NBA dials back late starting times to help boost East Coast ratings

The NBA is kicking the tires on a new scheduling initiative designed to give East Coast hoops fans a reprieve from having to stay up until the wee hours of the morning to keep tabs on the league’s Western Conference superstars.Beginning this season, the NBA is slashing the number of nationally televised games that will tip off at 10:30 p.m., scheduling 33 such meetings versus the 56 late starts featured during the 2018-19 campaign. Pushing up the starting time of so many West Coast sh