Counting the number of nationally broadcast games handed out during the NBA's annual schedule release day is one of the best ways to find out what the league thinks about your favorite basketball team.
The NBA is, frankly, in the entertainment business. It makes an effort to showcase its best teams, even if there is a tendency to favor franchises in big markets (looking at you Los Angeles, New York and the Bay Area). That means more nationally broadcast games for the championships contenders, while the teams expected to be toward the top of next year's draft will play most of their games in front of a local television audience.
