Bucks' TV ratings up 300 percent; Cavs, Hawks see big gains

The Milwaukee Bucks doubled their entire win total from last season by this year's All-Star break, and the remarkable turnaround has fan interest soaring.

Milwaukee's TV ratings are up an astonishing 326 percent from the same time last season, by far the best improvement across the NBA's 30 teams.

According to Sports Business Daily, the Cleveland Cavaliers (150%), Atlanta Hawks (71%), Chicago Bulls (62%) and Charlotte Hornets (52%) round out the league's top five in terms of local ratings growth from last season.

The Cavaliers have assumably seen a boost due to the return of LeBron James and the arrival of Kevin Love, while the Hawks have enjoyed an incredible two-and-a-half-month run to vault to the top of the Eastern Conference standings.

The Bulls, meanwhile, have likely benefited from fan interest in the return of Derrick Rose, and Charlotte is coming off the franchise's first playoff appearance in four years, which preceded the adoption of the classic "Hornets" name this season.

As for the other end of the spectrum, the teams that've seen the biggest drop in local ratings are the Minnesota Timberwolves, Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, Brooklyn Nets and New York Knicks.

The T-Wolves are in the first year of a post-Love youth movement, the Nuggets have been plagued by team dysfunction and the Pacers have struggled through an injury-riddled, losing season after back-to-back conference finals appearances.

The Nets have hovered around the East's No. 8 seed despite the league's highest payroll, and the Knicks have endured the worst season in franchise history so far.