PRESEASON VS IN SEASON

Basketball is a complicated sport to understand, and in order to enjoy watching and playing basketball you must know the ins and outs of the competitive game. In this blog we will be diving in to the differences between a preseason game and a game that is in season. 

In 2018, the preseason ran from September 28 until October 12. In those weeks, The New York Knicks played against 5 different NBA teams. 

The season officially began October 16, 2018 and will go until April 10 2019. There are 82 games in the season, where each team plays against each other in order to make it into the playoffs; which beings April 13, 2019. 

I attended the New York Knicks play against the New Orleans Pelicans in Madison Square Garden on October 5, 2018. A preseason game is more like a "practice game" rather than a "real game" all the rules apply for both games except there is less excitement during preseason and here is why:

1. Smaller Crowd

There are significantly fans at preseason games for quite a few reasons. The biggest reason being that the game doesn't "count" for anything. Whether or not a team win a game will have no effect on the playoffs. This can be a major turnoff for fans. 

2. Benched players get more playing time

Although, you have to be a great player to earn your spot into the NBA, many of the recently drafted players don't get as much time on the court during the season... mainly because they are being outshined by the fan favorite players (the best players)So during preseason benched players have the opportunity to show coaches what they got, and what they can bring to the team for the upcoming season. 

3. Lack of Enthusiasm 

I noticed in all of the preseason games I have gone to that they aren't nearly as loud as in season games. The Madison Square Garden court seats 20,000 people, there were roughly around 11,000 filled seats by the end of halftime. This means, many people didn't show up for the beginning because they were only interested in the second half of the game. Which leads me to my next point...

4. Games tend to not get "heated up" until the 3rd and 4th quarter

The real action in preseason games happens in the second half of the game. That is when there is a bit more pressure on the players to just get a win for their fans. They are able to crunch in new plays that they are trying out, or plays that need some extra work. The fans are downing their drinks and sit on the edge of their seats during this time. Whereas in a regular season game, this is the mood and atmosphere for the entire game. 

In this specific preseason game I attended, I heard many people complain about ticket prices. Due to the fact that we are sitting in Madison Square Garden, ticket prices are already a bit more expensive that they should be. But this preseason, tickets seemed to have cost about the same amount as tickets would be for a in season game. Even seats above mine in section 200+ they were going for over $150 hours before the game. 

Overall, attending preseason games are a waste of money unless you are bored and want to watch a game or are in the area and wouldn't mind spending a few hours watching your favorite players sit on the bench barely paying attention to their own game. 

If you so happen to be in the area of a NBA game and it is preseason time, I would recommend purchasing last minute tickets once the game has a officially began on third party sites like SeatGeek. The tickets that are sold on SeatGeek are resold tickets and their owners are pretty desperate to make a few bucks once the game has started. Like I mentioned before, you won't be missing much in the first two quarters.