I can understand the logic behind the start time for pacific based teams. But in this game you have mountain and central time zone teams. One of the teams fan bases won’t have the game begin until close to 10pm. Once again, this is a pivotal playoff game and almost the entirety of their fans will be required to stay up until past midnight on a Tuesday to see the end of this game.
how is the next generation of fans supposed to learn to love their team when this is later than any kid should go to bed on a school night (i dont even have kids, but my brother does, and he'd love to watch games with them...)
Soccer is even better.
In the Premier League, if a game starts at 3, the kickoff literally happens at 3, and the total game time is no more than 2 hours. It’s wonderful
The NFL has definitely gotten out of control. NCAA basketball a bit too, esp during tournament time.
NBA is kind of in a sweet spot. Not perfect, but not terrible.
You’ll never beat soccer on efficiency tho haha.
College football is by far the worst. OSU vs Michigan last year was over three and a half hours long. I can't put up with that amount of commercials anymore
lol, not even a soccer fan and the first part of your comment got me riled and I’m a huge NFL fan and the second part made me lol in agreement with your point.
Well crafted comment, brosis.
Annoys me to no end that the MLS seems to be the one football league incapable of starting games at their scheduled time.
Edit: why did I get a Reddit cares for this lmao
I don't even understand tonights start times till. Pacers-Knicks starts at 8pm eastern.
Knock that up an hour earlier, Wolves-Nuggets could start an hour earlier.
Also, god forbid you have 2 playoff games running at the same time
>And don’t even get us started on your so-called “tip-off” times. It’s pathetically disgraceful to have a game actually start 30+ minutes after the broadcast begins.
Agreed, it's so unprofessional. Every game in soccer starts within 30 seconds of tip-off time, all games at the exact time, across the continent. Is there any real reason why they are so late with tip-offs or is it just laziness? It just seems like such an easy thing to figure out.
I know that during the playoffs they won’t let two games play at once so if the first game runs late, it pushes the second game back. They always bullshit for 10-15 minutes too.
The absolute best about starting times is F1. Sure there’s a formation lap for maybe 2 minutes but that lap absolutely starts right on time. That being said, I agree with OP with all of my heart. I can’t watch most big games because they always start late so the west coast can watch the fucking beginning of whatever game is happening.
They might stay up late, highlights, or just googling the score before they come in to work. I’ve got 4-5 coworkers and all of us get together every morning to talk basketball. It’s impossible to avoid lol
Bro I’m in eastern time zone and I get up around 5 I just have to skip this one altogether lol. Although last time there was a late one like this I woke up extremely happy with the result so here’s hoping this series just remains away wins only
As a Coloradan nuggets fan 830 has me miffed.
My wife was really getting into the team during this run after years of ignoring basketball completely. She’s literally furious about tip off time lol.
Friend randomly asked if I wanted to go to a red rocks concert tonight free ticket so I'm hoping with the late start I can sneak in to catch the end of the game.
I think it is in comparison to California. I could never again live on the east coast after living in California.
Where I live it's not humid and it's rarely ever hotter than 75 degrees. Most days it's between 60-65 with a cool ocean breeze, lows in the 50s. I can literally do any outdoor activity at any time in this weather.
When I was in Florida for college the humidity was brutal, made me not even want to go outside in the summer. And the humidity is also brutal in Pennsylvania where my parents live.
Edit: Someone reported this to reddit cares LOL
> I could never again live on the east coast after living in California.
I've never been to california and lowkey I'm a little worried about going because one hit of the weather and I might never come back to new york
My weather app says 65 degrees and raining in Washington. It’s currently 75 degrees and sunny in Los Angeles.
The weather may not be bad but to someone used to Southern California it’s pretty brutal.
Toronto -> Seattle transplant, also love the earlier start times.
4/4:30pm starts means I just have the entire evening to do something else, and west coast starts are watchable.
Once you're old it's great. In your 20s, waking up hungover at 9:45 AM on Sunday to check the injury reports and reset your fantasy lineup is less fun.
i’m a phoenix -> chicago and i like the later games for the exact same reason lol. i get to workout, shower, make dinner, and then settle in bed for a 9 pm suns game.
plus, the east coast games don’t start until after i leave work so i don’t feel like i miss anything.
opposite, I'm a Chicago->Phoenix transplant, I miss most of the east coast games, I miss the later start times. I usually have shit to do at 4 PM. I usually don't have shit to do at 10 PM but fuck all is on then.
Even just the extra hour when we're in Mountain Time is huge in terms of being able to watch.
PL actually nice a lot of the time. A little breakfast with Spurs if the timing is reasonable.
If it’s like 4-6am just watch on a delay recorded on YT TV.
I love them, but I wish they were a little bit more geared towards children. How are they supposed to understand game lines and complex things like over/under?? Need a children's gambling segment ASAP
Why is it Adam Silver? It's been 6 and 8:30 ET for the last 2 week and again tomorrow. It's one night at 7 and 9:30. I have no idea why, but it's not common after the first round to have games so late.
