TV Deal Is Ready, Willing, Cable

Now it’s the Mouse Network that loves this game. Let’s all sing the new NBA anthem: M-I-C ... K-E-Y....

The old order crumbleth. Oh, no, can this be the end of Ahmad Rashad?

David Stern just kissed NBC goodbye, moving most of the package onto cable TV, but, even if he gets only 15 games and the finals on ABC, this was a no-brainer.

ABC and Turner committed as many billions as NBC and Turner did in 1999--when the NBA was a hot commodity--despite its 33% ratings drop and the current advertising drought, throwing in part ownership of a cable network, to go with the league’s new access to the mighty promotional facilities of subsidiaries ESPN and AOL.

Because the NBA is a lukewarm commodity, no one sings Stern’s praises, but he dodged that cannonball with his name on it and perhaps even stole another march on the other commissioners .

Everyone knew cable was the coming thing, because it has those multiple “streams” everyone talks about, subscriber revenue as well as ad revenue.

But no one expected it to pony up so much so soon.

Limited exposure over the air may not be a problem for the NBA, which was highly exposed, or overexposed, as NBC tried to make up its $1.8-billion rights fee with more games, often three a day.

Of course, the landscape just changed.

The NBA Finals will comprise 33%-40% of ABC’s schedule, making them even more important as a showcase ... and they’ve been a dog, with the last three East teams succumbing, 4-1, 4-2 (after trailing three games to one) and 4-1.

There have been only two other comparable spans when one conference was so dominant: 1960-62, when Bill Russell’s Boston Celtics went 12-4; and 1989-91, when the Bad Boy Detroit Pistons and Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls went 12-3.

The ‘60s Celtics were in mid-dynasty, but that was NBA prehistory, before networks ever thought of televising an entire finals series.

The Bulls went on to dominate the ‘90s, but West teams at least made it competitive enough to run the ratings up to record levels.

Now, however, the imbalance seems carved in stone for at least the immediate future, with all of the best and biggest centers and power forwards in the West.

The best East teams are small and prone to firing from great distances, especially the Milwaukee Bucks, Toronto Raptors and Celtics.

The biggest and most promising--the Philadelphia 76ers, Orlando Magic, Miami Heat and Charlotte Hornets--are in disarray.

And there’s a difference between big in the East, which means Dikembe Mutombo-Derrick Coleman or Elden Campbell-P.J. Brown, and the West, where it’s Shaquille O’Neal or Tim Duncan-David Robinson.

Just ask Mutombo, who explained at some length how unintimidated he was last spring, before Shaq began elbowing him into a prone position on moves into the lane. When they meet again, Mutombo will know to call him “Mr. O’Neal.”

Stern keeps saying it’s cyclical. This is true; it’s just that the NASDAQ is likely to be back before the East.

The answer is simple, requiring only a break with tradition, not to mention denial:

Stern must seed his final four. If, say, the Lakers and San Antonio Spurs have the best records, they would play East teams in the semifinals, and, if victorious, meet in the Finals.

If one East team or (snicker) two are good enough to make the Finals, the system won’t keep them from proving it. It’s just that a Finals slot would no longer be a geographic entitlement.

Of course, as Stern notes, there’s no guarantee that matching the best teams gives you a good series, as the Lakers proved when they swept the Spurs last spring.

However, under this system, the NBA could have had the thrilling 2000 Laker-Portland Trail Blazer series as its Finals, rather than the humdrum Laker-Indiana Pacer series.

Personally, I’d take my chances with my two best teams, as suggested by regular-season records and confirmed by postseason performance.

There’s a question whether anyone in the East would care about a matchup of two West teams. I feel OK about that since last spring, when Bloomberg News’ Manhattan-based Scott Soshnick assured me, “Hey, no one in New York cares anything about Philadelphia.”

It’s a brave new world and, if everyone does the right thing, maybe they can get the turnaround they’re hoping for. At least, in the NASDAQ.

Faces and Figures

For the Celtics, the good news is people actually expect something from them. The bad news is, they’re still young and wild, as Antoine Walker demonstrated (again), setting a record by going 0 for 11 on three-point shots in a loss at Philadelphia. This made such an impression on Cleveland Coach John Lucas, he put 6-foot-3 Andre Miller on the 6-10 Walker, a cue even Walker couldn’t miss. Taking Miller low, he scored 33 points and the Celtics won.... Quoth Walker: “Don’t worry about me, none of y’all [reporters] can get to me. There ain’t nothing y’all can say that will get to me. I could go 0 for 50 and I’m still going to put it up. But if they put a point guard on me, I’ve got to take advantage of that. I’m a smart enough basketball player to know that.” That’s his story, anyway.... Going into the weekend, Walker had a league-leading 219 three-point shots, 52 more than second-place Jason Williams.

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The gloves are coming off in Philadelphia, where the 76ers are still nowhere. “We had everybody here but Allen [Iverson], which is typical,” Coach Larry Brown said after Iverson sat out a practice because of a sore elbow.... More Brown: “Everybody tells me we need a shooter. But we don’t have anybody that will pass it to a shooter. Hasn’t happened. Yeah, we had Timmy Thomas [traded to Milwaukee] and Toni Kukoc [sent to Atlanta]. The only guy who flourished was George [Lynch, traded to Charlotte] because George was rebounding and defending. He wanted to shoot the ball, but he realized, ‘Hell, I’m never going to get it so I’m going to rebound, defend and run on the break.’ So anybody we get there who wants to shoot the ball, they never get the ball.”

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The Alonzo Mourning story continues to be nothing but sad. He has topped 13 points once in six games and has no stamina, although lots of stand-up guy in him. “Key players on this team, me for one, have to produce,” Mourning said, “and we’re not doing it.” ... Then there’s Orlando, where Grant Hill was lost for the season, Tracy McGrady for three games and Coach Doc Rivers benched rookie center Steven Hunter. “The thinking was to work with him [Hunter] and when we get to the playoffs, he might be ready,” said Rivers. “Now you have to get there.”

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There was a confirmed instance of tampering between the Lakers and the Bulls’ Charles Oakley. Of course, Oakley did the tampering. “I wouldn’t mind coming off the bench and playing 15 minutes, backing up Shaq,” he said. “ ... I’m just like that guy who plays hockey [Ray Bourque] and played [20] years in Boston then went to Denver and first year, bam. Right place at right time. I’d go there for less than [the $2.5-million exception].” ... Too bad Oakley didn’t figure that out in ‘99, when he turned down the Lakers’ exception and signed a multiyear contract in Toronto. He’d have at least two rings by now, O’Neal would have appreciated the muscle and we darn sure would have appreciated the quotes.

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Showing the difference between his leadership style and Jason Kidd’s, the Suns’ Stephon Marbury got into a loud argument with Penny Hardaway. Meanwhile, hard-bitten Coach Scott Skiles, accused by Kidd of being too negative, mused about quitting to players. “Any good coach rides the wave a little bit with wins and losses,’ Skiles said. “Most of the coaches I know will get up in the morning and wonder if they’re doing the right thing.” Said Sun General Manager Bryan Colangelo: “There’s no need for widespread panic.” A little might be in order, though. ... Milwaukee’s Michael Redd after pulling off his warmup jacket, entering a game and finding out he had his jersey on backward: “I’ll never live that down.” Well, it’s not as bad as the time the 76ers’ Mark Iavoroni, now a Miami assistant, reported in with his trunks on backward.