10 Reasons NBA Fans Need To Watch the NHL

The NBA is inching closer and closer to declaring an end to the 2011-12 NBA season due to the lockout.

What may seem like bad news for some is good news for others—the NHL being one of them, as it will see its viewership rise to new heights if David Stern announces there will be no NBA season.

With the NFL only on Sundays and Mondays, what will people watch during the week?

Here are 10 reasons why the average NBA fan should give the NHL a chance during this lockout.

10. Fights

You will rarely see NBA players throw blows at their opponents during a game. That might be because there are no pads or because massive fines will follow.

In the NHL, when a fight occurs on the ice, play stops...and everyone watches.

9. Alex Ovechkin

Alex Ovechkin is to the NHL what LeBron James is to the NBA.

Pure skill and a mind to simply take over a game with it.

The stuff Ovechkin does with the puck is the equivalent of what James does on a fast break in the NBA.

In both cases, just sit back and enjoy.

8. Nobody Wants To Watch Ball Hogs

The NBA has turned into a league full of ball hogs. Some might call it a pickup game on national television.

Fortunately for the NBA, a team full of ball hogs did not win the NBA Finals last season. Maybe it was a wake-up call to Kobe Bryant, Russell Westbrook and others.

The NHL does not succeed without teamwork. It is far too physical of a game to play like that.

Sick passes and chemistry-driven plays are why the NHL is slowly creeping into becoming one of the bigger sports in America.

7. It Is Time for the NHL To Shine

The NHL, for the most part, has been under the radar as a sport in America.

With the NBA closer and closer to no season, the NHL will be front and center in the sports world Tuesday though Friday.

6. Like LeBron James, the NHL Only Plays Three Periods

Quick shot at LeBron James here.

Miami fans are used to this, so why not root for another group of players that only play three periods?

Maybe the Florida Panthers or Tampa Bay Lightning?

5. NHL Players Actually Play Hard

The knock on the NBA is that not every player is playing hard for an entire game. NBA defense is a prime example these days.

In the NHL, your options are either to play hard or get hit.

That way it's the player's choice...

4. If You Are Not a Lakers, Celtics, Heat or Mavs Fan, Who Cares?

Every year in the NBA, we can pretty much dumb down the league to four teams.

Those teams, give or take, are the Lakers, Heat, Celtics and Mavs.

One of those teams is going to win.

In the NHL, a defensive-minded Bruins team can win the Cup. What are the odds of an NBA team doing that?

3. Underdog Stories

We see these in most sports these days, but the Boston Bruins winning the Stanley Cup a year after being ousted by the Flyers in an absolute collapse after being up 3-0 in the series?

That takes a lot of determination.

I am not so sure you see that in any other sport.

2. Defense Wins Championships

We have always heard the phrase, but it was no more apparent than in the Bruins' Stanley Cup victory last season against the all-powerful Canucks.

Boston beat the entire Eastern Conference and the Canucks with sheer determination on defense.

The NBA lacks defense as a whole, but only a few teams can say they are built around their defense.

1. What Else Are You Going To Watch?

With the NFL on Sundays and Mondays and college football on Saturdays, what else are you going to watch Tuesday through Friday without the NBA?

The NHL will benefit from the NBA's misfortune and grow as a sport. It is something that has been long overdue for the NHL—to earn respect as a premier sport in America.