While it was easy to predict the Miami Heat would start declining — and fast — from their championship stature, nobody predicted 8-27.
Certainly not the NBA television partners, ABC, ESPN and TNT. The Heat were given the maximum number of national television appearances at the start of the season, and only one game involving the team (an ESPN game against the Knicks in March) has been removed from the national TV schedule.
The Heat, fresh off of humiliating themselves against the historically woeful Minnesota Timberwolves, will play the resurgent New Orleans Hornets Friday night on ESPN. That game will be the first of six national TV appearances in the next month. Arguably the worst team in the NBA will be placed in the national spotlight Friday (New Orleans, ESPN), Wednesday (Chicago, ESPN2), next Friday (Portland, ESPN), Martin Luther King Day (Cleveland, TNT), January 24 (San Antonio, TNT) and February 1 (New Jersey, ESPN).
The Heat are also scheduled to appear on ABC four more times this season. By comparison, the 29-3 Celtics have no appearances on ABC currently scheduled. On February 10, ABC is set to air Lakers/Heat, while Spurs/Celtics will be relegated to cable.
In other NBA schedule news, the NBA Playoffs will continue to get minimum exposure on broadcast television. ABC is currently scheduled to air a maximum of eleven NBA Playoff games before the Finals, using the same schedule it has used in previous years. ABC will air two Eastern Conference Finals games (Games 3 and 7), while the Memorial Day game, which used to be an afternoon broadcast staple, will remain on ESPN.
Since the NBA went to the current cable-heavy television contract in 2002 (a span of five years), ABC has aired seven Conference Final games. By comparison, previous rights holder NBC aired thirteen in 2002 alone.
2008 NBA Playoffs on ABC schedule.
(all times Eastern)
4/19: Round 1 Game 1 (3 PM)
4/20: Round 1 Game 1 (3 PM)
4/27: Round 1 Game 4 (1 PM)
4/27: Round 1 Game 4 (3:30 PM)
5/4: Rd. 1 Gm. 7 or Semis Game 1 (1 PM)
5/4: Rd. 1 Gm. 7 or Semis Game 1 (3:30 PM)
5/10: Semifinals Game 3 (8:30 PM)
5/11: Semifinals Game 4 (3:30 PM)
5/18: Semis Game 7 or East Final Game 1 (3:30 PM)
5/24: Eastern Finals Game 3 (8:30 PM)
6/1: Eastern Finals Game 7* (8:30 PM)
6/5: NBA Finals Game 1 (9 PM)
6/8: NBA Finals Game 2 (9 PM)
6/10: NBA Finals Game 3 (9 PM)
6/12: NBA Finals Game 4 (9 PM)
6/15: NBA Finals Game 5* (9 PM)
6/17: NBA Finals Game 6* (9 PM)
6/19: NBA Finals Game 7* (9 PM)
