Are 3 pointers ruining the league?

[NorthCoastBias]

Wow. Can't believe a Finals being played during its standard time of year is pulling better ratings than one played in October and one played in mid-July lmao

NBA PR coming in with Baghdad Bob level spin there.

 

[Rich]

Exactly what problem do you believe they have? I’m assuming you believe the ratings are a result of three point shooting?

Maybe you missed this one? I find it interesting you take this approach when you’re always preaching about people overreacting game-to-game:

Upozornění na přesměrování

www.google.com

And the 2021 Finals were historically low, only after the bubble finals.

Not to mention that was a Milwaukee/PHX Finals.

Style of play is definitely one issue. There are many. The sport has been losing relevance for a few years, if not more.

 

[guitarguy]

Aren't all sports losing some popularity? Possibly more a sign of the times than anything (lots of distractions these days). In general I'm ok with popularity going down, cause whatever, people like what they like. But certainly not a lot of converts to basketball when a team takes 40x3s and makes 8 of them.

And for that matter, blow-out finals games are no fun for anyone.

 

[Ohioplayer00]

Aren't all sports losing some popularity? Possibly more a sign of the times than anything (lots of distractions these days). In general I'm ok with popularity going down, cause whatever, people like what they like. But certainly not a lot of converts to basketball when a team takes 40x3s and makes 8 of them.

And for that matter, blow-out finals games are no fun for anyone.

I’m not sure about other sports but I do not believe the NFL’s rating has gone down. The NBA’s ratings has steadily going down each year. The only people who love blow outs are the fans rooting for the team who is doing the blowing out.

 

[foucault87]

How are mlb ratings? Basketball does not have the consistently rabid following of other sports like football, futbol, or cricket

 

[Rich]

Aren't all sports losing some popularity? Possibly more a sign of the times than anything (lots of distractions these days). In general I'm ok with popularity going down, cause whatever, people like what they like. But certainly not a lot of converts to basketball when a team takes 40x3s and makes 8 of them.

And for that matter, blow-out finals games are no fun for anyone.

But that's part of this discussion. The 3 point shot is helping create blowouts over and over and over again.

There's very few games now where it's a single possession under 24 seconds.

That absolutely doesn't help the entertainment value.

 

[cavsfever]

How are mlb ratings? Basketball does not have the consistently rabid following of other sports like football, futbol, or cricket

No rabid following? Do you know where you are? Rabid is our middle name!

 

[foucault87]

No rabid following? Do you know where you are? Rabid is our middle name!

Yeah, we are all nuts here. But here doesnt represent the majority of basketball fandom. I feel like basketball has more casual fans than many other sports

 

[Heat Check]

Yeah, we are all nuts here. But here doesnt represent the majority of basketball fandom. I feel like basketball has more casual fans than many other sports

Absolutely it does. That's because NBA basketball is by far the best social media sport in the world. The highlights, the rumors, the memes, the beefs... and the players themselves are active on Twitter and Instagram. It's addictive. Always something happening.

I'd bet that for many casual fans, watching full games is not really even part of the experience anymore. They check the box scores and the highlight package and then head to Twitter to see what's being said. The players are rock stars, and most people just want to hear the hit singles.

It's not necessarily just the casual fans either. The behind the scenes mechanics of the NBA draw you in precisely because there's so much we don't know. It leaves a lot of room for rumors and debate. The circus that is the offseason + summer league has pretty much become the "2nd season", and it almost feels like many people prefer it to watching actual games.

It's both a good and bad thing for the league.

 

[Alec]

How does the NBA monetize social media highlights posted from strange accounts?

NBA’s brand awareness is growing, but no one is watching games and that’s a problem.

 

[guitarguy]

Will there be more than 80 30-pointers shot tonight?

Game 1: 41 and 45 = 86
Game 2: 37 and 37 = 74

Or more than 90?

 

[Rich]

Gonna have a 7 game series where none of the games are within single digits, let alone final possession games.

Exciting, engaging, entertaining.

 

[Heat Check]

How does the NBA monetize social media highlights posted from strange accounts?

NBA’s brand awareness is growing, but no one is watching games and that’s a problem.

I was going to add something about this issue to my post but didn't have the time.

It's very true that a social media centric NBA is both a blessing and a curse. The big money, the money that keeps it all rolling, is still in the media rights deals. If viewership numbers for actual games start dropping in the long run, the house of cards collapses.

 

[guitarguy]

Was looking at some old finals (randomly) through the last couple decades, in terms of 3 pointers, it was pretty astonishing how many more are taken today (averaging around 80 3s a game) where many previous had even less than 20 total.

2000 NBA Finals Game 4: Lakers vs Pacers, June 14, 2000 | Basketball-Reference.com

LAL (120) vs IND (118). Get the box score, shot charts and play by play summary of the Lakers vs Pacers Game 4, June 14, 2000.

www.basketball-reference.com

2000 Finals -Lakers vs Pacers - High scoring game - 120 - 118 -

Lakers took only 12 3-pointers
Pacers took only 19 3-pointers

1996 NBA Finals Game 6: SuperSonics vs Bulls, June 16, 1996 | Basketball-Reference.com

SEA (75) vs CHI (87). Get the box score, shot charts and play by play summary of the SuperSonics vs Bulls Game 6, June 16, 1996.

www.basketball-reference.com

1996 Finals - Bulls Vs Sonics - 24 and 25 3- pointers

2010 NBA Finals Game 3: Lakers vs Celtics, June 8, 2010 | Basketball-Reference.com

LAL (91) vs BOS (84). Get the box score, shot charts and play by play summary of the Lakers vs Celtics Game 3, June 8, 2010.

www.basketball-reference.com

2010 Boston v Lakers - 15 and 18 - 3-pointers

What a different game now...

 

[bronko]

The lane was widened first, to keep the big guys from dominating, much like the zone defense being illegal. Big guys got more mobile, so they added the three point line to draw them out, creating open baskets for cutters and dunks that made for Great highlight reels on ESPN type shows. Three point shooters became so proficient, they had to allow zones to keep some balance in the sport. Eleven foot hoops would be too strange, as would adding 4pointers or otherwise changing the value for buckets. I see lengthening 3 pointers by a few feet as the natural progression. For all the highlight plays and great athletes, the NBA was more entertaining in the bruising 70s and 80s, imo.