NBA Tips Off Season Riding Wave Of Momentum From Last Year

The NBA and its broadcast partners are "expecting a wave of energy stemming from the ultracompetitive playoff series that drew millions of new viewers in the spring, and they also are encouraged by offseason moves that suggest an improved level of parity," according to Tim Lemke of the WASHINGTON TIMES. Last season's playoffs experienced a "sizable jump in ratings" from previous seasons, "characterized by a host of competitive games and series." Now the NBA is "entering a new season with something that has been decidedly lacking in past years: momentum." NBA Commissioner David Stern said, "I've never seen a depth of talent and intensity of coming competition I see for this year." But Lemke noted the "dark cloud amid all the optimism stems from the economy, which led to lower revenue last season and continues to depress sales of tickets and sponsorships." The NBA also has a "potential labor fight brewing, with Stern insisting that the league will pursue adjustments" to its CBA with players after the '10-11 season (WASHINGTON TIMES, 10/25). In Indianapolis, Jeff Rabjohns notes the NBA "tips off its 64th season with its two glitziest" franchises -- the Celtics and Lakers -- having captured the past two championships. The league is "enjoying surging popularity, with its five highest attendance figures coming the past five years" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 10/27).

BETWEEN THE HAVE & HAVE-NOTS: SI's Ian Thomsen writes while the "entire world has sought to downsize" during the economic recession, the "NBA's rich have grown richer." In spite of the "larger, gloomier trends, the five leading title contenders all made themselves stronger this summer with expensive moves that should lead to the strongest title race in two decades." Celtics F Kevin Garnett said, "I've never seen it like this since I've been in the league, with so many teams that are stacked with a lot of talent." Thomsen notes because of "declining revenue around the NBA, the salary rules have yielded an unexpected benefit for the best teams: They have been able to hoard talent because franchises that are not in the championship hunt are trying to slash their payrolls" (SI, 10/26 issue). Meanwhile, ESPN.com's Bill Simmons penned a fictional letter from Stern to NBPA Exec Dir Billy Hunter that reads in part, "My league is going broke, and I am not going to be in the mood to mess around with this next CBA. We sent you our revenue reports. We did not doctor them. Our system is broken and needs to change. Your players make more in salaries than we generate in revenue. ... Our owners are perfectly happy to take a break from losing money for a few months. We already know that your players cannot handle that same break" (ESPN.com, 10/23).

LONG OFFSEASON: CBSSPORTS.com’s Ray Ratto wrote the NBA season is a “positive blessing” for L.A., Cleveland and Portland, but “everywhere else, there’s just this general hint of meh about it.” The offseason has been “filled with too many stories that frankly depress even the most dewy-eyed.” It has “just been a tedious offseason all around for the league and most of its beneficiaries, and now it’s as if they all have to rush the production on stage because the hall has been rented.” None of this “precludes the season from actually being a good one, maybe even a great one.” But it “just seems like this season opening has less to invigorate us than usual, because the offseason was such a relentless downer” (CBSSPORTS.com, 10/26).

Stern Still Being Criticized For Introducing Age Limit In '05

AGE-OLD DEBATE: Author Buzz Bissinger in an Op-Ed for the N.Y. TIMES writes fans "got punked" by Stern when he introduced the NBA age limit in '05. The "honest move by Stern would have been to keep the old rule in place." Raising the minimum age for entry into the league "flew in the face of statistics showing that drafted high school players were relatively successful on and off the court." Did anyone "truly believe that sending them off to college for a year would make any real difference, emotionally or academically?" The age minimum "hasn't helped the players in any way." While Stern has expressed interest in raising the age limit to 20, the "right decision would be to abolish" the policy altogether. Bissinger: "If David Stern truly cared about his players' well-being, he would advocate that all the silliness over the sanctity of the college academic experience stop and that NBA-bound players get some share of the millions of dollars they generate" (N.Y. TIMES, 10/27).

DON'T HATE THE PLAYER: In Charlotte, Tom Sorensen wrote under the header, "NBA Critics, Here's Why You're Wrong." Sorensen noted there is a "loud cadre of readers who hate all things NBA," and some "go so far as to categorize the players as 'thugs.'" But Sorensen contends basketball players are among the "most articulate of the athletes with whom I deal" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 10/25).