Just a curious thought. No Yao, No tracy, would it be good or bad for the league for a team like the Rockets to win the championship. I remember when Detroit beat LA, without a true "Star" at the time, I thought it was great for the NBA. What you guys think?
I think NBA would hate it because they gain no marketing, but in MY eyes it's good for the NBA, and damn good for every Rockets fan.
Bad for the NBA, good for the Rockets players and fans alike. Shows the concept of team ball and that you dont necessarily a star player to win.
when the team you root for gets eliminated you usually go for the star studded teams. if rockets goes to the finals, no ones gonna wanna watch it anymore unless they are playing cavs or something.
This would probably be one of the greatest Cinderella stories for the team ever. They would be renewed in the belief that the league doesnt fix games if a team like this can prove that theory wrong by winning it all over their powerhouse teams with stars. It would absolutely be the best game for the league to quiete doubts on the outcomes of the game. Which of course leads to more ticket sales with creditability.
I meant to say Cinderella stories for the NBA ever. Great for the league to have a team like this. Battier could be the new image of the NBA. Thats a good thing.
EVERYONE would be on the Rockets bandwagon. A team comprised of no all stars and mostly late 1st rd/2nd rd picks would be fun to watch. I think the ratings would be less, but everyone gets the notion that you don't need stars to win and suspicions of fixing would be thrown out the window. Cinderella stories like this would be bad for the league (but in the long term i think it may be beneficial), but great for the Rockets and teams like the Pistons in 2004
It would be terrible for the league. Casual fans who make up a huge part of television ratings are not going to tune in if it's the no-name Rockets instead of the Kobe-Lakers, KG-Celtics, Lebron-Cavs, etc. I think the Cinderella effect is overrated on this board. It's great for b-ball purists but the reality is purists are going to watch the games no matter what so the NBA only fails at its only purpose, to make money, if the Rox win the ship.
Personally I think this is just what the league needs. A less-talented 'team' beating teams with more talented players ... kind of like mainstreet vs wall street, a feel good story in this tough economic time
If a team of hard working quality players wins the championship, with an emphasis on teamwork it could only help the league. DD
the nba LOVES SUPERSTARS hence the Rockets won't progess past the first round. David Stern already thinks that progressing to the playoffs alone is enough momentum to get the cinderalla story of the Houston Rockets all over the media and the papers. why waste a Finals spot on a unlikely cinderella story team in the Finals when chucking them a bone for a spot in the playoffs in enough??
It would be great for the league but the NBA wouldn't recognize it as such because they've got their heads too deep into the idea of pushing individual "superstars" in major media centers, and I wouldn't be surprised if Stern responded to something like that by pushing rules changes to make it less likely in the future.
GOOD. If we're making noise throughout this year, if David keeps dropping the Goliaths, I think the casual fans would relate to us and be ready to see armageddon. Especially if the league keeps pushing Kobe and Lebron everytime we turn on espn.
The 22 game winning streak was good for the league, this would be, too. People underestimate the amount of disenfranchised fans who are tired of seeing the Bostons and LAs of the world winning everything, a lot of it due to biased officiating. The Rockets are the perfect 'underdog'. No stars, undersized, no thugs, hard working, likable players. This would be the NBA version of Rocky/Rudy/Hoosiers. I was in a bar watching the Giants-Patriots Super Bowl. The Pats were undefeated at the time, and EVERY single person in the bar except for maybe 2 was cheering for the Giants.
