Don’T Buy Into Nba Slam Bunk

Sat., Feb. 27, 1999

Ralph Walter For The Editorial

Of all the unfathomable numbers coming out of the National Basketball Association this season, the hardest to understand is the league’s attendance. Why would people actually watch this game?

The NBA lockout lasted six months but the players look like they haven’t touched a basketball in years.

When Major League Baseball and the National Football League resolved similar labor disputes, it took several seasons and some spectacular moments to bring the fans back.

But the NBA seems to have been given a free pass. The league reports attendance actually increased through the first 79 games this season, from last year’s 16,596 to 16,778. And according to the Dallas Morning News, NBC and TBS-TNT cable broadcasts have improved ratings.

It obviously has little to do with the level of play. Consider:

Seattle’s Vin Baker, an all-star last season, missed his first 18 free throw attempts.

New Jersey Net Jayson Williams, whose new contract is worth more than $80 million, has had a zero-point game and two-point game this season.

Golden State’s Terry Cummings, an ordained Pentecostal minister, was called for three technical fouls and two flagrant fouls during a two-game stretch.

Boston Celtic backup center Dwayne Schintzius broke his nose while practicing low-post moves. By himself.

In a game between two of the league’s best teams, the Utah Jazz managed just 56 points in a loss to the Sonics. Overall, teams are shooting less than 43 percent from the field.

We need to be smarter consumers. If an auto dealership closed for six months, only to return with high-priced, poor-running cars, we would never buy from there. So why buy this?

It took a magical home run race between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa and a historic run by the New York Yankees for baseball to earn its way back into our good graces.

Baseball built a terrific product and we jumped on board. Now it’s the NBA’s turn. Make them earn it. Any intrigue the game might have offered with a shortened season and without Michael Jordan has disappeared amid games in the 70s, sloppy play and a rash of injuries due to players showing up out of shape.

So until the NBA turns it around, check out the game at another level, the State B Tournament next week, for example. Just don’t expect anyone to miss 18 straight from the line.

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