Empty the Bench

“I think you got a low self opinion man, I see you standing all by yourself. You alienate yourself, and everybody else. They wonder what’s on your mind. They got so tired of you, and your self ridicule. They wrote you off and left you behind.”
“Low Self Opinion,” Rollins Band

David Stern and the NBA are in full-blown panic mode already, and the second round of the playoffs have just now gotten underway. As we’ve seen before, once the NBA’s “preferred teams and superstars” in terms of marketing start bowing out of the postseason, the Great NBA Marketing Machine whirls into damage control mode and scrambles to do its best to paint a pretty picture out of what they mistakenly feel is an ugly duckling.

The Mavericks, Heat, Rockets, Wizards, Magic, Nuggets, and Lakers all lost in the first round. That adds up to no Dirk, no D. Wade and Shaq, no Yao and McGrady, no Carmelo and AI, no Dwight Howard, and no Kobe Bryant. Gilbert Arenas didn’t even make an appearance due to injury. In the eyes of the Great NBA Marketing Machine, this is a borderline disaster (surprisingly, some writers agree). And unfortunately for the passionate basketball fan that follows the action closely throughout the regular season–and there’s more of us than advertised–this means we’ll again be gently spoon fed scatterbrain coverage of the playoffs, especially on ABC, that offers little to nothing extra for those knowledgeable about the game.

It’s as painfully clear as ever that Mr. Stern is still caught up on pandering to the casual audience that’s just now tuning in, and not to its most ardent supporters that are in it from November all the way to June (not to mention during the short offseason). Shouldn’t it be the other way around?

When the Golden State Warriors were dismantling the Mavericks in Game 6, the home viewing audience was “treated” to numerous shots of various celebrities sitting courtside. Very cool to see those lovable, lifelong Warriors fans–Owen Wilson and Kate Hudson–totally, like, into the game and ready for US Weekly pub shots. During the pregame show leading up to Game One between the Nets and Cavaliers, ABC ran a montage that highlighted the fact that all of the above-mentioned players have been knocked out of the postseason. The clip finished up with a reverent look at Lebron, one of the “last remaining superstars in the playoffs.” B-celebrities such as Eva Longoria, Kelly Hu, and Tom Bergeron record bit segments for commercial break leads.

Celebrity cameos are nothing new in the NBA or other professional sports. Still, and maybe it’s just me, the celebrity-obsessed World of Stern is getting to be a bit gratuitous in the impact it’s having on NBA in-game coverage. Of course, once in awhile, half-hearted attempts to promote a movie end in hilarity, but mostly it’s an inditement of the league’s shortsighted approach to presenting the best reality show of all. “They” just don’t seem to have enough confidence in their product to resist surrounding it with superficial distractions.

That historical moment in Oakland Thursday night squarely belonged to the players, coaches, management, and, of course, the long-suffering, loyal Warriors fans–not a few celebrities who’ve jumped on the bandwagon. How about skipping the celebrity close-ups in favor of some innovative camera work in the crowd, or interviews with season-ticket holders who’ve gone to every game and stuck with them since the last time they made the playoffs? There was plenty of excitement and hoopla to go around that night; numerous shots of Woody Harrelson and Snoop Dogg add nothing to the broadcast.

Instead of lamenting about what you don’t have left in the postseason, get everyone pumped up about what you do still have in the playoffs. From the Suns and Pistons on down to the Jazz and Bulls, these are all incredibly well-rounded TEAMS with plenty of star power, intrigue, and marketability to go around. The Pistons clinically picking apart the Bulls in Games 1 and 2? The up-and-down thrills of Game 1 in Utah? Steve Nash’s bloodied warrior mentality? Sasha Pavlovic’s blocked shot on Jason Kidd a la Tayshaun Prince? Every real NBA fan knows there’s *plenty* to still be excited about, and that the success of the postseason does not hinge on individual performance by league-preferred superstars.

