Tag: Oklahoma City

NBA Finals earn big TV ratings in San Antonio — even with no Spurs

There was a lot of chatter on the local sports radio talk shows wondering about how much interest there was in San Antonio without the Spurs and with Miami and Dallas playing in the NBA Finals.

The viewers in San Antonio answered with the best ratings in any metered market outside of the Dallas-Fort Worth area or South Florida.

San Antonio’s market ranked fourth (15.9), trailing only behind Miami-Fort Lauderdale (33.7), Dallas-Fort Worth (30.7) and West Palm Beach, Fla. (17.7), .

Here’s are the markets where the NBA earned its top television rankings for the Finals.

1. Miami-Fort Lauderdale  (33.7)

2. Dallas-Fort Worth (30.7)

3. West Palm Beach, Fla. (17.7)

4. San Antonio (15.9)

5. Cleveland (15.8)

6. New Orleans (15.1)

7. Memphis (14.5)

7. Houston (14.5)

9. Oklahoma City (14.4)

10. Chicago (13.7)

And the lowest metered market in the nation was Pittsburgh (5.1) — Mark Cuban’s hometown.  

It’s interesting that the Spurs beat even Cleveland, where interest was high as Heat fans rooted against LeBron James and the Heat.

Many San Antonio fans were rooting against the Mavericks at the start of the series. But by the end of the Mavericks’ dramatic title victory, I bet the Texas team had picked up some fans even among disgruntled Spurs fans.

Spurs are early 20-to-1 choice to win 2012 NBA title

Despite posting the second-best regular-season record in the NBA in the past season, the wise guys in Vegas don’t have much early respect for the Spurs heading into the upcoming 2012 season.

The Spurs are listed as a next season, according to early odds posted by the online betting website Bodog.com. It ranks seventh among all NBA teams. (Hat tip to Ben Maller.com)

Miami at 5-to-2 is the early favorite. The Los Angeles Lakers are listed at 11-to-2. Chicago is at 6-to-1. Oklahoma City is 8-to-1. Defending World Champion Dallas is 10-to-1 and Boston is 12-to-1.

Here’s a complete list of the odds heading into what appears to be a long lockout.

Future Line for winning the 2012 NBA title

 Source: Bodog.com 

 What about it Spurs Nation?

Would you make a bet on the Spurs’ chances next season? Or does another team on that list appear to be a better choice?

Don Newman interviews with Phoenix about vacant assistant job

Spurs assistant coach Don Newman has interviewed with the Phoenix Suns about an added assistant coaching position on Coach Alvin Gentry’s staff.

The Arizona Republic reported that Newman talked with Gentry in a job that the Phoenix coach hopes will improve his team’s leaky defense.

Gentry also has talked with former Chicago assistant and current scout Pete Myers and Houston assistant Elston Turner, who was a finalist for the Suns’ head-coaching job in 2008. The Republic also said that Gentry may meet with Lakers assistant Jim Cleamons and other coaches who have been involved in the conference finals, such as Dallas’ Dwane Casey, Oklahoma City’s Maurice Cheeks and Miami’s Bob McAdoo.

The Suns are hoping to boost their defense after allowing the NBA’s fifth-worst defensive percentage (47.2) in 2010-11. Phoenix general manager Lon Babby has approved allowing Gentry to hire a veteran coach without losing any of his four current assistant coaches.

“I’m going to run it like a football team, and he’ll be a defensive coordinator,” Gentry told the Republic. ”We’ll spend a ton of time meeting the next two to three months to see how we can put changes to be better.

“What I decided was we just needed someone from the outside with a new voice and outlook. It’s not anything against who we have. Dan Majerle played for Pat Riley and was all-defensive, and I do have confidence in Bill Cartwright and the other guys, but we need a new approach because if we’re ever going to be good, we need a whole new voice to be consistent.”

Newman was hired by the Spurs before the start of the 2004-05 season and has worked seven seasons with the franchise.

It wouldn’t be a surprise if he left for what appears to be a better job on the surface than what Newman has with the Spurs. But there appears to be stiff competition for the position among several top assistants from around the league.