Sorry, but the NBA playoffs suck, every single year since 2018. There are so many problems that you can’t even put the NBA in the same tier as NHL playoffs, that’s just disrespectful to hockey. The Maple Leafs Panthers and Mikko Rantenen are infinitely better than Round 2 of the playoffs. I watched the Panthers blow a 3-0 lead to the oilers and that was infinitely better than any nba playoff series in 2024.
Injuries: Every single fucking season, the best players in the playoffs suffer long term injuries, and this is a terrible look for the NBA. The reason? THE SEASON IS TOO LONG. Studies have shown that you can’t run more than 1.5 marathons in a season. In a season, 82 games is too much. I don’t give a shit if a player plays 82 games to collect a paycheck, all that stress GUARANTEES injuries in the playoffs. In the second round, the best player in three of the 4 series sustained long term injuries. Does anyone want to watch that? The “MVP” hype has been a complete dud and we saw teams shoot 1-32. 1 OUT OF 32 FROM 3. to make it worse, either most of those 3's were wide open bricks or just dumbass shots. like guys, YOU HAVE THE PAINT OPEN AND REFUSE TO USE IT.
The other problem: The shit isn’t competitive. If anyone watches MLB, NHL, or NFL, the games and especially playoffs are tight. So far in round 2, the series are laughers. OKC Denver is tied 2-2 and that series has fucking sucked, aside from game 3. 17-8 in a quarter? The series has been an outright free throw contest, NO ONE LIKES THAT. The way OKC lost game 1? You’d think they were a high school team with their basketball IQ. The games aren’t competitive, it’s for about a half or it isn’t good, at all. The Celtics are arguably the best team in the NBA but decided, fuck it lets Chuck 3’s up 20! And then Tatum, Mitchell, and Curry have all gotten hurt. Tatum is probably done for next year. The point of the playoffs should to see the best players battle it out, not one team cruise their way to a title. The hyped up matchups always suck and teams just prove they don’t belong. Wolves Lakers? The Heat Hawks game was better than that. in the NHL, MLB, and even football, there's multiple teams that can win it all. in the nba, only like 3 teams are talked about as contenders
The NBA only cares about one thing: money. They don’t care about the product of basketball, they haven’t done shit to improve the quality. The all star game is still a joke, players check out FAR too much, and the level of competition is so lopsided. Compare that to the NHL, and MLB, where the games are feisty, intense, and either team can win the game. The NBA, isn’t. Cavs Pacers game 4 is all that you need to see.
So I advise you to watch playoff hockey, or baseball. Football when it restarts too. Basketball is straight up bad now. Until the NBA can address the ridiculousness of injuries and lack of quality basketball, it’s not worth caring about. The only teams that might be worth watching are the Pacers and Timberwolves, that’s pretty much it. I’d happily watch those teams in the finals. But if Adam silver wants ratings up, we need to stop watching to show him that major changes need to be made. The NHL has adjusted to criticisms, and the games are flat out awesome, the MLB has adjusted, and the playoffs are elite. The NBA? Not even close. they just throw out the same old bullshit that no one wants to watch. seriously the college basketball world is better than the NBA, did anyone watch Florida and Houston grind it out in a defensive battle? yeah, that was fun to watch. same with the final four and multiple other games. the nba is boring, the quality is unserious, and the league won't do anything about it.