I enjoyed this article:

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_yl...yhoo&type=lgns

That is a great article. I totally agree. Just yesterday I was thinking about what a great MVP race it was this year with so many candidates and no clear cut winner.

The NBA has a lot going for it. Now they just need to take care of their history.

__________________
Momma was queen of the mambo, Poppa was king of the congo, deep down in the jungle, I start banging my first bongo
Every monkey like to be, in my place instead of me, cause I'm the king of bongo baby, I'm the king of bongo bong
-Manu Chao

A good article, obviously the writer is a huge hoops fan like myself and everyone else in this forum. However, we are not the audience the NBA is trying to attract.

This playoff run should be one of the best ever. Will the TV ratings reflect the play on the court? That`s what Stern and his cohorts are looking at.

Last years SA Detroit Finals was one of the most entertaining ever, to the hoops purist, but to the "average Joe" it didn`t feature Kobe, or Shaq, or LeBron, resulting in a very low ratings for a champioship game.

I agree this will be an awesome playoffs for the NBA and its fans, I`m just wondering will anybody other than us be watching?

The NBA is growing internationally as well though, and the Pistons are a very popular team in Europe and Asia.

Last year's Finals had the biggest total draw, but 7 games helped them do that.

Still, it's a win-win for the NBA to be so successful without the major media markets like NY in the mix. That means that they can survive and prosper without marquee billings in the largest population centers.

__________________
Momma was queen of the mambo, Poppa was king of the congo, deep down in the jungle, I start banging my first bongo
Every monkey like to be, in my place instead of me, cause I'm the king of bongo baby, I'm the king of bongo bong
-Manu Chao

True. The international interest is a good thing and the NBA has it`s eye on that audience.

What the NBA needs is more marketable players form the countries that enjoy basketball. Then we might see a major explosion, at least internationally. And if that happens who cares about the casual interest in the US!

The NBA wouldn`t