Attendance For Thursday Afternoon's NBA Game In Vegas Looks Rough
DETROIT, MICHIGAN – FEBRUARY 03: A Wilson brand official game ball basketball is pictured with the NBA logo during the game between the Detroit Pistons and Charlotte Hornets at Little Caesars Arena on February 03, 2023 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images) Nic Antaya/Getty Images
Las Vegas hosts an NBA In-Season Tournament semifinal showdown between the Indiana Pacers and Milwaukee Bucks. The first of Thursday’s two games oddly started at 2 p.m. local time.
The Athletic’s Tashan Reed snapped a photo from T-Mobile Arena shortly before tipoff. It wasn’t quite a packed house attending the weekday matinee.
Here’s a look at the pre-game scene in Las Vegas:
While an early start time is a questionable decision, the inaugural In-Season Tournament has otherwise proved an early success.
The new tournament has fueled more attention than the NBA typically receives before Christmas. A final four offers two intriguing matchups featuring established superstars and rising young squads.
After three straight losing seasons, the Pacers certainly didn’t enter the tournament as a favorite. Yet they earned a trip to Vegas when Tyrese Haliburton posted 26 points, 13 assists, and 10 rebounds in a 122-112 upset over the Boston Celtics.
Indiana will now look to eliminate another top Eastern Conference contender. While the Bucks are more focused on going deep into the postseason tournament, this experience offers Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard an early test run.
Antetokounmpo, who didn’t realize that players each receive a $100,000 bonus for making the semifinals, also joked that he can surpass legends like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant who never had a chance to win an In-Season Tournaments.
Later in the day, LeBron James will lead the Los Angeles Lakers into a Western Conference showdown with the New Orleans Pelicans. Winning the inaugural tournament would be just one more cap on LeBron’s resume, but Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram can show that the Pelicans are a burgeoning threat.
It’s possible everyone was just fashionably late for the first game, which is underway on ESPN.