:previous: "N", does stand for National, but these are the best teams in the world. Some of the best players are from other countries (Dirk, Parker, Yao, Ginobli, just to name a few in Texas).

Your right about the defense. For those who truely understand basketball strategy, the Spurs are a wonderful team to watch. It's much more exciting to watch a great team than a great player.

Double, if the Spurs are so boring what is the excuse for the Heat-Mavs series last season doing only .3 better than the years before matchup of Spurs-Pistons? Explain that one. There are many reasons this series is low rated. From ABC's shameful coverage of the NBA and even worse attempt at broadcasting NBA games to the series from the very beginning being one sided, there's no reason for most people to watch when they knew the Spurs would win. The Cavs are are one if not the worst finals teams in NBA history. Lebron isn't even good enough or popular enough to the casual fan to spike the ratings, however the NBA will continue to hype the kid.

You know that the Suns and Mavericks have no rings right?

Haha, yeah he is. LeBron is pretty damn popular, but this is against the Spurs, which are miles better than the Cavs. If this was say the Rockets (with national players like T-Mac, and a world player like Yao), or the Suns (with Steve Nash), the ratings would have been better.

I don't think the Spurs or boring though. It is exciting watching a young player like Tony Parker (I call him Black Frenchie) play.

O.K., fair enough.

But I don't think that ALL of the problems with the ratings rest with the Spurs. Sure, many casual bball fans would like to see LeBron vs. Kobe in a 7 game series, the marketing plan used by the NBA is clearly not working well. As you can see by the Mavs-Heat ratings last year, they weren't so great either.

I think that is okay (better than this years). If SA wasn't such a small market (JT the Brick on Fox Sports Radio said it is ranked 37th), then the ratings would probably be better.

It's kinda sad that we can't gain greater viewership. The Spurs are beloved in SA and South Texas, but compared to other markets it's just not enough. Last year I was in Corpus and Laredo on business. Both times I went to a local bar to watch a playoff game and it was packed with Spurs fans. I'm actually intrested to know if Austonians adore the Spurs????? It's obivous thar outside of Texas, we have virtually no following. That's too bad, because this team is starting to be compared to some of the great dynasties in years past.

Bottom line.....spurs win championships, albeit every odd numbered year, but they win....four titles in 8 years. I'm not a spurs fan but I respect their following and you certainly have to say that they are a dynasty. Maybe not like those Bulls of the 90's or the lakers of the 80's. But still four titles is four titles.

Comparing game-specific ratings is meaningless when referring to the entire series and the Spurs season-long national ratings. That's just another aspect of who The Spurs are, most of their popularity is centered locally in comparison to previous national championship teams. I don't buy "people aren't watching because the spurs are going to win", either.

I'm not a Spurs fan, they rely on simple plays that do indeed invoke strong defense including good picking and motion offense, but I think that's too simple and I like to see players play off of each other on the court.

Can you give an example of something you that is complex enough to be exciting to you? The Spurs DO play off each other though. Anyone who watched the dismantling of all three Western Conference teams they played on the way to the Finals can see that. As much as Gregg Popovich likes his halfcourt offense, there are plenty of times where Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili are aloud to run wild and let the "players feed, not play, off each other."

It's Austinites, not Austonians. Ugh, why in the heck did they name that building "The Austonian"?

Anyway, I wouldn't say Austinites "adore" the Spurs. I actually see and hear very little about the Spurs here. I did see a commercial tonight talking about the game with the Cavs, but of course that was on ABC, and it was just an ad for the televised game. The Longhorns seem to be the biggest sports team here regardless of the sport. They are without a doubt, the biggest sports draw here, even beating out the minor league teams we have here of baseball, basketball, football and hockey.

I will say one thing. In middle school when I fell to peer pressure and got a Starter jacket, the team I picked was the Spurs. Of course, I guess I have some bias, having been born in San Antonio. Unfortunately after an encounter with a stray bottle rocket that burned my jacket, I got a Dallas Cowboys one afterward. Still, if I was going to root for a basketball team, the Spurs would be it.

Inside NBA circles sure but outside the NBA he isn't and that's because he plays in Cleveland, the east is so aweful and the Cavs have had little success besides this year.


Maybe but only slightly (like 7.2 instead of 6.5) because then there actually might be a series in it if those teams played Cleveland as opposed to it being one sided.

In seasons past the Spurs have had some of the highest ratings during the playoffs esp. on TNT (which provides fantastic NBA coverage). Also, it really bothers me when SA gets all the blame when ratings are low as if the Spurs are playing the Spurs and no other team is involved. But again I ask, how is it that the 2005 Finals (SA-Det) overall rating was a 8.2 and the 2006 Finals (Mia-Dal) was an overall 8.5 rating. I asked this simply for your simplistic reasoning that the ratings have been low because the Spurs are boring.

Detroit is the same way, their popularity is standard regional. LA and Chicago are the only two that really had that national popularity. Though never a NBA championship winner the Cleveland Cavs are as well only popular regionally.

That is one of the reasons not the only.

I don't understand this sentence, are you saying picking and motion offense are defenses?

That is exactly what both motion offense and pick and rolls do. They demand the players play off each other.

:lmao:

Ah dude that suxs. It's okay, my cousin did the same to me when i was little, except he put a stupid jumping jack on top of the hood of my jacket, while i was wearing it. How sad, he didnt like me, its okay, cause i am better then him now, he he. Anyhow here is to a good game, bring it home Spurs...


:boogy:

Yea which is part of the joke. people talking..but no hardware showin

Regardless, he is pretty popular. He has the second highest selling jersey in China. He is known all over.

With as many championships the Cowboys have one, I just can't be a Cowboys fan. I'm a Houston homer. Any Houston sports team, I'm a fan of it. Cowboy fans just drive me wild.

Who is going to watch this game knowing the outcome already?

Um all of Texas increasing south of Roundrock, All of Argentina, All of Paris and the arrondisments, pockets of the Balkans and Italy.......oh yeah and diminished interest in Ohio.

I doubt it.

Where is the broom?