Friday, October 26, 2012

HEATcast: NBA Preview of the Best Games to Watch This Season


Since the 2013 NBA season tips off next week, Mrs__NBA joined the HEATcast to discuss the difference between season ticket holders and couch fans and the best games for each to watch this season.

Podcast Details
Podcasters: Miami Heat Index and Mrs__NBA
Recorded: October 24, 2012 at 7:00 PM ET
Duration: 1:01:05
How to Listen: Play the audio embedded below, download the mp3 or check it out at itunes



Companion Reading
The podcasters discussed the topics listed below during the HEATcast.

Season Ticket Holders vs. Couch Fans
Mrs__NBA is a season ticket holder. MHI is a couch fan. What does that mean and is it important?

Do season ticket holders and couch fans have different values? In ESPN Magazine’s 10th annual ranking of the best pro franchises for fans, they surveyed fans for their feedback in the eight categories listed below. The importance that fans gave each category is in parentheses. Mrs__NBA and MHI discussed which areas were most important to them as a season ticket holder and couch fan.

What’s most important to fans?
  • Title track (3.2%) - championships won or expected within fan’s lifetime
  • Ownership (8.1%) - Honesty and loyalty to core players and community
  • Coaching (2%) - Strength of on-court leadership
  • Players (19%) - Effort on the court, likability off it
  • Fan Relations (20.9%) - Courtesy by players, coaches and front office toward fans; how well a team uses technology to reach them
  • Affordability (16.7%) - Price of tickets, parking and concessions
  • Stadium experience (8.5%) - Quality of arena, fan friendliness of environment, frequency of game-day promos
  • Bang for the buck (21.6%) - Wins per fan dollar

Best Games of the Season for Ticket Holders
Mrs__NBA's picks for the best NBA games to attend this season:
  • HEAT at Celtics: LeBron follows up his 45-point performance from Game 6 of the 2012 ECF with a  crip walk after another blowout in Boston
  • Lakers at Thunder: See Kobe shoot 2-18!
  • Knicks at Nuggets: Melo’s return to the Mile High, 'nuff said

MHI's picks for the best NBA games to attend this season:
  • Celtics at HEAT: Opening night ring ceremony at American Airlines Arena
  • Bulls at Raptors: The Air Canada Center will be rocking on April 12th as the Raptors fight to defeat Derrick Rose and clinch a playoff spot
  • Nuggets at Warriors: Nov. 29th at Oracle Arena may be the last chance fans get to see Steph Curry in a high-scoring, uptempo game, draining threes and breaking opponents ankles before his own ankles break again.

Best Games of the Season for Couch Fans
MHI's critical factors for choosing games to watch on League Pass are listed below.
  • Home crowd: A live crowd can draw die-hards into any game, no matter which teams are playing. Teams with the best crowds in the NBA are GSW, TOR, SAC, POR, NYK, CHI, UTA and OKC
  • Announcers: Good announcers enhance the viewing experience, but homers can ruin it. If the TV crew sucks, then it's important for a team to have good radio announcers. Just ask HEAT fans. Best TV teams on League Pass are SAC, NYK (Mike Breen+Clyde Frazier) and BK.
  • Exciting matchups, players & style of play: The most entertaining teams to watch, regardless of opponent, tend to be LAC, GSW, OKC, MIA.

Mrs__NBA's picks for the best teams to watch from each division of the Western Conference:
  • Pacific division: GSW
  • Northwest division: DEN
  • Southwest division: MEM

MHI's picks for the best teams to watch from each division of the Eastern Conference:
  • Atlantic division: NYK. Nov.4 vs. PHI will be must-see TV if Andrew Bynum and Tyson Chandler are healthy enough to bang in the paint.
  • Central division: IND. Dec.7 vs. DEN will be interesting for one reason - dunks. A fast-paced game with former Slam Dunk Contest participants Paul George, Gerald Green, Andre Iguodala and JaVale McGee? There WILL be dunks.
  • Southeast division: MIA. Nov.7 vs. BK will give fans a chance to see whether the Nets really have what it takes to be a contender in the East.

Because Mrs__NBA is a Nuggets fan, the podcast ended with a discussion of which PG was better: Ty Lawson or Russell Westbrook. Join the debate at NBAMistress.com (if you're pro-Westbrook) or WagesOfWins.com (if you're pro-Lawson).

This podcast was inspired by E.J. Fischer.

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