What if they didn't suck up to the Heat-hype machine so much?

[bfrombleacher]

What if they'd just called it what it is and let the fans decide? No more blatant bias? I think the NBA'd be a better product. I think they're destroying their own product in the long run right now.

Stern keeps trying to make LeBron James a MJ 2.0.

Nope.

The thing is, nobody outside of Heat fans and those who have just hitched on to the bandwagon likes him. MJ was liked outside of the Bulls. Kobe Bryant, to some extent, had/has that.

When he dumped Cleveland in what I think is a terrible PR stunt, everyone turned against him.

So, again, what if they'd just call it what it is?

The Heat would be the antiheroes. Someone to root against...or for. I can see the appeal of a group of antiheroes.

They'd commit to being evil...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQUiVWiwhNk

The league would look like less of a joke. If they'd allow the games to play out like it is, there'd be better basketball that maybe fans of other teams'd watch.

Hell, there might be more breakout players.

There'd be better stories instead of the same old Heat bullpoops.

Instead, here's the situation:

Everyone outside of the Heatwagon hates the Heat. The NBA's PR and ESPN look like idiots to anyone with remotely any basketball knowledge.

The big games that are supposed to be good...aren't. Good ol' basketball is no more. No fan of any other team would tune in to such a broken product. I personally don't watch any other Heat games specifically for how...stupid...they are.

What do you think? Are they hurting themselves in the long run for profit in the short run? They are basically corroding their product with bad officiating and downplaying coverage on every other team for the Heat.

[mctyson]

Lebron is mainly responsible for all of this.  I think he has tried to present an image of him that is above the game, almost trying to create an image outside of the NBA and basketball itself.  Remember the international brand B.S.?

But Lebron lacks what Jordan (and to a lesser extent *gulp* Kobe) had in terms of charisma.  I was a huge Bulls fan in the 90's, because the Celtics were terrible and Jordan was the game, personified.  

There are plenty of negative characteristics about Jordan and Kobe, namely the off-the-court issues that Lebron doesn't seem to have.  But when it comes to the game itself, they rise above it while simultaneously staying within it.  Lebron, on the other hand, went outside of the NBA to do "The Decision."  By that I mean he took a path that NOBODY ever took, because they did not want to appear above the game.

It was so childish and self-centered.  Not only that, but I got this feeling like Lebron was trying to re-create a moment he never had but wished he'd experienced, like most prep superstars, in announcing their intent to enroll at college.

ESPN has latched on to this because they love the individual star concept far more than the team concept.  They can market Lebron James, they cannot market the Miami Heat.  They can sell people and images, not sports and games.  I liken them to what MTV has become; I grew up in a period where the aptly named Music Television (MTV) actually played MUSIC.  Now it a station that has a variety of reality TV shows featuring classless sociopaths having random sexual encounters.

ESPN would rather sell products like "The Decision" than Golden State vs. Orlando.  They would rather show Tiger's press conferences than gives us a couple more hours of Masters or US Open golf.  How many hours have they spent talking about Terrel Owens and Randy Moss?  

It is slowly morphing into the MTV of sports networks, and we will get what we want (game coverage, breakdowns, and technical analysis) from on-demand streaming sources provided by the content providers (MLB, NFL, NBA, etc..) in the near future and ESPN will be nothing more than the TMZ of sports information.

[cltc5]

ESPN is a joke.  IF i ddint have to watch it I wouldnt

[Celtics18]

I agree.  I'd like to see them stop trying to sell the league based on a couple of superstars, and sell it as a league with some really good teams.

These playoffs are shaping up to be really fun right now, though.  Both the Celtics and Spurs are basically trying their darnedest to throw a wrench into the superstar worshipping NBA right now.  

The Eastern and Western conference finals are pretty much mirror images of each other with the Celtics and Spurs playing the same roles and the Thunder and the Heat being each other's counterparts.  

I'm dreaming of a Spurs/Celtics finals.  It might not be as good financially for the league, the networks, and the advertisers, but, boy, would it be good for the game of basketball.  

[wiley]

What if they'd just called it what it is and let the fans decide? No more blatant bias? I think the NBA'd be a better product. I think they're destroying their own product in the long run right now.

Stern keeps trying to make LeBron James a MJ 2.0.

Nope.

The thing is, nobody outside of Heat fans and those who have just hitched on to the bandwagon likes him. MJ was liked outside of the Bulls. Kobe Bryant, to some extent, had/has that.

When he dumped Cleveland in what I think is a terrible PR stunt, everyone turned against him.

So, again, what if they'd just call it what it is?

The Heat would be the antiheroes. Someone to root against...or for. I can see the appeal of a group of antiheroes.

They'd commit to being evil...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQUiVWiwhNk

The league would look like less of a joke. If they'd allow the games to play out like it is, there'd be better basketball that maybe fans of other teams'd watch.

Hell, there might be more breakout players.

There'd be better stories instead of the same old Heat bullpoops.

Instead, here's the situation:

Everyone outside of the Heatwagon hates the Heat. The NBA's PR and ESPN look like idiots to anyone with remotely any basketball knowledge.

The big games that are supposed to be good...aren't. Good ol' basketball is no more. No fan of any other team would tune in to such a broken product. I personally don't watch any other Heat games specifically for how...stupid...they are.

What do you think? Are they hurting themselves in the long run for profit in the short run? They are basically corroding their product with bad officiating and downplaying coverage on every other team for the Heat.

Excellent post.  TP.
Especially in light of the fact that no one who controls NBA marketing (D.S.), and no one at ESPN, seems to have pondered this radical concept.

With this post, you have thrown a rock off a ledge and you're waiting to hear it ricochet, but instead there's just a lot of dark emptiness to hear....

[Meadowlark_Scal]

the heat are VERY average WITHOUT the refs..we saw that in the regular season...but under stern...this is not gonna happen..look at what is going on with Charlotte....#1 pick.....duh...to replace paul.....duh.....the NBA where amazing happens..oh ya amazing......like a politico making millions disappear...amazing...not new.....