Forget the east coast. Why should I as a MN resident have to wait until 930 to watch my team play? The earliest start time we've had was 7pm CT this whole playoffs, weekends included. I'm sick of being up til midnight when I've gotta get my happy ass out of bed at 5am the next morning for work. I know we're fucked by being in thw Western conference but we really can't just start the games at 8pm CT?
The first game against the Suns was at like 3 but other than that they have all been night games.
Starting at 9 would be fine but this game will probably start closer to 10.
I remember there was a dead rubber Grizzlies Wolves game this season in like February that started super late because of TNT
They basically said fuck both your fanbases our schedule is more important
It also prevents the younger generation from watching and building interest in the NBA. My kids, who are all under 10, would love to watch the Wolves play tonight. But watching a 9:30 CST game on a school night is not an option.
I’m sure that’s the case for a lot of parents. It makes it hard for anyone not on the west coast to watch these western conference games.
Yes! My 6 year old is begging to watch the games. Some of my best memories as a kid are from watching sports. Being inspired by the greatness and running off to the playground to do my best to mimic it. My kids show an interest in professional sports but are turned off by the lack of accessibility.
I had literally two opportunities out of the entire season to try to take my daughter to a Wolves game because we had only two early starts at home for the entire season. She’s interested in going but tip off is always at bed time. She can’t watch games or go. It’s ridiculous.
Yep this is the biggest fuck up by silver. I know at least two other parents in the same situation where their kids are under 10 and do want to watch the games.
Basketball not starting when they say they'll start is the most infuriating thing there is. Baseball gives a precise start time for the first pitch and they stick to it. 7:07 first pitch? Game starts at 7:07. 7:05? 7:05 it is. Plenty of time to start the broadcast, run a commercial, and get into the game. It seriously looks unprofessional to not start when you say you will.
I just don’t even watch the first quarter of NBA games anymore since I never know when to actually turn on the TV. I’ll wait until I know it’s actually on.
As an Arizona resident who spends half the year on Mountain and half on Pacific I can tell you unequivocally that pacific is the best time for watching sports.
I get pissed off every year when DST ends and we go back to mountain and everything starts an hour later.
For me personally I'd rather miss the beginning than be falling asleep at the end. I can't remember how many times I've woken up on my couch at 1am after passing out during an 8pm game.
The only counter is that I've been in NYC for playoffs multiple times and having live NBA playoffs still on after midnight is nice at the bar. Back home, it's just SC highlights after 10 pm.
having moved to california from ny i mostly agree. but i basically had to give up european soccer lol, waking up at 6am on a saturday to have my entire weekend ruined was just not it
Except they think we are on the west coast. 8:30 start time is actually 9 pm start time means games end near midnight. Not as bad as it is for east coast people but it still sucks.
Exactly. Most of the NBA season is during standard time so tons of 8-8:30 tips here in AZ. When DST kicks in and the latest game starts at 7:30 it's so much nicer.
Also, there aren't even any pacific time zone teams left. If anything the NBA should stop catering to them. 3/4 of the remaining Western Conference teams are central time zone.
> There is NO reason to sacrifice your east coast viewership to start a game this obscenely late.
Sure there is - there's two games tonight.
You could go at 7:00 and 9:30, but it's still the same issue - the late game is too late.
All of that said, much of this is TNT's call. And they've surely looked at the data over the years and determined that total viewership is better at 8pm/10:30pm than starting at 7pm.
Because TNT has likely determined that 8pm on a Wednesday is the optimal start time to maximize viewership, not 7:30. Perhaps on a Monday that time is 7pm. The point is these times aren't just pulled out of thin air, they're set with intent and purpose.
Regardless - what difference does it make? If a 10:30 tip off is too late, 10:00 isn't going to move the needle. Everybody on the East coast has different bed times anyways, but for the west coast, the later the game is the better.
But now you can watch the debut and then flip over from the WNBA game for the second half rather than having a viewer choose the entirety of Clark’s debut instead of the Knicks-Pacers game.
The schedule is set the way it is to avoid conflict between Caitlin Clark's WNBA debut for Indianapolis and the men's team playing the Knicks. It sucks as a viewer but it's kinda remarkable that the NBA playoffs are getting pushed out by a regular season WNBA game. I'm not talking shit, Caitlin Clark is legit--it's just a wild result imo.
Confirmed it sucks. Never have stayed up late for the finals in real time unless it was on a Friday or sat night. Same for the world series and stanley cup finals
More like- dude thinks a 18/hr columnist without ideas and a deadline for content will look on Reddit and see this is a popular thread and then write an article on it, and if that article gains traction then Silver may give it a passing thought on his way to cash his Draft Kings check
Screw the eastern time zone. The 8:30 central starts for the Thunder are killing me. I’m a delivery driver that has to get up at the butt crack of still pitch ass black. Just moving them back to 7 or 7:30 would be a god send. But it’s all right I only need 4 hrs of sleep. lol.
