People must really like that LeBron James fellow, because his Cleveland Cavaliers will appear on national TV more than any other team during the 2009-10 season. The Cavs will be featured on ABC, ESPN or TNT some 25 times this season.The Lakers, Celtics and Magic will all make 24 appearances on national TV. The Nuggets (21), Spurs (20) and Suns (18) follow. Five teams -- the Kings, Bobcats, Bucks, Nets and (amazingly) Rockets -- have no national TV games scheduled.
A full accounting of the national TV schedule after the jump.
More Coverage: Full NBA Schedule Released
Note: No games on NBA TV were included in my counts. NBA TV isn't available in nearly as many households as the other ubiquitous networks, and NBA TV is doing the ol' "Fan Night" again, where viewers pick the games on Tuesdays.
Here's the rundown:
Cleveland, 25
Boston, 24
Orlando, 24
L.A. Lakers, 24
Denver, 21
San Antonio, 20
Phoenix, 18
Portland, 17
Miami, 15
Utah, 13
Chicago, 13
Dallas, 13
New Orleans, 9
L.A. Clippers, 8
Golden State, 8
Washington, 8
Atlanta, 6
New York, 5
Detroit, 4
Philadelphia, 2
Minnesota, 1
Oklahoma City, 1
Toronto, 1
Memphis, 1
Indiana, 1
Houston, 0
Sacramento, 0
Charlotte, 0
Milwaukee, 0
New Jersey, 0
Yep, the Pacers, Grizzlies and Timberwolves all got a game ... but the Rockets didn't. I understand that this Yao Ming dude is important and injured, I realize Tracy McGrady will be on the shelf for a while. But Shane Battier! Trevor Ariza! Luis Scola! Get them on TV!
And yes, you're reading that correctly: the Clippers (19-63 record last season) and Wizards (ditto) each have eight nationally televised games this year.
Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Waaaaaait a minute, didn't I just hear that the Blazers vs Rockets game is part of the opening day doubleheader on TNT?
Correction: The Lakers will also play in 25 nationally televised games.
Does this really mean that Cavaliers are more popular than other teams in NBA?
hMm....maybe?!...
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Atlanta has 7.
well Tom, you couldnt garantee that the lakers would be the top of the most watched gamess hh
well, it's not so curious as to why Rockets have no games...after all, who's there to watch? Trevor Ariza??? NO yao, NO Tmac, and not even an Artest to see if the time bomb will explode so why watch them at all...unless of course you're "stuck in Houston again"
As for Cavs...yup, we're looking forward to more of Lebron's schoolboyish immature behavior...maybe besides stealing KG's poweder in the air thing, he can repeat dissing anyone who beats his team...oh and they have the Big Ego, or the Big Empty Building or whatever they're calling him in Cleveland these days...that's always a draw...
As for the Lakers...well, one could care about how many national tv spots they get if you one wanted to, me...I only care that they won the ring and have a shot again this year...do the Cavs have that? a shot, yes, a ring, no...as for this year, we'll see...who knows, at the beginning of the season, it's up for grabs for ANY of the top teams...and each one is only a key injury away from making it...
Um the Lakers have 25 not 24. Not that it makes any difference, but you seem to make it out to be that 25 is sooooooo much better than 24. Plus even if the Lakers did "only" have 24, it's so obvious why Tom listed LA after Boston and Orlando, the other 2 teams tied for 24. I can just imagine Tom's thinking process. "I'm going to put LA 4th so that the difference between LA and Cleveland is even more than it actually is! Genius!" And did you ever hear of somebody named Shaq? I think that MIGHT have something to do with Cleveland's numbers. I highly doubt it's mainly because people "really like that Lebron fellow" as you so falsely put it. Who likes Lebron these days anyway? His image has taken a nose dive when people were finally forced to accept what they knew all along. That his good guy image was nothing but a fraud. There are permanent records on the web of his immaturity and distasteful arrogance ever since his high school days, but people used to sweep them under the rug or ignore that he ever did or said them. But now people are forced to recognize them after repeatedly being bombarded by his typical diva behavior. He can pull the wool over people's eyes for only so long. People aren't that stupid.
Not a surprise the media wants to show off the top pick of the draft, in one of the largest tv markets (maybe if you count San Diego, which doesn`t have its own nba team, the #1 market) even though they gave away their top athlete, who played the same position. Not a surprise, the probable division leaders are also up there. Rest of the teams are a surprise they got as many games as the did!
