Yep. You can take anything out of context. Reminds me of this.
View: https://www.twitter.com/itsAntWright/status/873712385202298880?lang=en
The NBA Media Thread
- Thread starter PedroKsBambino
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View: https://www.twitter.com/itsAntWright/status/873712385202298880?lang=en
Eason’s rep in college was that he was a poor shooter. I haven’t watched a single second of Houston basketball this year, how much do you think he’s improved as a shooter/offensive player?
I didn’t think Eason was a bad shooter at all in college…..and a much, much better shooter than Kawhi was at San Diego State. He was confidently spotting up for three and had pretty good mechanics. I think the pro game is slowing down for him with each season and his shooting is still improving. It isn’t really showing in his stats as his opportunities aren’t increasing as the team improves…..but don’t be fooled by the numbers he is improving.
You can watch all of Eason's 3Ps here: https://shotcreator.com/videos/nba?scsstp[league_id]=1&scsstp[season]=2024-25&scsstp[season_type]=Regular+Season&scsstp[player_id]=k7XJOWicPtI&scsstp[shot_filters][shot_zone_ranges][0]=TwentyFourPlusFeet.
According to this article - https://www.si.com/nba/rockets/news/houston-rockets-nba-trainer-aaron-miller-has-seen-firsthand-tari-eason-s-elite-work-ethic - he's really trying to put the work into his shot (and other stuff). His form looks okay and he's probably such a great athlete he can get away with it (would like to see him get more arc on his shot) so I'll bet he keeps improving but it will be interesting to see how good he can get.
The TV Ratings are kind of shockingly bad.
View: https://twitter.com/Outkick/status/1866902366319943871
NBA ratings update:
•New in-season tournament already down double digits
•NBA on ESPN down 28% for the year
•League down 48% from 2012
•NBC reportedly concerned it overpaid for the NBA
•NFL, CFB, UFC, NHL, MLB all setting ratings records
View: https://twitter.com/Outkick/status/1866902366319943871
NBA ratings update:
•New in-season tournament already down double digits
•NBA on ESPN down 28% for the year
•League down 48% from 2012
•NBC reportedly concerned it overpaid for the NBA
•NFL, CFB, UFC, NHL, MLB all setting ratings records
Yeah, it's not 2020 anymore and I seriously doubt any current NBA ratings issues are related to wokeness, as the headline photo tries to heavily, heavily imply.
That said, I wouldn't be surprised if the league were having some issues with ratings.
Ratings would be higher by one person, if I didn't need cable, or YouTube TV, to watch the Celtics.
I'd pay Comcast Sports Boston if it was a streaming service, like NESN's, or part of Peacock.
Isn't the new deal more streaming friendly?
It is interesting that the NFL seems immune to the trend away from cable.
Also, his tweet seems, um, less that truthful. He's stretching the definition of records, if he's saying MLB is setting records. Yes, everything is recorded and on the list of records. Who cares how far down!
Awful Announcing reporting that yes, ratings at ESPN and TNT are down year-over-year (I would guess that would be expected given that first seasons almost always rate higher than second seasons) but ratings on local broadcasts are up 6% YOY.
So not armageddon as reported above.
NBA Cup viewership down so far this year, though shows encouraging signs
So not armageddon as reported above.
NBA Cup viewership down so far this year, though shows encouraging signs
The problem wrt cable is that the entire point of networks bidding for huge packages is that (afaik) it's meant to be a way to keep people needing cable, despite not really wanting the bundle.
If the bidding were for isolated NBA streaming, I bet the NBA doesn't get nearly as much money.
This article on Sports Media Watch does a good job (A) pointing out that most attempts to paint the NBA as crashing in viewership are generally in bad-faith (usually by not benchmarking to what the rest of TV viewership has done in that time), and (B) putting the TV numbers in pretty good context, without overwhelming you with that context. As such, it's a really well done piece of data journalism.
A lot of the confusion would be alleviated by just using Share numbers, but those don't make for a punchy point in an article.
A lot of the confusion would be alleviated by just using Share numbers, but those don't make for a punchy point in an article.
What's the carriage fee for the RSNs?
I'd pay up to $40 a month, during the season, for CSN - Boston.
The networks are bidding more and more, but cable subscribers keep decreasing.
Again, I'm not positive, but I thought the new deal means games on Peacock, ESPN streaming, and Prime.
Leagues need to get eyeballs on the ads. I don't know if the carriage fee gravy train can keep running.