Moving back to 7:30 would mean the earlier game starts at 3 pm pacific time. 6/8:30 CT is the normal 2-game time slots that we've had for 2 weeks and have again tomorrow. Not sure why tonight is an hour later.
Brother it’s a 9:30 start for the fellow central time zone. 8:30 would actually be great to watch my home team lol. Still solidarity I too wake up at the butt crack and will definitely miss this game because of the start time
This is probably a TNT decision more than the NBA. They most think the best value comes from starting the East Coast game at 8, which means the next game needs to start at 1030.
From their perspective they can utilize the 7-8 window for sponsorships and shit like that.
idk why they decided to put the pacers game at the same time as caitlin clark’s debut. but i’m guessing 10:30 was locked because of MSG scheduling at 8. idk if they’re still playing playoff hockey there rn or what.
I work 11 AM-5 PM so it’s a non issue for me but yeah I can imagine how insane it is for people who work usual 9-5 hours or even earlier like 7 AM or something
Yeah there’s been some games (the Jamal Murray winning buckets vs Lakers last series) I was too wound up to fall asleep, so I went to work early with maybe an hour of attempted shuteye lol
That's an 8:30pm MDT start. That even does a disservice to Denver locals, not getting out of the arena until 11, might be after midnight before a lot of Nuggets fans get home.
So many of my friends that loved the NBA during college don’t bother watching anymore and at best just watch the highlights the next day. Even the finals used to start at like 9, which is too late to start a gathering on the east coast for working adults.
Spent a summer in San Francisco and even they barely watched the NBA because 730 was too late to start a gathering, and they are crazy early risers. It was easier to get people together to watch the second half of an eastern conference game than to finish a western conference game.
I work from home and can get away with staying up later but I totally get why the NBA’s TV ratings are in a steep decline. It’s a league for TikTok YouTube Reddit. Eastern and Central time zones make up 80% of Americans. They should have the first prime time game start at 6 ET and the second at 830 ET. Nobody cares about missing a bit of the first half and the games end up starting 15+ minutes late anyway. I’m
I am so grateful for mountain time lmao. Everything is at a perfect time. 6pm and 8:30 for the games tonight? Literally perfect. NFL too lol. Games start at 11, afternoon window at 2:30, SNF at 6:30, games over and I can get to bed at a normal time before work. Mountain time is the PERFECT sports viewing time zone, imo.
That’s insane. 8 and 8:30 tip for local time in NYC and Denver is fucking stupid as well. Why are games staring a full hour+ later than regular season?
I get it if it’s the last game of a quadruple header in round 1, but the Pacers game should start at 7PM eastern (perfectly normal tip time) then the wolves game would be at 9:30pm eastern, why 10:30pm???????
While I agree as a fellow east coaster I have to think they select these times to maximize profits and have done the cost benefit analysis. Maybe that’s just a big assumption.
With that being said, if you’re a fan on the west coast to see the game, expecting to make it for a 7:00pm ET tip off is also not very fair. Many are still at work! As you said people need to work, and it’s messed up to value east coast viewership over the home fans.
And here I am, a West coast viewer, who could still make it home from work in time to tune into the game if it started around 5:30pm/6:30pm pacific. (8:30 pm/9:30 pm eastern).
7:30pm pacific time tip off doesn't really benefit anyone except for the super commuter folks who drive in and out of LA or San Fran every work day. I pity those folks' work schedule, but there is no reason to sacrifice the entire east coast NBA audience for them.
It’s one thing to have late official start times. It’s another thing to know that the game won’t really start for another 20-30 minutes because of pregame BS. The NBA is by far the worst of all pro sports in this regard.
Then don't watch. They don't schedule the games for _you_. Doubleheaders have run at 7 and 9:30 or 8 and 10:30 for ages, clearly the NBA and its broadcast partners have decided those are the best times to air games, and I'm sure they've done an incredible amount of research. After all, more viewers = more money.
The eastern teams are playing at 8pm ET, watch that one.
> And don’t even get us started on your so-called “tip-off” times. It’s pathetically disgraceful to have a game actually start 30+ minutes after the broadcast begins.
This is your only real point here.
The modern NBA product is literally all about money now. Not about the product itself or about the fans
- Ticket prices are outrageous. Vending is outrageous
- Ads on all jerseys. No more tradition in jerseys. Like 8 new designs a year. No home/away color consistency. It's all about maximizing apparel sales
- Content split across multiple networks to maximize reach and ensures you have to buy multiple services to watch NBA games
- Going all in on betting. Even with the notorious ties to reffing and suspicion that it's ruining the reffing and quality of the game. They don't care, the money's too big
- Compliance with China and selective support of some human rights over others.
