Too Much Bron?

You could look at this in many ways. Ratings for the NBA Finals first game was not good. Step up above the Conference Finals, but still nothing the league should be proud of. Less than eight million viewers. You could point out multiple things. Obviously, September into October, there's other sports going on regularly. The political aspect doesn't help. But I have a theory of my own. The oversaturation of LeBron James and the LA Lakers probably sweeping.

With James, I think most people are tired of seeing him in the Finals. I don't know what it was like in the 60s with Bill Russell and the Boston Celtics, but they weren't as big a problem compared to James. James is also a very divisive person. Like any mega star, has his fans and haters. But he also doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut. Any other year, it would be a win for the NBA because people want to see him win or lose. Haters will want to see another failed championship attempt. Losing six Finals in your career is not something to be proud of compared to Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. I'm sure criticism could be said for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, but his Laker teams were able to rebound and get Finals wins.

I think that's the other part of my theory. If it were Lakers vs. Celtics, or Toronto, I think there'd be a more competitive Finals. Miami has a great team, but with the performance in game 1, it leaves a lot of questions. Heading into the season, Los Angeles was said to be one of the favorites to win a championship this year. You see more of these type of games, it will be a turn off for the NBA. Some of the MLB favorites will be more of a ratings grab as the baseball playoffs go on. There's a time to watch LA sports, but this may be like it was back in 2010.

Whatever the case, this is going to be something the NBA will look at when they negotiate deals with networks. They were struggling earlier in the year, but the complications make it even more harder. Adam Silver should anticipate some lost revenue and start looking to fix things that will help his bottom line. And I believe it will start with not giving players and teams all this freedom. Ratings do dictate a lot of things for a sport.