We complain about the NHL a lot but compared to the NBA .......

[Fugazy]

Why is that an issue??? Teams are #1 seeds for a reason. The "problem" with the NBA is that 1 seed hasn't changed recently.

Because it shows a heavy lack of parity in the league. 1 seeds normally completely dominate and don't have any competitive series until the Finals. It's been clearly evident in recent years.

 

[Melrose Munch]

Man I tried, I hope Phil leaves before he destroys his legacy.

Surely it couldn't be that they are the 3 largest markets in the USA. Nope, must be a super team thing.

Having teams that are the top of the league is good, as long as the guard changes. Having a small market team never have any success is the worst thing that could happen. Wasted money on a team that will fold.

Being part of the largest fanbase, I still like to see teams like the Preds do well, more so than the Rangers or Pens.

Philly, Boston, DC and soon to be Seattle as well. It's not wasted money. It's entertainment. There will never be true parity as long as players have NTCs and refuse to play in Canada anyway. A hard cap, salaries reigned in....and nearly 25 years without a cup in Canada. Some success.

Underdogs and upsets have always been a fun part of sports but reading this thread I've come to realize how much people hate that apparently. Might as well just sim every season like it's EA Sports game.

Parity is fun until the game itself has degraded, which has happened with the NHL.

NBA has become so predictable. Only a handful of teams are capable of winning the title. It's extremely rare to see a team below a #2 seed win the title.

Why is that an issue??? Teams are #1 seeds for a reason. The "problem" with the NBA is that 1 seed hasn't changed recently.

Agreed with the situation.

The way I enjoy my entertainment products of choice is inherently superior to the manner in which other people choose to spend their leisure time indulging in the same hobby, and I will assume personal superiority for how I happen to spend my time

 

[Paperbagofglory]

Well if you guys hate the NBA now you will hate it more after this.

http://www.sportingnews.com/nba/new...state-warriors-news/nhk8uolvhc7613pw26qijnqz3

Pay cut to stay with the Warriors. Hey hes showing loyalty right?

If the league gets sick of the Warriors and the ratings struggle next year, the NBA will just force them to break the team up. The league has intervened before like the time they blocked the Chris Paul trade to the Lakers.

 

[TheSituation]

Because it shows a heavy lack of parity in the league. 1 seeds normally completely dominate and don't have any competitive series until the Finals. It's been clearly evident in recent years.

I still don't see the issue. If one year, the Blazers are the #3 seed and crush the Rockets and the next, they're swept in the first round by GS, that's parity. When the NHL playoff odds numerically compare to draft lottery odds, that IMO, is too much parity.

 

[1specter]

https://streamable.com/s/nf546/tsokoa

Sadly Charles Barkley markets the NHL better than the NHL markets itself.

 

[Paperbagofglory]

https://streamable.com/s/nf546/tsokoa

Sadly Charles Barkley markets the NHL better than the NHL markets itself.

The NHL would do well with some aggressive marketing where its them against the other guys and to clearly state why their league is better.

This guy just gave them free advertising. In fact Barkley probably has more influence on viewership than the NHL marketing brass. Maybe he will get a few more eyeballs watching the playoffs because of this. In fact the NHL should just pay him to advertise the game.

 

[Nut Upstrom]

I'd think you know enough about basketball, and you certainly don't know how to comprehend what I'm saying. There's a reason 4 people have sided with me during this argument and none have sided with you.

Again for like the 5th time this notion that Miami was some
sort 'super team' thats even remotely close to Golden State is so flawed. Golden State had the best record in league history without Durant, Kevin Durant was just up 3-1 on Golden State 2 ****ing months ago and folded like a cheap tent. Do you know comprehend this part, as a competitor how do functionally understand this part. Kevin Durant left a fantastic top 3 team in the league, that was up 3-1 on the best regular season team of all time, 2 months later he left his top 3 team and joined the best team in the league, after blowing a lead to them.

Again this is literally the same thing as Steph Curry leaving Golden State for Cleveland and rationalizing it by saying "well lebron is fantastic and driving the ball to the rim and collapsing the defense, thus this is a smart move by curry because he'll have more room to operate his historically good shooting"

Lebron leaving Cleveland is like Demarcus Cousins or Anthony David leaving their teams with no supporting cast, again the Cavs went from winning 60+ games with him to losing 60+ without him. He had a horrible supporting cast, and this notion that Miami was some sort of "big 3" is so out of touch with reality, again let me give an overview of the events thag occurred.