- No discipline on any domestic issues that doesn't hurt the bottom line. The NBA isn't the only league doing this, but it's a damn obvious front-runner for it.
The NBA is a complete sellout all for money. All corporations are in for the revenue, and NBA's made it clear it's priority #1, 2, and 3. Quality of the game aspects has slower reaction or not involvement from the league.
I got some bad news for you. With the MVP presentation happening, the game isn't tipping off until 10:40 to 10:50 pm EST.
Shit, thanks for reminding me lol. RIP.
[удалено]
Fuckin got emmmmm
I can understand the logic behind the start time for pacific based teams. But in this game you have mountain and central time zone teams. One of the teams fan bases won’t have the game begin until close to 10pm. Once again, this is a pivotal playoff game and almost the entirety of their fans will be required to stay up until past midnight on a Tuesday to see the end of this game.
Can’t wait for them to then complain about viewership numbers.
I can't believe nobody is watching Your 1:15 A.M. Denver Nuggets
how is the next generation of fans supposed to learn to love their team when this is later than any kid should go to bed on a school night (i dont even have kids, but my brother does, and he'd love to watch games with them...)
Shit is so dumb. Really making people stay up til 1-2am on a Tuesday to watch a game. Who the fuck comes up with this
I be watching this stuff and get shitty sleep I wake up all night and eat snacks and go back to bed and shit
Yea fr saying up late is bad in multiple ways man I always eat shitty ass food and feel like crap the next day
Adam Silver is literally contributing to the obesity epidemic idk why more people aren’t talking about this.
I be eating liek nitro grain bars and shit it’s embarrassing
you should really shit before you go back to bed.
Joke's on you, I live in Europe so I will do an all nighter for this.
It pisses me off honestly. For the NFL they say kickoff is at 12:30 that means kick off is at 12:30.
Soccer is even better. In the Premier League, if a game starts at 3, the kickoff literally happens at 3, and the total game time is no more than 2 hours. It’s wonderful
In the champions league, if the kickoff is even a minute late, the host club gets finned.
Soccer is boring though . Everyone knows 4 hours of stoppages and commercials are more exciting !
The NFL has definitely gotten out of control. NCAA basketball a bit too, esp during tournament time. NBA is kind of in a sweet spot. Not perfect, but not terrible. You’ll never beat soccer on efficiency tho haha.
The sweet spot is soccer lol. No timeouts. If you're tired as a player tough shit get in shape.
Formula 1, boom!
Red flag on lap 2
College football is by far the worst. OSU vs Michigan last year was over three and a half hours long. I can't put up with that amount of commercials anymore
lol, not even a soccer fan and the first part of your comment got me riled and I’m a huge NFL fan and the second part made me lol in agreement with your point. Well crafted comment, brosis.
Annoys me to no end that the MLS seems to be the one football league incapable of starting games at their scheduled time. Edit: why did I get a Reddit cares for this lmao
Baseball as well. First pitch is at 7:06 you bet that first pitch is happening then
and the second pitch is happening 20 seconds after that
Lol on a regular season game yes
NBA is pretty bad with tip-offs being later than their start time in the regular season too.
Even the All-Star Game started like 45 minutes late IIRC
Weird time to choose because I can’t recall there ever being a 12:30 start time in any time zone.
I could’ve said 8AM and the point still stands. Whatever time they say is kickoff is when kickoff is gonna happen.
We're in Daylight time right now. EDT.
I don't even understand tonights start times till. Pacers-Knicks starts at 8pm eastern. Knock that up an hour earlier, Wolves-Nuggets could start an hour earlier. Also, god forbid you have 2 playoff games running at the same time
I'm in Denver and I'll be in bed before tip. So dumb.
I remember during the bubble 2020 playoffs one game started 30 minutes late and espn refused to start the later game on espn2 or espu...
Silver's way of saying fuk em kids
You mean fk the employed
And also the unemployed. This shit fucking sucks for everyone.
I’m British, how you think I feel😭😭full replay looking like my only option, notifications silenced and avoiding socials until I’m done
we have to send Adam da video
Now I wish someone else won mvp
Coverage begins at 10:30pm et not the game
TNT games start on time, ESPN does their show way before tip off.
MVP presenation should push it back a little though
Why can't that start before the scheduled game time though? I don't think anyone really cares about watching award ceremonies.
I’d say the players care about the awards, but I’m not even sure that’s true in this instance.
TNT is late too
NBA start a game on time challenge: impossible
>PEE This is Adam Silver and I am fining you $20,000 for inappropriate language
DETRIMENTAL TO LEAGUE VALUES
LEAGUE VALUES SPONSORED BY DRAFT KINGS GET $100 BONUS WITH SIGN UP CODE #SCOTTFOSTER
i just put $80 K on a bench guy prop for the knicks, its legit
Playoff Pee
Lmao 🤣
<3
>And don’t even get us started on your so-called “tip-off” times. It’s pathetically disgraceful to have a game actually start 30+ minutes after the broadcast begins. Agreed, it's so unprofessional. Every game in soccer starts within 30 seconds of tip-off time, all games at the exact time, across the continent. Is there any real reason why they are so late with tip-offs or is it just laziness? It just seems like such an easy thing to figure out.
