NBA and MLB in big trouble and analytics is to blame

Watching the NBA this year and particularly the playoffs, has become a labor of love. I become so frustrated that I leave TNT and see what is cooking on the Food Network and try to pick up a new pulled pork spice rub from “Diners, Dives and Drive-ins”. It has become a sad state of affairs when a basketball loving former player and coach would rather watch a fat guy in Spokane cook a rack of ribs than watch the two best teams of the NBA play a basketball game. The style is just unwatchable, the whining of the players is like nails on a chalkboard and the shot selection would get most high school players benched. MLB is on the same path with no base runners, massive amounts of strikeouts and a pitching change every inning by both teams beginning in the 5th inning. These two major sports are imploding and the TV numbers prove it and they have one thing in common: They are Boring!

The NBA is shooting nonstop three pointers from the tip off to the final horn. Watching player after player launch shots from 30 feet only to hit 20-30% of those shots is as boring as watching the Hallmark Channel without a good beer buzz going. There is just no excitement to these constant long range bombs and incredibly, not as many acrobatic dunks or drives to the baskets. In a game the other night, I watched a player make a good move, drive to the basket and despite being 4 feet from a bank shot, throw the ball cross court for a player to launch from 32 feet. When I was playing, the coach would call a time out and tell me that I would be sitting on the bench if I ever did that again. In game 5 of the Rockets and Warriors, the two teams combined for 65 MISSED three point attempts. I am witnessing players getting rebounds under the basket and instead of powering back up from a foot; they kick the ball out for another three point attempt? According to analytics, you are better off taking the three not the two. Who decided this is a great way to play? It sure wasn’t Kareem Abdul Jabbar who sky hooked his way into becoming the all time leading scorer in the NBA. The worst part of this new NBA is watching one player dribble by himself for 20 seconds before launching from downtown. Is Adam Silver watching this garbage? Because it sure isn’t Joe Blow the average sports fan. Ratings have plunged and don’t try to blame the absence of Lebron James.

Houston we got a problem!

Baseball is in the same boat right now. Attendance is way down and fans no longer want to commit 4 hours of their life to watch strikeouts. The past two seasons, there have been more strikeouts than hits in baseball. This had never happened in the 100 + years of baseball and now it has happened two years in a row and it is off to a similar start this year. Fans are paying a ton of money to see action, hits, double plays, triples and pitchers trying to hold a runner at first. Those days are long gone with the swing for the fence or strikeout mentality and the defensive shift that could be easily overcome if one person in MLB knew how to bunt. Here is a staggering stat: right now there is only one (1) active player ion MLB in the top 100 of stolen base leaders of all time. Jose Reyes is number 33 and on his last legs so there may soon be no modern players in this list. The drama that came from a Ricky Henderson or Vince Coleman getting a walk and the cat and mouse game of stealing 2nd base was as exciting as anything in baseball. Today there are literally no baseburners left. There is also this little issue where pitchers are changed constantly from the 6th inning on no matter how well they are pitching. Due to these “analytics” there are several records in both sports that may never again be challenged. The All time hit list belongs to Pete Rose and the way the game is played today there is nobody who will ever challenge that. Last year in baseball, no player had 200 hits or more. How is that possible? Pete Rose achieved 200 or more for ten years in a row. Ricky Henderson’s stolen base record is also untouchable. Over 1400 steals in his career and 130 steals in one season will never be touched. Last year the leading base stealer stole 45 bases. That was a bad month for Ricky. These two sports better get their act together quickly because ratings and attendance are down and the games on TV are unwatchable.

-BSB