Reuters reports (via the Guardian):
NBA playoff games have been taken off air by China's state television network because they are considered too entertaining for a nation still recovering from the Sichuan earthquake.
All entertainment in China was stopped last week for three days of national mourning for the victims of the 7.9 magnitude quake that struck the western province on May 12.
State TV sports channel CCTV 5, like most other stations, returned to normal programming last Thursday and showed the Western Conference finals game between the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs on May 22.
But subsequent encounters in that series and the Eastern Conference playoff finals between Detroit and Boston were not shown.
"These games are not in accordance with the atmosphere of the nation after the devastation of the earthquake. They are too entertaining" Jiang Heping, director of the state TV sports channel, told Reuters.
"We did show one game but then we were informed not to continue," Jiang added.
I have received a handful of e-mails from TrueHoop readers in China, all of whom miss the NBA, and none of whom is convinced by the official explanation.
Many point out that the replacement programming tends to be other sports, which would hardly seem to fit the mood any better.
What alternate explanations could be out there? Some e-mailers are simply bewildered, while others have theories about the role politics may have played.