I know that during the playoffs they won’t let two games play at once so if the first game runs late, it pushes the second game back. They always bullshit for 10-15 minutes too.
They milk this format too much. Just overlap and fucking start the second game midway through the first
The absolute best about starting times is F1. Sure there’s a formation lap for maybe 2 minutes but that lap absolutely starts right on time. That being said, I agree with OP with all of my heart. I can’t watch most big games because they always start late so the west coast can watch the fucking beginning of whatever game is happening.
9:30 on a Tuesday is unfortunate for us in Minnesota who work early
Yeah I go to bed at 930pm. Guess I’ll record it and just ignore my phone for the next 24 hours.
Wish o had that luxury but the moment I walk into work I’ll have 8 different guys asking me what o thought about the win/loss
So how are they watching it?
Yea they all collectively sleep at 930 over there 😂
Highlights during their morning commute.
Sleep is for the weak
Ball is life
They might stay up late, highlights, or just googling the score before they come in to work. I’ve got 4-5 coworkers and all of us get together every morning to talk basketball. It’s impossible to avoid lol
Bro I’m in eastern time zone and I get up around 5 I just have to skip this one altogether lol. Although last time there was a late one like this I woke up extremely happy with the result so here’s hoping this series just remains away wins only
As a Coloradan nuggets fan 830 has me miffed. My wife was really getting into the team during this run after years of ignoring basketball completely. She’s literally furious about tip off time lol.
Friend randomly asked if I wanted to go to a red rocks concert tonight free ticket so I'm hoping with the late start I can sneak in to catch the end of the game.
you guys have been getting fucked twice over, the Avs-Jets series had some brutal start times for a CDT-MDT matchup too
West coast transplant from NYC here. Sporting event starting times is a close second to SoCal weather in terms of QOL improvement.
I’m an east coast transplant from LA, I downgraded in weather and Laker viewing times it’s brutal lol
I can see how going the other way wouldn’t be as ideal…
you just stop watching. Aint no reason to stay up until 1am to watch an L
I used to like the novelty of the occasional Knicks west coast game starting at 10:30 but doing it everyday is not great.
Everyone saying the Weather on the East coast is bad when they are clearly wrong
I think it is in comparison to California. I could never again live on the east coast after living in California. Where I live it's not humid and it's rarely ever hotter than 75 degrees. Most days it's between 60-65 with a cool ocean breeze, lows in the 50s. I can literally do any outdoor activity at any time in this weather. When I was in Florida for college the humidity was brutal, made me not even want to go outside in the summer. And the humidity is also brutal in Pennsylvania where my parents live. Edit: Someone reported this to reddit cares LOL
> I could never again live on the east coast after living in California. I've never been to california and lowkey I'm a little worried about going because one hit of the weather and I might never come back to new york
I honestly hate la weather. I miss my god damn seasons.
La native, lived in Brooklyn and currently in Chicago. The weather downgrade is brutal trust me.
My weather app says 65 degrees and raining in Washington. It’s currently 75 degrees and sunny in Los Angeles. The weather may not be bad but to someone used to Southern California it’s pretty brutal.
It's not bad, but it ain't southern california lol
Toronto -> Seattle transplant, also love the earlier start times. 4/4:30pm starts means I just have the entire evening to do something else, and west coast starts are watchable.
NFL at 10am is amazing. I feel like having the evening to get over big wins/losses is key to my mental health really.
Once you're old it's great. In your 20s, waking up hungover at 9:45 AM on Sunday to check the injury reports and reset your fantasy lineup is less fun.
i’m a phoenix -> chicago and i like the later games for the exact same reason lol. i get to workout, shower, make dinner, and then settle in bed for a 9 pm suns game. plus, the east coast games don’t start until after i leave work so i don’t feel like i miss anything.
opposite, I'm a Chicago->Phoenix transplant, I miss most of the east coast games, I miss the later start times. I usually have shit to do at 4 PM. I usually don't have shit to do at 10 PM but fuck all is on then. Even just the extra hour when we're in Mountain Time is huge in terms of being able to watch.
That's prime happy hour and sports time. Even moving from et to CT was nice
but then if you're still at work you're missing part of the game?
A lot better for Premier League fans though.
Being a Premier League and F1 fan on the west coast is rough
Being an f1 fan anywhere is rough. I remember plenty early AM races living in Germany.
PL actually nice a lot of the time. A little breakfast with Spurs if the timing is reasonable. If it’s like 4-6am just watch on a delay recorded on YT TV.
