Do you agree with Barkley??

[westkoast]

I thought the crazy Knick fan idea was to get Bosh and Lebron?

Honestly I would love to see that combo together on the same squad.

[jemagee]

I thought the crazy Knick fan idea was to get Bosh and Lebron?

That's actually doable with a little more cap space being cleared - no trades necessary unless Lebron and Bosh demand S&Ts to get an extra year...

[jemagee]

Duhon did his best Steve Nash impression the other night I thought....didn't he have 22 assists?!

Yes, but the warriors don't exactly play defense, and duhon doesn't exactly pile up the assists against other teams (he's on my fantasy team, so his assist numbers are not what i hoped they'd be in the d'antoni system, though those 22 helped)

True but I wonder if Chris Duhon in 2 years under the guidance of D'Antoni would be better than Steve Nash in 2 years (he has a bad back)

I wonder if Nash would ever take a back up PG role at that time.  I think he would be a great back up PG.

Duhon 23 pts and 13 assists against a slightly better blazers team tonight...

Oddity - Eric Gordon has 3 block shots tonight

[JoMal]

I keep hearing about LeBron going to New York, Bosh going to New York....like these are done deals and of course this must happen for the sake of the NBA.

Why not just change the name of all other teams outside Los Angeles, Boston, and New York to the Washington Generals and get on with it already. 

[westkoast]

I keep hearing about LeBron going to New York, Bosh going to New York....like these are done deals and of course this must happen for the sake of the NBA.

Why not just change the name of all other teams outside Los Angeles, Boston, and New York to the Washington Generals and get on with it already. 

Drives me NUTS when I hear New Yorkers and the media talk about the NBA "needing" New York to have a successful team for the good of the NBA.  The Knicks have sucked since what..2000?  The NBA has grown globally quite a bit since then.  TV ratings were up pretty high from 2000-2003 then dipped a bit only to come back up this past year (in the playoffs).

Again in the 90s, when the game was extremely popular, ground zero was more or less Chicago.  Not a massive market compared to LA or NY.   I just don't get it.  I see history repeating itself with Lebron James having that some global appeal that Michael Jordan did.  And once again it will not matter if the most popular figure in the league is in a big market or not.

[jemagee]

Again in the 90s, when the game was extremely popular, ground zero was more or less Chicago.  Not a massive market compared to LA or NY.   I just don't get it.

Like most things - mainstream media tends to be slow to come around when things change, sure they'll talk (mockingly) about 'moneyball' but few bother to really understand what it really is about (or the priniciples behind it) but they'll refer to moneyball stats like they know what it means...the flattening world?  Not something that they grasp - they love the 24 hour news cycle but i'm not sure they even grasp its implications and impact...so comprehending that cities like LA or New York no longer need to be dominant for a sport to be successful, very successful, doesn't surprise me.

Now arguments could be made about 'better matchups' for casual viewers come playoff time, but I think that's based on personalities more than it is teams...or at least ABC thought so when they kept spoon feeding us lakers/heat at christmastime (which actually didn't do much for ratings, but that's because I think they didn't get who the personalities of the NBA really are these days)...

But in general, never underestimate the dimness or slowness of the media to come around to new things...i mean why is sarah palin still relevant for gods sake.

On the other hand - if you think about it - all these 'Lebron to NY reports' get people fired up for a variety of reasons so maybe they're just genuises

[WayOutWest]

Again in the 90s, when the game was extremely popular, ground zero was more or less Chicago.  Not a massive market compared to LA or NY.   I just don't get it.  I see history repeating itself with Lebron James having that some global appeal that Michael Jordan did.  And once again it will not matter if the most popular figure in the league is in a big market or not.

FYI,

The LA market is less than 2% larger than Chicago.  NY is less than 4% larger than Chicago.  IMO your point is flawed.  IMO Chi vs LA is a wash but IMO the NBA definately needs NY to be relavent in order to boost TV revenues.  Yes player marketing can help but just look at the horrible TV ratings of Cleveland vs SA, the lowest since the 70's I think, LeBron didn't seem to help much.

[JoMal]

On the other hand - if you think about it - all these 'Lebron to NY reports' get people fired up for a variety of reasons so maybe they're just genuises

Fired up? It makes me want to watch "Entryway Makeover" on HGTV instead of "Watch the Big Cities Trounced the Pissant Towns This Week On NBA Live!!!"  

