Bucks beat Cavs in dramatic fashion

[milwaukeesportsfan]

I hate the NBA with a passion right now, but I still like the Bucks, because the last couple years, it seems like they haven't actively participated in the league. Does anybody even care, or should I quit wasting everybody's time making them click on this thread?

[MarquesJohnson2000]

I predict 38-44; despite all the focus on defense, I don't see much hope that they will actually improve very much.

[trwi7]

I'm going to watch. I'm a huge fan of basketball, baseball, football and hockey so this is an exciting time. That and I don't want any kids trick or treating so I'm just going to watch and let the kids ring the doorbell that doesn't work for 15 minutes.

[craigharmann]

I'm trying to get excited. The last few years I have grown tired of the the NBA style of play. For childhood on, basketball has always been my favorite sport, and I loved the Bucks. This year, with Yi, Mase and Redd, along with everyone else, I think there's serious playoff potential. I'm going to watch, no doubt. But will I flip channels? It depends on how much I can get myself ramped up for it tonight. I'm really trying because there's a possibility I might be getting a job offer soon to San Antonio, as well, and the Spurs are one of the teams I really like, but they're pretty much the only sport in town. So I guess I'd have to get myself ready for that, too.

[Chio151]

Man, the NBA needs a new commish.

 

I pay close attention to sports and I had no idea the regular season in the NBA started yesterday. It is going the way of the NHL.

[brewcrew00]

Man, the NBA needs a new commish.

 

I pay close attention to sports and I had no idea the regular season in the NBA started yesterday. It is going the way of the NHL.

I wouldn't say that, the NHL is actually rather popular for it's lack of national television exposure. Hockey is rapidly growing where as the NBA is beginning to faulter.

[tigerbrew]

Hopefully the game will be on sopcast so I can watch it, if not I will be listening to the bucks radio network.

[JJHardy7]

Where is hockey rapidly growing? I thought they were having financial troubles.

 

As far as the Bucks, I love watching them. If they didn't play in Wisconsin, I probably wouldn't follow the NBA all that close. I think the Bucks have a good shot at the playoffs (a 7 or 8 spot), but it wouldn't surprise me to see them move up higher or finish 12th in the conference. They need to stay healthy. I'm thinking they will be a fun team to watch this year.

[GAME05]

watching the NBA is agonizing for me, but I enjoy everything else about the Bucks--keeping track of statistics, the draft and all the off-season stuff.

 

"Does anybody even care, or should I quit wasting everybody's time making them click on this thread?"

 

actually, these threads are my primary way of keeping up with the Bucks all season. keep the threads coming.

[jlau20]

I don't like the NBA much, but for whatever reason I can't look away.

 

The NHL passed the NBA on my list last year. The final straw I guess you could say was the nonsense with the Suns/Spurs series last year. I don't really care for David Stern at all. That said, I'll still watch the Bucks alot, and games on national TV that have good teams.

 

I'll say 39-43 for the Bucks this year, I wouldn't be 100% shocked if that got them in the playoffs.

[Chio151]

Man, the NBA needs a new commish.

 

I pay close attention to sports and I had no idea the regular season in the NBA started yesterday. It is going the way of the NHL.

I wouldn't say that, the NHL is actually rather popular for it's lack of national television exposure. Hockey is rapidly growing where as the NBA is beginning to faulter.

That is just so wrong. There is a small fraction of our society that likes hockey and they are passionate about it. However, on a national scale, it is dead.

 

The league's ratings were so low that they were forced to essentially give away the TV broadcast to create interest. Think about that. In the mind of a local TV station GM, Sidney Crosby and Ron Popeil are on the same level.

I think right now the NHL only gets near 5% of it's revenue from TV compares with 60-70% for the NFL. Without TV revenue, a sport cannot be considered a major entitiy. Almost all revenue is gate-driven, the same as a minor-league club.

