By MIKE HERNDON
The Indiana Pacers hadn’t even finished off the New York Knicks yet when I saw the first complaint about the prospect of a small-market NBA Finals.
“If it’s a Pacers-Thunder series, I won’t even watch,” some supposed basketball fan tweeted.
Talk about a self-own. Just go ahead and say you’re a poser. Because you aren’t a basketball fan.
Like too many people who say they follow the NBA, that was someone who cares more about which names are in the game than the game itself.
More than any other league, NBA coverage and attention is skewed to big-market teams and big-name players. Charles Barkley was, as usual, right on the money when he called out ESPN, his future employer, for focusing too much on the Lakers and Warriors this year and not enough on top conference seeds Oklahoma City and Cleveland.
But that’s today’s algorithm-driven, ratings-obsessed sports talk landscape for you. Radio talk show hosts, podcasters and TV talking heads feel like they have to talk about LeBron and the Lakers ad nauseum because that’s what drives ratings.
The man is 40 years old – remarkable to still be playing, yes, but well past his prime. His team got run out of the first round in five games. But he’s LeBron James. He’s a celebrity.
And don’t we all love to talk about celebrities? What would this country do without celebrities to fawn over, and complain about, and vote for? We might actually start paying attention to results.
In some ways, it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. Sports analysts focus on certain teams and players because that’s where the algorithms and ratings tell them the interest is. But the more they talk about them, the more they drive interest toward those teams and players.
And now we have people who say they can’t be bothered to watch the two best teams in the league, one of which is led by the league MVP. That a series without LeBron James or Steph Curry in it or without Spike Lee on the front row isn’t worth their time.
It should be a fun series to watch. Call him a “free throw merchant” if you want, but Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has played up to his MVP billing in the postseason. Tyrese Halliburton looks like a budding star. Jalen Williams is proving to the world that he’s an excellent player, and Pascal Siakam is reminding us that he is, too. Aaron Nesmith has had nights where he couldn’t miss. Both teams take pride in playing defense. Mark Daigneault and Rick Carlisle are two of the best coaches in the league.
It’d be a damn shame to miss it. If you actually like basketball.
Categories: NBA
Sportschasers 
Leave a comment