How will you react if the NBA cancels its season?

[Deberg_1990]

http://aol.sportingnews.com/nba/stor...t-consequences



It doesn’t necessarily matter what NBA commissioner David Stern meant when he said on Wednesday that the upcoming weekend of negotiations between players and the league would determine “whether they can either have a season or not have a season.” Maybe it was a threat, as it sure seemed to be—a grand warning that if they did not accede to a deal, players would miss out on an entire year of salary. But the league is insisting it was not a threat, so maybe it wasn’t.

It’s not really important, though, because we don’t need any pronouncements from Stern to notice that the pages are slipping away on the NBA’s calendar, and with both sides reporting on Wednesday that no progress had been made, at the very least, the beginning of the season is in jeopardy.


The sides will meet again on Friday, and considering it will take about two weeks to iron out the details of a collective bargaining agreement, it’s clear that without significant movement this weekend, the season won’t start on time on Nov. 1. During the 1998 lockout, the league started canceling regular-season games on October 13, and that timeline should hold up this time around.

Canceling the season is still an option, but it’s on the back-burner. There are some who believe that once some games are missed, owners will be willing to axe the whole season, as the NHL did in ’05. But bear in mind, losing an entire season would not just be a hit to the players. It would be a big hit to the owners, too. There is a provision in the league’s television contract that pays the league even in the event of lost games, something that surely increases the owners’ bargaining power in the early stages of a lockout. Owners will still be feeding from their deepest trough, while players miss paychecks.

There is a catch, though—if the entire season is canceled, the owners will have to return the television money, plus interest. The threat of the season being canceled can be arrived at just by looking at the calendar and noting the lack of progress the two sides have made. But there would be no point to a preemptive canceling of the season on Stern’s part.

SI.com’s Sam Amick reports that Stern has laid out a Jan. 7 drop-dead date for cancellation of the season. That was the same deadline in ’99, when a scattered and shortened 50-game season began on February 5—with very negative results. Attendance fell by 2.2 percent, television ratings fell sharply and NBA Finals ratings went from 18.7 to 11.3. That was largely because of the retirement of Michael Jordan and the breakup of the Bulls, but still, it took a long time for the NBA to recover its popularity.

The league last season regained its relevance among fans. Players have a lot at stake in the case of a canceled season. But while owners might be in a better financial position to withstand a long lockout, they saw the NBA finally climb out of its post-Jordan doldrums, and they have a lot at stake here, too.

A canceled season is still a possibility. But we’re a long way from that point.

[Rausch]

Don't give a $3it.

At all.

Hope it's forever.

[KurtCobain]

I wanted to make it to a bulls game or two this year, so it'd be a bummer.

[kcxiv]

This is going to suck, for me, i was starting to like the NBA more then NFL these days. NFL has pussified their game way to much. Its just not as fun anymore. Lets not even talk about the beyond pathetic penalties in todays game. I know its still hugely popular, but someone thats been watching it for almost 30 years, its not close to what it used to be.



Anyways, ESPN posted an article ripping Stern a new asshole. I can say i am shocked.

[Epic Fail 007]

don`t care a bunch of over paid street thugs with very few fundamentals

[Gary]

[CoMoChief]

Originally Posted by eric007

don`t care a bunch of over paid street thugs with very few fundamentals

Hey that's racist.

Sincerely,
PC morons of Chiefsplanet

[Pushead2]

who gives a flying ****

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by CoMoChief

Hey that's racist.

Sincerely,
PC morons of Chiefsplanet

It's wrong.

Go ahead and try to put the 'fundamentally sound' Princeton Tigers in an offense as relatively braindead as Mike Brown's - they'd trip over their own feet. NBA offenses (and defenses) for that matter are miles ahead of the stuff they use in college.

The fundamentals in the NBA are actually exceptional. The passing is off the charts good, but the length of defenders is so incredible that they still tip some of them away. It's not a bad pass, it's just that they're playing on a court that was designed at a time when 6'6'' was a damn behemoth and now it's a shooting guard.

There's simply not a lot of room on an NBA court anymore. These guys are freakin' huge and they're fast. To be able to get a pass into the interior all is pretty impressive and it generally comes off some pretty nifty screens or exterior passing before the entry pass is even possible. These guys are able to control their dribble while they're getting mugged coming through the lane, they can switch hands in the air to finish and their court vision is remarkable.

