Referee scandals, criminal activity among players, low ratings. What is going on with the NBA?

I am a basketball junkie. I love the game, and I will watch the NBA almost, no matter what. However, everyone is not like me. With the ref scandal going on at the moment, that alone will probably cause a few NBA fans to fall off the bandwagon.

Mr. Stern was thrown a serious curve with the current mess with Mr Doneghy. Although the current state of the NBA is not flourishing, Stern was riding the hopes of turning the corner, with his new rules and big time international flavor coming on the scene. Now in damage control mode, his job may be hanging in the balance.

I don`t think this league is ready to fold, but it is in need of some work. IMO, the next couple of seasons will tell us how successful the NBA will be going forward.

How can it be fixed????

I would really like to see the NBA adopt a more international standard and take its place at the forefront of the world basketball stage instead of this isolationist entity.

I would really like to see the NBA adopt a more international standard and take its place at the forefront of the world basketball stage instead of this isolationist entity.

Thats a great point. It also has not been lost on the common fan how poorly USA basketball has been doing lately.

Clean up the game. Strive for consistancy and get rid of the superstar calls and the refs who think they are above the game. They can tout all their 95% accuracy claims all they want but the fan knows how much calls fluctuate on a gamely basis.

All games should look the same call wise. If something is a travel or a charge then is should not matter who is playing or where its being played at.

I would also like to see a change in advertising to stop playing up to the pin head fans. You know the type. They person who may or may not watch an ABC game and never buys tickets to see their home team. Why is this fan more important than anyone else? Because there are more of them?

Lot of pure sportsfans out there who will not watch the NBA. Try to get them to watch and also focus on keeping your hardcore fan base in tact.

Arrogance

That's the problem with the NBA. Look at the NFL, they never, ever take the fans for granted. They have a great product, and they do everything to make it better.

Stern thinks he doesn't have to worry about the fans, bad refs? You're a conspiracy nut.

Well, now, he has to.

All of these things gone wrong could potentially produce something of a windfall to the loyal consumer in the form of incentives for continued patronage. Of course this depends on just how bad things become and subsequently how strongly negative the fan & corporate reaction. Stay tuned.

I would also like to see a change in advertising to stop playing up to the pin head fans. You know the type. They person who may or may not watch an ABC game and never buys tickets to see their home team. Why is this fan more important than anyone else? Because there are more of them?



This sounds great, but unfortunately, you got to play for the pinheads too. Hey, not every fan of the Pistons pays all that much attention to the minor details. They are no less fans though. They go to the games, maybe drink a little too much, but they go to the games. They pay for the tickets. They support the team. And they love the team every bit as much as the most knowledgeable fans. It is entertainment after all. So yes, you got to be entertaining. I do think you can be entertaining without being dishonest. Hey, sure, if you want to increase the scoring, make the calls more in favor of the offensive player. Move that circle out a bit. Move the 3 point line in a bit. Change the blocking rule to where the defensive player has to be there, and actually be stationary, when contact occurs. No more sliding over and causing contact when the offensive player has you beat. Those are always questionable calls. Call them all for the offensive player. But call the call the same for all players. Home team. Away team. Superstar. Rookies. The refs should be blind to where they are, or who is popular. Call things consistently.

Arrogance

Look at the NFL, they never, ever take the fans for granted. They have a great product, and they do everything to make it better.



Great point.

One thing I like about the NFL is, they promote TEAM, not the individual.

Hell, you wear a helmet in the NFL, take it off you get a penalty. The NFL is about team play the NBA focus is one the individual superstar player.

This sounds great, but unfortunately, you got to play for the pinheads too. Hey, not every fan of the Pistons pays all that much attention to the minor details. They are no less fans though. They go to the games, maybe drink a little too much, but they go to the games. They pay for the tickets. They support the team. And they love the team every bit as much as the most knowledgeable fans. It is entertainment after all. So yes, you got to be entertaining. I do think you can be entertaining without being dishonest. Hey, sure, if you want to increase the scoring, make the calls more in favor of the offensive player. Move that circle out a bit. Move the 3 point line in a bit. Change the blocking rule to where the defensive player has to be there, and actually be stationary, when contact occurs. No more sliding over and causing contact when the offensive player has you beat. Those are always questionable calls. Call them all for the offensive player. But call the call the same for all players. Home team. Away team. Superstar. Rookies. The refs should be blind to where they are, or who is popular. Call things consistently.

