As
I’m sure anyone who follows basketball, or sports in general, knows
there was an NBA lockout which resulted in a loss of regular season
games and a handful of players signing overseas. The lockout started on
July 1st and began a war of words between owners, players and fans which
lasted a full 5 months, finally ending on November 26. During that
time there could be no free agency or trades, no training camps, no
preseason games and most importantly, a number of canceled regular
season games. There are many complex reasons why the NBPA (players
union) and owners were not able to reach an agreement and start the
season on time, but as far as I’m concerned, there were only a few
issues that really mattered.
The BRI (basketball related income), salary cap, contract lengths, team revenue sharing and age restrictions on players entering the NBA draft, to me are the key factors.
The BRI split was probably the most publicized and garnered a lot of media attention due to its driving force behind the lockout. The owners not wanting to budge from a 50/50 split with the players resulted in some nasty quotes coming from both sides, and forced the fans to choose who they felt was greedier, the employers or the employees. The negotiations eventually ended with a 51/49 split in favor of the players, which I figure would have been the split regardless of who it benefited.
The other issues such as salary cap, contract length and team revenue sharing needs to be adjusted to make sure owners don’t waste money, players don’t request to leave and join teams as they please and franchises that make the most money share with those that make the least. All of this is needed in order to keep the NBA competitive, balanced and entertaining.
My biggest hope is that the the age restriction goes from 1 to 2 when dealing with how many years a player has to be out of high school before entering the draft. Too many college Freshman are entering the NBA before they are ready because they see the success stories of players like Kevin Durant and John Wall to name a few. However, if there is an influx of unprepared players, physically and mentally coming into the NBA, the league will soon suffer from poor play and fewer stars. The NCAA will also suffers because it does not get a chance to develop future talent while providing quality basketball at the collegiate level.
With all that said, I’m just happy basketball is back, and I would be more than willing to never talk, read or hear about another bargaining agreement for as long as I live.
This will however be a shortened 66 game season with compressed weeks filled with back to back games, and with not all players hitting the gym this summer, it could lead to some ugly basketball. The NBA will release a revised regular season schedule on Tuesday which will be very interesting based on the fact that not every team will face each other.
The league is in some way trying to make it up to the fans by scheduling opening night on Christmas day with 5 games consisting of the 10 most popular teams. Loyal fans will jump right back onto the bandwagon while most casual fans debate with themselves about whether or not they really care about the NBA.
Either way, the bottom line is BASKETBALL IS BACK!
Here is the season layout for the 2011-12 NBA season:
2011-12 NBA Schedule Breakdown
Regular Season Start Date: December 25, 2011
Regular Season End Date: April 26, 2012
Playoffs Start Date: April 28, 2012
Last Possible Finals Date: June 26, 2012
2011 Christmas Day Games
Boston Celtics at New York Knicks, 12 p.m. ET | TNT
Miami Heat at Dallas Mavericks, 2:30 p.m. ET | ABC
Chicago Bulls at Los Angeles Lakers, 5 p.m. ET | ABC
Orlando Magic at Oklahoma City Thunder, 8 p.m. ET | ESPN
Los Angeles Clippers at Golden State Warriors, 10:30 p.m. ET | ESPN
Individual Team Schedule Breakdown
Conference Games: 48
• Play 6 teams 4 times (2 home, 2 away)
• Play 4 teams 3 times (2 home, 1 away)
• Play 4 teams 3 times (1 home, 2 away)
Non-Conference Games: 18
• Play 3 teams 2 times (1 home, 1 away)
• Play 6 teams 1 time at home
• Play 6 teams 1 time away
Back to Back to Backs: All teams with at least 1; no more than 3
Playoff Back to Backs: Possible in second round
The BRI (basketball related income), salary cap, contract lengths, team revenue sharing and age restrictions on players entering the NBA draft, to me are the key factors.
The BRI split was probably the most publicized and garnered a lot of media attention due to its driving force behind the lockout. The owners not wanting to budge from a 50/50 split with the players resulted in some nasty quotes coming from both sides, and forced the fans to choose who they felt was greedier, the employers or the employees. The negotiations eventually ended with a 51/49 split in favor of the players, which I figure would have been the split regardless of who it benefited.
The other issues such as salary cap, contract length and team revenue sharing needs to be adjusted to make sure owners don’t waste money, players don’t request to leave and join teams as they please and franchises that make the most money share with those that make the least. All of this is needed in order to keep the NBA competitive, balanced and entertaining.
My biggest hope is that the the age restriction goes from 1 to 2 when dealing with how many years a player has to be out of high school before entering the draft. Too many college Freshman are entering the NBA before they are ready because they see the success stories of players like Kevin Durant and John Wall to name a few. However, if there is an influx of unprepared players, physically and mentally coming into the NBA, the league will soon suffer from poor play and fewer stars. The NCAA will also suffers because it does not get a chance to develop future talent while providing quality basketball at the collegiate level.
With all that said, I’m just happy basketball is back, and I would be more than willing to never talk, read or hear about another bargaining agreement for as long as I live.
This will however be a shortened 66 game season with compressed weeks filled with back to back games, and with not all players hitting the gym this summer, it could lead to some ugly basketball. The NBA will release a revised regular season schedule on Tuesday which will be very interesting based on the fact that not every team will face each other.
The league is in some way trying to make it up to the fans by scheduling opening night on Christmas day with 5 games consisting of the 10 most popular teams. Loyal fans will jump right back onto the bandwagon while most casual fans debate with themselves about whether or not they really care about the NBA.
Either way, the bottom line is BASKETBALL IS BACK!
Here is the season layout for the 2011-12 NBA season:
2011-12 NBA Schedule Breakdown
Regular Season Start Date: December 25, 2011
Regular Season End Date: April 26, 2012
Playoffs Start Date: April 28, 2012
Last Possible Finals Date: June 26, 2012
2011 Christmas Day Games
Boston Celtics at New York Knicks, 12 p.m. ET | TNT
Miami Heat at Dallas Mavericks, 2:30 p.m. ET | ABC
Chicago Bulls at Los Angeles Lakers, 5 p.m. ET | ABC
Orlando Magic at Oklahoma City Thunder, 8 p.m. ET | ESPN
Los Angeles Clippers at Golden State Warriors, 10:30 p.m. ET | ESPN
Individual Team Schedule Breakdown
Conference Games: 48
• Play 6 teams 4 times (2 home, 2 away)
• Play 4 teams 3 times (2 home, 1 away)
• Play 4 teams 3 times (1 home, 2 away)
Non-Conference Games: 18
• Play 3 teams 2 times (1 home, 1 away)
• Play 6 teams 1 time at home
• Play 6 teams 1 time away
Back to Back to Backs: All teams with at least 1; no more than 3
Playoff Back to Backs: Possible in second round
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