SB Nation Reacts: COVID’s impact on fan viewership this season.

The 2021-22 NBA season has been filled with plenty of highs and lows, with the latter of the two mostly coming due to COVID outbreaks and postponed games. To date, there have been 11 games postponed and rescheduled.

There was a December outbreak that led to a flurry of shorthanded teams and the need for the league to create “hardship” 10-day contracts. While it’s been an overwhelming negative, there have been some bright spots involved with players getting a second chance or an opportunity they may have never had in a regular season.

We saw Joe Johnson get a bucket in the 2021-22 season, Isaiah Thomas return, Lance Stephenson just scored 20 in a quarter and Bismack Biyombo has been a revelation for the Phoenix Suns just to name a few, so it hasn’t been ALL bad.

That being said, I have to agree with the fans on this poll that the enjoyment of the season has been somewhat negatively impacted by COVID-19 because it’s robbed us of many games for star players and potential “what if” moments.

The quality of play has taken a hit, and trust me when I say this as a league pass enthusiast... there’s been some ugly basketball played due to these circumstances. This isn’t the case all the time, but at times it has been rough so I get the sentiment from fans around the league.

You want to see the best players in the world play basketball, plain and simple.

In the next poll, 68% of fans say they haven’t watched fewer games despite the quality of play dropping due to COVID-19.

All things considered, that feels like a pretty solid turnout for the league considering how many casual fans are out there.

Lastly, fans were asked to chime in on the Kyrie Irving part-time player situation over in Brooklyn. 64% of fans believe that the Nets are doing the wrong thing by letting Kyrie Irving play as a part-time player.

Kyrie’s return is good for the NBA (revenue-wise) due to the attention the full strength Nets draw, so this happening always felt inevitable. Kyrie stood his ground and won out, for the time being, so he’ll be able to suit up for road games.

What are your thoughts on these questions, Suns fans?

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