All-Star Weekend

[Calinks]

Would love for us to get the 1 seed and the Warriors to squeak in as the 8th seed. Then for us to obliterate them in four games and shut Draymonds ass up. That would be a sweet way to win our first series in over two decades.

[Shaka_Zulu]

I echo your words completely. Sadly I don't see how a team with Curry, Kuminga and 10 other corpses masquerading as NBA players will make the 8th seed.

[BlacJacMac]

Couldn't handle watching more than a few minutes of the whole weekend. But it absolutely reinforced all my thoughts about not tying it into HCA - or anything that matters.

I'm actually proud of Ant. He treated the weekend for what it is. A big party to let off steam and hang out with his buddies and goof off. The West didn't even try to win the game. All they cared about was feeding KAT and getting him 50.

[winforlose]

Couldn't handle watching more than a few minutes of the whole weekend. But it absolutely reinforced all my thoughts about not tying it into HCA - or anything that matters.

I'm actually proud of Ant. He treated the weekend for what it is. A big party to let off steam and hang out with his buddies and goof off. The West didn't even try to win the game. All they cared about was feeding KAT and getting him 50.

If you make it competitive and someone goes down for the playoffs then teams won’t want to send their players. Imagine if Jokic or Doncic ruptured an Achilles during an exhibition game. That is the problem with the In Season Torunament. The NBA wants people to watch, but they don’t want to put on a show.

The only real solution is make the All Star Game before the NBA finals and only include players whose teams are not active. NFL style, that way guys have the offseason to heal. The problem is the NBA offseason is shorter than the NFL off season, and guys wouldn’t be back in time. Which is why the NFL went flag football instead of tackle.

[BlacJacMac]

Couldn't handle watching more than a few minutes of the whole weekend. But it absolutely reinforced all my thoughts about not tying it into HCA - or anything that matters.

I'm actually proud of Ant. He treated the weekend for what it is. A big party to let off steam and hang out with his buddies and goof off. The West didn't even try to win the game. All they cared about was feeding KAT and getting him 50.

If you make it competitive and someone goes down for the playoffs then teams won’t want to send their players. Imagine if Jokic or Doncic ruptured an Achilles during an exhibition game. That is the problem with the In Season Torunament. The NBA wants people to watch, but they don’t want to put on a show.

The only real solution is make the All Star Game before the NBA finals and only include players whose teams are not active. NFL style, that way guys have the offseason to heal. The problem is the NBA offseason is shorter than the NFL off season, and guys wouldn’t be back in time. Which is why the NFL went flag football instead of tackle.

And no one watched the NFL Pro Bowl - and the NFL is infinitely more popular than the NBA.

I'm not trying to fix the All Star Game. It is what it is at this point. Its not for me, but I hope the players have a good time and recharge for the 2nd half of the season.

[Calinks]

I think there are way to make it competitive but the only true way to probably make it competitive is to make it volunteer based with the knowledge that if you show up, you are going to compete, plus there are incentives. Like maybe there are still All-star awards, and those players get to be first come first served if they choose to play in the all star game but any NBA player can sign up to be in the game but they got to bring it. You can't go there and putz around.

Plenty of guys can and will decline, maybe barely any all-stars will play like the dunk contest, but the guys who do play will play a harder game and they get incentives for playing. Guys on weak contracts or guys who are looking for some exposure would probably do it. There can be some other qualifications but you need the window to be big enough to field a team.

Wouldn't be nearly as exciting for fans as they wont see the best of the best but maybe the competitive nature of the game and the excitement would start to raise some players interest in playing in the game. If the incentives are really good, maybe some big name players will take the bait.

[Klomp]

The game is unwatchable and has been for awhile. Maybe incentivize the players with money or home court in the finals. Or just scrap it. It’s so terrible now.

The effort from players really hasn't changed on the whole. There are a few bad eggs that make it look really bad, but mostly it's the same effort that we've had going back 25+ years. I wonder if the “modern game” is what has killed the all-star game. There is a lot more spacing and transition. In past games, not giving 100% wasn’t as noticeable or detrimental to the product.

The full 1998 game is on Youtube. They weren't giving the effort a lot of fans are asking for now either. It just didn't look as bad because everyone was packed inside the paint.

Watch on YouTube

[Klomp]

Could they essentially replace "all-star weekend" with the in-season tournament? If the NBA is worried about this being the first weekend outside of the NFL spotlight, have skills events around the central focus of the IST championship, with still giving the week-long break.

[Guest84]

First, for players worried about injuries...how often have we seen a season-ending or even minor injury over the years? The only one that sticks out to me was Kobe's broken nose.

Also, I've seen media ask players how to make it more competitive, with the general response, "I don't know but we have to figure something out". How about just simply giving a little more effort?

Nobody is asking for playoff intensity, but at least give a little more during the 4th quarter/winning time. Why exactly do guys with $160+ mil contracts and sponsor deals need more money as an incentive to play? I get it's a business and maybe that's the problem. Guys are playing more for the money as opposed to the love of the game.

But at this point, it's prob best to not worry about it and move on from a fans' perspective. It is what it is.

[A1FromDay1]

Maybe have some contract clause about wining the ASG, as opposed to just making it to ASG, as it is now?

[TimberKat]

Maybe have some contract clause about wining the ASG, as opposed to just making it to ASG, as it is now?

Maybe go the opposite direction and turn it into the new Harlem Globetrotters? You have to make a fancy move for the basket to count. Lillard's two 1/2 court shots were unreal.

[Guest84]

Might not be the majority but I thought the charity and target score component brought some excitement.