Interesting perspective, but I totally disagree with your assessment. The Spurs/Pistons don't draw because they have no marketable superstars on either team. While Tim Duncan may be the best player in the NBA, he is not very interesting and nobody outside of San Antonio enjoys watching him play. The Pistons don't have a single player on their roster who is top five at their position.
But to lay a blanket statement on the NBA that it's become unwatchable an unmarketable is just untrue. There are a number of fast-paced run-n-gun teams including:
Phoenix Suns Seattle Supersonics Denver Nuggets Sacramento Kings Dallas Mavericks New Jersey Nets
Not only that, but we are about to enter a new golden age of superstars. Look at the young guns who are about to take over the NBA:
Amare Stoudemire Lebron James Flash Wade Yao Ming Dwight Howard Shaun Livingston (trust me on these last two; they are going to be awesome)
And don't forget the superstars that are currently in their prime:
Kobe Bryant Tracy McGrady Kevin Garnett Tim Duncan
The future of the NBA is very, very bright. This Detroit thing is temporary. Once San Antonio dispatches of them (which they will), the whole nightmare that is Detroit basketball will take a back seat to the real teams in the NBA.
I agree with both of your suggestions, and I offer a few more…
1. Shorten the season. Since we know they won't reduce the number of playoff teams, they need to reduce the number of games. 50 is fine. It's overkill to play this many.
2. Shorten the game. Can we take two minutes off each quarter? Please?
3. Five fouls and you're out.
4. When it comes to calling fouls, work with an actual rulebook that everyone's agreed on and everyone abides by.
