Easily the most frustrating game in this series was game two. The officiating in game one was awful but GSW was also just clicking. In game four, we just weren't clicking at all. But game two.....that was our game. We were clearly the better team and lost due to the officiating.
And then even more infuriating is that no one but us cares. They acknowledge it. But it's "just a thing". Super stars get the calls. In any other sport it is a scandal. In the NBA it's just blah. A fact of life. But why? Is an agenda against the city of New Orleans? Is it because they love Cali so much?
No. It is purely business. Straight up ratings.
The NBA is weird in that with most other sports their is a rabid following of fans that glorifies their teams. No matter who plays for them, that is your team. In the NBA, there is a larger ratio of fans who just like players. They will follow James wherever he goes. Or Curry. Harden. It's an odd duck in that their is a larger portion of people that just love superstars as opposed to teams. So of course the NBA is going to cater to their stars. That is their product. Their bread and butter.
So what do we do about that?
There's really only two things we can do. We can try to beat them. The ratings for the regular season were way up. Analysts will argue it was due to the fight at the top with GS and Houston but IMO that was a bit boring and the ratings boost was because of the large amount of teams that were fighting just to get in. And with GSW looking vulnerable, the league actually looked interesting. The NBA is salivating at the projected ratings of Houston vs GS. If we want to make a mark, we have to hit the ratings. Stop watching. Stop talking about it. Be proactive and get other people to turn the TV or streaming off. Watch your team and your team only. The only way to stop the superstar treatment is to make them hurt when they do it. And that's a tall order. Because we know the masses will watch the series. But do everything you can to fight that.
The only other way is to join them. Become the superstars that get the calls. We as a fan base have to turn Jrue and AD into some of the biggest superstars in the league. And possibly Boogie or whomever we bring in. We have to buy their products. Push their social media. Make them huge. Show your team pride everywhere. The SKC gas been amazing for the postseason. Make that kind of noise all the time and we will get the calls.
Another tall order because it's just us. But hey, we want to complain about the system. This IS the system. We can either try to play by the system and win from within or help to tear it down.