A lot of things are wrong with me. Just ask my parents. But I decided to take this time while watching the second half of this Cavs and Jazz game to discuss the recent news that has come out about the lack of NBA Viewership. It’s a huge problem for a league that has been a part of this country’s sporting world for decades and then some.
The biggest problem, in my opinion, is that these players don’t hate each other. There aren’t the classic rivalries that even I grew up with, such as Cavs/Pistons and Cavs/Celtics in the playoffs. I understand that there is mutual respect for each other, but that sadly translates into a lack of rivalries and even pure hatred between franchises throughout each game and then into the playoffs.
The next problem is the style of play, especially with how these players just jack up threes all game long. But what kid is like, “Daddy, the Cavs shoot too many threes, I’m going to watch Family Guy and The Office instead.” Basketball is still basketball and that might be a small problem but I don’t believe as big of one as experts are citing. The three-pointer is a part of the game and always will be.
Next and this is a sad one. LeBron and his generation of players are getting old and retiring. The players I grew up watching like Kobe (RIP), Shaq, T Mac, Melo…the list goes on and on from players in the early 2000s that were just more entertaining than what we currently have.
Furthermore, take a look at the times we live in. People just have other things to watch. From Netflix to Hulu and YouTube and more, there’s always another options. It’s not just three, five and eight on the TV to watch like back in the day. This is an issue that won’t get better but just worse as the world evolves more and more over time.
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I thought of a radical idea of eliminating the three-point line for, say, the first three quarters of games. My brother suggested something such as simply extending the line and widening the courts. I like these ideas but they would take a lot of adjustment from the players/coaches obviously and the fans as well.
The players hating each other just has to come with…well, the players hating each other. Same thing with draft class and those coming in the league that people find interesting enough to want to watch each and every night. We’ll see what’s to come in the future.
Other things to watch are always going to be there and it now has to be the NBA making itself a more viable option over those choices.
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Sadly, despite those options, I don’t think this is something that is going to be fixed. I actually feel like just with time; it’ going to get worse and worse. I hope I’m wrong, but it’s becoming less and less exciting to even watch a team that’s about to be 26-4 in our Cleveland Cavaliers. Let’s see if league executives and others can come up with ways to make it better.
Hey, at least our team is the best.
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