Fun video on how Memphis uses almost no ball screens relative to anyone else (Boston is the 29th highest user, but still almost double):
View: https://youtu.be/w6-NPUOHH6I?si=FTkKiYjtxYdXt05Q
View: https://youtu.be/w6-NPUOHH6I?si=FTkKiYjtxYdXt05Q
The league, as well as other sports, is having MAJOR streaming/piracy issues. People watch…they just don’t watch the way big media/corp wants them to watch.
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I also think there's been a shift towards bite-sized, highlight consumption in lieu of actually watching the games. Applies to movies, etc. as well.
If that’s true, it’s a shame because I think league pass is very reasonably priced - either standalone (even though the app sucks) or via YTTV/cable. Sunday Ticket on the other hand…
The games, as in "the human drama of athletic competition" (h/t Jim McKay & WWoS), dont mean much when the bulk of watchers' concerns are gambling related.
Even for LP subscribers, blackouts mean that the local team’s games, and ESPN broadcasts, aren’t available until days after they happen (I think ESPN is only three hours, but it’s still a significant delay).
I have LP to watch the C’s, but don’t have cable, so I can’t watch Wolves games locally unless I pay for a monthly streaming subscription for the nearly-useless Diamond Sports Group platform, which is significantly more expensive than my LP subscription.
So I pirate-stream some Wolves games, and also some ESPN games early in the season (I‘ll pay for a full online TV package to watch ESPN during the playoffs, but there aren’t enough ESPN games to justify paying for full online cable to literally inly watch those games; I have access to the TNT games).
The league’s TV management of the Thunder is criminally negligent, comparable to everything the WNBA is doing with Clark. They’re at worst a top 3 team in the league (after being a 1 seed last year), they’ve got an MVP candidate in his mid 20s (who also made 1st team all nba back to back years) and two other up and coming stars. They were great last year, everyone knew they were going to be fantastic this year, but they were tied for just 10th in national TV games this year (including NBA TV). They play the Celtics in a couple of weeks, a game between likely the two best teams in the league, featuring a pair of MVP candidates and literally a half dozen other all-star level players, and it’s a league pass game. Can you imagine the NFL fucking this up as badly as the NBA has? I get that we’re trying to squeeze every last bit of juice out of the LeBron/Curry era, but the league will move on, and the fact that they aren’t pushing OKC at every possibility is a joke. Nobody in Vegas cares that the Thunder are in the IST cup finals, because the league has made it clear they aren’t a team worth caring about.
Some of the problems are out of the NBA’s control, but this is a disastrous fuckup. This isn’t Houston, who is surprisingly good this year. Everyone saw this coming with OKC, and the league just doesn’t give a shit.
Some of the problems are out of the NBA’s control, but this is a disastrous fuckup. This isn’t Houston, who is surprisingly good this year. Everyone saw this coming with OKC, and the league just doesn’t give a shit.
It's not even like they fail the "market stars" test, either.
SGA is AWESOME, as you say he's been a top-5 MVP candidate and first-team All-NBA for two years, and he's fun and flamboyant (the NBA would kill for Luka or Jokic to be the kind of personalities who would regularly wear furs to games, SGA is a character) but also appropriately-old-white-fans-friendly (i.e. very Canadian) when he talks.
OKC still overprotects their guys from the media, and the players like to do the "we're a collective" thing where they all show up when someone does an on-court media spot after games.
But this dude should be right at the top of the league's marketing list, and he's just...
...not, for some reason, even though he's the tentpole, heliocentric star on one of the league's predictably best teams.
That's obviously a point against the "SGA is a star, why don't they market him like one?" argument.
Putting him in an annoying commercial isn't really his fault, though, more a failing of the league to market him well.
Also, maybe his inclusion was driven in part by SGA's desire to have a teammate involved, but I think SGA is overshadowed in that ad by many casuals not really knowing who Chet is, and the whole endeavor coming across to those people as "Who the hell is this Abe Lincoln-looking M.F.er trying to sing on my TV??" which frankly is the right reaction.
I preach this every year but the NBA sells their television rights to the networks. It is those networks who work with the NBA to book their schedule to maximize the return on their investment. The NBA doesn’t tell them who they should or shouldn’t televise…..the numbers and the suits interpreting those numbers do this.
Are casual Knicks and Lakers fans more likely to watch their team or the OKC Thunder?Television has always been about markets and viewership from those markets.
