When it comes to running the game and making changes, it seems as though the NBA is making a lot of noise about bring evolution to the game. A great deal of focus is being placed on the length of times that a game lasts for, and the trial game between the Nets and the Celtics will be watched with anticipation to see if any difference occurs. Of course, when one discussion point starts off, it doesn’t take long to shift the argument to something else, and this is something that can be seen with the NBA at the moment.
With the length of the game being examined, the minutes involved with a NBA match is at the forefront but LeBron James is keen to focus on another matter. The player spoke to ESPN, where he said;
It’s not the minutes, it’s the games. The minutes doesn’t mean anything. We can play 50-minute games if we had to. It’s just the games. We all as players think it’s too many games. In our season, 82 games is a lot.
Dirk Nowitzki spoke to ESPN and said;
I think you don’t need 82 games to determine the best eight in each conference. That could be done a lot quicker, but I always understand that it’s about money, and every missed game means missed money for both parties, for the league, for the owners, for the players. I understand all that, and that’s why I don’t think it’s going to change any time soon.
And it looks like Nowitzki and James aren’t the only people willing to speak out against the amount of games being played in the NBA.
Miami Heat coach wants fewer games too
Erik Spoelstra, the head coach of the Miami Heat also agreed, speaking with CBS Sports, he said; “I think there’s too many games, to be frank. I think if there’s some way to find a way to cut out some of the back-to-backs so there aren’t 20-plus of them. I think that’s the bigger issues, not shaving off four minutes in a particular game. But I’m open to seeing what happens with that.”
NBA legend Michael Jordan doesn’t agree though and he has spoken out against James and Nowitzki, as he said to ESPN,
I love both of those guys, but as an owner who played the game, I loved playing. If I wasn’t playing 82 games, I still would’ve been playing somewhere else because that’s the love for the game I had. As a player, I never thought 82 games was an issue. But if that’s what they want to do, we as owners and players can evaluate it and talk about it. But we’d make less money as partners. Are they ready to give up money to play fewer games? That’s the question, because you can’t make the same amount of money playing fewer games.
Jordan understands the needs to make money
It is fair to say that the reason behind there being so many games in the season is due to sponsors and TV money. With the NBA having announced a new TV deal which will bring in vast sums of money to the game, there isn’t going to be any movement towards fewer games any time soon. In fact, you can see talks about adding more teams to the league and bringing in a few extra games will be pursued more aggressively than talks aimed at reducing the number of games that are being played by the top basketball players in the world.
The players may think they have the power, and in terms of negotiating contracts, the top players will have some sway but in reality, the NBA is still all about the club owners and TV networks, so if any changes occur in the game, it will only be on the say so of the people in the boardrooms around the country.
At 3-1 down in the NBA Finals, many people predicted that the Cleveland Cavaliers would lie down, perhaps looking for the pain to be over and done with for another year. After all, they were facing the record breakers, the team that had shown themselves to be the best of the best by a good...