The NBA is doing their best, guys, give them a break. Release schedules are just a big deal in the NFL, where teams have to put their best players on the field on a weekly basis, saving for the remainder of the possible season-end. So even though Roger Goodell and his friends show up every year with pictures of gifts that look like a Santa, doesn’t mean Adam Silver has to follow suit.
So yes, the means of blocking Christmas Day are important (as much as possible when sharing the bench with the ever-expanding NFL team). Opening night is also important because the Lakers’ season has yet to fill the bottom of a moldy kitchen sink.
And then there’s the conundrum of how to make the content relevant saying that the licking of the sink is happening. The league office is still weighing potential prizes for inclusion at the end of a mid-season/rainbow tournament that players are not interested in finding and with no resolution ahead. (Cut to Silver, in a room full of hipster men, screams, “I want 50 more ideas by Monday! And, Greg, if you propose a billion dollars again, I’ll send it.” you go to NBA Uzbekistan. you can spy on camels and halal horses!”)
This season, however, more geniuses than Draper, Sterling, Cooper and Foghorn Leghorn have conjured up something called NBA Rivals Week. Stuck so far in the ESPN article that no one bothered to prove it, status story:
The NBA also created an “NBA Rivals Week” the week of January 23, featuring 11 nationally televised matches featuring various opponents from across the league, including battles between New York and Los Angeles. Angeles and the rematch of the 2019 NBA Finals between the Lakers and the Toronto Raptors.
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NBA Finals matchups ESPN wishes would’ve happened for 1,600 aside, there are 14 nationally televised games that week, but maybe they’re not counting games on NBA TV. Though if that’s the case, then it’s only nine games.
Whatever, I don’t have time for semantics right now. There are glorious rivalries to break down. Here’s the televised docket, per NBA.com.
– Hawks at Bulls (NBA TV)
– Grizzlies at Kings (NBA TV)
– Celtics at Heat (TNT)
– Clippers at the Lakers (TNT)
– Nets at 76ers (ESPN)
– Grizzlies at Warriors (ESPN)
– Bulls at Hornets (TNT)
– Mavericks at Suns (TNT)
– Grizzlies at the Timberwolves (NBA TV)
– Raptors at Warriors (NBA TV)
– Nuggets at 76ers (ABC)
– Knicks at Nets (ABC)
– Lakers at Celtics (ABC)
– Pelicans in the Bucks (NBA TV)
Okay, some people were— Grizzlies and Wolves met at — yes, but the Ball brothel — Sure — I know— Please, can I just say a little — OH MY GOD! LAKERS-CELTICS IS ONE OF THE BEST RIVALRIES IN ALL SPORTS! STOP NITPICKING EVERYTHING I SAY!
Okay, quick shot because it’s all pretty clear. Should the Knicks play the Bulls, Heat or Pacers. The Raptors-Warriors mean something to the remaining three boys from that Toronto team. The history of most of these matches is less than five years. The battle in New York and LA has been decided. Embiids vs. Jokic is not Russell vs. Wilt. What the hell are the Pelicans and Kings doing here? And has no one thought about the potential influence of load management on all of this?
The only thing that would make late-January NBA basketball relevant – aside from the likes of me turning on League Pass like a night light – would be if all the disgruntled stars joined a one-on-one tournament and the winner Guaranteed winnings will be traded before the All-Star Break. That’s it. That is the only way.
Can you imagine Kevin Durant and Donovan Mitchell winning the right to exit Brooklyn and Salt Lake City, respectively? Damn, the NBA can only award a “GM for a day,” so a player can fix whatever makes him sick. LeBron James will knock out opponents for three consecutive weeks to eliminate Russell Westbrook.
Another option for creating competition is to do what baseball does and have different opponents play against each other so much that they want to throw quick balls into each other’s domes. We know what makes bad blood, but only white sport can fight without judgment.
Teams played 82 partial games. The regular season runs from October 18 to April 9. That’s almost six game months. Some of them will be great, and some will be so bad that the Inside the NBA team pours on them before they even get paid. It’s good now. Not everything can be, or needs to be, fixed.
I understand the gods ultimately need an offering. Instead, just feed them crap.
