The Knicks' home opener on Saturday against the 76ers was a "surreal night at the empty Garden," with fake noise "pumped into an empty building," according to Marc Berman of the N.Y. POST. All the seats behind the baseline "have been removed," and in their place a "promotional Lexus vehicle stands on a platform." The 100-level seats also are "covered in blue tarp." A source said that Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau "wanted to have a couple of family members on hand for his head-coaching home debut," but the request was denied. The "eerie Saturday night began 3 ½ hours before tip-off," as outside MSG, there "wasn't a Knicks jersey in sight" (N.Y. POST, 12/27). In New Jersey, Chris Iseman wrote an empty MSG will "take some getting used to." The arena was "quiet enough Saturday night that even high up over the court on the 'Chase Bridge' you could hear each coach directing his respective team and players shouting calls on the court." The fake, piped-in crowd noise "didn't drown it all out" (Bergen RECORD, 12/27).
NBA used virtual fans in the Orlando bubble, but United Center featured big, black tarps covering empty seatsNBAE/Getty Images
BAD OPTICS: In Chicago, Paul Sullivan wrote the "biggest takeaway" from Hawks-Bulls on Wednesday was the "ridiculousness of playing games inside a giant arena such as the United Center without fans." The NBA's use of virtual fans in the Orlando bubble "took some getting used to, but it was much better than seeing big, black tarps with advertising covering the empty seats, as is the case at the United Center." Perhaps the logistics of creating this sort of virtual seating at the United Center and other large NBA arenas "isn’t worth the time or money for owners anxious to get a limited number of fans back into games this season." In that case, "why not just temporarily move the games to a high school venue and return the sport to its roots?" Sullivan: "Like it or not, the NBA is just a TV show for the time being, and viewers are only one click away from checking out what’s on Netflix. If the league wants to retain the attention span of fans in a 72-game season during a pandemic, becoming more innovative seems like a no brainer" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 12/27).
Cavs-Pistons at Little Caesars Arena had fewer than 250 spectators, as allowed by Michigan health officialsNBAE/Getty Images
AROUND THE ASSOCIATION: In Detroit, Rod Beard wrote Cavaliers-Pistons on Saturday was a "weird scene at Little Caesars Arena, which had a limited number of spectators -- fewer than 250, as allowed by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services" (DETROIT NEWS, 12/27). In Boston, Gary Washburn writes the atmosphere at Bankers Life Fieldhouse for Celtics-Pacers last night was "typical of an NBA arena that can't house fans." But the Pacers' band was "in its usual spot and gave their team applause after good plays." The drumline "sits between the first and second levels and the band can be clearly heard with approximately 250 people in a 19,000-seat venue" (BOSTON GLOBE, 12/28). In L.A., Andrew Greif notes the Clippers lost by a franchise-record 51 points to the Mavericks in their home opener yesterday, and it was "probably for the better that COVID-19 pandemic protocols kept fans from watching in person" Clippers F Paul George "offered 'full responsibility,' saying the sluggish start was partially because he wasn’t mentally ready after spending the previous day celebrating Christmas with his family, having been out of town on the holiday" (L.A. TIMES, 12/28).
TV RULES ALL: In Denver, Mike Singer wrote "money rules" the NBA, or, "more precisely, TV money." Nuggets G and NBPA rep Monte Morris admitted that starting the season last week was an $800M "decision the players’ union had to consider." Singer noted start dates in January "wouldn’t have satisfied lucrative television contracts and also would have missed marquee Christmas games." Morris estimated league-wide, "Probably 60, 70% (of players) said yes, so we had to go with it" (DENVER POST, 12/27).
