Mark Cuban has kind of answered a question I have had all along which is why USA BBall has not been on NBC or even had highlights being shown.
It sounds a little too conspiratorial though. NBC is a afraid to promote the NBA because it might take away from their own sports product. I don't really understand it though at all. Wouldn't the ratings be at their highest if NBC shows a 'popular' sport like basketball. Isn't the bottom line the most important things with the Olympics and television?
I wasn't aware that NBC had any sports product to speak of.
NBC and objectivity is an oxymoron in the highest sense. They probably are arrogant enough to think that they'll maintain ratings without basketball.
"Yao Ming did go down for the second half of the season. Did the NBA suffer?"
I would suggest checking attendance for the Rockets' away games to figure that out. Long term, after watching Yao bent over at every break after he already broke down last season, I'd say, long term, it's absolutely devastating to both the Rockets and the NBA.
I rarely, if ever agree with Cuban. But he couldn't be more on the right side of this issue. It isn't the NBA who has to continue to write the checks to these players if they get injured in this charade. If Novitski goes down, Cuban won't be able to give tickets away for what will happen to his team.