| NBA: my kind of "free-swinging" slut.
The NBA was a lot different back in the day when I checked in an old 1966 World Almanac. For the 1964-65 season, there were 9 teams & two divisions: Eastern Division: Boston Celtics, Cincinnati Royals, Philadelphia 76ers, New York Knickerbockers. Western Division: Los Angeles Lakers, St. Louis Hawks, Baltimore Bullets, Detroit Pistons, San Francisco Warriors. Eventually the Royals would move to K.C. to be the Kings in 1972-73 and would split home games between there and Omaha for 3 years. This antiquated notion reminded me of what the ABA did a lot and the NBA did back in the day: double your fan base by playing half of your home games somewhere else. The NBA is known for its teams moving from town to town. Rochester >> Cincinnati Royals >> KC/Omaha Kings >> Sacramento. Tri-Cities Blackhawks >> Milwaukee Hawks >> St. Louis Hawks >> Atlanta Hawks. Philadelphia Warriors >> SF Warriors >> Golden State Warriors. New Orleans Jazz >> Utah Jazz. Fort Wayne Pistons >> Detroit Pistons. Buffalo Braves >> San Diego Clippers >> L.A. Clippers. Syracuse Nationals >> Philadelphia 76ers. Dallas / Texas Chaparrals >> San Antonio Spurs. Chicago Packers >> Chicago Zephyrs >> Baltimore Bullets >> Capital / Washington Bullets. Minneapolis Lakers >> L.A. Lakers, to name a few. And of course, most recently: Vancouver Grizzlies >> Memphis Grizzlies. For me, it's hard to believe that BUF, SD, KC, BAL, StL were all NBA towns. Part of the charm or expedience of the NBA is that any team can play anywhere. Speaking of which, if you noticed, the New Orleans Hornets are playing in Oklahoma City this year with great attendance. And since NBA teams rarely sellout games, it would only make sense (and increase demand) to split the home games. Suppose I could break this down: New York Knicks play a 3rd at Syracuse. Boston Celtics play a 3rd at Uconn. Brooklyn Nets (�06) play half in New Jersey. Philadelphia 76ers play a 3rd in Pittsburgh. Toronto Raptors play half in Buffalo. Chicago Bulls play half at U of I in Champaign. Cleveland Cavaliers play half in Columbus. Detroit Pistons play a 3rd in Grand Rapids. Milwaukee Bucks play half in Green Bay. Indiana Pacers play 15 at home, 13 in Louisville, Kentucky and 13 in Cincinnati. Atlanta Hawks play half in Birmingham, AL. Miami Heat play half in St. Petersburg. Orlando Magic play a 3rd in Jacksonville. Charlotte Bobcats play half in Raleigh. Washington Wizards play half in Baltimore. Dallas Mavericks play a 3rd in El Paso. San Antonio Spurs play half in Austin. Houston Rockets play a 3rd in New Orleans. Memphis Grizzlies play 15 at home, 13 in Nashville and 13 in St. Louis. Oklahoma City Hornets play half in Kansas City. Denver Nuggets play a 3rd in Billings, Montana. Minnesota Timberwolves play half in Omaha, Nebraska. Portland Trail Blazers play half in Boise City, Idaho. Seattle SuperSonics play half in Vancouver. Utah Jazz play half in Las Vegas. Golden State (Oakland) Warriors would play half in San Jose. Los Angeles Clippers would play half in San Diego. Los Angeles Lakers would play a 3rd in Anaheim. Phoenix Suns would play half in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Sacramento Kings would play half in Fresno. Home schedule would fluctuate between halves/ thirds depending on attendance each year. Since it�s an 82-game season, "half" denotes 21 games at home and 20 at "other home". "3rd split" is 28 games at home and 13 at "other home". Some of these cities have populations that are 450,000+, which is more than enough to support some season packages of 13, 15 and 20 games a year. Nearest & largest College basketball arenas would be used. This includes 61 cities (not counting L.A. twice). And yes, it�d be wonderfully confusing to attending fans! I enjoyed wasting another column. |