ONE: I just want to put this out there. After another ridiculous display from Wade today, 50 points in a triple-OT thriller against Utah, it is looking very likely Miami will hold on to finish 4th or 5th. I don’t care who the Heat face in the first round, whether it’s Atlanta or Detroit, they will get through. Then we’re left with perhaps the most tantalizing second-round match up of the decade – Wade vs Lebron, two of the leading MVP candidates playing the best ball of their career. In fact, this year’s Eastern Conference playoffs could give us a whole bag of treats – Atlanta vs Miami would be damn entertaining to watch, Orlando vs Detroit will be fascinating for historical reasons more than anything else, Wade vs Lebron in the second round, and the inevitable Celtics vs Cavs Conference Final. But nothing will top Wade vs Lebron – it will be the first time those two face off in the postseason, and it could get epic. Just putting it out there.
TWO: Congratulations to the South Dragons on winning the 2008/2009 NBL Championship (Australia’s National Basketball League). This was a feat made even more remarkable by the fact they finished with the wooden-spoon last season. Here are some highlights and post-game interviews:
I watched the second and third quarters of this game at the pub, and I have to say they were two of the most entertaining quarters of NBL action I’ve seen in a while. The game was played at a high standard and the crowd looked absolutely electric. For the first time since… well.. a long time, I found myself watching an NBL game wishing I was there. The Dragons celebrations are of course tinged by a bit of sadness that the NBL as we know it is “officially dead“, but watching Game 5 gave me hope that the future of basketball in this country is strong. The death of the NBL has always been due to financial backing, league marketing and unsustainable expansion – NOT because the sport of basketball is unloved in this country. We will be keeping an eye on this space as the new league unfolds.
THREE: Rasheed Wallace says he could get a 9-to-5 job. This amuses me for all sorts of reasons.
FOUR: I just spent 10 minutes reading this rant over at Pounding the Rock. It’s a little whacked, somewhat aimless and downright opionated, but you will feel all the better for reading it. By the way, PTR is in my top 5 favorite blogs right now – without doubt the best Spurs blog going around.
FIVE: Wonder how the Magic are really going since Rafer Alston stepped in for Jameer Nelson? Third Quarter Collapse have it covered, and the results may surprise you. Here’s looking forward to Part II.
SIX: April 5th is Unsung Player Day and we plan to be involved. Us Aussies love the underdogs, the battlers, and unsung heroes who go about their work without fuss and fanfare. Nominations for who we should write about are welcome. It’s hard keeping tabs on every team’s players who only get a few minutes of court time, so unless you all make some suggestions, it’s very likely I’ll just write about Walter Herrmann.
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vs San Antonio - Game 6 (L) 17/05/13
70%
Andrew Bogut (GSW)
Patrick Mills (SAS)
Aron Banyes (SAS)
17 Comments until now.
Miami to get out of the first round??? I don’t know about that. I think if they play the pistons or Atlanta they will get rolled.
My theory on Australian basketball going forward is we need to get an NBA pre-season game out here. Have two teams come out and play and it will do great wonders for an Australian league.
If they market the Australian league on the back of the NBA pre-season game it would raise the image of basketball in this country tenfold.
Just imagine if the Cavs came and Le Bron didn’t even play but just came to hang out. The place would be packed to the rafters and you could keep the momentum going by having the basketball season starting soon after.
This is something they need to think about.
hmmmm. from what I’ve seen lately the Pistons have trouble closing out games. Wade is probably the third best closer in the game behind Kobe and Lebron. In the playoffs, in a close game, my money would be on Wade and the Heat over the Pistons.
an NBA pre-season game in Aus would be awesome! Rob, when you go the US can you tell the NBA to organise that? Cheers mate
also, i think Wade’s play of late masks the fact that Miami is actually a very average team. They would much prefer to match up against the Hawks who are a little more up-tempo and lets face it, not as experienced as the Pistons.
I still think the Pistons could do damage in the playoffs
The heat’s problem is that they are inconsistant. Fortunately for them, the Pistons are even more inconsistant right now!
I’d tip with wade and the heat against Detroit right now.
The problem with the NBL is the lack of live TV prime time slots. It stops fans from being able to sit back and watch the sport without having to trek to a game. It’s a bit of a catch 22. with fans comes TV, but with TV comes the fans.
