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Could the NBA Be Better Off with a Delayed Season?

by PHXgp on Aug 7, 2011 9:05 PM MST

Now this is thinking outside the box.

The league has filed a lawsuit against the player's association, and it's looking more and more like the season will be delayed if not cancelled entirely. The gut reaction is to think of this as entirely negative. I mean, no basketball equals bad, right?

According to Berry Tramel of NewsOK.com, the NBA could actually be better off starting later:

Why does the NBA season always start in late October/early November? Why do the NBA Finals have to be played in June?

Wouldn't the NBA be better served with a Dec. 1 tipoff and a July finals?

What Tramel suggests, thinking outside the box and turning a disadvantage into an opportunity, is that the NBA fill a sports-fan need in early July by starting and ending the season later. There's nothing big holding the NBA schedule back from starting later and ending later, and television ratings surely could be improved by taking July as it's own form of March Madness.

In Phoenix, it could mean extended respite from the summer heat, while watching the Suns compete for a Western Conference Title and NBA Championship.

Tramel keeps running with his idea:

Tip off the season in December, start the playoffs in late May. You could still play the All-Star Game in February, to avoid March Madness, but the trading deadline could move to late March, maybe a Tuesday, and the NBA could muscle in on some of the basketball jones that for decades the colleges have confiscated for March.

Anyone see any big issues with this? Even if this doesn't work, it's an excellent lemons-to-lemonade reminder that in every challenge is an opportunity for design and redesign: for increased revenue, efficiency, and improvement of the sport.

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Comments

You´re really looking for the BrightSide, aren´t you ?

I feel like missing a month or two wont hurt us as much as everyone thinks, however the schedule might be brutal, we are great team when we are rested, playing back to back ain´t no joke to Nashy´s legs.

But if that ever happens i feel like the team with the best chemistry will have a incredible advantage, lets say we get some high caliber PF and a brand new SG who is a proven scorer, it would take 10/20 games or more to developed some playoff chemistry in the other hand Dallas Mavericks know each other from long long time and playing at their top should not be a big problem, therefore they might win again.

Do not let Steve Nash and Grant Hill go away, please.
Otherwhise im not buying any tickets from you Saver.

by Lino Canaan on Aug 8, 2011 11:32 AM MST reply actions

Anyway i agreed totally with your idea

It could actually help the NBA to get more people to watch games, i don´t see why NBA couldn´t reschedule the whole season when the lockout is finally ended if it gets to affect the already elaborated schedule.

Do not let Steve Nash and Grant Hill go away, please.
Otherwhise im not buying any tickets from you Saver.

by Lino Canaan on Aug 8, 2011 11:35 AM MST up reply actions

There's no way this can happen

In theory, it would be intriguing, but arenas are booked months in advance. You can’t just shift everything, since every arena will have other events scheduled in July, as well as on other dates throughout the season.

by ASUJon on Aug 8, 2011 2:28 PM MST reply actions

Yah, you’re right. It would take at least a year’s worth of planning to shift the entire season.

by KJ7 on Aug 8, 2011 3:22 PM MST up reply actions

that's true

although in an NBA arena, it’s the NBA game that is the big ticket. I’m sure they could shift the Taylor Swift concert and Tarzan On Ice to a little later.

Crashing the [message] boards from Rome, Italy. Go Suns!

by PHXgp on Aug 8, 2011 4:12 PM MST up reply actions