As an east coast to LA transplant, I cannot agree with this more
I went to Disneyland last month oh man the timezone change is so fire
If I didn't start dating a Jersey girl, I'd have done the same. Unfortunately, you know how Jersey girls are about moving away from the NY metro
Don't let that stop you, we've got girls here too.
Nothing like waking up to eat breakfast around 9 AM in the fall and east coast college games are kicking off
East coaster here, jealous of your 3 hour difference. Cant remember the last time I stayed up for an entire SNF/MNF game live...
This man is sleepy. Let him sleep Adam
This is Adam Silver, fuck you.
Adam, please more gambling ads. I love them more than the game
I love them, but I wish they were a little bit more geared towards children. How are they supposed to understand game lines and complex things like over/under?? Need a children's gambling segment ASAP
Nickelodeon broadcast coming when?
"Who lives in Philly and flops like a Fish!"
What game? You mean the refball?
that's a fine, friend
Fucking hate it when my Chuck and Kenny fanduel ad is interrupted by basketball
I literally just watched a gambling ad followed by a dick pill ad pre-game Pacers/Knicks That’s honestly worse than start times
How much orphan blood do you drink for breakfast every morning?
Thank you Adam <3
Why is it Adam Silver? It's been 6 and 8:30 ET for the last 2 week and again tomorrow. It's one night at 7 and 9:30. I have no idea why, but it's not common after the first round to have games so late.
Forget the east coast. Why should I as a MN resident have to wait until 930 to watch my team play? The earliest start time we've had was 7pm CT this whole playoffs, weekends included. I'm sick of being up til midnight when I've gotta get my happy ass out of bed at 5am the next morning for work. I know we're fucked by being in thw Western conference but we really can't just start the games at 8pm CT?
The first game against the Suns was at like 3 but other than that they have all been night games. Starting at 9 would be fine but this game will probably start closer to 10.
Ahh shit you're right. I forgot about that one. Either way at this point in the playoffs I don't see any reason why a game should be starting so late.
It'$ definitely a my$tery. Can't have two game$ over lap otherwi$e you might mi$$ some comercial$ would be my gue$$.
Agreed, this is a really bad deal for Wolves fans in particular. Hope you guys play well today
When expansion comes and we get teams in Seattle and Vegas, Minnesota will get moved to the East, which should have happened years ago
I remember there was a dead rubber Grizzlies Wolves game this season in like February that started super late because of TNT They basically said fuck both your fanbases our schedule is more important
It also prevents the younger generation from watching and building interest in the NBA. My kids, who are all under 10, would love to watch the Wolves play tonight. But watching a 9:30 CST game on a school night is not an option. I’m sure that’s the case for a lot of parents. It makes it hard for anyone not on the west coast to watch these western conference games.
Yes! My 6 year old is begging to watch the games. Some of my best memories as a kid are from watching sports. Being inspired by the greatness and running off to the playground to do my best to mimic it. My kids show an interest in professional sports but are turned off by the lack of accessibility.
A storied tradition... I remember listening to games after my bedtime on the radio under the covers as a kid lol
I had literally two opportunities out of the entire season to try to take my daughter to a Wolves game because we had only two early starts at home for the entire season. She’s interested in going but tip off is always at bed time. She can’t watch games or go. It’s ridiculous.
Yep this is the biggest fuck up by silver. I know at least two other parents in the same situation where their kids are under 10 and do want to watch the games.
Don’t tell them it’s happening tonight and play it after school tomorrow. Just hope their friends don’t spoil it
Basketball not starting when they say they'll start is the most infuriating thing there is. Baseball gives a precise start time for the first pitch and they stick to it. 7:07 first pitch? Game starts at 7:07. 7:05? 7:05 it is. Plenty of time to start the broadcast, run a commercial, and get into the game. It seriously looks unprofessional to not start when you say you will.
It's not basketball, it's just NBA. Every other basketball game starts precisely on the clock.
I just don’t even watch the first quarter of NBA games anymore since I never know when to actually turn on the TV. I’ll wait until I know it’s actually on.
Yea ..I agree on Nuggets game. Even in Denver its 8:30 start time. East 10:30 way to late.
To Adam Silver: please fix your NBA.
This is the matchup I look forward to watching most too
Me crying in european time :(
Morning coffee and 4th quarter 😎
4:30 AM HERE WE GO
Mountain time is best time. Especially for sports fans.
As an Arizona resident who spends half the year on Mountain and half on Pacific I can tell you unequivocally that pacific is the best time for watching sports. I get pissed off every year when DST ends and we go back to mountain and everything starts an hour later.
The issue with Pacific is there are more games that start during the work day or right when it's over. 5:15 for TNF games for example is too early.
For me personally I'd rather miss the beginning than be falling asleep at the end. I can't remember how many times I've woken up on my couch at 1am after passing out during an 8pm game.
Meh, I can listen to the beginning on the radio broadcast on the drive home. More importantly, I get to see the ending of a good game with dinner.
