The rules are simple when you are building a national television schedule for a league that might not play a game in 2011-12: stick with big and successful markets.
It helps to explain why after six NBA teams (Miami, Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas, Boston, Chicago and New York) were handed more than 20 ESPN or TNT appearances apiece on the schedule unveiled Tuesday, the Wizards were one of seven teams with a lone national TV game. It’s better than Charlotte, Minnesota and New Jersey, which didn’t get any.
However, the April 18 regular-season finale between the Wizards and the Toronto Raptors — also in their only appearance — might be the most bizarre ESPN game of the year, especially if both teams are headed for the lottery again.
Maybe that’s what the ESPN broadcast team will talk about.
Maybe Jan Vesely vs. Jonas Valanciunas will be the most watched game of the year in Europe.
Maybe that’s why NBA has left the door open for flex scheduling.