Before Lebron got their Wade as the "guy" lead his team to 3rd in his division, didn't have home court in the playoffs and got bounced in 5 games in the first round. When they added Lebron (and Bosh who averaged 14 and 12 points the two year they won the chip ffs) they went from getting bounced in the first round to going to 4 straight finals, when Lebron and no other member of the "big 3" left they went from doing that, playing in 4 straight finals to missing the playoffs entirely.

I'm sorry, but you are so utterly off base that it's ridiculous.

If a mother ****ing guy wants to leave a ****ing perennial runner-up team to join a ****ing powerhouse championship team it's not too ****ing different form a mother ****er leaving a cellar-dweller team to ****ing join a ****ing championship team.
In both ****ing instances both of these ******* are bailing on their ****ing teams to join/form a powerhouse ****ing team.

****

 

[Addison Rae]

Well if you guys hate the NBA now you will hate it more after this.

http://www.sportingnews.com/nba/new...state-warriors-news/nhk8uolvhc7613pw26qijnqz3

Pay cut to stay with the Warriors. Hey hes showing loyalty right?

If the league gets sick of the Warriors and the ratings struggle next year, the NBA will just force them to break the team up. The league has intervened before like the time they blocked the Chris Paul trade to the Lakers.

They vetoed the Paul trade because they owned the Hornets at the time.

 

[Nalens Oga]

I'm not a basketball fan but they're clearly doing something to be able to get good ratings in the competitive streaming era while the NHL's ratings move at a glacial pace or often go down. They're doing something right if they're able to secure such great TV deals while the NHL barely gets TV exposure in the US.

This thread is just people throwing stones at things they don't like about the NBA from their side of hockey fandom. When you look at the big picture, stuff like parity and whatnot isn't as important as the excitement of the on-ice (or on-court) product and its associated marketing.

 

[Paperbagofglory]

I'm not a basketball fan but they're clearly doing something to be able to get good ratings in the competitive streaming era while the NHL's ratings move at a glacial pace or often go down. They're doing something right if they're able to secure such great TV deals while the NHL barely gets TV exposure in the US.

This thread is just people throwing stones at things they don't like about the NBA from their side of hockey fandom. When you look at the big picture, stuff like parity and whatnot isn't as important as the excitement of the on-ice (or on-court) product and its associated marketing.

If the NHL had someone on the same level as Lebron in the NHL there would be more interest. Crosby is great but hes not at the Lemieux and Gretzky level of dominance. Lets be honest here, we will never know how good Crosby can be because the NHL has a bro code about toughness and fighting through hard playoff checking, aka hooks, holds, crosschecks etc.

How well do you think James would do in that league if the old school 1980's basketball rules came back all of a sudden and all the hard contact and holding was legal in the NBA again?
There was a reason the Bulls could not win against teams like that until the rules were changed to make it more fan friendly and entertaining. People wanted to see scoring, not muckers smashing people with elbows and calling it a good basketball play. Granted the NBA has gone the complete opposite way and you cant breathe on a player without getting a foul, especially the stars. But they actually researched what people want to watch, and that's high paced entertaining basketball, not a 75-65 slog fest. Why can't the NHL figure something so simple out and give their damn fans what they want?

If the league can't give their own fans what they want, what do you think a casual viewers reactions will be in watching this crap?

 

[Pi]

A lot of people in this thread have never had a cramp in their whole life. It hurts, a lot. You try running and playing basketball for 30-48 mins against men who are strong and big and let me know how you feel after that game.

Both games are tough to play. Don't **** on the NBA for that. There are plenty of other valid reasons to do that.

 

[Paperbagofglory]

A lot of people in this thread have never had a cramp in their whole life. It hurts, a lot. You try running and playing basketball for 30-48 mins against men who are strong and big and let me know how you feel after that game.

Both games are tough to play. Don't **** on the NBA for that. There are plenty of other valid reasons to do that.

You know whats worse? Having an amazing relaxing sleep then sudden you wake up with a huge jolt of pain running down your leg, you freak out, you can't move and suddenly your relaxing sleep is over.

**** leg cramps, it surprises you how painful they are.

 

[PatriceBergeronFan]

I prefer hockey of course but while the NBA is predictable it's still a fun league to watch.

