I cant believe David Stern even suggested expansion as a possibility

[bettilimbroke999]

The NBA has got 30 teams already...only about 6 of which that can even possibly make it to the championship game...only about 12 of which can even avoid being swept in a playoff series by the top 4...then you've got about 18 teams that are just there to get beat and fantasize about an 8 seed followed by a 4-0 1st rd exit

Expansion???? How bout some serious contraction where we get 16 teams that can actually compete with each other

[face]

agreed. fukking boring right now. golden state warriors? no chance. milwaukee? no chance. orlando magic???? etc. boring

football, baseball, hockey all teams have a chance

[bettilimbroke999]

Precisely....look you cant even call it a championship game when you've got 80% of the league that cant even possibly make it to the finals.

Take a look at the West and what their chances are of winning the Western Conference championship are in order to get into the NBA Finals:

Utah - 0 chance
Portland - 0 chance
Warriors - 0 chance
Houston - 0 chance
Dallas - 0 chance
Suns - 0 chance
Minnesota - 0 chance
Sacramento - 0 chance
New Orleans - 0 chance

You can hit a 9 team parlay right now just betting these teams not to win the Western Conference (if one of these teams even GET TO the Western Conf championship it would be one of the biggest surprises in sports history)

Then you've got
Memphis - nearly 0 chance
Clippers - nearly 0 chance
Denver - nearly 0 chance

Then you've got the Western Conf winner:

Any of the other 12 teams in the Western Conf - 2% chance
San Antonio - 10% chance
OKC - 35% chance
Lakers - 53% chance

Is this really even competition? And he talks about the possiblity of EXPANSION???

[Dan Kelly]

The NBA has got 30 teams already...only about 6 of which that can even possibly make it to the championship game...only about 12 of which can even avoid being swept in a playoff series by the top 4...then you've got about 18 teams that are just there to get beat and fantasize about an 8 seed followed by a 4-0 1st rd exit

Expansion???? How bout some serious contraction where we get 16 teams that can actually compete with each other

You are completely right. I think because only 5 guys are on the court for most of the game, it is much tougher to get any parity in the NBA. Maybe it should be set up like the soccer leagues in the UK.

[Popcorn Trick]

Thanks for the 18 month notice, Stern. Two weeks would have sufficed.

[hels]

As a Raptors fan I can positively say they will not make the playoffs this year. It is truly sad that another NBA season will pass without me feeling a glimmer of hope to even make the playoffs.

I honestly wouldn't care if Toronto merged with Detroit. At least I would have a reason to cheer for the Detroit Pistons.

[bettilimbroke999]

The Toronto Raptors have fans?

Why?

Are you a Bobcats fan too?

[bettilimbroke999]

Thanks for the 18 month notice, Stern. Two weeks would have sufficed.

Stern was hired in Feb 1984 and announced in 1985 that he would be retiring Feb 2014 and that Adam Silver who was 10 at the time would be replacing him

[CanuckG]

Lakers are old. They have the talent but they won't dominate a full season. Would not surprise me to see a team like Denver or Utah do well. Would say OKC is the top team in the West still.

[face]

Lakers are old. They have the talent but they won't dominate a full season. Would not surprise me to see a team like Denver or Utah do well. Would say OKC is the top team in the West still.

not an nba expert at all, but nash was in and out of a lot of games last season with back spasms, dwight is fresh off of back surgery and will need a little time, and kobe might get re-injured.

clippers might cover some spreads at home, they look ok. i hesitate to even say that though because i am not good at nba betting.

[CanuckG]

Clippers too with a lot of depth.

[bettilimbroke999]

Clippers and Utah have absolutely zero chance of beating and of the top 3 teams in the West (SA, Lakers, OKC)

Clippers and Utah both met SA in the playoffs (the weakest of the big 3 West teams) and both got swept in 4 blowout games

The West has all their talent on SA, OKC, Lakers and the East has all their talent on the Heat and the northeast teams (NYK, Brooklyn and Detroit) I would add Chicago but unfortunately Rose doesnt ever actually play basketball he just does commercials in a Bulls uniform

[k13]

More teams = more revenue

[bettilimbroke999]

More teams = more revenue

Maybe so, hell if these idiots like Michael Jordon will pay 100s of millions to own a Charlotte Bobcats I guess we might as well have a 50 team league with the bottom 40 just getting swept by the top 10

[boeing power]

It's about money, not competitive balance.

[bettilimbroke999]

It's about money, not competitive balance.

I believe more competitive balance would mean more money...the teams that cant win a game like the Bobcats are all losing money...only about 8 teams in the league make money and they are all the top teams of course...having some ability to compete makes a team interesting to watch

[tatommack]

Wow i thought they should be getting rid of teams not adding. David stern lol

[bettilimbroke999]

So did every basketball fan in the country...but apparently they have "too much" talent on teams like Charlotte, Cleveland, Toronto, etc right now and need to dilute some more

As bad as these bottom half teams are already these expansion teams would have to look like the WNBA

[convick]

Parity has not existed in the NBA for over 30 years. Business as usual.

