Geez are we glad that's over.
When "load management," became the byline for the season rather than the teams or the game, results and satisfaction showed up at the box office and on the court.
The NBA will tout a record 760 sellouts for the year, but overall attendance was down from last season. To be fair, the attendance total this year was the fourth highest ever.
People buy tickets...even season tickets with particular games and players in mind. When game day finally arrives, it is a toss up who will be playing. That was always part of the contract related to injuries, but now any player you would want to see has the potential to sit for the night and that is not even related to the back-to-back scenario. You can goggle NBA TV ratings and see that they are down in the range of 10-17%.
Even the players (you can find a quote from any of the Golden State starting five) now allude to the fact that the regular season doesn't matter. It seems KD has not bought into that philosophy which is part of the reason he will be somewhere else next year. The most talented team in the NBA, some say history, couldn't even find the motivation to play hard in their 11 home losses...that's more than seven other teams.
Let's hope those teams are not rewarded and that, since many, including the fans, endured the 82 games simply to get to the playoffs, that the games live up to the hype. The players should be well-rested.
When "load management," became the byline for the season rather than the teams or the game, results and satisfaction showed up at the box office and on the court.
The NBA will tout a record 760 sellouts for the year, but overall attendance was down from last season. To be fair, the attendance total this year was the fourth highest ever.
People buy tickets...even season tickets with particular games and players in mind. When game day finally arrives, it is a toss up who will be playing. That was always part of the contract related to injuries, but now any player you would want to see has the potential to sit for the night and that is not even related to the back-to-back scenario. You can goggle NBA TV ratings and see that they are down in the range of 10-17%.
Even the players (you can find a quote from any of the Golden State starting five) now allude to the fact that the regular season doesn't matter. It seems KD has not bought into that philosophy which is part of the reason he will be somewhere else next year. The most talented team in the NBA, some say history, couldn't even find the motivation to play hard in their 11 home losses...that's more than seven other teams.
Let's hope those teams are not rewarded and that, since many, including the fans, endured the 82 games simply to get to the playoffs, that the games live up to the hype. The players should be well-rested.
