Repercussions of the NBA Lockout

By Leslie Monteiro

The end of an impressive baseball postseason would have provided a bridge to what should have been an exciting NBA season opener.

The New York Knicks were supposed to play the Eastern Conference Champion Miami Heat last night at Madison Square Garden. This matchup would have featured star power in LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Amar’e Stoudemire. Not only would it have gotten New Yorkers excited, but it would have created an interest to the entire country.

Instead, the doors of MSG remained closed, “locked-out” if you will. The NBA lock out continues.

It’s a shame. The Knicks were going to play elite teams this month, and it would have been interesting to chart their progress.  It would have been fun to see Stoudemire and Anthony play together after a month of training camp, to see how the team’s chemistry improved with time to develop (and a new defensive coordinator to boot).

Now, we won’t see this for awhile.  There will not be basketball in November, and December could be out of the question as well.

There was some hope last week that the lockout would end. The players and the owners were starting to reach common ground about how to split the revenue pie, but in the end, the small-market owners insisted on having a hard cap that the players union refused. That has been an issue since the summer, and it hasn’t changed.

Will there be a NBA season? Few months ago, the chances were slim. The players union was determined not to let the owners have their way. They backed it up by refusing to agree with the owners.

We will find out what the players are all about now. Are they willing to miss paychecks the entire season? Are they able to stay united throughout the cold winter months? Are they going to be unified when the going gets tough?

Those three questions will determine how this lockout ends. They have talked a good game about being united. They also talked about how they are prepared to lose money and miss out the season.

The owners figured the players will cave in, still seemingly the best bet. It’s hard to believe the players are going to keep going on with this stalemate. They know they have it good. After all, the players gave in 1997 and 1999 when the lockout went on that year. That’s the only hope basketball fans have here.

If the players remain dedicated to beating the owners, this is going to be a long winter for sports fans. There is the NFL to fill the void, but it’s only played in the weekends. It will be tough to watch anything during the work week.

There are always hockey and college sports, but it does not appeal to the true die-hard hoops fans

Basketball provides a great outlet for fans to stay at home during the winter. The drama of an 82-game season makes the time go fast. That being said, if the lockout ends tomorrow, the league will still have a hard time winning the casual fans back.

The Knicks gave New Yorkers something to look forward to this season. Even if they were going to lose in the first round, they were going to be interesting. There is nothing like watching Anthony and Stoudemire work together and win games. Those two would have provided excitement every night. If nothing else, the Knicks gave folks something to talk about like the good old days when they were really good.

As bad as the Nets are, they would have been worthy to watch. Everyone would have paid attention whether or not Deron Williams was committed to them in their move to Brooklyn. They wondered if a losing season would peeve the surly Nets point guard.

No one knows what the local teams will do at this time. It’s unfortunate. It’s going to drive everyone nuts now that there is nothing to watch on the tube. Sitcoms can only go so far along with other fringe sports.

Owners and players will pay the price for this lockout. They are not going to make money, and they are not going to be productive by letting this fester on.

Common sense has to prevail with the players and the owners. They can’t be stupid enough to waste a year away. Something has to give.

Only hope and sanity by the players can save us from a depressing winter.

Possibly Related Posts:

• New York Knicks 2012: A Significant Disappointment
• Ten Years Later, We’re Still Talkin’ Bout Practice
• Knicks Tyson Chandler Wins Defensive Player of the Year
• Amar’e Stoudemire Is Having A Bad Year
• Knicks vs. Heat – Does New York Have Any Chance At All?

Tags: nba lockout