I went to the Heat/Sixers playoff game a few years ago at the Wells Fargo center and it sucks, basically literally surrounded by parking lots and the other stadia and then the freeway. Basically, if you were trying to build a downtown arena that minimized all the benefits of being downtown, that's what you'd build. I mean, since I"m an urbanist, instead of building a new downtown arena, why not build housing/commercial on those empty ass parking lots and make it actually a neighborhood?
One podcasts eastern conference off-season grades for anyone interested https://nateduncannba.com/podcast-episodes/eastern-conference-offseason-grades-2022-kd-vs-marks/ Philly Host : A Co-host : A Dum dum Darnell at it again.
Super long article on Daryl Morey. Lots of good stuff in here about his time in Houston. Pulled some quotes.
Like the time he was late for his flight and parked his rental car at the terminal then tossed his keys to the baggage guy and gave him $50 to bring the car back to Hertz. Or the time he was driving to the NCAA tournament in a frenzy to catch a tip-off and created his own left lane to beat the traffic. Or another time when he had to rush to the airport so he called a team travel attendant to let them know he had left his bag back in his hotel. The attendant arrived and got the bellhop to let them in. Morey’s bag was in the room. So were his clothes and toiletries, scattered across the counters and floor. One of the multiple former colleagues who relayed the latter story remarked, “Typical Daryl fashion: What’s the most efficient?” In the mid-to-late 2000s, he owned a Lexus that he parked anywhere he wanted, regardless of the signage on the side of the streets of Houston. It kept accumulating ticket after ticket after ticket until the local parking enforcement agency stopped writing tickets and booted his vehicle. Normally, someone with a boot on a wheel of their car would pay to have it removed so they could drive again. But Morey had another idea. He instead contacted Lexus to tell them he would buy a new car if it accepted his trade-in and dealt with the outstanding tickets. After negotiating and signing a deal, Lexus asked when he’d bring in the car and he gave the company the address to pick it up. “As soon as that car got booted,” Morey said, “[I made that deal] to avoid having to go through the hassle.” Another typical Daryl move, always looking to win a trade. Was this supposed to make Morey look cool? Or badass? “always looking to win a trade” cringe
So, his models are great at predicting what will maximize regular season wins. As smart as Daryl Morey is, you would think he'd come up with a model that adjusts for rule enforcement changes and uptick in defensive intensity during the playoffs. His teams are always loaded with players that thrive in the regular season (not just Harden).
I heard him tell the rental car story entirely differently on a podcast - like he just left it in the loading zone because he figured the tow charge was less than the missed plane ticket charge. Optimization fish stories folks. You never know who to believe. What a time to be alive.
I don't really get the "parking tickets" thing. I've lived in a bunch of cities other than Houston. There is a sh-t ton of available parking relative to most other cities - It's a car designed city! Seems very suboptimal. The only thing I can figure is if he didn't want to park far away and walk across the parking lot during the 13 months of summer. I can get down with that one.
