Spurs sweep Cavaliers, win fourth title

By: Larry Fitzgerald
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
Originally posted 06/20/2007

CLEVELAND, OHIO — According to the Nielsen ratings, the NBA Finals just completed in a four-game sweep by the World Champion San Antonio Spurs, 4-0 over the Cleveland Cavaliers, was the lowest-rated NBA Finals in prime time ever.

 The NBA decided years ago to put all the finals games on prime-time network TV. That means the games started at nine pm in the Eastern Time zone, eight pm in the Central, and six pm out West.

Should the NBA be concerned? Yes and no: San Antonio is a great city, but it is not the largest NBA-TV market. Cleveland, however, is one of the largest. And, with the NBA’s most marketed player (The King) LeBron James in his first NBA Finals, much was expected.

 Obviously, viewers have different choices with cable and satellite TV giving them as many as 600 channels to choose from with remote in hand. For example, game two on Sunday, June 10, got whacked in the ratings by the final episode of the highly successful, long-running HBO series The Sopranos.

 Also consider that Sunday is when most viewers watch TV, and the series ended in a sweep that hurt the NBA because it was a short series. In fact, it was the first 4-0 sweep in the finals since 2002 when Los Angeles beat New Jersey 4-0, and only the eighth sweep in history since 1947.

 I also think Nielsen does not measure correctly the number of people who watch games in sports bars and restaurants across the U.S. or on the move while traveling through airports. Obviously, there are more TV sets in use today than ever before thanks to High Definition (HD) quality, so I say it’s the system of rating that needs to be adjusted and considered. People don’t have time anymore to lock into a game or program for two hours and watch it from beginning to end if it’s not compelling television.

And take it from me — I was there for all four games of the finals — as great as the Spurs are, they dominated in such a way as to make it obvious that they were the superior team.

 They also reduced (King) James to just a prince; he committed 23 turnovers in four games. James, in just his fourth season, is a future Hall-of-Fame talent. As good as he is, all the weaknesses in his team (no post-up inside presence and the lack of outside shooting) and his game were exposed.

 However, LeBron James, who skipped college and came right to the NBA, has been able to do in four years what Kevin Garnett (who also skipped college) and the Timberwolves have not done in 12 years — get to the finals.

 The NBA game is suddenly being dominated by foreign players. The last three NBA regular-season MVPs are foreigners: Steve Nash of Phoenix and Dirk Nowitski of Dallas. And, thanks to the talented Tony Parker of San Antonio, the first European-born player to be the MVP of the NBA Finals, it was a clean sweep of the MVP trophies by foreigners.

 “It’s great, it’s unbelievable,” said Parker. “When I look at that MVP trophy, I’m going to wake up tomorrow and it’s still going to be a dream. European basketball is improving every year. Nowitski won the MVP for the first time, and now me MVP of the finals. It’s just great, and there are going to a lot more.

 “I’m happy to be the first one in the NBA Finals,” Parker continued. “I’m not complaining. I’ll definitely remember 2007 — it’s a great year. I’m going to thank God and go to church when I get back to San Antonio. I’m very blessed. I don’t know what I did. It’s just a great year.”

 James may have been a bit distracted during the finals; his second child was born on the morning of game four. As we saw during these playoffs, James is the ultimate team player. Since he was drafted by Cleveland, the Cavs have gone from being the lowest NBA team in home attendance to number three overall in the NBA.

 James led Cleveland to the finals for the first time in their history. Before he arrived in Cleveland, the Cavs were seen on national TV 10 times in the previous 10 years. Since James has been wearing number 23 in Cleveland the last four years, the Cavs have been on national TV 98 times.

 Fitz Notes & Quotes

The NCAA has approved moving the three-point line back one foot starting in 2008, from 19 feet nine inches to 20 feet nine inches. It’s the first major change to the three-point shot since it was adopted in 1986-87. The question is why. This is, in my view, what regulating competition is all about.

Twins star Torii Hunter’s son Torii Jr. is now the Twins’ team bat boy.

When the great Jackie Robinson broke the race barrier in Major League Baseball in 1947, the following year, the spring of 1948, the Brooklyn Dodgers moved their spring training site from Vero Beach, Florida, to another country.

 Why? Because of pure hatred and backlash and protest from fans in the state of Florida. The Dodgers moved their training site to Havana, Cuba, some 60 miles south of Miami, to protect Robinson.