That nasty little word “recession” has crept its way into the discussion of sports and business. Despite published reports of an increase in NBA game attendance — a figure skewed by season ticket and luxury suite purchases made before the financial downfall — the economic state of individual franchises can be judged by their creative ticket packages.

A quick jaunt to the Toronto Raptors ticket website shows the “Johnnie Walker Scotch Tasting Package,” a night which offers a scotch tasting and hors d’oeuvre session prior to the game.

Other packages feature similar levels of alcoholism and regret, including the “Miller Genuine Draft Guys Night Out” package, in which you and three buddies can get loaded, eat hot dogs, and make fools of yourselves in front of the Raptors cheerleaders. Heck, you can even use your new MGD toque as a barf bag.

Similar ticket promotions have popped up around a league which fears the potential financial repercussions of the next couple seasons. The NBA’s commissioner, David Stern, has even borrowed $200 million from JPMorgan and Chase and Bank of America, with between $13 million and $20 million available to a dozen NBA franchises in need.

Here is a look at four teams the recession will hit hardest:

Charlotte Bobcats

Between the University of North Carolina and Duke University men’s basketball teams, the state of North Carolina invests their time in collegiate sports — a far cry from a universe in which Emeka Okafor, centre with the Bobcats, will make $14.5 million in the 2013 to 2014 season. The entire Bobcats roster is riddled with terrible contracts for average players like Okafor.

The Bobcats also rank 27th out of 30 NBA teams in attendance, a figure which will continue to drop in the next couple of seasons.

Detroit Pistons

This entry might shock the NBA purist who counters that the Pistons rank first in league attendance with nearly 22,000 fans per evening. Yet Detroit — which forms the Rust Belt along with Cleveland, Buffalo and other blue-collar towns — has seen an overwhelming amount of job loss in the area’s auto-manufacturing and parts-manufacturing jobs.

According to Richard Florida in an article from this month’s issue of the Atlantic, the average home price in Detroit is a meager 18 grand. Between rising levels of unemployment, a lack of automotive companies to buy luxury suites at the arena, and a historically passive Pistons squad, this great basketball city could be crippled in only a short time.

Sacramento Kings

If the recent fire sale in Sacramento was any indication, the Kings want to shed money quick. On the NBA’s trade deadline, the Kings dealt Brad Miller and John Salmons, two of their better players, to the Chicago Bulls in an effort to cut down on costs. Since the breakneck pace of Kings’ teams from earlier this decade, Sacramento has failed to put a worthwhile product on the floor. And the effects are being felt at the box office. The Kings rank last in the league in attendance with only 12,000 fans per game. In other words, when Beno Udrih is your starting point guard, it’s time to reevaluate the direction of your team.

Philadelphia 76ers

Like Detroit, Philadelphia ranks as one of America’s great sports towns. Yet unlike Detroit fans, Philadelphians have already fled their team’s arena for cozier confines.

The greatest problem for the 76ers, heading into the recession, is the irresponsible spending conducted by current general manager Ed Stefanski, and former general manager Billy King. Stefanski signed power forward Elton Brand, coming off an injury-plagued season in which he played eight games, to a five-year $80 million contract. This season he played 29 games before a dislocated shoulder ended his season.

Similar contracts of astronomical hilarity have been thrown at players like Andre Iguodala and Samuel Dalembert. And if the local publishing industry is any indication (the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News went bankrupt in late February) incoming advertising will be scarce, even from liquor companies looking to get you and your buddies soused on a Tuesday night.