[brewcrew00]

After a quick check of the number, the NHL is averaging 16,956 persons per game so far this season, this is up almost 1,000 fans per game since the lock out occured back in '05. 20 of the 30 arena are seeing crowds of over 90% capacity this is up significantly since the lockout as well (17 of 30 back then).

Several teams have even seen an increase of over 4-5,000 persons per game! Take St. Louis for example...

In 2006, the average home attendance was 14,236
In 2007, the average home attendance was 12,520
So far in 2008, the average hom attendance is 17,216

Other teams such as the Islanders and Ducks are up over 3,000 fans per game since the lockout season of '05.

The number are there, where people are beginning to see the lack of revenue and attendance they had once hoped for is where the excitement of a foreign game is wearing off. Cities like Columbus, Nashville, Miami, Phoenix, and Atlanta are all among the biggest "losers" with regard to crowd. Hockey is very much alive and well, and should be for some time...

[patrickgpe]

i love people that post on these threads to bash the nba. That being said I no longer watch NBA games that don't involve the bucks. I do like basketball and will watch the game tonight. I am not expecting much from this team. Coach K seems to talk big about making the team a better defensive club, but the biggest problem is that the best defensive players on this team are role players and the stars really don't play much of it. I am expecting Bogut to improve defensively and offensively and he is the key to this team I believe.

 

The whole Yi saga will be fun to follow as well. He was better in the preseason that i was expecting. we will have to wait and see if he can keep it up.

 

I think Stern is an OK commish. He seems to lay down the law on punishment to the players. My only complain on him is that ever since he took over there has always been a question on the authenticity of the game. Whether its fixed lottery's, jordan rules, or ref's betting there always seems to be a question if the game is on the up and up. Heck one of his own players (Rasheed Wallace) likened the nba these days to professional wrestling. thats not good for the sport.

[bacon06]

I've seen my personal interest in the NBA grow over the years, probably since I started doing fantasy NBA. It has gotten to the point this year where I am more interested in the NBA than the NFL and football in general. I like the Bucks' chances at sneaking into the playoffs as a low seed. They had a chance to be a decent team last year before all the injuries happened.

[JJHardy7]

The NHL isn't making money -- attendance is great and all, but tv contracts are huge. The NHL plays a lot of games on the Versus network. I see why the attendance is going up since it has been a few years since the lockout. Here in Nashville, the team cut payroll so they could sell the team and the team is playing poorly.

 

I was at the 3rd home game of the year...and I believe there or 5,000 - 6,000 empty seats. They'll need to average 14,000 fans and have the preliminary tv contract revenue come in as estimated -- to break even. While attendance is going up, so is the general cost of players, etc.

 

Back to the Bucks...I really think this could be/should be a big year for Bogut. I'm not saying I'm disappointed in his play so far as much as I'm disappointed in how he's been used. I'm hoping Coach K gets him the ball unlike Stotts.

[davego]

I guess 44. I'm thinknig that Bogut has a big year. Dez helps, Bobby gives lift and we are suprised that Ivey gives help to the D.

[Chio151]

After a quick check of the number, the NHL is averaging 16,956 persons per game so far this season, this is up almost 1,000 fans per game since the lock out occured back in '05. 20 of the 30 arena are seeing crowds of over 90% capacity this is up significantly since the lockout as well (17 of 30 back then).

The point is, you can sellout every single game and it's still not going to matter if you don't have TV revenue. They simply cannot pay their players much if they don't get some major media. I'm not trying to bash hockey. In person, it's exciting and fun. On TV, I don't think it translates. Maybe it's better for hockey that it fades away to the purists a bit more.

 

Here's a quote that sums it up:

 

 

"You look at the playoff [ratings] numbers, and they have been beaten pretty soundly by poker and bowling," said Paul Swangard, managing director of the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center at the University of Oregon

[trwi7]

There's been talk of ESPN trying to get the NHL back. I'd love to see that, especially if Gary Thorne was the announcer.

[brewcrew00]

Which ever network is able to pick up the NHL will benefit, not necessarily immediately, but in the long run. I truly believe that (not just because I'm a hockey fan).

