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Tim Bontemps, ESPN
INDIANAPOLIS — After months of emphasizing the importance of having a more competitive product on the court for this weekend's All-Star Game, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said Saturday night that He further emphasized this point and declared: “It was a good game,” he said Sunday at the NBA's annual midseason showcase at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
However, after the 73rd All-Star Game, it looked exactly like last year's lackluster performance in Salt Lake City, with the Eastern Conference ultimately winning 211-186 and becoming the first team to score over 200 points. team, and set the all-time scoring record. Over the Western Conference — Silver's frustration with what happened was clearly on display.
“And Eastern Conference All-Stars, you scored the most points,” Silver said flatly. “Well…congratulations.”
It was a fitting end to a night that couldn't stop the discussion about what the future of the NBA's biggest midseason event should be. The NBA is committed to making this game a priority for its players throughout the season, and Silver and Hall of Famer Joe Dumars, the NBA's executive vice president and chief of basketball operations, said the All-Star He reiterated that more efforts should be put into was the priority.
Instead, this was another game with virtually no defense, and there was little life in the building. Anthony Davis of the Los Angeles Lakers went so far as to say his most memorable moment was when the hype teams of the Chicago Bulls and Indiana Pacers played a game. Through the dunk routine between the third and fourth quarters.
“I think the best [moment], we were talking about it, the Bulls and Pacers dunkers,” Davis said. “On the trampoline? They were very, very impressive.”
And in the end, Sunday's game left things exactly where they were a year ago. The NBA held its hands up this weekend over the fact that one of the marquee events on its calendar ended on a high note, with players saying: While we sympathize with efforts to improve the event, we all agree that it's not as simple as deciding to play a little harder.
“I think this is something we need to understand,” Lakers star LeBron James said. He set a new record Sunday night with his 20th All-Star Game appearance, but sat out the second half due to soreness in his left ankle. “Obviously from a player's perspective it's fun to go up and down, but at the end of the day our competitive nature doesn't like that kind of free scoring.
“But I think the good thing about how it turned out tonight was that we didn't have any players injured and everyone came home unscathed or how things were before the game started. So it's a deeper story. I did.”
“Obviously everyone wants to be competitive, the fans and the league, but as players, we also want to make sure we don't get injured,” Davis said. “Obviously, injuries are a part of the game and no one wants to get hurt in the All-Star Game. … All these players that are here are extremely valuable to the team. So, I have mixed feelings about, “You're going to go.'' Not just be a highlight show, go out there and compete a little bit, but at the same time, somebody's going to dunk, somebody's going to try to dunk. , and God forbid, do you really want to see something happen with Oar? -When could the star game have been avoided? ”
Second, Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards admitted he's not interested in playing that hard during the All-Star Game.
“For me, this is the All-Star Game, so I never look at it as being super competitive,” he said. “It's always fun. I don't know what they can do to be more competitive. I don't know. I think everyone sees that… I don't think everyone wants to come here because we're on a break. ” and compete. ”
This has become clear in recent years. This trend isn't unique to the NBA; the NHL, NFL, and MLB have all made fundamental changes to their respective All-Star events over the past decade or so. To add some spice and competition to it.
But the NBA has arguably been more vocal about the importance of that change than any other league, and no one has said it more than Silver himself.
And it's unclear where he and the league go from here after another attempt to increase competition in the All-Star Game failed.
“There were definitely some [discussions about the game being more competitive]”I don't know how successful it was, but there was definitely some discussion,” Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown said. I think everyone is probably looking for ways to have fun, be safe, and avoid injuries at the same time.
“I think we need more solutions to solve that.”
