Houston Rockets @ Washington Wizards Game Thread (1-8-08)

[Rafael122]

@

When: Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Where: Verizon Center
Time: 7:00 PM Eastern
TV: Comcast Sportsnet
Chat: Link
Commentators:

Lineups:

Washington Wizards (17-15)

PG - Antonio Daniels
SG - Deshawn Stevenson
SF - Caron "Tough Juice" Butler
PF - Antawn Jamison
C - Brendan Haywood








Bench: Roger Mason, Andray Blatche, Darius Songaila, Nick Young, Dominic McGuire

Injuries:
Gilbert Arenas - Knee - 3 Months
OPEC - Broken Ankle - 2-3 Weeks
Etan Thomas - Heart - Indefinite

Houston Rockets (17-17)

PG - Rafer Alston
SG - Luther Head
SF - Shane Battier
PF - Chuck Hayes
C - Yao Ming








Bench: Luis Scola, Aaron Brooks, Dikembe Mutombo, Bonzi Wells, Mike James, Carl Landry, and Steve Novak.

Injuries:
Kirk Snyder - personal reasons
Tracy McGrady - left knee
Steve Francis - Tendinitis in quadriceps.



Key Matchups:

Yao Ming vs. Brendan Haywood

--Probably one of Brendan's bigger tests of the season. Ming has at least a 6 inch height advantage over Haywood. You can't stop him, only hope to contain him on the boards. Not to mention Ming can hit that 15 foot jumper, so for the second straight game, Haywood will have to play both in the paint and come out and defend.

Perimeter Defense

--Battier, Brooks, Head, James and Alston are all shooting over 31% from the three point line, so this should be a huge test for the likes of Jamison, Butler, and Stevenson.

[nate33]

We match up real well with Houston sans McGrady. Haywood can contain Yao. Yao might get his, but the Wizards won't need to double. The rest of that lineup can't score without Yao generating wide open looks. If everyone else just stays at home and we let Haywood deal with Yao, we'll do just fine.

And Yao's ability to hit from 15 feet won't be a problem for Haywood. Yao isn't quick enough to blow past him so Haywood can feel free to come out and challenge him on the perimeter.

We should only have trouble this game if Haywood gets into early foul trouble.

[WizStorm]

Gotta love the swagger from Raf, posting the next game thread before the previous game is even finished.

[Willitary]

Who else is going to this game besides me? I'm sittin in 120 this time.

[hands11]

I might have to go. I havent been this year yet.


What is the best way to get tickets?

[Willitary]

I might have to go. I havent been this year yet.


What is the best way to get tickets?

Buying them.

[BigA]

Who else is going to this game besides me? I'm sittin in 120 this time.

I'm going to the Rockets, and then to the Boston game next weekend.

[BigA]

I might have to go. I havent been this year yet.


What is the best way to get tickets?

Generally the guys on F Street, especially on a weeknight. Rockets might be more in demand, though.

[Willitary]

-= original quote snipped =-



Generally the guys on F Street, especially on a weeknight. Rockets might be more in demand, though.

I'm always confused though, they're always like you can't buy or sell tickets from scalpers on the street, while those guys are literally right outside Verizon Center. Wouldn't you usually get caught easily buying from them?


But, how much do they usually sell their tickets?

[dobrojim]

We match up real well with Houston sans McGrady. Haywood can contain Yao. Yao might get his, but the Wizards won't need to double. The rest of that lineup can't score without Yao generating wide open looks. If everyone else just stays at home and we let Haywood deal with Yao, we'll do just fine.

And Yao's ability to hit from 15 feet won't be a problem for Haywood. Yao isn't quick enough to blow past him so Haywood can feel free to come out and challenge him on the perimeter.

We should only have trouble this game if Haywood gets into early foul trouble.

the one guy I fear is Bonzi. He's a tough match for a lot of teams
and we could be one of them. That said, he's also a head case
that you don't know what to expect out of from night to night.
Without TMac, we should win this one. But they'll be tougher
than MIL/SEA was by a long shot. This one's no gimme.

[dobrojim]

Who else is going to this game besides me? I'm sittin in 120 this time.

Not us I'm afraid. Our next game is the BIG ONE. Boston.

120 eh? Nice!

[dobrojim]

-= original quote snipped =-



Generally the guys on F Street, especially on a weeknight. Rockets might be more in demand, though.

could also try Craigs list or stub hub. I don't care much for
stub hub though. Too many extra fees. Make sure you have
a seating chart so you know what you're buying.

The guys on F street are a possibility but I was always nervous
about that. The possibility of being taken always seemed worse
to me that way. It's also illegal (which I think is stupid, but there it is).

[dobrojim]

-= original quote snipped =-





I'm always confused though, they're always like you can't buy or sell tickets from scalpers on the street, while those guys are literally right outside Verizon Center. Wouldn't you usually get caught easily buying from them?


But, how much do they usually sell their tickets?

Whatever they think they can take you for.

Want to get in cheap? Wait until after tip-off. They'll take a lot less
later when they still got them and are looking at getting nothing at all.
Of course you're dealing with the old supply-demand thing though.
If you turn down good seats at a reasonable price, will the next
person do that?

[Willitary]

-= original quote snipped =-



Whatever they think they can take you for.

Want to get in cheap? Wait until after tip-off. They'll take a lot less
later when they still got them and are looking at getting nothing at all.
Of course you're dealing with the old supply-demand thing though.
If you turn down good seats at a reasonable price, will the next
person do that?

Ah well, have you ever bought tickets from them?

[dobrojim]

I have but it's been rare. Very rare.

Some people are a lot more comfortable with it than
I am. If you're good at it, I'm sure you'd probably do
well that way.

[Wizards2Lottery]

I wanna attend the Boston game but I've never bought tickets from scalpers either.

How much do they usually charge for mid level tickets?

[BigA]

Now that I'm a planholder I don't scalp too much anymore.

The Boston game is probably the biggest game of the year (until Gilbert's first game back). I just took a quick look online. Nothing left at Ticketmaster except some $850 courtsides (and the Ticketmaster inventory is the same as the box office). StubHub has quite a bit, starting at around 2X the gate price at most price levels.

It's not the kind of game I'd try to scalp. Scalpers will definitely have the upper hand. For big games like that I like to buy from the box office in advance if it's not in my plan.

For Houston, there's quite a bit left at the box office at most price levels, and StubHub has some good seats at below the gate price. Where do you like to sit? I've never done CraigsList but I'd expect that would be similar.

If I was going by myself to the Houston game I'd show up around tipoff and try to get a lower sideline $150 or $175 gate price ticket for around $100.

[dobrojim]

I wanna attend the Boston game but I've never bought tickets from scalpers either.

How much do they usually charge for mid level tickets?

What's a mid-level?

[dobrojim]

[snip]

If I was going by myself to the Houston game I'd show up around tipoff and try to get a lower sideline $150 or $175 gate price ticket for around $100.

I think one thing about scalping is that like eBay perhaps, have
a price in mind that you're willing to pay and stick to it. Be prepared
to miss the game if it comes to that.

I wonder how much I would have to be offered to sell my
tickets for BOS... a bunch more than face value that's for sure.
That's going to be a huge game for us.

I'm sure the players feel they owe BOS. Whether that ends up
being wishful thinking remains to be seen.

[Rafael122]

Why don't you just pay $10 or whatever it is for the upper level seat and call it a night? Why go through all that trouble? You'd probably have a better experience.