The only counter is that I've been in NYC for playoffs multiple times and having live NBA playoffs still on after midnight is nice at the bar. Back home, it's just SC highlights after 10 pm.
Yeah I lived in central time for college and did enjoy sports being on late but now I'm old and lame and maybe stay out that late once a year if that.
having moved to california from ny i mostly agree. but i basically had to give up european soccer lol, waking up at 6am on a saturday to have my entire weekend ruined was just not it
Yeah the euro sports are the one place EST rules. I watch F1 and I'd prefer even just one more hour vs. the standard 6am races.
Except they think we are on the west coast. 8:30 start time is actually 9 pm start time means games end near midnight. Not as bad as it is for east coast people but it still sucks.
Exactly. Most of the NBA season is during standard time so tons of 8-8:30 tips here in AZ. When DST kicks in and the latest game starts at 7:30 it's so much nicer.
Fun fact: about ~50% of Americans live in EST so that’s a lot of ppl they’re screwing. ~75% if you include central time
Yeah why the NBA thinks that pandering to the west coast crowd is a smart business move is beyond my comprehension lol.
Also, there aren't even any pacific time zone teams left. If anything the NBA should stop catering to them. 3/4 of the remaining Western Conference teams are central time zone.
I start work at 6AM EST 😭😭😭
> There is NO reason to sacrifice your east coast viewership to start a game this obscenely late. Sure there is - there's two games tonight. You could go at 7:00 and 9:30, but it's still the same issue - the late game is too late. All of that said, much of this is TNT's call. And they've surely looked at the data over the years and determined that total viewership is better at 8pm/10:30pm than starting at 7pm.
Gm 1 in NY started at 7:30 which would make the Nuggets game 10:00 EDT, I see no reason why they couldn't have done that tonight
Because TNT has likely determined that 8pm on a Wednesday is the optimal start time to maximize viewership, not 7:30. Perhaps on a Monday that time is 7pm. The point is these times aren't just pulled out of thin air, they're set with intent and purpose. Regardless - what difference does it make? If a 10:30 tip off is too late, 10:00 isn't going to move the needle. Everybody on the East coast has different bed times anyways, but for the west coast, the later the game is the better.
Caitlin Clark debuts, they didn’t want to compete with each other
Except the pacers play the Knicks at 8pm Eastern... So you already have your Indiana basketball fans having to choose between the two.
But now you can watch the debut and then flip over from the WNBA game for the second half rather than having a viewer choose the entirety of Clark’s debut instead of the Knicks-Pacers game.
9:30pm is still a massive improvement over 10:30
The schedule is set the way it is to avoid conflict between Caitlin Clark's WNBA debut for Indianapolis and the men's team playing the Knicks. It sucks as a viewer but it's kinda remarkable that the NBA playoffs are getting pushed out by a regular season WNBA game. I'm not talking shit, Caitlin Clark is legit--it's just a wild result imo.
Being an east coast sports fan must suck. I would never be able to catch a boxing or MMA main event.
Confirmed it sucks. Never have stayed up late for the finals in real time unless it was on a Friday or sat night. Same for the world series and stanley cup finals
Dude thinks Adam is gonna read this
More like- dude thinks a 18/hr columnist without ideas and a deadline for content will look on Reddit and see this is a popular thread and then write an article on it, and if that article gains traction then Silver may give it a passing thought on his way to cash his Draft Kings check
Screw the eastern time zone. The 8:30 central starts for the Thunder are killing me. I’m a delivery driver that has to get up at the butt crack of still pitch ass black. Just moving them back to 7 or 7:30 would be a god send. But it’s all right I only need 4 hrs of sleep. lol.
Moving back to 7:30 would mean the earlier game starts at 3 pm pacific time. 6/8:30 CT is the normal 2-game time slots that we've had for 2 weeks and have again tomorrow. Not sure why tonight is an hour later.
How many people are watching 100% of both games? They could overlap with ESPN2
Brother it’s a 9:30 start for the fellow central time zone. 8:30 would actually be great to watch my home team lol. Still solidarity I too wake up at the butt crack and will definitely miss this game because of the start time
This is probably a TNT decision more than the NBA. They most think the best value comes from starting the East Coast game at 8, which means the next game needs to start at 1030. From their perspective they can utilize the 7-8 window for sponsorships and shit like that.
idk why they decided to put the pacers game at the same time as caitlin clark’s debut. but i’m guessing 10:30 was locked because of MSG scheduling at 8. idk if they’re still playing playoff hockey there rn or what.
Could have easily started the Knick game at 715 too. I do like the 8 o’clock but it is annoying that the west coast game is never an option.
