Keep Mark Cuban away from open windows -- David Stern, too
That the Golden State Warriors are on the verge of knocking the Dallas Mavericks out of the NBA playoffs is one of those great underdog stories — No. 8 seed dumps No. 1 — but it’s potentially rotten TV box office for the league. The playoffs are when the NBA hopes to capture something that resembles a national TV audience and to do that, it needs to have its showcase players still being showcased.
Already, the defending champs, the Miami Heat along with Shaquille O'Neal and Dwayne Wade, are finished, dispatched by the Chicago Bulls.
Now, last year’s other finalist, the Mavs and Dirk Nowitzki, could be sent home by the Warriors. Forget about the exuberance and grit the Warriors are showing in trying to become only the third team to knock out a No. 1 seed in the first round. That storyline goes out the window as soon as Golden State runs up against a team it doesn’t match up with as well as it does against Dallas.
And the NBA is a league built on personalties. Without those big names in the playoffs, it’s a TV ratings problem.
Comments
Not so fast Bill. I live out here in the Bay Area and I think the Warriors, IF they win this series, would be great for television. They are a fun, entertaining team to watch. With Baron Davis playing like a shorter, younger version of Magic Johnson, they play an up-tempo almost "playground" style of basketball, the kind of game David Stern wants to showcase for television; they are a "poor man's" Phoenix Suns, if you will. as for names, true Shaq and D-wade are gone, and Dirk may be next, but there are still PLENTY of marquee names in the playoffs , especially out West. T-Mac and Yao (Stern would love seeing Yao in the finals because of the China angle), A.I. and Carmelo, Tim Duncan and Ginobli, Nash/Stoudemire/Marion (Nash will probably win his 3rd straight MVP not to mention the highly entertaining basketball they play), as well as Kobe. Oh yeah, there's this guy you may have heard of named Lebron in the East, along with Jason Kidd, Vince Carter, and Richard Jefferson and a Bulls/Pistons war about to begin. So I beg to differ Bill; there are some awesome names and match-ups still remaining, names and match-ups that will have everyone watching.
Winston,
Thanks for writing ... If the Warriors could somehow get through the finals, they'd be a great Cinderella story but that's not a likelihood. So the end result there is that you lose the top seed and probably the team that knocked them off. You're right, there are some personalties out there who would have some general viewer appeal -- and that's what we're talking about. But obviously, they're not all going to get there. With both the Heat and the Mavs out, I think it's pretty important for the league that the Suns advance. As you mentioned yourself, they have a high-profile lineup. I'll tell you, from a pure TV point of view, I think having Mark Cuban out of the picture is a ratings loss.
Bill O.
Posted by: winston | April 30, 2007 4:18 PM