SAN FRANCISCO – Milwaukee Bucks All-Star Giannis Anteto Compo spoke the true words of the word before Sunday’s All-Star Game.
“If he doesn’t want it, no one can force him to play,” Antetokounmpo said.
A meaningless exhibit game played in just two months during the regular season, the playoffs lurking in some All-Stars makes it almost impossible to get a competitive game.
This does not stop the NBA from changing the format it tries.
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Elegant All-Star host and game MVP Steph Curry said on Sunday in the aftermath of another format change in which the All-Star played a mini-3 game tournament: “It’s something that somehow revitalizes the game. It was a good step in the right direction, and I’ll tinker with it again next year to see what changes can be made.
“I don’t want to compare it to other times because the world has changed. Life is different. The way people consume basketball is different. It doesn’t look like it used to be. But it’s still It might be fun for everyone.”
More true words.
All-Star games in all sports aren’t the old ones, and it’s fine. Sunday’s game isn’t awful, and it’s not the support the league hopes for – funny moments and sometimes there’s no eye-catching score in the 100s upper/lower 200s. The various stops that delayed play have subsided energy from the night, but I don’t know if the finished product is what the NBA wanted.
And my hopeful skeptics wonder if the NBA All-Star Game can become what the league wants. (And as motivation, I oppose adding prize money to the pool for players. That optics are offensive.)
It’s not time to discard the All-Star Game yet.
Replacing the game with non-other events is something the NBA has debated internally. 1-on-1 game and 3 games. Various shooting contests. It could still be a celebration of the league, players and fans. The NBA is unable to continue the never-ending conversation about the game.
And we don’t know either NBC will win an All-Star Game next season as part of the league’s 11-year, new 11-year, $76 billion deal. The next season will be a challenge at NBC, marking the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics.
Some of the mini tournaments on Sunday worked. There’s a bit of defense, fewer uncontested dunks and a little less 3-point chucking. Except for curry to get a free pass in his range and homeland.
Removed Rising Stars participation should be higher on the league’s to-do list. As Curry continued to tell the truth, he said, “Sunday’s All-Star experience is very sacred and you have to go your way with it.”
There’s a lot of talk about the All-Star Game featuring international players vs. US players. Antetokounmpo said, “Oh, I love it. I think it’s the most interesting and most exciting format. … Certainly, I’m proud of it. I’m always competing, but it’s I think they’ll compete with me with a little more extra juice.”
However, of the 24 All-Stars of this season, only seven have international connections. It’s a numbers game. Yes, a record 125 international players were on the opening night roster, demonstrating how the game is now global. However, there were still over 325 US players on the opening night roster.
It sounds fun, but international teams need to add players who might otherwise not make an All-Star team. And comments about the event that this event is sacred will not help with that idea.
Free proposal for the next season: splitting 24 All-Stars into three teams, eliminating Rising Stars Squad, and the first team to score two games to 40 points eliminate the All-Star champion, eliminating the All-Star champion Maintain the team format. . The first two teams will play, and the winner will stay to play the third team like a pickup game. If the winner of the first game loses the second game, the winner of the second game will play the loser of the first game. There are no games less than four.
Or each team plays each other in round robins, with a game consisting of 15 minute quarters, with the team with the highest score being the champion. If two or more teams earn a total point after two games, they can come up with different tiebreakers.
And keep the night moving.
Follow NBA columnist Jeff Zillgitt on social media @jeffzillgitt