The quality of the NBA regular season seems to have gone down significantly. Players are pretty much just free styling most of their plays, without any aim. I’ve been frustrated as a spectator from home for quite a bit, but I can’t imagine how kids who have waited years to see an NBA game must feel.

There’s a lot of inherent problems, but I think it stems from the fact that the regular season is too long. It leads to the inevitable load management, and it also disincentivizes good teams from trying every night. After all, if you’re KD and you know you’ll at least make the playoffs in the East, why put 110% every single night?

There always seems to be a stark difference when watching football — where all of the 16 games matter — or even college basketball. For the latter, the smaller amount of games means they are more spread out, but I also wonder whether or not the allure of going to the league also plays a role.

Is there a solution? I’m not sure. The league, admittedly, feels pretty balanced, and last year’s playoffs proved that. Maybe a change is needed to the season — less games, an in-house tournament, etc. — but it’s rough watching anything but the last couple of minutes of a close regular season game. If nothing changes, then ratings may only get worse and worse.