Until the NBA implements a rule like Major League Baseball in which its All-Star game matters, the mid-season, star-studded affair will continue to be what it is: a mirage.
Sure, the NBA All-Star game looks like the greatest basketball players on the planet are getting together for an epic pick-up game. But Once again, playing defense was arbitrary and it was clear on the court that the players decided to heave ill-advised threes and ridiculous lobs for 48 minutes.
This is the peril of the NBA All-Star game. There is no incentive, no reward and therefore no competitiveness among the players on the floor.
Say you, as a Cal State Long Beach student, had a solidified “A” in a class going into the final. No matter what happens, you will still get above a 90 percent. Would you try or even make an attempt to prepare for that final as you would if you were on the borderline between an A or a B?
Probably not.
Now imagine if the All-Star game placed something on the line, like home court advantage in the NBA Finals.
This generation of NBA players are making millions of dollars and the least they can do is put on a good show for their fans. By making the All-Star game worth something, the NBA would double its ratings and profits because the players would have a motivation to play hard.
According to Variety, this All-Star game averaged 7.6 million viewers. It was the highest amount since 8.02 million viewers tuned in during the 2013 All-Star game. But that’s only because Kobe Bryant announced it’d be his last game.
It was fun to see Bryant playing in his final All-Star game, fully conceding the spotlight to LeBron James, Russell Westbrook and Stephen Curry.
Seeing Westbrook, a Los Angeles native who said he idolized Bryant his entire childhood, win the game’s most valuable player award for the second year in a row was charming.
Kudos to Westbrook, but let’s face it, someone else will probably shatter that accomplishment.
Secondly, Indiana Pacers’ star Paul George deserved to win the award.
Only two players scored more than 20 points on the East team. John Wall had 22 and George dropped 41, one point shy of Wilt Chamberlain’s All-Star game record.
Sure, Westbrook’s team won the game, but George also set a new record for most three pointers in the All-Star game. He nailed a Curry-esque nine shots from beyond the arc.
Chamberlain’s record remains intact; unfortunately it will only last until Curry or his teammate Klay Thompson each drain 10 triples in an All-Star game.
It is time that NBA commissioner Adam Silver does what his predecessor David Stern never did: borrow a page out of MLB’s book and make the All-Star game more of a competition and less of a façade.
For the second straight year, the Western Conference broke the record that it set last season for most points in the All-Star game, dismantling the East 196-173.
That kind of final score only shows up if you’re doing East vs. West on “NBA 2k16.”
Don’t you think players like Curry or LeBron James would then take the game more seriously if it mattered?