With the NBA three weeks into its season, Peter May of
the BOSTON GLOBE wrote that, "Each day, the numbers are
there. They don't always tell the full story, but they are
telling a story. ... People aren't going to NBA games." May
reported that none of the nine games last Wednesday sold
out, while Thursday night "was more of the same. Six games,
six nonsellouts." May, on the NBA product: "[It] still
isn't what it should be (although it's better than last
year). Basically, it's hard to make a case that an NBA game
is worth it" (BOSTON GLOBE, 11/21). In Dallas, Bart Hubbuch
wrote that there are "rows and rows of empty seats" at
Mavericks home games at Reunion Arena. Hubbuch added that
while that "might be nothing new" in Dallas, "attendance
woes are a big deal in the league offices and in cities"
like Houston, "where full houses were once common" (DALLAS
MORNING NEWS, 11/21). In Detroit, Perry Farrell noted that
the Pistons were averaging 15,546 fans through their first
four home games at the 22,076-seat Palace of Auburn Hills.
Pistons President Tom Wilson: "Anytime the seats aren't full
there's cause for concern. ... Right now we're playing some
midweek games, and that's always a little slower" (DETROIT
FREE PRESS, 11/20). In Houston, Dale Robertson wrote on the
Rockets' presentation appeal at the Compaq Center: "All the
bells-and-whistles theatrics ring hollow -- it's almost
silly, really -- with so many empty seats and such desultory
play on the floor" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 11/22).
A NEED TO JAZZ UP THE PRODUCT? In UT, Rich Evans
reported that the Jazz sold 14,200 season tickets, a "little
down" from last season, but "more revealing, perhaps, is the
fact that they have sold out only" one of five home games at
the Delta Center. Jazz Senior VP/Marketing Jay Francis: "I
guess we're surprised. November and December are always
soft; those are the months we don't get sell-outs." Evans
added that to "find out why" the team has "become a harder
sell," it is sending out questionnaires to fans who "didn't
renew" their season tickets (DESERET NEWS, 11/21).
MISSING MISHKIN, BUT HE'S ONLY A PHONE CALL AWAY: In
N.Y., Mike Wise reported that NBA CLO Jeffrey Mishkin -- who
is leaving to become a partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate,
Meagher & Flom -- "will continue to serve" as the NBA's
"chief outside" attorney. Wise wrote that Mishkin has
"argued some of the most significant and sensitive appeals"
for the NBA since '73 (N.Y. TIMES, 11/21).