NBA strike: is anyone listening

Last week, the NBA announced that a portion of the pre-season games would be cancelled due to the strike/lockout.  It barely made the fine print of the local Sports sections.  Compare this to the daily hysteria over the lack of offseason training camps of NFL teams and then the delay in the start of offical training.  The NBA has a real problem.  Michael Jordan, Magic, and Bird lifted the NBA to first class entertainment status.  Since then, even with LeBron and Kobe, the league is suffering in terms of its popularity and image.  The fall sports calendar is crowded with the Baseball playoffs and World Series, college football and the NFL.  Is anyone paying attention to the NBA before January?  Basically this is a joint screwup between the players and the owners, just like the NFL.  For the sake of the internecine battle to divide Billions of $$$ (during a recession), they are losing the hearts and minds of their core fans.  There are too many alternatives.  You guys should get real--and fast!!