^That's the only reason I'm happy the lockout is over. If it weren't for the fact that the NBA has a significant impact on the local economies, I'd be happy to watch both sides rot the entire season.

 

Of course....once the season starts I'll be watching. B@stards!

I'm very excited to see Kyrie play and find out what Tristan Thompson is about.  I'd rather watch awful basketball than awful football any day of the week (although I watch plenty of both).

I am glad its over. Lots of businesses near the arenas and people working inside the arenas depend on the games continuing. It would have been a long cold winter for restaurants and bars around The Q in Cleveland if this had continued for too much longer.

 

Its still going to be a long cold winter (actively praying for snow, the skier wants to go out and play) as I expect the Cavs to still be a work in process. 

 

Additionally, according to some recent studies the economic impact from sports teams is overrated.

http://moneyland.time.com/2011/11/07/the-nba-lockout-and-the-economy-an-overstated-impact/

 

However, it does still have an impact (from the article):

Let’s be clear: The lockout will do some damage. On a more micro-level, arena support staff – the vendors, the concession-stand operators, the security guards, the ticket takers – will be out of work, at a time when low-skill workers are having trouble finding other employment. The burger joints and bars near the arenas will take a hit. These adverse effects are very real, and should not be marginalized. Select individuals will suffer and will have to scramble. But cities will survive without basketball.

 

I'll probably only watch games if I'm extremely bored.  I used to love the Cavaliers and the NBA, but not so much anymore.  I don't think they've fixed the league structure enough to make it worth it for fans in the smaller markets to spend their time and money paying attention.

Chris Paul gets traded to LA after all.  But not to the Lakers.  CP3's going to the Clippers.  After the league voided an earlier trade to the Lakers and a first attempt at a trade to the Clippers, this revised trade to the Clippers was approved.

 

LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS GET: Chris Paul and two future second-round picks

 

LEAGUE-OWNED NEW ORLEANS HORNETS GET: guard Eric Gordon, center Chris Kaman, forward Al-Farouq Aminu and a 2012 first round draft selection the Clippers acquired from the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2005 (this pick is tied to Minnesota's placement in the 2012 draft)

 

Anyone else getting excited about basketball!!!!!

 

 

Anyone else getting excited about basketball!!!!!

 

 

 

Yep, the college basketball season is starting to heat up! ;)

why do players you want to root for always end up playing for teams you hate? (e.g. Norris Cole)

Now ain't that the the truth. Just wait till Big Papi starts wearing the pinstripes.

You can't spell "closer" without Cole

I was really worried this might happen with Cole.

 

In other news Chris Wright (Dayton) made the roster with Golden State but has yet to see any playing time.  Hopefully he'll get a chance to prove himself, too.

Anyone else have a bad feeling about the Heat this year?

Not any different than last year.  They still have probably the two best wing players in the NBA not named Kobe.  And they still will be very entertaining to watch.  But they also still have the same con's as last year.  They don't have a physical inside presence.  Wade is always prone to injury (and is getting to that point in an NBA career where his athleticism should start to drop).  And they still have to worry about how LBJ will handle the pressure of the playoffs (which should be 10 fold this year due to his epic collapse against Dallas).

 

They will get off to a rocket start and perhaps end up with the best winning percentage of all time.  But I just don't see them as being ideally built for the playoff grind.  The chips fell perfectly for them last year in terms of playoff matchups and they couldn't pull it off.  I wouldn't expect them to be so lucky this year.  If this was the NBA of when MJ was winning titles, then I would put my money on the Heat.  But the league is so top-heavy now that the Heat are going to have to beat someone tougher and more physical than Drexler's Trail Blazers or Malone's Jazz teams.  I'm not sure how Miami will stop anybody on the inside if they have to face a force in the paint.

Hopefully teams in the Eastern Conference like the Knicks, Bulls, and Celtics really start to pull things together to push the Heat in the playoffs.  Who knows where Howard may end up or what other big moves might happen before the trade deadline.  I'm thinking some teams can still get stronger, too.

