data-mm-id=”_lhd21lwac”>NBA ratings are up 34 percent this year. Or so the league says. The NBA PR team released Nielsen ratings for this season compared to the opening stretch of last year's games and things are looking up. Per Forbes: “NBA viewership for nationally televised broadcasts on TNT, ESPN and ABC through the Martin Luther King Jr. Day tripleheader is up 34% over the comparable 27-game period from last season, an average of 2.0 million per game versus 1.49 million, according to Nielsen Media Research data released by the league on Thursday.”As Andrew Marchand helpfully notes, however, this number is a bit misleading. Attention NBA/media reporters: Before you parrot the national NBA ratings release that says they are way up.The comparison NBA PR is making includes the Ch…