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I get that, but in that case the NBA isn’t doing a good enough job pressuring the networks. Everyone knows ratings have been rough, and everyone knows the league is in some trouble with LeBron/Curry staring down retirement. It’s in everyone’s best interest to get the best players and best teams on TV, even if it means some short-term pain. Again, the NFL doesn’t seem to have a problem putting teams from KC or Buffalo front and center, why is this solely an NBA problem?
The NFL is appointment viewing; "I watch the NFL at 4 PM on Sundays." The gambling and fantasy elements help with that, too.
The NBA, since Bird/Magic/Jordan, has sold the league on the unique talents of players more than the game itself. That's why the league peaked during Jordan's run and during Cavs/Warriors.
The NBA, since Bird/Magic/Jordan, has sold the league on the unique talents of players more than the game itself. That's why the league peaked during Jordan's run and during Cavs/Warriors.
How does the NBA convince the networks, who are the ones paying, that their numbers are wrong? Disclaimer: I don’t know if they are right or wrong but I’m guessing they are right as they are the ones using these numbers.
wholeheartedly disagree that short term pain is in everyone’s best interest when corporate heads are on the line based off of these numbers. I don’t disagree about us watching the Thunder but they are barely a top ten road draw the past two years.
Don't know if you heard, but on Hoop Collective, MacMahon and Bontemps were saying just this.
I'd not focused on it but it's kind of dumb that the NBA couldn't figure out a way to get OKC on Christmas Day.
I didn’t hear that, but I hope more people talk about it. That’s how it gets fixed, and it’s somewhat ironic (or fitting) that the IST final is between two good teams that aren’t playing on Christmas.
It’s a vicious cycle. The Thunder aren’t a big road draw or great for numbers because nobody knows them because they aren’t on television because they aren’t great for numbers because nobody knows them because they aren’t on television because they aren’t great for numbers…sigh. Were the Thunder getting lots of eyeballs a decade ago when it was KD and Russ?
The answer to the NBA’s viewership problem cannot be “hope the Lakers and Knicks are both good, because those are the only teams getting consistent national spots because they have large fanbases.”
OKC is a cool team for league pass nerds--but they've only made it to the second round once since KD was gone and that was last year. They haven't gone on any deep playoff runs, and only been on the competitive radar screen for about a year now. Based on merit they should absolutely get a Christmas Day game, but I'm not really surprised they haven't emerged as an attractive team to the networks yet.
Yes. In their prime together the Thunder drew 6th, 6th, 4th and 2nd best on the road. This group will too once the casual fan recognizes their greatness just as it took them a couple years for them to recognize how special Durant and Westbrook were back then.
Since we crap on the media all of the time, I thought I put some flowers in here too.
Noa Dalzell asked CJM a question, and CJM said it was the "most profound" statement he's heard in 3 years. Entire exchange is worth listening to (below).
Someone should get her a subscription here (assuming that we don't run her off); or maybe her Dad. Or maybe DWhite's Dad!
View: https://twitter.com/NoaDalzell/status/1874163109923086717
Noa Dalzell asked CJM a question, and CJM said it was the "most profound" statement he's heard in 3 years. Entire exchange is worth listening to (below).
Someone should get her a subscription here (assuming that we don't run her off); or maybe her Dad. Or maybe DWhite's Dad!
View: https://twitter.com/NoaDalzell/status/1874163109923086717
Noa Dalzell is impressive because, despite being a gross Northeastern grad, she has wedged her foot in the door by doing Celtics reporting as a part time gig in the blogsphere, while also not relying on the Barstool and Barstool-adjacent broish atmosphere that so many young sports journalists are doing.
She’s taking a lot on, but it’s just a matter of time until she’s at ESPN or something similar. She’s very genuine, which is rare for that job. Kind of the opposite of Bobby Manning, which is funny.
View: https://twitter.com/NoaDalzell/status/1874520648808312935
View: https://twitter.com/NoaDalzell/status/1874520648808312935
The one thing she needs to do is slow down when she talks. Her points come out in staccato blasts, which is fine for a podcast but won't work on TV.
But yes I would buy stock in her. Works her butt off too from what I can tell.
Dalzell knows hoops and seems to have crafted a great rapport with not just Mazzulla but other people in the organization. She is clearly a fanatic but most of her content is pretty objective. In short, I'd buy stock too. She is one of a very select group of people covering the NBA who actually adds value. Most of the rest is just talk radio content by frustrated bloggers.
