Arkansas Democrat-Gazette: No buzz for Rockets vs. Sonics

No buzz, but NBA returning
BY JEFFREY SLATTON
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

The NBA is returning to central Arkansas.
Didn’t get the memo?
It’s tonight. Houston Rockets vs. Seattle SuperSonics.
Not ringing a bell?
Other than appearances by some Rockets players on local radio stations Thursday morning, there seems to be less buzz about this year’s NBA exhibition than in any of the previous four seasons.
Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at Alltel Arena in North Little Rock, and plenty of tickets remain.
Alltel Arena General Manager Michael Marion said he didn’t know how many tickets remained, but a check of TicketMaster late Thursday afternoon revealed a lot, including blocks of four, in all six price categories ranging from $14 to $90.
Still, Marion and David Gardiner, president of Virginia-based Blue Ridge Sports & Entertainment Inc., which is promoting the game, remain optimistic about tonight’s attendance.
"We’ve moved quite a few tickets in the last couple of days," Gardiner said. "The marketing plan we purchased was strong. We spent a lot of money in the community. We’re hoping for a good turnout."
The 1999 game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Washington Wizards was sold out before structural problems at Alltel Arena forced the cancellation.
In 2000, the Houston Rockets and Portland Trail Blazers drew 14,315. The 2001 game between the Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics drew 11,431. And last year’s game between the Lakers and Memphis Grizzlies drew 14,672.
Tonight’s game likely will be the lowest attended NBA game at Alltel Arena.
"I think we’re going to come in under [the 2001 total of 11,431], unfortunately," Gardiner said. "Realistically, we’re probably looking at 7 to 9 [thousand]."
But all of those matchups had something this one doesn’t — a local tie.
The 1999 game would have featured the defending NBA champion Lakers and UALR’s Derek Fisher (Little Rock Parkview). In 2000, Scottie Pippen (Hamburg, Central Arkansas) returned with the Trail Blazers. In 2001, Joe Johnson (Little Rock Central, Arkansas Razorbacks) played with the Celtics. And Fisher returned with the Lakers, along with Jannero Pargo (Arkansas Razorbacks), matched up with the Grizzlies, the closest NBA team to central Arkansas, in last year’s game.
A scan of the Rockets and Sonics rosters reveals only one Arkansas tie — Rockets trainer Keith Jones, who worked as a student trainer for football and men’s basketball while attending the University of Arkansas.
"Does not having a local player in the game hurt us? I would say yes," Gardiner said. "If we wouldn’t have gotten Joe Johnson [for the 2001 game], if he wouldn’t have been drafted by the Celtics that year, I’m not sure what we would have done."
The Grizzlies would seem to be a good fit, but are playing preseason games this week in Europe. The Detroit Pistons and Corliss Williamson (Russellville, Arkansas Razorbacks) and the Phoenix Suns and Johnson weren’t available. Nor were the Lakers.
Couple all that with the 4-0 start of the Arkansas Razorbacks football team and an 11:30 a.m. kickoff Saturday in Fayetteville and ticket sales for the NBA exhibition have been more sluggish than in previous years.
"I don’t know exactly what the deal is. I think it’s a combination of things," Central Arkansas Sports Commission President Cammie Boggess said of the lack of buzz surrounding the game. "There’s not a direct, local tie to the two teams and I wonder if having the Grizzlies so close doesn’t have a little bit of an effect. And I don’t know that anyone would have predicted that the Hogs football team would be where it is now. I guess that doesn’t help."
Gardiner agrees.
"Normally when we’ve done an NBA game in this marketplace, the Razorbacks already have had a loss or two. This year, they’re getting a lot of national media attention. Our biggest battle has been with the Razorbacks," he said.
Marion said the star power of the Rockets should be enough.
"I’m excited about it. I mean Yao Ming is going to be in town. I think that makes it a big deal," he said.
But will the big-name players even see any action tonight? It’s not yet clear.
Yao Ming arrived in Houston on Sunday after leading the Chinese national team to an Olympic berth. The 7-6 center practiced the final session of Rockets camp and went with the team to Portland for the preseason opener on Tuesday.
He hasn’t dressed out for either of the Rockets’ first two preseason games.
Steve Francis, Ben Davis, Cuttino Mobley and others didn’t dress out for Wednesday’s 98-78 loss to the Sonics in Seattle.
For the Sonics, Ray Allen, Brent Barry and Rashard Lewis saw considerable action Wednesday. It isn’t known how much they will play tonight.
The last time Allen was in central Arkansas, he turned in one of the highest-scoring performances in the existence of Alltel Arena. Allen scored 36 points to lead the Bucks over the Celtics 107-106 in 2001.
"I hope people will go. That’s one of the things when they built the arena was that they wanted to have an NBA game here every year and I know it was their intent to do that again this year," Boggess said.

NBA at Alltel

Tonight’s game between the Houston Rockets and Seattle SuperSonics marks the fifth time an NBA preseason game has been scheduled for Alltel Arena:

YEAR TEAMS ATTENDANCE
1999 LA Lakers vs. Washington Canceled 2000 Houston vs. Portland 14,315 2001 Milwaukee vs. Boston 11,431 2002 LA Lakers vs. Memphis 14,372 * The 1999 game was canceled because of structural problems at the arena. It was sold out.

 

Well, when they built the arena part of it was because they wanted to have an NBA preseason game every year. And, as you can see, it has drawn pretty well every year except this year. I'm not suprised, I'm really excited to see the Rockets in Little Rock, but neither of these teams really appeal to the bandwagon fans you have in Arkansas. It is funny, because last year i went to the Lakers vs. Grizzlies game and despite Little Rock being about 2.5 hrs from Memphis, the crowd was 95% Lakers fans and the Lakers were even treated as the home team with the laser light introduction, etc.

I don't see how Rashard Lewis in a preseason game would be a big draw in Houston considering people get to see him in a regular season game twice a year at home and the fact that he isn't THAT big of a star.