Good points.

There is what a team does to attract fans and what the league does. Someone who forkes out the cash to see a couple of games a year knows enough to know what he/she sees.

What I was mainly referring to are the would be fans that are not quit fans yet. This is what the league seems to target more than anyone else. Thats why they have all the cut-aways and side line interviews, assuming a low attention span.

If the low ratings of the Finals over the past 2 years showed anything it showed that there are not enough pin heads around to buy all their BS.

Referee scandals, criminal activity among players, low ratings. What is going on with the NBA?

I am a basketball junkie. I love the game, and I will watch the NBA almost, no matter what. However, everyone is not like me. With the ref scandal going on at the moment, that alone will probably cause a few NBA fans to fall off the bandwagon.

Mr. Stern was thrown a serious curve with the current mess with Mr Doneghy. Although the current state of the NBA is not flourishing, Stern was riding the hopes of turning the corner, with his new rules and big time international flavor coming on the scene. Now in damage control mode, his job may be hanging in the balance.

I don`t think this league is ready to fold, but it is in need of some work. IMO, the next couple of seasons will tell us how successful the NBA will be going forward.

How can it be fixed????

It really surprises me the way that this is being handled by the NBA and media because gambling is a disease resulting from a genetic foul up in people with this affliction.

New scientific research released Tuesday at a meeting in Chicago reveals that compulsive gambling may in fact be genetically founded.CNN - Compulsive gambling a genetic disorder? - September 5, 1996 (http://edition.cnn.com/HEALTH/9609/05/born.gamblers/)

“This study highlights the importance of trying to identify specific genes that might contribute both to pathological gambling and major depression in order to improve treatment and prevention strategies.”Overlapping Genetic Factors in Pathological Gambling and Major Depression (http://www.yale.edu/opa/newsr/05-09-22-02.all.html)


Abstract:
Pathological gambling (PG) is an impulse control disorder and a model ‘behavioral’ addiction. Familial factors have been observed in clinical studies of pathological gamblers, and twin studies have demonstrated a genetic influence contributing to the development of PG. Serotonergic, noradrenergic, and dopaminergic dysfunction have been reported as biological factors contributing to the pathophysiology of PG.
IngentaConnect Genetics of Pathological Gambling (http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/klu/jogs/2003/00000019/00000001/00454071?crawler=true)


:hoops:

All of these things gone wrong could potentially produce something of a windfall to the loyal consumer in the form of incentives for continued patronage. Of course this depends on just how bad things become and subsequently how strongly negative the fan & corporate reaction. Stay tuned.
I'm more interested in the windfall in quality of competition.

Definitely a diehard, but have become somewhat disenfranchised by the direction the league has taken in the last 10 years with it's marketing, promotion and management.

I still think there is a latent smugness, which is why it is important to keep the heat on the league to promote change. Bureacratic institutions (which the NBA league office has become) are unbelievably resistant to change.

That said, I'm optimistic that from now on when I call in to the Pistons postgame radio show, the host won't dismiss the referee bias rants as easily, which should increase my call volume. :)

I don't know if Stern is up to a change. The game's been generating more and more $$$ and why would he want to change the business if the money keeps flowing in? People are still going to go to the games, buy beer and food, ABC is paying handsomely for the TV rights. Nike, Reebok, and Adidas are in a bidding war to sign NBA stars. It is not going to change.