Wow, that's super interesting. Thanks for posting. Waiting for the first person to start shooting 3P hook shots.
Timpf has been a Tatum fan for awhile, he's just a Lakers fan first and foremost (leading him to put Anthony Davis at #6) and like many, read way too much into Ant's one super hot month in the playoffs this past Spring. Definitely a bigger Tatum guy than most national types, it's baffling the cognitive dissonance required to say that a 26 year old who will soon have 4 straight 1st team all-NBA selections and every team honor under the sun isn't a top 5 guy. Timpf has been a huge Lebron guy forever, and Tatum is more similar to prime Lebron than any other under 30 star.
Slightly off topic, but I really enjoyed Ant talking trash in their OT win over Boston last year. The games have been close, but I believe Tatum is now 13-1 against Minnesota in his career.
Timpf's suggestion of playing Gobert less minutes to fix Ant's lack of space made me chuckle. That Rudy extension this summer should age well.
I guess Connelly is still building his team to beat the Juggernauts
According to The Athletic, when Amazon's new NBA deal kicks in, their studio crew will include host Taylor Rooks, joined by Dirk Nowitzki and old friend Blake Griffin, with Ian Eagle as their lead PBP guy.
Strong to very strong showing there, imo. Thought Dirk has always sounded a bit funny to me.
Strong to very strong showing there, imo. Thought Dirk has always sounded a bit funny to me.
Plenty of Celtic, Cavs, OKC talk...
The good: Tatum ISOs, Brown post-ups, PP offensive efficiency
The bad: 7 of the top 8 Celtics are shooting worse from 3
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDsUvqjSSKY
The good: Tatum ISOs, Brown post-ups, PP offensive efficiency
The bad: 7 of the top 8 Celtics are shooting worse from 3
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDsUvqjSSKY
The bad seems sort of like the good, given how often NBA players with good shooting records regress to prior levels.
The opposite is true for Cleveland.
regression, volume uptick & regular season settle for good not great, are all fair reasons
(and reason to be optimistic when it matters)
Timpf is very positive on JT now
I know that the Club 520 podcast with Jeff Teague has been brought up a few times. In the past I've I my seen small clips here and there, but I started to watch full episodes, and I don't think I've ever seen any sort of media that really shows you the true nature of some of these athletes and how different they are in real life vs what we see in the tv. The interview they had with DeMarcus Cousins was incredible in changing my viewpoint of someone who had a very poor reputation in the NBA. Also, I was so engrossed when they talk about their high school days and specific games or tournaments where it almost seemed like everyone knew everyone no matter where they were from. I love it whenever Derrick Rose comes up.
I cannot recommend it enough. Sure, there are definitely times I don't quite catch what they say, but it really seems like a bunch of friends just shooting the shit but also giving us all a peek I to how they really are. And Teague is legit a comedy genius...I haven't laughed out loud that much in a long time.
Some highlights for me amongst the ones I watched are the Tatum, the Cousins, and the Evan Turner interviews (you hear some funny ass stories in that one about their shared time in the Cs when Turner was a coach..."Jet").
It's for sure NSFW language, but once you get over that, you can really see the mentality of some of these guys. The way Tatum described the moment of getting the trophy and stopping himself from calling out his skeptics, or when Teague talked about how Tatum interacted with fans and how he was so impressed really made me love Tatum more. The Lakers sure fucked that draft up big-time.
I can't recommend this podcast enough and they have plenty of YT shirts so you can watch some of the funnier bits in an edited form. One favorite was Teague talking about KAT fouling Cousins.
I cannot recommend it enough. Sure, there are definitely times I don't quite catch what they say, but it really seems like a bunch of friends just shooting the shit but also giving us all a peek I to how they really are. And Teague is legit a comedy genius...I haven't laughed out loud that much in a long time.
Some highlights for me amongst the ones I watched are the Tatum, the Cousins, and the Evan Turner interviews (you hear some funny ass stories in that one about their shared time in the Cs when Turner was a coach..."Jet").
It's for sure NSFW language, but once you get over that, you can really see the mentality of some of these guys. The way Tatum described the moment of getting the trophy and stopping himself from calling out his skeptics, or when Teague talked about how Tatum interacted with fans and how he was so impressed really made me love Tatum more. The Lakers sure fucked that draft up big-time.
I can't recommend this podcast enough and they have plenty of YT shirts so you can watch some of the funnier bits in an edited form. One favorite was Teague talking about KAT fouling Cousins.