[jemagee]

Fired up? It makes me want to watch "Entryway Makeover" on HGTV instead of "Watch the Big Cities Trounced the Pissant Towns This Week On NBA Live!!!"   

Hey - complaining is paying attention

You know what would be funny - and if i was lebron - i'd say something like this

"You know, I saw the Suns when D'antoni coached them, and they were exciting, but I never felt like they were a team that could win an NBA title...I don't know if any team running such a system could win an NBA title"

Just to see what the knicks would do - how long you think d'antoni keeps his job then?

[JoMal]

The LA market is less than 2% larger than Chicago.  NY is less than 4% larger than Chicago.  IMO your point is flawed.  IMO Chi vs LA is a wash but IMO the NBA definately needs NY to be relavent in order to boost TV revenues.  Yes player marketing can help but just look at the horrible TV ratings of Cleveland vs SA, the lowest since the 70's I think, LeBron didn't seem to help much.

The media markets are all IN L.A. and New York, not in Chicago nor Houston nor San Antonio, for that matter. Those other places just are not relevant. They only exist because New York and Los Angeles teams can not only play against each other each week, or that would have been the case long ago. The fan bases in the irrelevant towns across the nation would be more global if the media meccas had any interest in making them relevant. LeBron in Cleveland just is not going to go far unless Cleveland itself is made relevant, which it never will be.

[westkoast]

Again in the 90s, when the game was extremely popular, ground zero was more or less Chicago.  Not a massive market compared to LA or NY.   I just don't get it.  I see history repeating itself with Lebron James having that some global appeal that Michael Jordan did.  And once again it will not matter if the most popular figure in the league is in a big market or not.

FYI,

The LA market is less than 2% larger than Chicago.  NY is less than 4% larger than Chicago.  IMO your point is flawed.  IMO Chi vs LA is a wash but IMO the NBA definately needs NY to be relavent in order to boost TV revenues.  Yes player marketing can help but just look at the horrible TV ratings of Cleveland vs SA, the lowest since the 70's I think, LeBron didn't seem to help much.

I'd love to see where you are getting your numbers from because they televise Laker games from San Diego up to Bakersfield.  Pretty much all of Southern California gets Laker games.  Is Orange County and the Inland Empire included in your stats?

[WayOutWest]

I'd love to see where you are getting your numbers from because they televise Laker games from San Diego up to Bakersfield.  Pretty much all of Southern California gets Laker games.  Is Orange County and the Inland Empire included in your stats?

What is your point?

Do you understand why ratings are important?

[JoMal]

There does seem to be a sports pecking order to this, however. Baseball is far and away the most skewed, with the deep pocket teams hording all the quality players every year, though it makes them look particularly stupid - like the Yankees recently - if those teams fail to win while carrying a boatload of inflated salaries.

Basketball would be next, with players more interested in the local markets for brand-name recognition more then going to any team with salary cap room.

Football is far and away the most level playing ground for where good players end up <Eli Manning dumping San Diego for the bright lights of NY one notable exception>. It seems like star players can be found all over the U.S. geo map and get the recognition they deserve for been great.

[westkoast]

I'd love to see where you are getting your numbers from because they televise Laker games from San Diego up to Bakersfield.  Pretty much all of Southern California gets Laker games.  Is Orange County and the Inland Empire included in your stats?

What is your point?

Do you understand why ratings are important?

My point being that the population of Southern California compared to Chicaco and it's burbs is greater.    If you are comparing just LA County to Chicago then your numbers would not be entirely correct.  I don't think the Inland Empire and San Diego are considered part of the LA market.  Orange County didn't really start to be included into the LA market until the last 6-7 years.  KROQ, KCAL, KLAC did not always make it a point to say "LA and ORANGE COUNTY" when discussing their market until fairly recently.  Maybe I am wrong about what is counted, that is why I asked where your numbers came from.

[JoMal]

I'd love to see where you are getting your numbers from because they televise Laker games from San Diego up to Bakersfield.  Pretty much all of Southern California gets Laker games.  Is Orange County and the Inland Empire included in your stats?

What is your point?

Do you understand why ratings are important?

Another valid reason for concern. If salaries were not so inflated and the ratings stayed the same, at least the profit margin would not be eaten up by paying off the talent and it would matter less if they were showing a Denver at Utah game with two of the more talented squads playing each other instead of banking on the Knicks improving so they can be matched up with the Lakers on Christmas Day. There ARE a few of us out here who would prefer the first matchup over the second.