They should focus on getting back onto free to air TV in regular time slots on ABC or SBS like they used to, and then progress to the commercial stations as their fan base expands.
i’m sure if sbs or abc made a decent offer to show nbl they’d accept. whether they did or didnt foxtel clearly offered the most money and that is just the path they chose.
we may find channel 10 would look at buying rights to whatever the new nbl is going to be because it makes sense with their sports channel and their ability to sort of co-advertise it with the nba. infact i’ve just convined myself that will definitely happen.
i also convinced myself
i think the NBL became kind of a stale product and it was very difficult to market, no matter how “decent” the quality of basketball was. So a rebranding (like the A-League) is probably a good thing, and it coincides with the rising popularity of bball in this country. Having Patty enter the draft will help, NBA being back on TV is another. i agree Ham, Channel 10 would be a natural fit.
Thanks for the shout-out… looking forward to seeing the Herrmann piece!
Don
@Simon, I just wouldn’t bet against Dwyane Wade right now. i’d like to think Detroit could handle the Heat, but then again, I’d also like to think we can beat Memphis and apparently that ain’t so.
@miki, no probs. I’ll take it up with D. Stern
agree with everything that’s been said about the NBL. it’s a combination of a lot of things that have lead to its downfall.
nearly every Aussie i’ve spoken to is excited about the restructuring. part of me thinks “well then why didn’t you get out to the games before?!” even i’m guilty of this. but i do understand the enthusiasm, because previously the NBL just hasn’t been very accessible, and its hard to embrace a sport/league when you don’t even know where to watch it.
I understand that the reason they went with Foxtel was because they offered the most money. but look where that got them! they now have a dwindling fan base, low access to sponsorship due to limited exposure and ultimately the collapse of the L.
Public exposure is everything. it brings the sponsorship dollars wich are always worth more than the TV rights. Going with foxtel was a very short term decision with (as we can se now) long term consequences.
I hope the makers of the new L will learn from their mistakes.
chuck, nbl teams were folding well before they moved to foxtel. infact the nbl has been going for like 30 years and about 30 teams have folded during that time which is a pretty ridiculous amount. the only reason the last season even took place was because foxtel signed a 1 year extension after the last 4 or 5 year contract. the nbl would have already died without foxtel’s money.
plus, the a-league is doing ok on foxtel, but they won’t admit most of the teams are struggling and let everyone think all teams are like the victory.
The height of the NBL (in the 90s) was at a time when it was shown on free to air television, often at or near prime time. Once they lost their spot on free to air, they started losing their audience, due to that teams stopped getting high profile sponsors, and therefore started folding. While NBL was on free to air, most (not all, but most) temas were financially sound. it was only once the game moved off free TV that it struggled.
It’s all about the sponsors. fextel gives the game less exposure, which means lower class sponsors, which means less money, which leads to teams folding. It’s simple economics. they need the biggest customer base they can get.
The best thing the new NBL could do would be to give the TV rights for free in exchange for a guarantee that it will be shown in prime time, or near prime time slots, including regular spots for results in the station’s news, and cross promotion possibilities.
Get the fans back and the money will follow.
chuck nbl was on free to air up until 2004-2005! heaps of teams died during the sold called glory years of the 90’s. the nbl has been losing and adding teams constantly for decades and after sydney finally died in the ass proper they FINALLY are deciding this is not the right way to run a league.
have a look at this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_defunct_National_Basketball_League_(Australia)_teams
the league has always been stuffed when you really look at what they’ve tried to do.
Are you saying that the NBL was correct in moving to Foxtel?
What would you do to fix it then?
i think its the move they had to make, they probably didn’t have any other options at the time.
mind you i just read foxtel are set to sign a new 5 year deal to show 4 games a week with the reformed league at a paltry $1m a year. i bet quarters gets paid more than that, cmon channel 10!
so Foxtel is going to get it? I’d be surprised if Channel 10 didn’t at least make a bid.
although with the economy being busted the NBL probably seems a bit risky. Quarter’s salary may need to take a hit.
I agree Ham, there’s not much they could’ve done to save it at that point.
For a million bucks, it’s the perfect time filler for the new 24 hour sport HD station (One). C’Mon Ten!
If they sell it to foxtel for a mill then they are getting off to a very bad start.
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