And yes, you're reading that correctly: the Clippers (19-63 record last season) and Wizards (ditto) each have eight nationally televised games this year.
LOL that's pretty much what I was thinking... more than New York! Hopefully they don't go 0-8 (or whatever it was) like last seasons opener. It's been tough...
I don't think this has anything to do with the Cavs being popular. It is much more about who the NBA and the networks try to shove down our throats.
you're right, the cavs aren't popular, but lebron is.
I'll be catching pieces and parts of the regular season, but the real basketball games start at playoff time. Of course the eventual playoff winner has already pretty much been determined by the trades.
Patch
Damn I get so tired of all the Lebron haters. Whatever happened to just liking the sport. And no I'm not takin sides cuz the Kobe haters are immature too. Their both awesome players so just like the damn sport and stop hatin so hard! I'm tired of all the dick riders out there....
What is surprising about the schedule is minor, it looks as though it was made up before Phoenix dumped Shaq and Barnes, and before Detroit added Villanueva and Gordon. Their number of shows should be about reversed. Stoudamire can`t carry the Phoenix team by himself, and Nash isn`t what he was. Shaq thrived in either tempo, Nash`s turnovers were his throwing the ball away. Shaq didn`t force him to pass to the other team. He could have held up, a dumped the ball into Shaq, instead, he tried to pass to the opposition hoping Shaq couldn`t get upcourt in time to stop him. Though the lack of team success was partly due to various injuries to Stoudamire, compounding his lack of strength to play center and lack of finesse to play forward. A shame, great talent, but raw out of high school, not a lot of skills. Maybe Bill Gates will buy the Grizzlies, mover them to Seattle for the season, and sign Robinson, from Seattle, to a good contract. Signing Mutumbo as an assistant coach, adding some scouts to the team, former Sonics. Even non Seattle fans can hope. And even though the folks I used to know in Tacoma/Seattle/Washington, don`t speak to me, I wish them well. As for LeBron, while some folks hate him and/or Kobe, most of us just hate the hype, neither is at fault for, but both get too much of.
Why the hell do the Cavs have so many national appearances when they choked so badly in the Eastern Conference Finals? Boston, I can understand due to the larger market the Celtics have, but the Cavs? I just don't understand. Even if the Lakers have just as many appearances as the Cavs, it still makes it appear that they're as good as LA when they're VASTLY inferior.
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-Why does this team have this many and that team has this many and they're not as good and I hate LeBron and it's not fair and my team's better and WAAAAAAAA - Good grief,turn the channel or STFU!
AMEN Mr. G!! My sentiments exactly. Just watch the damn game and if you don't like it, turn the damn channel!
u guys r talking about lebrons school boy behavior and permanent records on the web? To me, thats just strange. To search the web for disparaging stories that were probably streched even further by every person who heard it. Its a game, athletes at Lebrons or Kobe, Shaq etc...they all have egos and things in their life, and so do we. i swear, whether its haters in the sports arena or the polital world, I see so much ignorance and hate. along with the desire to see other people fail, but you all know what they say about karma...so keep hatin and u will b stuck just where u r.
I'm quite aware that all the superstar athletes have egos. Just because I happen to be criticizing only Lebron for having an ego in my first comment doesn't preclude the fact that I certainly think OTHER athletes have egos too. I have NO desire to see Lebron fail. I am NOT a hater of his. Reason? Because I try to watch ALL of Lebron's games and I actually believe he is one of the best in the league. I can't wait for a few years when Lebron will probably be the only dominant force left in the league. But notice I did not mention a single thing about his GAME in my first comment. I was only talking about his PERSONA. Like you said we all have egos, but I don't go around trying to create a fake image of myself. I agree with the person that it is the hype of Lebron that is ruining the game, and what's disappointing is how Lebron more than buys into that hype. My ONLY point was how people try to force down our throats that Lebron's humble, Lebron's genuine, Lebron's this, Lebron's that, when in reality he proves to be otherwise. That's what people, or at least I, hate about Lebron. Not his game. His fakeness. He's not the only one, but the fact remains that he is still fake. I'm allowed to love Lebron's game yet still hate him as a person. The next time you want to criticize someone's comment, you should first take the time to read what it's actually saying instead of replying to what YOU think it's saying.
The cavs have the most national games because of how many games they won last year. i admit that they did choke last year but they are very good and people seem to forget that. the team is improved and regardless of what people think about lebron, when he is on the court he is great and fun to watch. a ring is coming to cleveland haters