The NBA seemed set for a strong opening week. But in the last four days, viewership dipped. At the pit was the Knicks-Pacers game that drew only 830,000 viewers on ESPN. It had to match up against the World Series, but games prior also faced a heavy decline. It prompted an important question for the league. What can they do to make their products better? Now, there’s a debate between Joe Mazzulla’s methods and Stephen A. Smith, who refutes them.

The Boston Celtics head coach was annoyed by the limitations placed on players. He felt the entertainment aspect of the game was suffering due to excessive technical fouls for ‘soft’ calls. His solution? Mazzulla wants to see hands being thrown once again. “I would love to see fighting brought back. What could be more entertaining than a little scrap?” he said.

In an era where social media could spiral out of control and media houses didn’t pay billions, fighting seemed acceptable in the NBA. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, and other marquee stars, all had their brawls. Fans loved it too, and they might today as well. However, the problem, according to Stephen A. Smith arises from the damage the league can suffer with their partners.

“It will never happen,” the ESPN face plainly said. Smith believes the infamous ‘Malice in the Palace’ incident changed the perspective of fights in the NBA forever. And even though it is freely allowed in sports such as hockey, in the NBA, they are answerable to those who are providing them resources to run a sound product.

“When you got Madison Avenue, when you got advertisers and sponsors to lore, you don’t want to compromise the bottom line…People think that they have these freedoms not recognizing that you really, really don’t because you need to advertise, you need sponsors to subsidize your product. And if you don’t tow a line in some way, shape, form or fashion, they’re not going to do business with you. And if they’re not doing business with you, you ain’t making money,” he explained on The Stephen A. Smith Show.

While fighting might be absurd, can the NBA implement a few changes to better its offerings?

The silent plea behind Joe Mazzulla’s request

With its new media deal roping in $76 billion over the next decade, control over the games is much needed. If physical brawls got the green light, it could upset the league’s streaming partners or lead to a further plummet. However, with Mazzulla’s words, is there something the NBA can go back to and change to make it an intriguing product once again?

The steep fall in viewership could be attributed to several reasons. Some of the biggest anchors are injured. Fans have also complained about the lack of variety in skill with the league gravitating toward a voluminous shooting era. However, another metric is the inconsistencies in refereeing. This isn’t to knock down the officials. But a few controversial calls could change the outcome completely.

One thing that Adam Silver can implement is relaxing the guidelines that deem a technical foul to be necessary. As athletes striving to win every game, a call will always elicit some frustrations. Nowadays, even a gaze at the referee or an aggressive ask for a foul can land star players in trouble. That wasn’t the case before.

As players, they would consider it their right to have a discussion with the referees. Or at times when their team goes on a cracking run, they might smack the backboard, bellow in joy, or throw a few taunts. The intensity is appreciated by fans. But in today’s age, those lead to technical fouls, curbing stars from truly battling each other.

This may still not change the system. Albeit, with more of their antics tolerable, it will breed a tempting sense of competition within players. Shooting is a fascinating art without question, but brutality in basketball comes with contact. Win that battle and you can claim a victim on the court.

With that in mind implementing such leeway in a short duration isn’t easy by any means. But do you think it will help improve the fan and player experience? Let us know your views in the comments below.