Basketball is a fun sport to play, and March Madness is great. The NBA is a farce. It just appeals to a larger global fan base than Hockey can. Many more kids are able to play basketball in a parking lot.
The NHL gets plenty wrong but is still far better as a league than the NBA.

 

[Hockeyholic]

Basketball is a fun sport to play, and March Madness is great. The NBA is a farce. It just appeals to a larger global fan base than Hockey can. Many more kids are able to play basketball in a parking lot.
The NHL gets plenty wrong but is still far better as a league than the NBA.

Well tv ratings and exposure prove the NBA is still more popular.

 

[Flair Hay]

If the NHL had someone on the same level as Lebron in the NHL there would be more interest. Crosby is great but hes not at the Lemieux and Gretzky level of dominance. Lets be honest here, we will never know how good Crosby can be because the NHL has a bro code about toughness and fighting through hard playoff checking, aka hooks, holds, crosschecks etc.

How well do you think James would do in that league if the old school 1980's basketball rules came back all of a sudden and all the hard contact and holding was legal in the NBA again?
There was a reason the Bulls could not win against teams like that until the rules were changed to make it more fan friendly and entertaining. People wanted to see scoring, not muckers smashing people with elbows and calling it a good basketball play. Granted the NBA has gone the complete opposite way and you cant breathe on a player without getting a foul, especially the stars. But they actually researched what people want to watch, and that's high paced entertaining basketball, not a 75-65 slog fest. Why can't the NHL figure something so simple out and give their damn fans what they want?

If the league can't give their own fans what they want, what do you think a casual viewers reactions will be in watching this crap?

That 80s basketball sounds like it would be kind of fun to watch.

 

[Paperbagofglory]

That 80s basketball sounds like it would be kind of fun to watch.

Yeah well coming from an NHL fan in not surprised. The game evolved while the NHL is stuck in some weird limbo between evolution and stagnation. A mish mash of rules that dont work together trying to mix outdated ideas with the new and having limited success. You would have loved the 80's Pistons by the way. One of the most hated teams of all time.

 

[stavs*]

NBA finals is a good excuse to get out for a night at the pub and have a few drinks with friends. It's entertaining sure, but the league as it stands now is a disaster. Too much disparity, super-teams, stars ditch their home grown team to go win championships on stacked teams, refereeing is atrocious (just as bad as umpires IMO). No thanks

NHL playoffs >>>> NBA playoffs.

I dont even think its close and I don't even hate ball, I'm just telling it for what it is.

 

[Reality Check]

I'll concur that this season the NHL playoffs overall has been better than the NBA this year.

But I can't say the same for the past couple of seasons.

 

[Hisch13r]

If their were no cap teams like the leafs rangers philly canucks montreal idk probably a few other teams would be controlling the league

Except they didn't before the cap. The decade before the cap the league was controlled by NJ, Colorado, Detroit and Dallas

 

[Stuzchuk]

even Sir Charles said it

 

[sandysan]

Well tv ratings and exposure prove the NBA is still more popular.

A big macs are popular, dies that make them good?

The NBA has better TV ratings becuase every kid in the us from elementar school on gets exposed to basketball. Based on the number of kids in that pool compared to the number in the hockey pool, it's surpsing that the nbaisnt exponentially more popular than the nhl when you facctor in cost.

Watching games that are largely decided before they begin has very little appeal to sports fans.

 

[Shockmaster]

Basketball is a different sport, a superstar can play virtually the entire game. This would be like Karlsson and Patrick Kane deciding to join the Penguins on cheap contracts and Ottawa and Chicago getting nothing in return. Joke of a league.

Technically there would be nothing stopping them from doing that now if they were free agents. There's no rule in the NHL that says players can't take less money to form a "super team" somewhere. What prevents that from happening is that most NHL players want paid what they see as fair market value (or in some cases, higher than that). Also, I would bet there are more NBA players with endorsement deals than there are NHL players with endorsement deals. Nice endorsement deals might allow a player to take less money from his team.

 

[Riddum]

even Sir Charles said it

For a Hall of Fame Basketball player to say this, it holds tremendous weight.

 

[EXPECT THE LEAFS]

It was fun to watch back in the days of Rasheed Wallace and the Pistons.

 

[Fugazy]

It was fun to watch back in the days of Rasheed Wallace and the Pistons.

I loved those Pistons teams. I can't really identify with the teams in today's league.