NBA Reboot and Playoffs

[Dru Edwards]

NBA kicked off in their Orlando bubble last night with 22 out of 30 teams invited in the continuation of an 8 games regular season followed by playoffs. I like the bubble idea and I think there's a great chance the season can be salvaged (same with the NHL).

Who you rooting for?

Go Toronto! Go Boston!

[J Patrick]

Blazers just beat Grizzlies in OT.... WOOT!!!!!

[AX17609]

It'll be interesting to see if either the NBA or NHL reboots generate any buzz. Both sports are heavily dependent on the stadium experience. I wonder if they'll be as popular as TV-only entertainment.

[raysachs]

Watching baseball in the current format kinda sucks IMO, but watching the NBA games doesn't lose much at all without the crowd. I don't know why - being able to hear the shoes squeak and the ball bouncing on the floor and off the rim is better than crowd noise to me. And because of the way basketball is shot, you don't really need to see the crowd that much anyway, unlike baseball. With the bubble, I think they might be able to pull it off. I think baseball is already about over and I don't have high hopes for the NFL at all - I think they're kind of crazy to even try.

I'm a Sixers fan - I love watching them play and they have a lot of talent, but haven't figured out how to put it all together yet. If they ever do, I'll be there for it. And if they don't, I'll be there for that too. I just love watching hoop. So whoever is good, I'll be tuning in.

-Ray

[aknow]

I've watched 3 Dodger games and a Lakers game.
To me: completely ridiculous........canned applause, cardboard photos of make-believe fans are very distracting. And as if the baseball games aren't slow enough, every close call, the genius umpires have to refer to Mars to get the real call?????
If the rosters and # of games are altered, the season doesn't really count.
If American's can bite the bullet and wait, so can our pampered out of touch, overpaid cry-baby athletes and owners.

[jpd]

Originally Posted by aknow

I've watched 3 Dodgerl games and a Lakers game.
To me: completely ridiculous........canned applause, cardboard photos of make-believe fans are very distracting. And as if the baseball games aren't slow enough, every close call, the genius umpires have to refer to Mars to get the real call?????
If the rosters and # of games are altered, the season doesn't really count.
[U]If American's can bite the bullet and wait, so can our pampered out of touch, overpaid cry-baby athletes and owners.

You're thinking my thoughts on this...only reason this is happening, IMO, is too further along the gambling sites and keep the owners of these sites(some OWNED by the pro team owners) rolling in funds!

[raysachs]

Originally Posted by aknow

I've watched 3 Dodger games and a Lakers game.
To me: completely ridiculous........canned applause, cardboard photos of make-believe fans are very distracting. And as if the baseball games aren't slow enough, every close call, the genius umpires have to refer to Mars to get the real call?????
If the rosters and # of games are altered, the season doesn't really count.
If American's can bite the bullet and wait, so can our pampered out of touch, overpaid cry-baby athletes and owners.

A lot of fans were crying out for it too. I was surprised to find myself not missing sports much at all. But when baseball started, I watched parts of a few games, found it totally unsatisfactory, and decided not to waste my time anymore. Just in time for my home team (Phillies) to postpone a bunch of games because the visiting Marlins had an outbreak and a couple of the Phillies clubhouse employees got it too, presumably working in the Marlin's clubhouse. And my guess is the baseball season is gonna be short lived. Given the close quarters and contact of an NFL game, not to mention their huge rosters, I don't think they've got much of a chance of making it work either. But the NBA may be able to pull it off if anyone can, and I hope they do.

But then I sampled a couple of NBA pre-season "scrummages" and liked it and watched parts of the games on Thursday night and liked it a lot. For whatever reason, I don't find basketball loses much without fans. I guess I'm enough of a fan that a lot of the hoop I've watched in my life was in empty gyms waiting for next game, and seeing the best players in the world in a stripped down format on TV works just fine for me.

I'm sure the owners and players would love it to work. I don't know how much money they'd be making on this season anyway - they have some pro-rated portion of their TV contracts but no gate or concessions at all. But it keeps their visibility up and interest active. I'm not catching the cry-baby thing with the players, a number of them have opted out to keep their families safe. I have much respect for that and no problem with those who chose to try playing. I would never call them over-pampered when I'm sitting at home trying to stay safe and they're out there putting it on the line. The one's acting irresponsibly deserve the heat they're getting (if not the disease some of them now have) but the ones trying to do it right are fine with me. And maybe we'll learn something from these small experiments of existing through a pandemic.

-Ray

[Shepsdad]

I’ve completely given up on professional sports. It used to be an escape from the daily grind, not anymore.

[dirkronk]

I'm a diehard Spurs fan, so yeah...watching and rooting. But without any real hope this year, truth be told. Hey. At least we won the first matchup!


Dirk
(whose wife has been NBA-deprived for way too long, so watching ALL games nonstop right now, no matter who's playing)

[Dru Edwards]

Originally Posted by AX17609

It'll be interesting to see if either the NBA or NHL reboots generate any buzz. Both sports are heavily dependent on the stadium experience. I wonder if they'll be as popular as TV-only entertainment.

NHL reboot will be big in Canada - with or without fans in the arena.

[Lkristians]

Blackhawks looked strong today. Fun watching hockey again. Loved hearing the Canadian anthem again. Been too long.

[Dru Edwards]

Originally Posted by Lkristians

Blackhawks looked strong today. Fun watching hockey again. Loved hearing the Canadian anthem again. Been too long.

I listened to part of the first period of the game on the car radio (I was on a day trip). 1-0 Edmonton and when I turned it back to the station a few minutes later Chicago had just scored 3 quick ones. Even with McDavid's 4 points the Oilers still lost. I wonder if Smith starts in nets again for Edmonton for the next game.

[AX17609]

I just turned on an NBA game, and they’ve added digital fans in the stands.

[Lkristians]

Originally Posted by AX17609

I just turned on an NBA game, and they’ve added digital fans in the stands.

As did FOX on MLB coverage. My wife digs it. I am not a fan. Their audio is spot on, though. I'll give them that!

[rokdog49]

Of the three major professional sports, NBA basketball is no longer of any interest to me for a ton of reasons. The other two aren’t far behind and likely on their way out as well.