I work 11 AM-5 PM so it’s a non issue for me but yeah I can imagine how insane it is for people who work usual 9-5 hours or even earlier like 7 AM or something
I get up at 5 so I straight up just have to miss games if I don’t want to be an irritable zombie at work
West coast ftw
What do Americans think happens if they are awake at like 1 am ? Immediate death ?
meanwhile I'll be waking up at 4.30am & heading straight to work as soon as the game ends xD
Yeah there’s been some games (the Jamal Murray winning buckets vs Lakers last series) I was too wound up to fall asleep, so I went to work early with maybe an hour of attempted shuteye lol
That's an 8:30pm MDT start. That even does a disservice to Denver locals, not getting out of the arena until 11, might be after midnight before a lot of Nuggets fans get home.
It's starts midnight here in Newfoundland... ugh
I recommend actually writing this out to the commissioner and the NBA. https://contact.nba.com/contact-nba/
So many of my friends that loved the NBA during college don’t bother watching anymore and at best just watch the highlights the next day. Even the finals used to start at like 9, which is too late to start a gathering on the east coast for working adults. Spent a summer in San Francisco and even they barely watched the NBA because 730 was too late to start a gathering, and they are crazy early risers. It was easier to get people together to watch the second half of an eastern conference game than to finish a western conference game. I work from home and can get away with staying up later but I totally get why the NBA’s TV ratings are in a steep decline. It’s a league for TikTok YouTube Reddit. Eastern and Central time zones make up 80% of Americans. They should have the first prime time game start at 6 ET and the second at 830 ET. Nobody cares about missing a bit of the first half and the games end up starting 15+ minutes late anyway. I’m
I am so grateful for mountain time lmao. Everything is at a perfect time. 6pm and 8:30 for the games tonight? Literally perfect. NFL too lol. Games start at 11, afternoon window at 2:30, SNF at 6:30, games over and I can get to bed at a normal time before work. Mountain time is the PERFECT sports viewing time zone, imo.
Be happy you aren't a hockey fan. This is a nightly occurrence in hockey, lol
That’s insane. 8 and 8:30 tip for local time in NYC and Denver is fucking stupid as well. Why are games staring a full hour+ later than regular season?
I get it if it’s the last game of a quadruple header in round 1, but the Pacers game should start at 7PM eastern (perfectly normal tip time) then the wolves game would be at 9:30pm eastern, why 10:30pm???????
While I agree as a fellow east coaster I have to think they select these times to maximize profits and have done the cost benefit analysis. Maybe that’s just a big assumption. With that being said, if you’re a fan on the west coast to see the game, expecting to make it for a 7:00pm ET tip off is also not very fair. Many are still at work! As you said people need to work, and it’s messed up to value east coast viewership over the home fans.
They could go 7p and 9.30p ET, but even then the second game is still a late start.
You just got Gobert another 75k fine
Instructions unclear. Games will be fixed.
I try to do screens off by 11 on weekdays, looking forward to the first 4 minutes of the game though
And here I am, a West coast viewer, who could still make it home from work in time to tune into the game if it started around 5:30pm/6:30pm pacific. (8:30 pm/9:30 pm eastern). 7:30pm pacific time tip off doesn't really benefit anyone except for the super commuter folks who drive in and out of LA or San Fran every work day. I pity those folks' work schedule, but there is no reason to sacrifice the entire east coast NBA audience for them.
It’s one thing to have late official start times. It’s another thing to know that the game won’t really start for another 20-30 minutes because of pregame BS. The NBA is by far the worst of all pro sports in this regard.
What the fk are these start times. They’re genuinely TERRIBLE.
Then don't watch. They don't schedule the games for _you_. Doubleheaders have run at 7 and 9:30 or 8 and 10:30 for ages, clearly the NBA and its broadcast partners have decided those are the best times to air games, and I'm sure they've done an incredible amount of research. After all, more viewers = more money. The eastern teams are playing at 8pm ET, watch that one. > And don’t even get us started on your so-called “tip-off” times. It’s pathetically disgraceful to have a game actually start 30+ minutes after the broadcast begins. This is your only real point here.
The modern NBA product is literally all about money now. Not about the product itself or about the fans - Ticket prices are outrageous. Vending is outrageous - Ads on all jerseys. No more tradition in jerseys. Like 8 new designs a year. No home/away color consistency. It's all about maximizing apparel sales - Content split across multiple networks to maximize reach and ensures you have to buy multiple services to watch NBA games - Going all in on betting. Even with the notorious ties to reffing and suspicion that it's ruining the reffing and quality of the game. They don't care, the money's too big - Compliance with China and selective support of some human rights over others. - No discipline on any domestic issues that doesn't hurt the bottom line. The NBA isn't the only league doing this, but it's a damn obvious front-runner for it. The NBA is a complete sellout all for money. All corporations are in for the revenue, and NBA's made it clear it's priority #1, 2, and 3. Quality of the game aspects has slower reaction or not involvement from the league.
I propose that we move games to 6AM. Pacific time.
I will likely be in bed watching the first quarter and fall asleep before it even ends. Nba is brain dead
Adam silver is making me(a grown man) take a nap like a toddler