 

And worse case scenario, LeBron wins a title this year with an asterisk. ;)

So Mayor Coleman wants an NBA team in Columbus?  I thought the Blue Jackets were having trouble with attendance.  How could adding another winter sport possibly be a good idea?  That's one of the major reasons Cleveland doesn't have an NHL team anymore and Pittsburgh doesn't have an NBA team.  The seasons for those two sports nearly overlap.  But, I suppose if the goal is simply to get another professional sports franchise, it's not likely the City would get an NFL team or an MLB team due to teams in each of those sports being in Cleveland and Cincy, not to mention there is no way OSU would go for an NFL team sharing in its weekend festivities during the Fall. 

I read the article. A move of a team to Columbus would also need to be voted on by NBA owners. Gilbert was quoted as saying something to the effect of he'd have to think about how he'd vote and if the demographics of Columbus could support 2 teams. Not sure which two teams he meant tho, the Cavs and a new NBA squad, or the new NBA squad and the jackets.

Let's not continue this speculation about an NBA team moving to Columbus because (1) it will not happen and (2) we all know where this discussion will go.

 

Just to be clear, Columbus will not be getting an NBA team.  It doesn't matter if Columbus is a city/metro area that can support an NBA team.  The NBA would never locate a team less than 150 miles away from another NBA team within the same state.  Especially when cities like Seattle, St. Louis and Kansas City are out there with available arenas (or in Seattle's case have already proved viable and are owed a team from the NBA and will likely build a new arena).

 

Doesn't anyone want to talk about the NBA playoffs?!?!?!

To provide another reason why not (rather than continuing the speculation), Seattle has a deal with the NBA that they have to get a team back within a certain time frame (5-10 years, I think). If a team is looking to move, they might have to move to Seattle if the NBA doesn't do another expansion.

^I haven't heard of that 'deal'..... source?

 

^^Well.... it was Columbus' Mayor who raised the issue.  I think it is worthy of at least a mention in the appropriate thread (here).  I agree it wouldn't be high on the NBA's wish list for a number of reasons, including proximity to the Cavs.  However, that proximity wouldn't be too far off Chicago/Milwaukee, GS/Sacramento, NY/Brooklyn/Philadelphia/DC, Charlotte/Atlanta, Portland/Seattle (to name a few off the top of my head).  The Cavs currently have the widest market of any of our franchises with no team in Pittsburgh, Buffalo or Cincy.  It's not unthinkable, but not likely.  I guess I'm just wondering why Coleman is even bothering to make a play.

 

FWIW, I read that Columbus' metro is bigger than the metros for 7 NBA franchises...... who, without looking it up, I would guess to be Sacramento, Milwaukee, San Antonio, Memphis, Oklahoma City, Indianapolis, and Portland?  Maybe Charlotte (and not one of those listed prior)?

^I haven't heard of that 'deal'..... source?

 

^^Well.... it was Columbus' Mayor who raised the issue.  I think it is worthy of at least a mention in the appropriate thread (here).  I agree it wouldn't be high on the NBA's wish list for a number of reasons, including proximity to the Cavs.  However, that proximity wouldn't be too far off Chicago/Milwaukee, GS/Sacramento, NY/Brooklyn/Philadelphia/DC, Charlotte/Atlanta, Portland/Seattle (to name a few off the top of my head).  The Cavs currently have the widest market of any of our franchises with no team in Pittsburgh, Buffalo or Cincy.  It's not unthinkable, but not likely.  I guess I'm just wondering why Coleman is even bothering to make a play.

 

FWIW, I read that Columbus' metro is bigger than the metros for 7 NBA franchises...... who, without looking it up, I would guess to be Sacramento, Milwaukee, San Antonio, Memphis, Oklahoma City, Indianapolis, and Portland?  Maybe Charlotte (and not one of those listed prior)?

 

In descending order, Charlotte, Indy, Milwaukee, Memphis, OKC, New Orleans, Salt Lake.

