Warriors games right now are not exactly must-see TV. With nearly every player you can name (and all the big draws of casual fans) gone or out injured, it’s not a surprise, but the Warriors are one of the league’s worst teams and hard to watch right now.
Also, nationally NBA ratings are down to start the season. A lot.
The NBA’s TV scorecard so far:
— John Ourand (@Ourand_SBJ) December 3, 2019
TNT down 23%
ESPN down 20%
RSNs down 13%
SBJ Media is live: 🔒https://t.co/ukoCsgFcmF🔒 pic.twitter.com/gzeB0awHie
Combine those two factors and you get a notice from the league that they have moved the next two nationally televised Warriors games — Dec. 13th at Utah and Dec. 18th at Portland — off ESPN. (They will be replaced by the Clippers at Timberwolves on the 13th, and the Celtics at Mavericks on the 18th.)
Expect more of this.
The Warriors were slotted for 30 nationally televised games this season — as many as the Lakers, because we all hoping for the Stephen Curry show, with him carrying the offense (which would have been very entertaining). With Curry out and the team struggling, the league is going to get more of its stars on national games.