Sports Nut: Searching for Meaning in the NBA

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Sports Nut Searching for Meaning in the NBA Which pro league has the most meaningful regular-season games? Which has the least? By Jim Pagels Posted Thursday, Apr 26, 2012, at 10:19 PM ET With a loss on Thursday night, the Charlotte Bobcats will finish with the lowest winning percentage in NBA history. The Bobcats, who sit at 7-58, have somehow had to convince fans to hand over legal tender in exchange for watching 10 entirely meaningless games—the number of home contests Charlotte played after being eliminated from playoff contention. In the NBA, it's not just the worst of the worst that bear the burden of selling seats for pointless basketball action. The sales staff in Chicago, where the Bulls will be the East's No. 1 seed in the playoffs, also had to convince fans to purchase tickets for nine home games that took place after the team clinched a postseason berth. Miami Heat fans, too, have been treated to several worthless, soul-crushing games in which Chris Bosh, LeBron James, and Dwyane Wade gave way to the likes of Dexter Pittman and James Jones. It seems odd that so many NBA games carry so little weight. But is pro basketball really unusual in this regard—do the other pro sports leagues have a higher percentage of meaningful regular season games? Let's define a "meaningful game" as a contest that's played before a team clinches a playoff spot or is eliminated from playoff contention. And in the case of the NFL, let's say that a game is still meaningful if a team has clinched a playoff bid but hasn't yet secured a first-round bye. Given that definition, here ... To continue reading, click here. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate Saletan: We're Escalating Our Drone Campaign in Yemen. Is This War? The Raven: The Strange Hollywood Tradition of Turning Writers Into Action Heroes Zuckerberg Thinks You're Worth $100 to Facebook. Is He Right?	Advertisement
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