The NBA will need to show the fans that their referees are not only unbiased, but also competent. Those deemed not to be should not have the free ride they once had. They will have more pressure than ever to make the correct call, every time.
Not that most of them haven't already been trying to do that (although some will disagree), but the stakes are higher now, and a ref has to be surer than ever when they blow the whistle. Not doing so will only exacerbate the negative perception of them in the eyes of many observers.
How will this realistically affect games? For one thing, hopefully the "star system" of calls will be reined in, and no longer do veterans get the benefit of the doubt simply because they've been in the league longer. And the wild fluctuations in what the refs deem either fouls or "play-ons" in the last five minutes a game can should become more universally consistent. I have a feeling the "no tolerance" rule on arguing that was in full force at the beginning of last year will be relaxed a little. Technicals won't be handed out like candy on Halloween like they were this past season.
And most of all, I suspect, the aura of undeterred authority that individual officials like Donaghy conduct themselves with will be reined in. They will have to work harder than ever at becoming a team on the court, with members that are willing to correct one another. Like in baseball over the past five or so years, I expect the officials to huddle together a lot more than they have been doing, in an effort to get every call right and erase any doubts in anyone's mind that a lone "rogue" ref isn't taking control of a game.
And hopefully, once the season starts and the catcalls from the rafters are in full force, they can let their actions on the court erase any doubts about the integrity of the league.
Because if they don't, they'll have bigger problems than FBI probes. They'll have fan and media apathy, and a one-way ticket to the Versus network.

The Green Room - Celtics fan diaries - Boston.com (http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/extras/green_room/)

Look at the NFL, they never, ever take the fans for granted. They have a great product, and they do everything to make it better.

The NFL isn't only popular because they protect their product. The "product" is only displayed twice a week so the hype machine is allowed to shift into overdrive the other five days. FOX and ESPN have shamelessly promoted the NFL (a three-month-long leadup to the Draft is acutally a fairly new phenomenon) to bring in ad revenue. Game 7 of the NBA Finals does not command $2.8 million for a 30-second spot as does the Super Bowl. It's a great product, but it's because the media devotes so much air time to it.

The interesting thing in the NFL is you don't need to have a winning team to have a profitable product. The way the league shares revenue, the Lions can still make money and stink. Because of this, owners don't feel that compelled to put a winning team on the field. I think this sucks for Lions fans, but they still shell out money to go see the idiots play.

The NFL isn't only popular because they protect their product. The "product" is only displayed twice a week so the hype machine is allowed to shift into overdrive the other five days. FOX and ESPN have shamelessly promoted the NFL (a three-month-long leadup to the Draft is acutally a fairly new phenomenon) to bring in ad revenue. Game 7 of the NBA Finals does not command $2.8 million for a 30-second spot as does the Super Bowl. It's a great product, but it's because the media devotes so much air time to it.

The interesting thing in the NFL is you don't need to have a winning team to have a profitable product. The way the league shares revenue, the Lions can still make money and stink. Because of this, owners don't feel that compelled to put a winning team on the field. I think this sucks for Lions fans, but they still shell out money to go see the idiots play.

In addition the NFL owes its popularity to

1. the fact that people like to see other people physically go after one another, including a lot of women.

2. The feminist movement, which increased women's interest in all things physical because they now too could take part.

3. The basic aggressiveness of humanoids.

4. A stronger projection of men's need to be aggressive in response to the feminist movement.

5. The natural camaraderie that happens during the holiday season, which is when the bowl games are played and just before the playoffs start.

:hoops:

North County Times - North San Diego and Southwest Riverside County News (http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/07/30/blog/sports/20_06_735_15_07.txt)


So the Pistons are up by seven points with about a minute left. Rasheed Wallace, who isn't within arm's reach of the nearest player, comes down with a rebound and.... TWEEEEEET!

Foul.
Wallace, whose breaking point is .5 on a scale of 1 to 10, blows a gasket and...TWEEEEET!

Technical foul.

The Pistons eventually hold on to win, but because of all those last minute free throws by their opponent, they fail to cover the point spread. A certain segment of gamblers, those who bet against the Pistons, are pleased about how fortuitous those last 60 seconds played out.

Welcome to the NBA, where the referees ---- one of them at least ---- have discovered creative new ways to supplement their income.