The Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets got together on Tuesday night, playing a game only people desperate for punishment decided to sit through. Apparently, even some of those poor souls decided to run away screaming from the television, with only 727,000 viewers for the TNT telecast, per SportsMediaWatch.com.
The rating is the lowest of the season for the NBA for any national broadcast, with the exclusion of NBA TV. Before the Lakers and Nuggets decided to force people away in droves, the lowest-rated national game was between the Memphis Grizzlies and … Denver.
Los Angeles and Denver actually had the lowest rating since April 2013, when the Philadelphia 76ers faced the Miami Heat. That contest has excuses though, going directly against the NCAA Men’s Final Four
So what did we learn from this latest rating? The Nuggets should not be on national television, ever. Denver is 20-33 and sitting 8.5 games out of the Western Conference playoff picture. Additionally, the Lakers are an unmitigated dumpster fire. Nobody wants to sit down and take in Swaggy P, washed-up Carlos Boozer and Jordan Hill amble around the court. Los Angeles is 13-40 and has the most uninteresting roster in franchise history. Not even the history and nostalgia and big market flair can deliver viewers with this roster. And as much as was made about how many Knicks and Lakers games were going to be on national television, they’ve consistently been pulled throughout the season. Viewership like this is the reason why.
Luckily, the Lakers are only scheduled to be on TNT once more this season, facing the Los Angeles Clippers on April 7. Thankfully, Denver’s TNT schedule is finished.
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About Matt Verderame
Matt Verderame, 26, is a New Yorker who went to school at the frozen tundra of SUNY Oswego. After graduating, Verderame has worked for Gannett and SB Nation among other ventures.