Another All-Star Game, Another Disaster
Hello all. It’s Brogan LaRose M’27, who is back with another article talking about the NBA. This week, we will look into the NBA All-Star Game and how this weekend was. Sadly, even with new changes in how the All-Star Game works, fans are still not pleased with the efforts to make the weekend a more sustainable product. Some are even saying this is the worst All-Star weekend of all time. While this opinion may be subjective, we have to look at this weekend’s positive and negative aspects.
Pro: Mac McClung
People should remember the name for a long time. Mac McClung is now a three-time NBA Dunk Contest winner. McClung has now made history as the first-ever dunk contest participant to three-peat. Even all-timers like Michael Jordan, Vince Carter and Dwight Howard could not achieve this feat. The night’s highlight was McClung’s first dunk, where he jumped over a car to cap off an easy 50 points from the judges. This was an overly impressive dunk as McClung, who stands 6 feet 2 inches, shocked the crowd with this electrifying start. McClung was tested a bit, though, as Spurs rookie Stephon Castle pulled off some very impressive dunks to make it interesting down the stretch. In the end, Mac got the win with four straight 50s from the judges. After the contest, there is now speculation that some of the league’s stars could appear to dethrone McClung next year. Players like Aaron Gordon, Zach LaVine, Ja Morant and Zion Williamson have all been rumored for next year’s contest, and time will only tell if this is the reality.
Pro: Tyler Herro
The three-point contest was another bright spot, and it was the weekend’s talk. This contest featured Jalen Brunson, Cade Cunningham, Darius Garland, Tyler Herro, Buddy Hield, Cam Johnson, Damian Lillard and Norman Powell. Lillard was heading into the contest, after winning the last two and looking for the three-peat. Unlike the dunk contest, a three-peat this would not be the case. This year’s finalists were Herro, Hield and Garland. 24 ended up being the magic number for this year as Herro outlasted Hield and Garland to capture the crown. This was partly due to Herro knocking down both of his long-distance three-pointers. Hield narrowly was able to get past Herro after a bit of a rollercoaster in the final round but could not connect on his last three-pointer of the previous rack after making three in a row. The three-point contest has always interested shooters worldwide, so it is nice to see a competitive three-point battle again.
Cons: THE ALL-STAR GAME
Oh yes, sadly, the All-Star game is yet again the focal point of criticism of the weekend. Sure, along with Chris Paul and Victor Wembanyana trying to finesse the Skills Challenge. But anyway, let’s look at the All-Star Game. The format was certainly different this year, with Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley, and Kenny Smith all having separate teams, while Candace Parker had her own team of young rookies in the NBA.
First of all, can we normalize starting things on time? 8 p.m. was the original start time for the All-Star Game, while the first game was to take place at 8:20. This is a reasonable amount of time to prepare everything for the 8:20 start, right? Well, in this case, you would be wrong. Again, the first game didn’t go off until about 8:40, which already turns fans the wrong way.
Then, it was the same lousy effort by the players year in and year out during the All-Star Game. Wide open threes, not trying on defense, lacking intensity, and no pushback from the fans who weren’t interested. Ads and stoppages also led to the displeasure of this year’s game since people came to see professionals playing basketball and not to have the game stop after every intermission.
Even worse, some players didn’t even suit up and play the game they were selected to play in. In particular, LeBron James. James, being my favorite player, is tough. I have to say this: HE MESSED UP. Knowing that you are hurt and probably not in the best condition to play, James decided at the last minute to notify the public and the NBA that he couldn’t play in the game with an ankle injury. Now, players have taken the right approach in dealing with this. Giannis Antetokounmpo has had a lingering calf injury that has forced him to sit out before the All-Star break. Giannis did the right thing by letting people know well in advance that he couldn’t play, which led the way for Trae Young to be named his replacement. This is how things should work for those in this scenario. Instead, James and Anthony Edwards (groin soreness) decided to wait until the last minute to let people know they wouldn’t be playing. You have fans who paid very good money to seek out their favorite players, such as James or ANT. Those same fans now had to deal with the reality that their favorite players wouldn’t be playing and have to try and become invested in the game itself.
In conclusion, there are many issues right now with the All-Star game. The fact that the new format didn’t win the fans over is a red flag for the NBA. Trying to navigate the current landscape of how the game is viewed will help NBA Commisioner Adam Silver and the league see the disconnect between the game and the fans. That will wrap it up from me. Be on the lookout for more NBA articles as we head into the second half of the season.