LeBron James Tops Ratings For ESPN; Cavs Keep NBA Playoffs Dream Alive
May 26, 2018
LeBron James Tops Ratings For ESPN; Cavs Keep NBA Playoffs Dream Alive
It is the stuff of legend and champions as LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers said on Friday that they would not be going quietly into the NBA playoffs elimination night.
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In a simply epic 109-99 Game 6 team performance last night in Ohio, the 2016 champions showed the Boston Celtics it ain’t over until its over. All of which means, as the Houston Rockets and the Golden State Warriors square off tonight for Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals, that the 2018 Eastern Conference Finals is going to a decisive Game 7 on Sunday in the Massachusetts city.
There’s a lot to criticize LeBron for and many of us still sting at the memory of his ill-considered navel gazing “The Decision” back in 2019 when he fled to the warmer climates literally and figuratively of the Miami Heat. However, for any fan of basketball, there is nothing but respect for last night’s effort, which puts James in the vaulted company of Wilt Chamberlain now. The Great Man was the last player to nail a fourth 40-points and more plus 10 or more rebounds in an elimination game as LeBron did on Friday.
On to the two best words in sports: Game 7.
#CavsCeltics Game 6 RECAP: https://t.co/sY3fizv5FG
#WhateverItTakes pic.twitter.com/2ryfTXjcze— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) May 26, 2018
All of which is great news for ESPN in a playoff series that has been a ratings slam-dunk in an era when even live sports are taking a beating.
Scoring a 6.0 in metered market results on the Disney-owned sports cabler, last night’s NBA game was the number #1 show on both cable and broadcast. While comparisons to the 2017 ECF are lacking as that Cavs vs. Celtics battle only went to a Cleveland winning Game 5, last night was the best ECF or WCF Game 6 that ESPN has had since 2012.
If that doesn’t smell enough like victory to you, then consider that Friday’s Game 6 was up nearly 6% from the Celtics’ winning Game 5 of May 23, which also topped that night.
Overall, the 2018 ECF is up a very solid 21% over the 2017 series – and remember, this is in a time when the NFL, the Olympics and almost everyone else on TV with the exception of Game of Thrones and the Roseanne revival is seeing slumping numbers.
With that, we will update with the rest of last night’s ratings for the Champions finale, on NBC, the now canceled Quantico on its new night on ABC and more later.