The NBA was so non-competitive on Thursday that TNT didn't know which game to show

Much has been made of the lack of defense and effort that plagues the NBA from time to time. Some argue that the league is in the best place it's ever been due to all the young talent, while others believe the overall product isn't close to what it used to be.

On Thursday night, in the midst of three simultaneous games, television broadcaster TNT struggled to find a competitive game after their initial nationally televised game - between the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks - quickly got way out of hand.

TNT struggle to find a competitive NBA game

Milwaukee went into the half up 75-38, with Ernie Johnson announcing the broadcast cut-away once it got to 100-62 in the 3rd quarter. The next game up would have been the Portland Trailblazers and Oklahoma City Thunder matchup, but the Thunder were up by a whopping 36 points at the time.

Their last resort was the New York Knicks vs Dallas Mavericks game, which was at least competitive; although it was a 19-point game at that stage.

Johnson and the rest of the NBA on TNT crew discussed the lack of a close game in the studio, pointing out that the Celtics hadn't lost that badly in a very long time. Johnson also mentioned that the Thunder led by an absurd 62 points at one point in their game; that actually ended up being the margin of victory.

Adam Silver and the NBA league office probably won't love TNT's handling of the situation, but it's on the association, teams and players to provide a better on-court product.