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NBA should stick to the gym

By: Chris Vannini Posted: 10/12/08 9:45pm

The NBA took a page out of the NHL’s book Saturday when the Denver Nuggets defeated the Phoenix Suns in an outdoor game at the Indian Well Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, Calif.

The game was only an exhibition game and it’s a good thing it was because the weather was a major factor.

The teams combined to go 3-for-27 from behind the arc and both shot below 40 percent from the floor.

The tip-off temperature was around 70 degrees and the wind got as fast as 15 mph.

While I would give the NBA an A for creativity, they should not make this an annual event.

The NBA season is accompanied by cold weather, which is why every game is played indoors.

This past July, the WNBA played an outdoor game at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York and is was more of a success because it was played in warm weather.

The NHL succeeds with its outdoor games because of the nature of the game. The weather is supposed to be cold and every hockey player has played on a pond in the snow when they were young.

The NBA played the game in the California desert where it usually doesn’t rain. Now the wind was unusually strong for the time of year, but the whole idea of playing a game outside is just a gimmick.

And just an idea, the NBA should play a game where the attendance can be greater than every other NBA arena. The main stadium fits only 16,100.

While the attendance at the game was over capacity at 16,236, this brings the question, why not play where you can draw a ton more fans? Playing at a baseball stadium or football stadium would make more sense in terms of attendance and money, but then there’s the question of weather. All these problems point to the fact that the NBA should not play games outdoors.

The NHL must have finally done something right since the more-popular NBA copied it. The Detroit Red Wings are playing the Chicago Blackhawks at Wrigley Field on Jan. 1, 2009, and no matter the weather, we know the teams will be playing for something that matters.

Star players could care less about preseason games. Please don’t try to get them to act like it does. The weather impacted too much of the game.

Rumor is that the organizers of this NBA game want to make it an annual event. I say don’t waste the players’ time.

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