New Data Supports NBA Stars Dissing Jazz in SLC
Are Utah Jazz fans getting the short end of the stick regarding All-Star players sitting out of games being played in Salt Lake City? According to analytics insider Tom Haberstroh of TomTheFinder.com, NBA star-caliber players miss 40% of their games being played in Salt Lake City.
Utah ranks No. 1, while the Denver Nuggets come in at the No. 2 spot. The rankings are coming off the heels of LeBron James missing his second game in Utah this year. James has participated in 49 of the 56 games that the Los Angeles Lakers have played this season.
The problem was also addressed when former Jazz executive Richard Smith joined ESPN 700 The Drive with Spencer Checketts.
“To be quite frank about it, I don't know if LeBron James misses the game tonight if this game is in New York or if this game is in Miami, ok. That's my opinion, but going into the All-Star break — I don’t want to travel to Salt Lake. I don't want to have to play in a back to back.”
This shouldn’t be a big surprise to Jazz fans. Being a small market paired with the thin Salt Lake City air doesn't bode well for stars being eager to come to Utah.
There's also the issue of the NBA regular season being watered down due to rest management becoming more important than playoff seeding. The NBA is the only league where this is an issue.
Currently, the Lakers have a firm grip on making the play-in tournament, and having a healthy team heading into the postseason is priority No. 1 for a franchise whose two best players are both in their thirties.
Baseball doesn't have this problem. MLB has twelve of the 30 teams making the playoffs, but the top four teams receive byes in the first round. Being able to set your rotation and playing the first playoff game in the second round is enough of an advantage to put the rest management strategy on the back burner.
In the NFL, first-round byes play a big part in forcing teams to play until the end. Also, just like baseball, there are only 12 teams that make the postseason.
The NBA has 16 teams making the playoffs, This doesn't include the play-in tournament which bumps the number to 20 franchises that will participate in a post-season game. Certainly, having no byes awarded and 62.5% of the teams making the play-in tournament or playoffs is a recipe for a watered-down regular season.
The NBA league office has taken note of the matter at hand. The in-season tournament was put in place to put more onus on the regular season. This has helped matters, but coming up with a permanent solution hasn't happened yet.
This is a problem for fans who are shelling out more bucks to watch the bigger market teams. Smith touched on the matter later in his conversation with Checketts.
“What’s the answer? I don't know. And I know this has been discussed for years and years in league offices and among teams and that's how they cane up with these ideas on premium pricing stuff, and when this kind of stuff happens everybodys left shaking their heads behind closed doors without an answer.”
Some good news for Jazz fans is Steph Curry is scheduled to play on Thursday night at the Delta Center. Whether this trend can continue for the rest of the year will be something to keep an eye on moving forward.
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