TripleThreat wrote:WaltLongmire wrote:Score one for Carlisle and coaches in general.
IMHO, the only way to truly empower NBA head coaches is to make non guaranteed contracts the absolute standard in the league, along with a hard cap.
IF STAT knew he could be cut at any time and get nothing on his contract going forward, how hard do you think he would have tried on defense. Likely he would have still sucked, but how hard do you think he would have worked to dive for balls, throw an elbow more, do the grimy dirty work required of a 4th or 5th big.
A lot of NBA players act like jerks because some know their contract status is more secure than their GMs and head coaches.
If I was a hard core Jazz fan, I would have marched down into the players area and shot Greg Ostertag probably 50 times with a Glock. The guy got a fat contract then stopped caring. Malone and Stockton didn't just run into the Bulls, they had a center who had more talent and ability to help, but just didn't care.
The NBA IMHO loses a lot of fans from these kind of issues. No one wants to see some jackoff act like he is so miserable and hates his job while making millions and flying in posh private jets and being catered to hand and foot. That most of these players are essentially American born black players, many who seem to forget their own humble beginnings, that seem out of touch and drive away a large section of mainstream white America away as fans of the game.
This might be a bit of an exaggeration. The NBA is on the verge of bringing in unreal amounts of money off their new TV contract not because people aren't watching, but because they are in record numbers. I think you have an outdated cliche view of the NBA players and the games current state.
NBA on ABC: Viewership Up 19 Percent for Cavaliers-Heat On Christmas DayIt had been maybe the most anticipated game of the early NBA season. LeBron James was returning to face his old team, the Miami Heat after going back to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Disney, the owners of ABC and ESPN, knowing it would be must-see TV, put it on the slate of games that the NBA puts up on Christmas Day. So, how did that game fare, along with the other games across ABC and ESPN? They were a slam dunk.
ABC was the exclusive broadcast home to a blockbuster NBA Christmas Day doubleheader, which delivered double-digit viewership growth, according to Nielsen. The doubleheader – Cleveland Cavaliers at Miami Heat and Oklahoma City Thunder at San Antonio Spurs – averaged 7,686,000 viewers (P2+) and a 4.1 U.S. household rating, up 16 percent and 14 percent, respectively, from 2013.
The audience growth was highlighted by the Cleveland Cavaliers at Miami Heat marquee matchup, which drew more than nine million viewers (P2+) and a 19 percent viewership increase for LeBron James’ return to Miami. Here are details for both ABC Christmas Day games, plus ESPN’s Washington Wizards at New York Knicks telecast, which was also up double-digits:
Cleveland Cavaliers at Miami Heat on ABC
An average audience of 9,299,000 viewers (P2+) tuned-in to watch the Miami Heat defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers in LeBron James’ return to Miami. The audience was up 19 percent versus last year.
The broadcast delivered a 4.7 U.S. household rating, up 12 percent versus last year.
Oklahoma City Thunder at San Antonio Spurs on ABC
Nearly six million viewers (5,994,000) watched the Oklahoma City Thunder defeat the San Antonio Spurs on Christmas Day. The audience was up 10 percent compared to the comparable game in 2013.
The Thunder-Spurs broadcast generated a 3.3 U.S. household rating, also up 10 percent from last year.
Washington Wizards at the New York Knicks on ESPN
More than three million viewers (3,046,000) tuned-in to ESPN to watch the Washington Wizards defeat the New York Knicks to tip off the Christmas Day tripleheader. The viewership was up nine percent compared to last year.
The Wizards-Knicks telecast delivered a 1.8 U.S rating, up 13 percent versus the comparable game in 2013.
2/25/2015 7:55 PM