What's on TV again?

Photo by Flickr user James Good used under a Creative Commons license.
I'll wager that pretty much no one (check that, only "the review chick") reading this right now read this post last year, but the 2008-2009 schedule was announced just now and here is how the teams rank in terms of national exposure. The teams will be listed in order of how many times they appear on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, and TNT. I'm not counting NBATV because it isn't universally available.

Here we go (Last year's ranking in parentheses):

1. Boston Celtics: 25 (13)
1. Cleveland Cavaliers: 25 (4)
1. LA Lakers: 25 (1)
4. Phoenix Suns: 23 (1)
5. Dallas Mavericks: 21 (4)
6. San Antonio Spurs: 19 (4)
7. Denver Nuggets: 16 (8)
8. Detroit Pistons: 14 (8)
9. Houston Rockets: 13 (10)
9. New Orleans Hornets: 13 (22)
9. Portland Trailblazers: 13 (11)
12. Orlando Magic: 11 (20)
12. Utah Jazz: 11 (16)
12. Washington Wizards: 11 (14)
15. Chicago Bulls: 10 (7)
16. Miami Heat: 9 (1)
17. Golden State Warriors: 8 (11)
18. Philadelphia 76ers: 7 (28)
19. Toronto Raptors: 2 (20)
20. Atlanta Hawks: 1 (28)
20. LA Clippers: 1 (17)
20. Memphis Grizzlies: 1 (22)
20. Milwaukee Bucks: 1 (22)
20. New Jersey Nets: 1 (17)
20. OKC Somethings: 1 (-)
27. Charlotte Bobcats: 0 (22)
27. Minnesota T-Wolves: 0 (22)
27. Indiana Pacers: 0 (28)
27. New York Knicks: 0 (19)
27. Sacramento Kings: 0 (22)

Big Jump: Boston Celtics, +12 spots
Freefall: Miami Heat, -15 spots

Thoughts:

This is the second year in a row with 0 televised games for the Pacers. Ouch.

Derrick Rose and Michael Beasley get the benefit of the doubt, combining for 19 games. Kevin Love and OJ Mayo only get 1 game between them.

Dallas and Phoenix are still in the 20's, while Houston, Portland, New Orleans, Orlando, and Utah only get the low teens. This isn't 2005 anymore.

Speaking of the shaft, Philly with only 7 televised games?

Teams ranked in the top eight both years: Cavs, Lakers, Suns, Mavericks, Spurs, Pistons... Nuggets? Really?

New Jersey has only one televised game, but it isn't against Houston. Smart move, NBA.

New York: First in population, last in nationally televised basketball games. Epic fail.