But all of that and more failed to energize the league's television audience. Ratings were down, and perhaps more disturbing to the NBA, there were few, if any, dramatic spikes in viewership for games that seemed earmarked to draw the casual fans. Alonzo Mourning 's dramatic return in Miami generated a buzz but came with so little advance notice that it didn't create much of a ratings windfall.
Every sport is down, and prime-time viewing is down.
And from top to bottom, the NBA has arguably the most compelling set of first-round matchups in recent years. Also, the games have been spread in such a way that TBS and TNT won't have dueling doubleheaders, which also should help the numbers. In addition to the competition from local baseball, ESPN will counter Saturday's games with the NFL draft, which last year averaged 2.44 million homes, the equivalent of roughly 2.4 ratings points, for its seven-hour telecast. Turner will start its playoff coverage with a preview show tonight at 10 on TNT with Ernie Johnson , Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley . Costas will call the Spurs and Timberwolves on Saturday with analyst Steve Jones and reporter Andrea Joyce .