Basketball breaks the old cliche that defense wins championships. The games are generally very high scoring and many players and teams could care less about defense. Many contend that the NBA is really not producing the most entertaining product. The NBA obtains its revenue from bandwagon fans who buy tons of merchandise from their “favorite” team.
They cater to the bandwagon fans who are only interested in following a team who wins. Shouldn’t the commissioner try to even out the teams? Is he not responsible for encouraging fair play and increasing the competitiveness of the league?īy creating a super team and allowing the league to rally around it, the league alienates the fans of “less important” markets like the Milwaukee Bucks among many other NBA franchises. What is exciting about a predictable league. The Warriors lost no games until the finals and Cleveland only lost once before they bowed out to Golden State in five games. In the playoffs, both teams eased their way to the finals. The league has been dominated by Golden State from the West and Cleveland in the Eastern Conference. Just one year prior, Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers came back from a 3-1 deficit to beat Steph Curry and Golden State in the finals. They won all but one playoff game en route to the NBA title this season which was not a surprise to many. Oklahoma City were one of the first examples of a super team after the Heat and now Golden State has taken over as the power of the league.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver has shown a free market approach to the league and has allowed many trades and signings in order to assemble super teams. In the NBA, super teams and superstars are often the deciding factor before the game even starts. College basketball is more focused on defense and in March Madness, anyone can win. Many contend that college basketball is more entertaining because of the deep rivalries and the style of play. They often view it as a lot of fanfare for a product that does not really impress with “real” basketball. Many sports fans find it hard to watch the NBA. Manning later stated, “Remember that tonight it doesn’t matter who wins or loses just like the NBA regular season.”
Peyton was full of NBA rips throughout the night as he proceeded to hammer home the negativity and criticism of basketball. Westbrook showed clear disdain for Durant following his relocation to the California coast and games featuring the two stars often got chippy. He went on to bring Durant’s former teammate in Oklahoma City, Russell Westbrook, to the joke.