Cleveland should get the NHL before Columbus gets the NBA.

The NHL Barons don't count as they were in existence for a whopping two seasons....and were horribly mismanaged by the Gunds.

I will say this...in Chicago there are a lot of fans of the Bulls that don't care much about the Blackhawks....and vice versa...so the fan overlap is not much of a concern.

^I haven't heard of that 'deal'..... source?

 

My roommate was telling me about it. But the details are more along the lines that the Oklahoma owners have to pay the city $30M (in addition to the $45 million they've already paid to the city) if a new arena goes up or significant renovations are done to the old one by the end of 2013. You get some investors to chip in with a $75M head start, a building paid for by the gov't and Seattle's back in business pretty quickly. 

 

http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Sonics-are-Oklahoma-City-bound-1278241.php

I don't know that it's fan overlap so much as just being hard to support two teams that play at essentially the same time, with similar prices, etc. 

 

I have been racking my brain trying to think--are there any cities that have an NBA and NHL team, but not one of the other sports? 

I don't know that it's fan overlap so much as just being hard to support two teams that play at essentially the same time, with similar prices, etc. 

 

I have been racking my brain trying to think--are there any cities that have an NBA and NHL team, but not one of the other sports? 

 

Well, Newark has the Devils and Nets. But Newark identifies really closely with NY Jets/Giants so probably not a good example.

No markets have JUST the NHL and the NBA, like Columbus would have if this actually comes thru. 

And....Newark won't have the Nets much longer as they are moving to Brooklyn...I think as of next NBA season.

On a side note, it's kind of funny that LA's Staples Center has TWO NBA teams AND an NHL team and can get around all of the scheduling issues.

Cleveland should get the NHL before Columbus gets the NBA.

The NHL Barons don't count as they were in existence for a whopping two seasons....and were horribly mismanaged by the Gunds.

I will say this...in Chicago there are a lot of fans of the Bulls that don't care much about the Blackhawks....and vice versa...so the fan overlap is not much of a concern.

 

Okay, so Cleveland should have four pro teams before Columbus has two? That is incredibly silly.

 

Frankly, I would say Columbus should get a second team before Cincy gets a third. And Cincy should most definitely get a third before Cleveland gets a fourth. I'm not being a homer, just look at the damn metro sizes.

I don't know that it's fan overlap so much as just being hard to support two teams that play at essentially the same time, with similar prices, etc. 

 

I have been racking my brain trying to think--are there any cities that have an NBA and NHL team, but not one of the other sports? 

 

Well, Newark has the Devils and Nets. But Newark identifies really closely with NY Jets/Giants so probably not a good example.

 

Correction...Newark HAD the Nets, but no longer as of a couple weeks ago. Harrison has the Red Bulls, though, which is a stone's throw away from Newark. (Since this thread so obviously needs more MLS.)

I mentioned the Nets above...glad you read all of the posts before firing off a reply.

Cincy won't get another team without a quality arena.

CLE has the arena and an owner that can make it happen....as well as over 4 MILLION people within a 75 mile radius of downtown.

Plus CLE is the 7th largest youth hockey market...which helps.

 

Okay, so Cleveland should have four pro teams before Columbus has two? That is incredibly silly.

 

Frankly, I would say Columbus should get a second team before Cincy gets a third. And Cincy should most definitely get a third before Cleveland gets a fourth. I'm not being a homer, just look at the damn metro sizes.

 

Glad to see the metro size discussion make it into the NBA thread. Metro has nothing to do with it.  Cleveland should have a hockey team because we have the tallest buildings.  Actually, I don't think anybody should have an NHL team. Anywhere.

How about the elephant in the room, OSU.  I don't live there, so correct me if I'm wrong, but i have always felt that columbus was an OSU town.  would such a high profile sports school affect attendance of a prospective NBA team?  I would also think stern would want the bluejackets to become profitable before considering bringing a team there. It is risky and, given the fiscal issues currently going on in the NBA, I wouldn't think the league would be willing to open itself to the possibility of another nonprofitable team.