An earlier post was right - you need to see a game in person to realize just how hard that game is. From up high it looks like there's plenty of space and it looks pretty easy. Get down courtside and listen to it. It's violent (like punching a side of beef), its crowded and its chaotic. The fact that these guys can even see across the court given the fact that they're throwing over guys with 8-9 ft wingspans is pretty incredible. What they're able to do in the passing game alone is amazing when seen at the level these guys actually play at.

Then to watch them receive a pass in a triple threat position, execute a great jab step and go straight up for a 15 footer (only to still be contested on a play that would've had a college defender falling on his ass) and sink it is just a thing of beauty. 80% of the plays in the NBA are built around the fundamentals; passing, screens, positioning and shooting technique. Sometimes the D blows your play up and an iso is necessary, but it's almost always a losing proposition anymore because these guys are just too athletic on defense.

The 'streetball' talk is just wrong. Oh there's probably an element of latent racism to it, but mostly it's just wildly uninformed. The fundamentals in the NBA are stronger than they've ever been. The quality of play is higher than its ever been. It took me a very long time to come back around on the league after the Riley-era Knicks/Heat drove it into the abyss. I damn near left again after the 2005 Finals where the officials gave Dwayne Wade a championship. But there's just no question that the league right now is absolutely incredible.

If you don't want to watch - don't. But I get really tired of people that clearly don't understand the intricacies of the game trying to speak to how awful it is.

[HC_Chief]

What's this "NBA" thing you speak of?

[TEX]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

It's wrong.

Go ahead and try to put the 'fundamentally sound' Princeton Tigers in an offense as relatively braindead as Mike Brown's - they'd trip over their own feet. NBA offenses (and defenses) for that matter are miles ahead of the stuff they use in college.

The fundamentals in the NBA are actually exceptional. The passing is off the charts good, but the length of defenders is so incredible that they still tip some of them away. It's not a bad pass, it's just that they're playing on a court that was designed at a time when 6'6'' was a damn behemoth and now it's a shooting guard.

There's simply not a lot of room on an NBA court anymore. These guys are freakin' huge and they're fast. To be able to get a pass into the interior all is pretty impressive and it generally comes off some pretty nifty screens or exterior passing before the entry pass is even possible. These guys are able to control their dribble while they're getting mugged coming through the lane, they can switch hands in the air to finish and their court vision is remarkable.

An earlier post was right - you need to see a game in person to realize just how hard that game is. From up high it looks like there's plenty of space and it looks pretty easy. Get down courtside and listen to it. It's violent (like punching a side of beef), its crowded and its chaotic. The fact that these guys can even see across the court given the fact that they're throwing over guys with 8-9 ft wingspans is pretty incredible. What they're able to do in the passing game alone is amazing when seen at the level these guys actually play at.

Then to watch them receive a pass in a triple threat position, execute a great jab step and go straight up for a 15 footer (only to still be contested on a play that would've had a college defender falling on his ass) and sink it is just a thing of beauty. 80% of the plays in the NBA are built around the fundamentals; passing, screens, positioning and shooting technique. Sometimes the D blows your play up and an iso is necessary, but it's almost always a losing proposition anymore because these guys are just too athletic on defense.

The 'streetball' talk is just wrong. Oh there's probably an element of latent racism to it, but mostly it's just wildly uninformed. The fundamentals in the NBA are stronger than they've ever been. The quality of play is higher than its ever been. It took me a very long time to come back around on the league after the Riley-era Knicks/Heat drove it into the abyss. I damn near left again after the 2005 Finals where the officials gave Dwayne Wade a championship. But there's just no question that the league right now is absolutely incredible.

If you don't want to watch - don't. But I get really tired of people that clearly don't understand the intricacies of the game trying to speak to how awful it is.

Very good post. However, IMO way too much thought wasted on the NBA...

[Demonpenz]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

It's wrong.

Go ahead and try to put the 'fundamentally sound' Princeton Tigers in an offense as relatively braindead as Mike Brown's - they'd trip over their own feet. NBA offenses (and defenses) for that matter are miles ahead of the stuff they use in college.

The fundamentals in the NBA are actually exceptional. The passing is off the charts good, but the length of defenders is so incredible that they still tip some of them away. It's not a bad pass, it's just that they're playing on a court that was designed at a time when 6'6'' was a damn behemoth and now it's a shooting guard.

There's simply not a lot of room on an NBA court anymore. These guys are freakin' huge and they're fast. To be able to get a pass into the interior all is pretty impressive and it generally comes off some pretty nifty screens or exterior passing before the entry pass is even possible. These guys are able to control their dribble while they're getting mugged coming through the lane, they can switch hands in the air to finish and their court vision is remarkable.