 

JJHardy7 I'm sure you know Nashville is sort of the exception to the rule. That has been a messed up situation for some time now, as they even struggled to put bodies in the seats with a Cup worthy team. The sell off doesn't bode well for what they are trying to accomplish and personally moving that franchise can't come soon enough.

 

I think my reaction was more to the comment the NHL is following the NBA into demise. I just think this is far from the truth as the NHL can still match NBA numbers WITHOUT being on ESPN every night. I do think the league needs a TV plan in place in the near future, as FSN and other such networks can't continue to support the sport.

 

Also, just becuase the NHL is not popular here, it does not mean it's dead on a national level. Go tell that to Detroit, NY, Boston, Pittsburgh, St. Louis and so on...

[brettac1]

It's not just the Bucks season that's beginning, it's the dawn of a new Yi-ra. Now that FSN has finally added a lot of games, I will probably follow them more closely than last year. I used to be a fanatic, but they lost me somewhere. I think it can probably be traced back to trading Ray Allen.

[dadofandrew]

The NHL and the MSL are not far apart in TV ratings or average per game attendance. I felt pro soccer would be bigger by '10, but the NHL is coming back stronger than I thought they would.

 

As for the Bucks, they were a .500 team before injuries hit, and I see them wining 36-42 games, if healthy. If not, I don't see any more depth than last year, and maybe less.

[fondybrewfan]

Ill believe the Bucks have turned the corner defensively when I see it. I think they will be soft again just like they were last year. I love Bogut and Yi, but they dont have bruiser bodies if you know what I mean. And of course Redd isnt going to play any defense. He said he was going to better last year and I think he actually got worse. Bucks will be a high scoring team for sure, but I dont see how they will be stopping to many people

[JJHardy7]

Most of the NBA doesn't play defense...except for the teams that win championships (Spurs and Pistons). I really think the Bucks go get a 3 seed or be last in the East. In the NBA it's hard to tell who is really good...until the conference finals. I think out of all the sports there is really the least amount of true parity in the NBA. Teams may have good to great years, but will get pounded by teams like the Spurs and Pistons year after year (for the most part). There aren't too many teams that can score like the Bucks.

 

I think Redd's defense will get better this year or never. I've read articles about his Team USA experience and how it taught him a lot. I guess he was covering Kobe Bryant most of the time in practice and reports are stating he really stepped up his defense. He also is in the best shape he's been in his whole career and he's made it a point to be a leader (trying to run sprints faster than everyone -- every sprint in practice). I really hope this is all true and if nothing else shows that the money hasn't changed Redd like it has most NBA players.

[Robideaux]

Most of the NBA doesn't play defense.

I don't mean to pick on you in particular, but I hear this complaint a lot (from many people) and it doesn't make any sense to me. League scoring has gone down considerably from the 1980s (when conceivably they played better defense.) Offense and defense are largely reciprocally related to one another. If offense is down, it seems intuitive that defense is up (and vice-versa). Otherwise the only explanation is that both offense and defense has gotten worse, so much so, in fact, that despite declining defense, offense has still managed to regress.

 

To put it into a baseball context, if the average runs per game declined from 6 to 5.5 in the span of a decade, how much sense would it make to say that there aren't any good pitchers anymore?

[JJHardy7]

I didn't look up the stats Robideaux...so you could be totally correct. My thought is that defensive effort is totally gone. Most of the big time scorers in the league don't care at all about defense. The NBA has even made more and more rule changes to improve the offense, but I don't see a Jordan, a Pippen, or a Clyde these days on defense. Jordan could man up with anyone in his time and get tons of steals. That's gone. The Bucks last year almost gave up 50% FG to the opposition. That is just sad. The big part of the good to great offensive teams are those that move the ball around and make guys rotate...and in the NBA it doesn't happen. Have you watched T Mac play defense? An awful sight. The players get played to score, but you can't tell me defense is played in the NBA -- look at how many guys avoid getting "posterized". I just don't see it.