It's not unthinkable that Cleveland would support a 4th professional team better than Cincy would a 3rd or Columbus would a 2nd team (technically CBus already has 2 although I suppose MLS is not quite of the same stature).  I say that because we don't have a major college draw for sports.  At least nothing like OSU football/basketball or UC/Xavier basketball or even UC football.

 

I would also imagine that TV market size has more to do with it than MSA and Cleveland's is not that much smaller than the Cincy and CBus markets combined - http://www.sportstvjobs.com/resources/local-tv-market-sizes-dma.html

Lets put this to rest. TWENTY TWO teams LOST money last year in the NBA. If you want to lose money, by all means invest in the NBA.

When people post what 'should've happen without statistical evidence bad things happen...

That said I think it would be cool for Cbus to get a team, but with the current NBA financial climate I don't think its likely soon, of course even in the article Mayor Coleman stated he wants to put Columbus on the NBAs radar, so perhaps that's all this article means

 

(EDIT: Corrected original post for Mayor's name)

Another concern for the NBA is that fans feel that there's been too much talent dilution due to the number of teams in the league. The large number of relatively mediocre players has make the average game less interesting. These are the kind of things that work into casual fans' subconscious, anger knowledgeable fans and bring out the haters in sports. There's a lot of people who would like to see contraction besides unprofitable teams creditors.

When people post what 'should've happen without statistical evidence bad things happen...

That said I think it would be cool for Cbus to get a team, but with the current NBA financial climate I don't think its likely soon, of course even in the article Mayor Coleman stated he wants to put Columbus on the NBAs radar, so perhaps that's all this article means

 

You nailed it.  Mayor Coleman is cheerleading and promoting his city.  That's his job.  (Don't tell me your mayor's don't do the same thing.)  I'm a Mayor Coleman fan.  And I like his "swagger" and "thinking big".  But even I don't think this is remotely realistic.  Because of the mechanics of forming a national league and the current make-up of the league, Columbus will not be getting an NBA team.  So any discussion of if Columbus should or could have an NBA team is irrelevant.

 

Now this is the second moderator's request to drop this subject and move on to some actual NBA news.  Nothing good will come from continuing this line of discussion.

The Decision: King James wins MVP -- for the third time.

 

http://espn.go.com/nba/truehoop/miamiheat/story/_/id/7922483/miami-heat-lebron-james-joins-rare-company-third-nba-mvp-award

Not speaking in terms of anywhere specifically (and I hope this doesn't run afoul of Columbo's request--if it does, feel free to delete it)--but think about the coverage in this general area already by the NHL and the NBA.  NHL teams in Pittsburgh, C-bus, Detroit, and a little farther out in Chicago and Buffalo.  NBA teams in Cleveland, Detroit, Indy (and again in Chicago).  That's a lot in geographic proximity.  It's really pretty cool to think that living in Ohio, we can see lots of these teams within very reasonable drives if we want.

 

I would love to see soccer take hold in the relegation system employed everywhere else.  Then you can have soccer clubs all over the place that rise and fall with their fortunes. 

Re:  LeBron and the MVP--love him or hate him, he really is an amazing player. 

The "Pace-aliers" just doesn't have the same ring to it....

Things are really collasping in on The Heat.  They've gone from being favorites to win the East led by the "Big Three" - to losing Bosh - to maybe losing Wade - to maybe being eliminated by the Pacers!

^Definitely keeps things interesting. Hope they lose. Hate how they (Heat) assembled this superstar team, love how everyone's assumptions are being proved wrong and the underdog is winning.

I'm loving this Heat meltdown. Not just because of LeBron James, but because way too many people (especially at ESPN) annointed them as champions and ignored the Pacers. For example, I'm watching Sportscenter last night when Scott Van Pelt said "What went wrong?" Really? Something has gone wrong? For whom? What does he/they have invested in the Heat winning? And then he Van Pelted Roy Hibbert, saying something along the lines of "Roy Hibbert came out of nowhere and had an unbelievable game." Hibbert is an all-star. How friggin' disrespectful!! And already Mike Greenberg, who predicted a few weeks ago that the Heat would win the championship, is already calling for the Heat to be broken up. What a bunch of flighty head cases!

