Stanley Cup playoffs provides more entertainment than the NBA playoffs
The first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs and NBA playoffs end in a few days. Don’t bother comparing the playoffs for both leagues. The NHL offers more reasons to watch its playoffs than the NBA. The results speak for itself.
The NHL playoffs featured three Game 7s, and the fourth one almost happened Monday night when the Nashville Predators and Dallas Stars battled to overtime until John Klingberg scored from the left circle 17 minutes, 2 seconds to give the Stars a 2-1 win that had them advancing to the second round by winning in six games. The NBA likely won’t have one based on how its first round playoffs is shaping up.
Three upsets took place in the Stanley Cup playoffs while the NBA can’t come up with one.
For some reason, the NBA ratings fare much better than the NHL ratings. Hard to figure that out.
So strange also to see NBA get more coverage than the NHL when it comes to the postseason. The NBA playoffs generates more talk than the Stanley Cup playoffs despite no upsets and no interesting moments.
Only part interesting about the NBA playoffs came on Tuesday night when Damian Lillard drained a 37-foot 3-pointer in front of Paul George that gave the Portland Trail Blazers a 118-115 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. His signature shot eliminated the Thunder in five games. Not only it could be the moment of the NBA playoffs, but it’s by far the best highlight reel the NBA playoffs produced in years.
Believe it or not, Lillard’s shot became the sublime part of the night mainly because the Vegas Golden Knights and San Jose Sharks played a thrilling Game 7 that ended in overtime as a result of the Sharks scoring four goals on one power play in the third period. Cody Eakin cross-checked Joe Pavelski in the chest with 10:47 to play in the game that actually gave the Sharks a 4-3 lead based on those four power-play goals, and the Knights followed it up by tying it to take it to overtime on Jonathan Marchessault’s tying goal. The Sharks ended up winning it 5-4 in overtime on Barclay Goodrow’s goal.
We offer this viewpoint as not a crusade for everyone to embrace the NHL or crying about the lack of respect that the sport gets. If anything, we express sadness the NBA can’t be like the NHL in producing drama and entertainment in the playoffs or in the regular season.
The NBA is a boring product. Not many great teams. Too many awful teams such as the Brooklyn Nets making the playoffs, and the result shouldn’t be surprising when the Philadelphia 76ers eliminated them in five games on Tuesday night. Players fail to be fundamentally sound when it comes to running as offense as all they do is hoist 3s. They don’t even play defense. And yes, most players don’t come to play until it’s the fourth quarter.
Too many divas make it about themselves in the NBA. There’s never been respect for the game by these players going back to three decades.
The NBA features more drama and nonsense than the NHL. Most NBA fans express more interest on where Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Jimmy Butler and Kawhi Leonard will work next season than the NBA postseason games. The NBA does such a good job of turning fans off.
College basketball and high school basketball offer more intrigue than the NBA. At least, upsets happen in the playoffs.
Dynasties become nonexistent in the NHL because of the amount of shifts that create wear and test of the players’ bodies over the years. In the NBA, players log on many minutes and they can still win it all. Ever notice the same NBA teams keep winning NBA titles going back to the 80s?
I watched zero minute of the NBA playoffs this season and last season. What’s there to watch when everyone knows the Golden State Warriors will win it since they have way too much talent for other teams to keep up in a long series? Getting to the second round and Western Conference Finals become meaningless that way, and being an Eastern Conference champion serves nothing more than a team being a tomato can for the Warriors as we saw the last two seasons with the Cavaliers. Not even LeBron James could have saved the Cavaliers from losing to the Warriors.
In fact, NBA fans look forward to which team will win the rights to draft Zion Williamson and Ja Morant in the NBA draft lottery on May 14 than the NBA Finals.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver and the NBA owners offer no solutions to fix that problem mainly because they can’t. The players run the league, and that’s the way it will be.
In hockey, no such thing exists. More pleasure comes from watching the Stanley Cup playoffs than the NBA playoffs based on storylines and actions that take place within the game.
Maybe one day the NBA playoffs will be like the NHL playoffs before we all croak.