An earlier post was right - you need to see a game in person to realize just how hard that game is. From up high it looks like there's plenty of space and it looks pretty easy. Get down courtside and listen to it. It's violent (like punching a side of beef), its crowded and its chaotic. The fact that these guys can even see across the court given the fact that they're throwing over guys with 8-9 ft wingspans is pretty incredible. What they're able to do in the passing game alone is amazing when seen at the level these guys actually play at.

Then to watch them receive a pass in a triple threat position, execute a great jab step and go straight up for a 15 footer (only to still be contested on a play that would've had a college defender falling on his ass) and sink it is just a thing of beauty. 80% of the plays in the NBA are built around the fundamentals; passing, screens, positioning and shooting technique. Sometimes the D blows your play up and an iso is necessary, but it's almost always a losing proposition anymore because these guys are just too athletic on defense.

The 'streetball' talk is just wrong. Oh there's probably an element of latent racism to it, but mostly it's just wildly uninformed. The fundamentals in the NBA are stronger than they've ever been. The quality of play is higher than its ever been. It took me a very long time to come back around on the league after the Riley-era Knicks/Heat drove it into the abyss. I damn near left again after the 2005 Finals where the officials gave Dwayne Wade a championship. But there's just no question that the league right now is absolutely incredible.

If you don't want to watch - don't. But I get really tired of people that clearly don't understand the intricacies of the game trying to speak to how awful it is.

I think the average person watches the street ball challenge and thinks that is what the nba is.

THE PROFESSSOARRR

[vailpass]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

It's wrong.

Go ahead and try to put the 'fundamentally sound' Princeton Tigers in an offense as relatively braindead as Mike Brown's - they'd trip over their own feet. NBA offenses (and defenses) for that matter are miles ahead of the stuff they use in college.

The fundamentals in the NBA are actually exceptional. The passing is off the charts good, but the length of defenders is so incredible that they still tip some of them away. It's not a bad pass, it's just that they're playing on a court that was designed at a time when 6'6'' was a damn behemoth and now it's a shooting guard.

There's simply not a lot of room on an NBA court anymore. These guys are freakin' huge and they're fast. To be able to get a pass into the interior all is pretty impressive and it generally comes off some pretty nifty screens or exterior passing before the entry pass is even possible. These guys are able to control their dribble while they're getting mugged coming through the lane, they can switch hands in the air to finish and their court vision is remarkable.

An earlier post was right - you need to see a game in person to realize just how hard that game is. From up high it looks like there's plenty of space and it looks pretty easy. Get down courtside and listen to it. It's violent (like punching a side of beef), its crowded and its chaotic. The fact that these guys can even see across the court given the fact that they're throwing over guys with 8-9 ft wingspans is pretty incredible. What they're able to do in the passing game alone is amazing when seen at the level these guys actually play at.

Then to watch them receive a pass in a triple threat position, execute a great jab step and go straight up for a 15 footer (only to still be contested on a play that would've had a college defender falling on his ass) and sink it is just a thing of beauty. 80% of the plays in the NBA are built around the fundamentals; passing, screens, positioning and shooting technique. Sometimes the D blows your play up and an iso is necessary, but it's almost always a losing proposition anymore because these guys are just too athletic on defense.

The 'streetball' talk is just wrong. Oh there's probably an element of latent racism to it, but mostly it's just wildly uninformed. The fundamentals in the NBA are stronger than they've ever been. The quality of play is higher than its ever been. It took me a very long time to come back around on the league after the Riley-era Knicks/Heat drove it into the abyss. I damn near left again after the 2005 Finals where the officials gave Dwayne Wade a championship. But there's just no question that the league right now is absolutely incredible.

If you don't want to watch - don't. But I get really tired of people that clearly don't understand the intricacies of the game trying to speak to how awful it is.

Wow. If I cared about the NBA I might read this novella.

[Deberg_1990]

Originally Posted by vailpass

Wow. If I cared about the NBA I might read this novella.

So you dont care about watching great athletes play at the top of their game. Got it.

[BWillie]

I'm not happy at all. The NBA is a great product. Some really intriguing teams and matchups and the Thunder were set up to have a great year. Add that w/ the hoopla in Miami and Kobe trying to get his 7th ring, that is something I want to watch.

[vailpass]

Originally Posted by Deberg_1990

So you dont care about watching great athletes play at the top of their game. Got it.

Personal preference.
My buddy has 4 club season tix to the Suns. I can go whenever I want but I only go with him a few times a season. Playoff games are fine but nothing compared to an NFL game. I'd rather cut my nuts off than sit through regular season NBA games. I like live hockey as much as live NBA.