You know what the NBA is really missing?

[.:DaYg0sTyLz:.]

A good, nasty rivalry.  I always think about some of the old rivalries...Lakers/ Celtics....Bulls/Knicks.....Pistons/Everyone.   If you go back a few years the Lakers and Spurs had some good rivalry moments, the Lakers and Suns did also, and the Spurs and the Suns. But I dont know about any real nasty rivalries where the teams seem to really dislike eachother. I kinda miss it...

[Chamillitary Click]

Lakers/Celtics are on there way, but they arent like Yankees/Redsox level yet lol.

[.:DaYg0sTyLz:.]

Lakers/Celtics are on there way, but they arent like Yankees/Redsox level yet lol.

even so, i cant see it being the same. I think its just the way the league itself has changed. Its like they all are friends lol

[herpes]

You have nobody right now.  The media is trying to force the Lakers/Celtics but it's nowhere good as the 80's.  When you have rivalries like that it just happens.  The media doesn't create it it's just meant to happen.  But this is happening in all sports though.  Maybe not so much baseball because of the history of some of the rivalries.  The media is killing sports.

[Rick McCrank]

The media is trying to force the Lakers/Celtics but it's nowhere good as the 80's.

they are definitely trying to force that because this happened directly after Spurs vs. Cavaliers

LeBron was good 2 years ago but had no supporting cast, up against the Spurs who they say draw no ratings

reaching those all-time lows in ratings and then stumbling upon an opportunity to exploit NBA past with BOS-LAL playing great fell in their laps

it definitely helps the NBA that they force it though, can't always blame them

and with LeBron more of a monster than 2 years ago playing on par with the big boys helps them even more, it looks better than a few years ago

the Showtime-Boston rivalry was a little before my time but I'm smart enough to know that the present time is not the same

however if you're from Los Angeles or Boston it's very big news as far as local sports though, lots of people follow the games

so you can understand how they capitalize off that.... the beginning of the season was even more hype out the gate

to say there is no fire to the rivalry is a bit of an understatement though, fans of these 2 teams really fuckin hate each other

I read in the paper that game the other night was the best ratings for a game on TNT in over 12 years, Finals did well, so people I guess are interested

[Antonio]

Lakers vs Kings was good.
Lakers vs Suns too.
Lakers vs Celtics is looking good.

[.:DaYg0sTyLz:.]

Lakers vs Kings was good.
Lakers vs Suns too.
Lakers vs Celtics is looking good.

Do you watch the rest of the league? Or just Laker games? lol  Those rivalries were ok, but obviously nowhere near the rivalries of the past.

[Rick McCrank]

Lakers vs Suns wasn't that great...

considering the Laker team was gay and Phoenix beat them in the playoffs 2 years in a row

hardly something the NBA could build on

[M Dogg™]

Lakers/Kings was good, it  kept the Lakers busy until they won the title. The closest is the Lakers/Celtics, well actually Odom and whatever beef his been having with KG lately. I wish the Cavs and Magic could develop into something, that'd be a rivalry that'd last. Right now, I don't see anything too great, the Pacers and Pistons aren't as heated or relevant anymore, Kings suck, and New York fans are cheering for the other teams. Spurs are getting old, Boston is not close behind, and the Lakers and Cavs main players are too friendly.

[Turf Hitta]

give it time, the NBA is very young right now and new rivalries need time to develop

[.:DaYg0sTyLz:.]

give it time, the NBA is very young right now and new rivalries need time to develop

i dunno, i think its just the way the NBA likes it. Nice and wholesome.  Family oriented yah know?  the good rivalries have slowly disappeared, and Im sure the brawl in Detroit made Stern want to create this fuckin "lovefest" going on in the league even more.  Not to mention, free agency having players moving around so much...they dont stay in one place long enough to hate eachother. AND, its very rare that two teams stay good enough for a long enough time to develop a rivalry.

[Turf Hitta]

give it time, the NBA is very young right now and new rivalries need time to develop

i dunno, i think its just the way the NBA likes it. Nice and wholesome.  Family oriented yah know?  the good rivalries have slowly disappeared, and Im sure the brawl in Detroit made Stern want to create this fuckin "lovefest" going on in the league even more.  Not to mention, free agency having players moving around so much...they dont stay in one place long enough to hate eachother. AND, its very rare that two teams stay good enough for a long enough time to develop a rivalry.

The fans love a good rivalry and I'm sure Stern does too. Look how tough he's trying to make the Lakers and Celtics a rivalry again. More people watch when they pick a side to root for/against. In fact I think the last LA BOS game had the highest rating of any nba game since 96 or something like that. I think the main reason there aint many rivalries right now is because the last generation is fading out and new teams are developing and new stars are carving their niche. There will be new rivalries soon enough.

[Chamillitary Click]

Lakers/Kings was good.

Vlade vs. Shaq = funny/good shit!

[GangstaBoogy]

Lakers vs Suns wasn't that great...

considering the Laker team was gay and Phoenix beat them in the playoffs 2 years in a row

hardly something the NBA could build on

That shows how powerful Kobe is. Dude was so good that people really thought it was fair to call a 2-7 matchup a "rivalry". We were the number 7 team two years in a row...we weren't supposed to beat them. If we play them in the playoffs this year people will think we're bitches if we showboat like they did when they beat us.

[wcsoldier]

You may think I'll be off topic but there are few rivalries nowadays because the way the game is called is GAY imo  ... these Bulls/Pistons , Bulls/Knicks , Knicks/Heat in the late 90es were the shit because teams were able to play extra physical ... good battles in the paint , hard fouls will lead to technical fouls , cheap shots so hatred and rivalries ... that latest C's - Lakers was the shit coz some cheap shots happened , still way too many weak fouls were called ...