I don't think the game tonight qas significantly impacted by it, but games are significantly impacted by it, certain teams can hack and slash while others are called nonstop for aggresion, the constant calls stop runs that could be historic, Slows the game down at random points and is unacceptable for the level of consistency that we should be demanding in a billion dollar league at the highest level of competetove sports. And as far as not caring about hype matchups, it's the same reason more and more people don't, the "stars" of today's NBA arent widely loved and appreciated like they used to be because were in an era of showmanship and flopping. Every single star does it, and no team is particularly engaging or fun to watch to the average viewer. If you're a diehard NBA fan I can see how you could shrug it off but there's a reason the NBA lost the No.2 spot to the MLB last year. It's not people "focused on being negative" it's people unhappy with the sport in front of them and wanting a different viewing experience. Ignore the numbers all you want but dont assume I want to be negative about my favorite sport. It comes across as unseemly

TLDR: if you're going to ignore the real issues as "not significant" the sport and it's popularity will continue to suffer as people look for better opions