In DC, John Feinstein wrote for "all the talk in the spring" about the Wizards "becoming a big deal in this town, it hasn't happened yet." There were "large gaps of empty seats" on Verizon Center's 400 level for Saturday night's home opener against the Bucks, with plenty of seats "available downstairs, too." The Wizards "may have sold 17,992 tickets, but there weren't that many people in the building." DC basketball fans "are taking a wait-and-see approach before paying Ted Leonsis's prices for regular season NBA games" (WASHINGTON POST, 11/2).
DO YOU BELIEVE? In Orlando, Brian Schmitz wrote there already "has been a lot for the Magic to overcome" this season," and if they have "any hope to make progress, they must continue to resemble an NBA team at home." The team is off to an 0-3 start, but Schmitz wrote, "I'll give the Magic this: Unlike last season, they look as if they will try to win games." However, there were "plenty of empty seats at Amway Center" for Thursday's home-opener against the Wizards. Magic fans "have seen lousy basketball the past two seasons without Dwight Howard" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 11/1).
TANK YOU VERY MUCH: ESPN's Jalen Rose said of teams who appear to be tanking, "What price do you pay as fans? How long are you willing to wait? Philadelphia does have knowledgeable fans but ticket prices are so exorbitant in today's landscape, do you support your team? Hopefully this is the last year (of that plan) for everybody involved." Former 76ers player and coach Doug Collins said, "It's a little painful for me right now to be a former Sixer, see the losses and all" (BOSTON GLOBE, 11/2).
THE ART OF NOISE: In DC, Scott Allen notes Wizards play-by-play announcer Steve Buckhantz "accused the Heat of using artificial crowd noise" during Wednesday's season-opening game at AmericanAirlines Arena. Heat Exec VP & CMO Michael McCullough responded by saying, "I don't know who Steve Buckhantz is. I don't give a crap who Steve Buckhantz is. I am happy to have him sit in our sound booth and see we don't pump in extra crowd noise. We don't have to. We never have, never will, and don't need to pump in crowd noise. We don't do that here" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 10/31).
