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I do not think it is simply a question of entertainment. If it was, we would script the outcomes of baskeball games and plan our overtimes for the right day and time so the network can win the sweeps. No doubt the entertainment factor plays a role, and a pro game is an event that sometimes transcends the competition on the floor. But pro basketball is first and foremost a sporting contest, with athletes deciding the result.
Arguably, the best active player in basketball has won every championship since Jordan's Bulls started win them (MJ, Hakeem, and Kobe/Shaq - a dual MVP if there ever was one). And some of the pro ball I have watched this year has been unbelievable - the number of players who can post their man 16 feet from the basket and hit the turnaround fadeaway is amazing to behold. These are truly fantastic athletes. When you actually watch a game between two teams that play solid defense, you see what it takes to score at that high level and how talented the scorers really are. And I also believe that the refs are amazingly talented and have an unfathomable ability to control a game that is faster and more powerful than any hoops on the planet.
I can't stand the marathon that a baseball game has become. I think the problem with baseball is exactly the opposite - it has less and less entertainment value every year. Although the homer fest is I guess an attempt at entertaining the fans.
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