[The Giant]

Expansion would be a nightmare.

I'm looking forward to this season though, lots of teams with the capabilities of winning it all.

Miami is the favorite, but lots of teams right beneath them.

[bettilimbroke999]

Expansion would be a nightmare.

I'm looking forward to this season though, lots of teams with the capabilities of winning it all.

Miami is the favorite, but lots of teams right beneath them.

Yes SA, Lakers, OKC and Heat are all capable of winning...lots of teams

[SteelRain]

So did every basketball fan in the country...but apparently they have "too much" talent on teams like Charlotte, Cleveland, Toronto, etc right now and need to dilute some more

As bad as these bottom half teams are already these expansion teams would have to look like the WNBA

don't know about charlotte but both toronto and cleveland sellout every night or have a good number of people attending

[Mr KLC]

Bring a team to Nashville, Stern!!!

[bettilimbroke999]

don't know about charlotte but both toronto and cleveland sellout every night or have a good number of people attending

Amazing...born losers that live in Cleveland and Canada dont care about winning I guess.

Watching their team get beat 100-60 every night is a good time

[Blazermaniac]

My two cents. Seattle doesn't DESERVE a team. There was no support for a new areana when the team was there. All them white collar thiefs sitting on their fat asss, misapproiating budgets, in the state assembly should be ashame of themselve. Sorry fcks now agreed to an areana. Where was this when the team was still there?????


Same thing to Sacramento. Give in to the Maloofs or risk loosing the team. You are better off in the long run with the team then no team at all. Just ask Seattle.

[CanuckG]

My two cents. Seattle doesn't DESERVE a team. There was no support for a new areana when the team was there. All them white collar thiefs sitting on their fat asss, misapproiating budgets, in the state assembly should be ashame of themselve. Sorry fcks now agreed to an areana. Where was this when the team was still there?????


Same thing to Sacramento. Give in to the Maloofs or risk loosing the team. You are better off in the long run with the team then no team at all. Just ask Seattle.

You have the story backwards.

[k13]

don't know about charlotte but both toronto and cleveland sellout every night or have a good number of people attending

Not really. Cavs are in the bottom of the league in attendance. Raptors a little better but they don't sellout every game or even close.

[CanuckG]

Raptors do well when the Lakers or Heat are in town but other than that tons of empty seats. However, without the Maple Leafs their attendance will go up.

[as99]

Fuk parity dominant teams is what makes a sport interesting. The matchups between 2 powerhouses. Not some battle between 2 mid-tier teams that nobody cares about. If you're a fan of a specific team that sucks then you want it.

Look at NHL what a joke, an 8th seed team wins the cup.

[CanuckG]

LA Kings had the most 1 goal losses could of easily been higher seeded. Cinderella teams make sports fun too.

[as99]

Is it really a cinderella story when you face the 6th seed in the final.

Lets face it, in the NHL playoffs everyone knows everything in the regular season goes to sh*t. The grinding style of hockey, where one bounce changes a game. Literally beat the shit out of a better team and get by them. Hockey will never succeed in the USA.

In other sports like the NBA yeah a cinderella team is front page news, very compelling, in the NHL it doesn't even matter. Parity destroys this element.

[CanuckG]

Hockey has only succeeded in certain markets. Get rid of the teams in the South like Tampa, Florida and Dallas and ship them up north. Also Phoenix

[bettilimbroke999]

Is it really a cinderella story when you face the 6th seed in the final.

Lets face it, in the NHL playoffs everyone knows everything in the regular season goes to sh*t. The grinding style of hockey, where one bounce changes a game. Literally beat the shit out of a better team and get by them. Hockey will never succeed in the USA.

In other sports like the NBA yeah a cinderella team is front page news, very compelling, in the NHL it doesn't even matter. Parity destroys this element.

Hey if the Bobcats or whatever won the championship (hahahahaha yea right) that would be an unbelievable (literally) Cinderella story BUT thats not really what Im talkin about...Im talking about you've 18 teams out of 30 that couldnt win the championship even 1 out of 100...I guess they do have a lot of potential Cinderella stories...if they ever somehow win...but what kinda league is it when 60% of the teams cant avoid bein swept in the 1st rd if they ever make the playoffs

[mbo4422]

I'm a huge basketball fan. I seriously could watch it all year long. But I've been saying for years the NBA needs to cut some teams and shorten the season. It would make for a better product over all. If i didn;t have to watch Kyle Korver or Landry Fields "try" to guard somebody ever again, I would be happy.

[SteelRain]

Not really. Cavs are in the bottom of the league in attendance. Raptors a little better but they don't sellout every game or even close.

well the raptors games i've been to have been packed

nevertheless, these teams do well in terms of making money and thats all that matters