The NBA wonders why broadcast ratings were low for the Pistons/Spurs NBA Finals two years ago. Sure, not the sexiest of matchups on paper for a broad audience… but did it possibly have anything to do with the fact that the league largely does not understand how to market its best teams or even its “second-tier” guys–only its best players? To me, it seems like a good idea to heavily promote the teams you can count on probably going deep into the playoffs. Market them, run puff pieces about them, put ‘em in NBA commercials, etc.

Also, let’s move past the Kobes and Lebrons of the world. Players of those caliber are awesome, the best in the world. Without question, they are marketable behemoths greatly responsible for the league’s success. Still, there’s a lot more talent one level down in this league, but we rarely hear about it. During the regular season, let’s see some clever, quick-hitting, NBA-driven publicity about the young, exciting core of the Boston Celtics and Charlotte Bobcats of the world. Or the impact undrafted players regularly make in the league. Introduce regular features about a given team’s bench… why they’re important and what they’re successful at. Let’s see more highlights from Carlos Boozer, Tayshaun Prince, Shane Battier, Luol Deng, T.J. Ford.

If that coveted casual fan doesn’t know anything about either team beyond the top two players, of course they might not have much interest. But once again, put aside the casual fan: though the hardcores might not be especially psyched about any given Finals pairing, they’re still going to watch it. Those people want insightful analysis delivered in an entertaining way (see TNT’s Emmy-winning coverage). Amongst other things, Kenny Smith, Ernie Johnson, and Charles Barkley are great at offering their own opinions in a (generally) non-biased way. That’s the kind of stuff real NBA fans want–not a red carpet full of celebrities and musicians ostensibly promoting their latest movie or album.

The only conclusion this behavior leaves me with is that the NBA is not very confident in its overall product, despite the fact that they set an all-time record last season in attendance. This year, they broke that record. Clearly, the Association is undergoing a renaissance of sorts, which, without question, has partly been spurred by the play of young, exciting superstars like Wade, James, Bosh, Arenas, etc. But when will the league realize that not every single NBA fan is completely caught up on individual performance? Will they ever understand the art of marketing and promoting the total package as opposed to strictly focusing on single players?

Sure, from time to time the Great NBA Marketing Machine plays nice for the camera in recognizing team efforts, such as after the Detroit Pistons “shocked the world” in overcoming the star-studded Lakers in 2004 for the NBA title. We read a lot about how Detroit “played the right way” and that the beauty of their championship run centered around a team-first mentality. That the NBA had changed for the better because of what happened.

That didn’t last very long, however, a point hammered home during last year’s playoffs in the over-the-top coronation of D. Wade as the second coming of Jesus. No one who watched last year’s playoffs can say that the networks and NBA brass weren’t pulling for Wade, Shaq, and their Heat. The easy way out of constantly playing up individual accomplishment may appease the masses who watch less than 10 games a year, but I think it rubs true fans the wrong way a little bit sometimes.

Hardcore fans keep this league going. They spend over $125 on the NBA League Pass every year. They buy jerseys, t-shirts, and all kinds of related memorabilia. They fill message boards with insightful observations, participate in live chats on ESPN, click through NBA.com (and its ads), and launch their own team weblogs. They buy season tickets, and if they can’t afford that, they try to make as many games as possible, sometimes traveling across the country to watch their team in person. They play fantasy basketball and memorize stats from November through April. They don’t miss any playoff games. Still, these folks are largely treated as afterthoughts and insulted with a vanilla presentation of the game they follow all year.

David Stern has global domination of the NBA heavily on his mind and agenda. The market is definitely there. But before you move too far along with your plan, good sir, here’s some free advice for you and the Great NBA Marketing Machine:

Man up and get over the star syndrome. If you want to have an amazing product that appeals to as many people as possible, stop the short-sighted approach of strictly focusing on the individual and largely ignoring the bigger picture. Basketball is a team game, and the best teams–the ones that win championships or at the very least play through May every year–usually don’t get there by employing one or two superstars and a pack of throwaways. It’s time you realized that simple fact, and admit that the league has a self-esteem problem. It’s time to seek out help for your nagging affliction before you alienate yourself and everybody else.