With LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard, and Steph Curry already eliminated from postseason basketball, the NBA league office is likely pretty bummed that a few of their biggest stars won’t be around for a deep playoff run. Those guys attract more casual viewers than some of the small market teams do. It’s just a fact.
That does not mean, however, that it HAS to be that way.
This isn’t meant to be a hot-take or even an original take. Jon Krawczynski (ask him about A Quite Place 3!) and several other media members have talked about this frequently over the past few days.