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March
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These Prices Certainly Aren't A Tease
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Want To Get My Blood Boiling?Yup, just mention the ticket increases.
I knew this was coming. We got our seat package earlier this week, and we've got comparable seats to our current location (about 10 rows above the court, even with the baseline). The only thing that makes you choke is the cost.
$75. Per game. Per seat. For a 41 game package. (That's right, no more games in Baltimore.)
That's over $3000 for a full season. And, as the Bullets claim, that may be around the average cost among all NBA arenas, but that's still a huge chunk of change. Think about what I could get for that change - a nice computer, a couple of nice vacations with my girlfriend, investments in the stock exchange, repairs around the house.
Or I could go to Bullets games.
I like the Bullets, don't get me wrong. I think they're on the right track. But for the past three years, I've been supporting them through thick and thin, watching the prices steadily increase. Going to games really isn't that fun any more, even when they win. Yeah, it's easy to get into a game when they are playing a good opponent. But games against bad teams can be painful. And the fans are almost never into the game - the place is just dead.
Would this change in the new arena?
Facing Reality On Tickets
Of course, I'm not the only one complaining about ticket prices. Washington Post sports columnist (and fellow season ticket holder) Tony Kornheiser puts it eloquently when talking about the two-fold increase in tickets since two years ago. I know I haven't seen a two-fold increase in the quality of the product since then (unless you just count wins; in that case, I'd hate to see what would happen if this team won 60 games).
And if you want a real dose of reality, check out what's happening with the Golden State Warriors and their refurbished arena. $90 for seats equivalent to mine? For that pathetic team? Almost makes me feel lucky, having to pay only $75 for my version of the Bullets.
What really gets my goat about that article is how "The price range is still open to middle-income fans." Yes, some of the cheaper seats are available to middle-income fans. But those fans certainly can't afford seats closer in. And, to be honest, that's where the true fans belong, not the monied fans. (Don't get me started on that little rant!) Suffice it to say, that's probably one reason why NBA arenas seem so dead most of the time - the closer fans don't know how (or don't want to) cheer properly for the home team.
That still doesn't answer what I should do about the tickets. One option is to share tickets with people. (Ed, I'll be contacting you shortly.) But is that really what I want to do? I'm still undecided on the reality of getting tickets or not.
Whether I get tickets or not, I'm still likely to continue maintaining this site. It's a creative outlet for me, and I usually have fun trying out new things and publishing articles reflecting my own opinions.
Is Chris Whitney A Starting Point Guard?
I've been meaning to write something about this for a while. Back when I originally intended to write this, I didn't believe he was (and I'll get into my reasons in a moment). But his game against Milwaukee, when Rod Strickland didn't show up until late, shows that there may be more to the situation than meets the eye.
Early in the season, we saw a semi-effective Whitney. Generally, when he substituted for Rod Strickland at point guard, the offense seemed to grind to a halt in its half-court sets. Whitney had troubles generating offense and setting players up, and too often the plays called with him on the court involved CWebb or Howard going one-on-one. They didn't run a lot of motion plays or vary the offense much. It seemed like that was all Whitney could handle.
What was effective, when used (because it was needed), was pairing Strickland and Whitney on the court late in the game. Whitney could provide outside shooting, and Strickland could run the offense. This was during the doldrums for Calbert Cheaney and Tracy Murray, when neither could be counted on for any type of shooting, particularly three-point shooting.
Unfortunately for Whitney, his shooting has regressed somewhat during the season, while he hasn't been able to run half-court sets with the second-teamers too well. He's only shooting 43.4% from the field (38.0% from 3-point range, much less than we would expect); he averages 5.9 points and 2.2 assists in 14.4 minutes per game. The assists per minute (7.3 per 48 minutes) are disappointing for a point guard.
But notice what I said in the previous paragraph: second-teamers. That may have something to do with his lower effectiveness. Then, let's look at his line from the game he started against Milwaukee:
34 minutes, 9 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals, 1 turnover (!).That last part is interesting: he committed only 1 turnover in the game. Granted, Milwaukee's point guards aren't great, but 1 turnover as a starting point guard is good. What's better, is the rest of the offense seemed to work with him running the starters. The starters shot 27 of 44 (61.4%) from the field, generally with him running the show.
Granted, this is only one data point. But maybe there is something about Whitney that we're missing.
I believe Whitney's development certainly has been hurt by the off-season passing of assistant coach Derek Smith. Smith seemed to be able to work wonders with the development of young talent, and I don't think Whitney was an exception. One of the reasons he returned to the Bullets was because of the presence of Smith and coach Jim Lynam. Now that neither are here, Whitney may not return next season.
Still, I think Whitney has some ways to go before he's a true starter. He could be like Elliot Perry or Travis Best or other young point guards who show flashes of being good, but are not consistent. Still, whatever Whitney's future in the off-season, we wish him the best and hope that he can continue to build on a future as a possible starting point guard. Even if he doesn't seem quite ready today.
wtf 28 March 1997
