myself my goodness there's TOO many crappy undeserving players in the league. I especially dont notice coaching dilution. After the top 6-7 coaches they're all the same after that. NFL with the short and sweet season plays coaching musical chairs as much as anyone. I guess then unlike other sports the NBA's more like track and field - top heavy in the upper percentile with its elite players, good to average the rest of the way. In the track events, no reason to run 30 heats of 200 competitors. All that matters is the top 20 competitors in 3 heats. (But then the NBA's focused on individual stars more than team play, but thats another thing...) That said,, oddly enough I think the league could have done without the Bobcats and 1 more team could be gone right off the bat, like the Grizzlies or Clippers. If the NBA went back to the 1987 # of teams before the Hornets and Heat entered in, I wouldnt be upset. Playoffs are too long, I HATED when they stretched the opening round to 7 games.
Owners aren't interested necessarily in matching the phenomenon...they're interested in matching the revenues. Baseball's revenues are on par with the NFL's. The NBA's revenues are well below that.
Baseball has a long season because historically and comparatively they've let so few teams into the playoffs. It wasn't that long back now that only 4 teams made the playoffs in baseball. I don't have a problem with a longer regular season if there's some premium on playoff spots. But, again, if you're going to allow in more teams than you exclude, then a long regular season is meaningless.
Another issue with the NBA is the game itself often requires creativity and improvisation. This appeals to the younger generation as David Stern has shrewdly taken advantage of with his "pussyfying" of the product over the years. This is the same reason quality soccer has failed to catch on in America and there is such a huge difference between the quality of MLS soccer and European leagues... successful sports in America are those the majority can relate to or discuss at length. The NFL and MLB have many more intricacies for the fans to discuss as opposed to NBA and Soccer, which often overshadows the product itself and appeals to people who aren't fans of the actual sport itself. The NFL is a chess game between offensive and defensive coordinators but the players themselves are performing straight forward tasks like running routes or blocking certain players. It's an interesting tradeoff.