 

So I love it when underdogs rewrite tomorrow's headlines, ala "Dewey Defeats Truman" and show why they still have to play the games. The Heat are a collection of stars. The Pacers are a complete, more well-rounded TEAM. And I sure hope they win to shut up the ESPN "We Play Favorites" douchebags.

ESPN's wet dream is for the Heat to lose in the Finals..... again.  Let's face it, they make good villians and thus draw interest to the games.  And another meltdown in the Finals would provide a whole lot of chatter for the airwaves.  Take them out of the playoffs at this early stage and the storylines for ESPN become that much less compelling.  Let's say, for instance, the Finals are OKC and Indiana.... the ratings will plummet..... don't you think ESPN (for pure business reasons) would prefer Heat-Lakers?

Oh I agree. But as a recovering reporter, you don't let what you think your employer wants into your reporting. If you do, then you're not a reporter. You're a publicist. Granted, it's probably easier to guard against that as a writer because you can scrutinize your draft work before it gets sent to a copy editor and on to the printing press. For a broadcaster, once you say it, it's pretty hard to take it back. That's why I think I'd be even more careful about what I say if I were a broadcaster. Tell us what happened. Don't say "Indiana won" or "Miami lost". Just say Indiana defeated Miami 94-75, followed by the who-what-when-where-why. When you deviate from that tried-and-true formula, that's when you lose your objectivity.

Things are really collasping in on The Heat.  They've gone from being favorites to win the East led by the "Big Three" - to losing Bosh - to maybe losing Wade - to maybe being eliminated by the Pacers!

Well, things certainly turned around for the Heat after going down 2-1 to the Pacers!  LeBron and Wade just went off in the next three games.  And just like that - Miami wins three straight to advance.  Miami will face the Celtics.  And in the West, it's OKC vs. San Antonio.

ESPN's wet dream is for the Heat to lose in the Finals..... again.  Let's face it, they make good villians and thus draw interest to the games.  And another meltdown in the Finals would provide a whole lot of chatter for the airwaves.  Take them out of the playoffs at this early stage and the storylines for ESPN become that much less compelling.  Let's say, for instance, the Finals are OKC and Indiana.... the ratings will plummet..... don't you think ESPN (for pure business reasons) would prefer Heat-Lakers?

 

I think this is pretty spurious .. is there a very tangible difference in rating draws between OKC and San Antonio? One or the other.

 

I think the Thunder have one of the more exciting images of basketball. As a younger team that thrives more on fast breaks and the pick and roll game, I just don't think the Thunder would be a huge ratings letdown.

 

What attracts viewers outside of the fanbase is star power. OKC has just as much star power, if not more, than other teams in the playoffs when you consider KD, Westbrook, Harden (the league's highest-scoring "Big 3"), Kendrick Perkins, Derek Fisher, et al. While I admit Serge Ibaka probably isn't an "NBA star" he also leads the NBA in blocks which is pretty fantastic. Hard to go wrong there. The rest of the roster aint half bad either with defensive lunch box guys like Collison and Sefolosha..

 

If we can just get Barkley to never again where the cowboy getup..that is truly embarrassing    :shoot:

Good job! Good effort!

Yep. That was a great game last night. As someone tweeted the Mike & Mike show this morning....

 

"Not 1, not 2, not 3, not 4, not 5 championships...."

The "GOOD JOB!  GOOD EFFORT!" soundclips on the Rome show are hilarious today.  The Celtics just outhustled the Heat last night, to every loose ball, every rebound, better on defense...  Doc Rivers is clearly the better coach in the series right now as well...  Garnett is coming up so huge in these playoffs, watching him get up & down the court, play stifling defense for a majority of the game, pull down rebounds, sink clutch free throws...  he is a true pro.