You know, I wouldn't mind this mini tournament format as a lead-up to an actual 48 minute East vs. West All Star game. Maybe there's even a way to combine this with the Saturday night events and use the skills competition, the 3pt contest, and dunk contest to rank and sort players into these mini teams. I don't like it as a straight replacement though. It still just looks like guys are taking turns going 1-on-1 and nobody wants to risk playing defense.
The 4th annual "We Simply MUST Fix the ASG! Harrumph!" thread
- Thread starter hrdboild
- Start date
They started guarding once the game was on the line but that was off-set by guys coming down and shooting nothing but threes for the win which artificially extends the games...
I like pick-up basketball as an event if we admit that's what this is. If they want to lean into this format and make it a part of All Star weekend I would support that. And I would push it even further: have them play outside in daylight and have the opening knock-out games run simultaneously. Then give me a genuine 48 minute 5-on-5 East vs. West All Star game on Sunday night. If these star players get paid too much money now to risk getting injured actually trying in front of the fans during All-Star weekend then maybe the NBA has run it's course? As it is, there's a stink of phoniness about the whole thing that's hard for me to shake.
I like pick-up basketball as an event if we admit that's what this is. If they want to lean into this format and make it a part of All Star weekend I would support that. And I would push it even further: have them play outside in daylight and have the opening knock-out games run simultaneously. Then give me a genuine 48 minute 5-on-5 East vs. West All Star game on Sunday night. If these star players get paid too much money now to risk getting injured actually trying in front of the fans during All-Star weekend then maybe the NBA has run it's course? As it is, there's a stink of phoniness about the whole thing that's hard for me to shake.
I hate both and seems most agree.
https://www.yahoo.com/sports/nba-al...oadcast-and-so-much-kevin-hart-053826958.html
https://www.yahoo.com/sports/nba-al...oadcast-and-so-much-kevin-hart-053826958.html
Most all star games suck. The NFL figured that out years ago. The only thing interesting about the MLB all star game is the homerun contest. People tune into sports for the competition, if the event doesn’t offer that then it needs to be a spectacle. Make it fun, more celebrities, more music, less pretend basketball. Doesn’t need to be 3 days either, 2 might be better. For us hardcores, this stretch is an excuse to take a break from basketball and do other things ( while still checking the forum and scouting prospects for next year haha)
To be fair I was only half watching. I wouldn't say that the basketball being played was objectively worse than in recent years past. I found the rising stars games sortof interesting. The sudden death nature of scoring a "walk off win" vs. giving the other team another possession in a close game changes the strategy and did lead to some increased intensity toward the end of most of these matchups. But for the first 30 or so points it was still "you go, I go" with only token levels of resistance. And that increased end game intensity didn't ever rise to the level of a single clutch possession in a normal NBA game. As a fan of the sport, yeah I think they can do better than that.
There's really only one thing I want out of an All Star game -- each half of the league gets their best players and puts them on the same squad and then they each compete to show which group of stars is the best. That's all I want to see. Logo threes, elaborate alley-oop attempts, And-1 inspired over dribbling and jokey commentary can't substitute for a real game of basketball played with precision by some of the best basketball players in the world. This whole spectacle they've turned the game into has more in common with WrestleMania than competitive basketball and that's just not to my taste.
There's really only one thing I want out of an All Star game -- each half of the league gets their best players and puts them on the same squad and then they each compete to show which group of stars is the best. That's all I want to see. Logo threes, elaborate alley-oop attempts, And-1 inspired over dribbling and jokey commentary can't substitute for a real game of basketball played with precision by some of the best basketball players in the world. This whole spectacle they've turned the game into has more in common with WrestleMania than competitive basketball and that's just not to my taste.
I hope the NBA has been paying close attention to what the NHL is currently doing. Although with ONLY 4 participating nations (probably my only beef with the whole thing, to be perfectly honest with you), it has been quite enjoyable. I hope they (the NHL) maintain the format heading into next year and expand the field a bit (I wouldn't mind seeing them significantly expand the field next year, but I am just not quite sure how they would manage to pull it off in terms of scheduling. I would think a gradual increase would be better, and more efficient), while I hope the NBA adopts the format beginning with next year's game. Yes, this would also (most likely) require the elimination of the traditional "All Star Saturday Night", BUT...They could maybe spread those events out across the tournament, and hold them during halftime of each of the games.
Taking, for example, a 4 nation tournament format (like the NHL is doing this year).
Group Play/Round Robin
Game 1: A v B - Skills Competition Round 1 held during halftime
Game 2: C v D - Skills Competition Finals held during halftime
Game 3: A v C - 3 point contest Round 1 held during halftime
Game 4: B v D - 3 point contest Finals held during halftime
Game 5: A v D - Slam Dunk Contest Round 1 held during halftime
Game 6: B v D - Slam Dunk Contest Finals held during halftime
Game 7: Championship Game
And they can even schedule the first 6 games over a 5-day period, across 3 cities:
Day 1: Games 1 and 2 - Location A
Day 2: Travel
Day 3: Games 3 and 4 - Location B
Day 4: Travel
Day 5: Games 5 and 6 - Location C
And then have a few days in between before holding the finals of the tournament (which they can do in a different location).
Day 1: Games 1 and 2 - Location A
Day 2: Travel
Day 3: Games 3 and 4 - Location B
Day 4: Travel
Day 5: Games 5 and 6 - Location C
Day 6: Travel
Day 7: Travel
Day 8: Travel
Day 9: Travel
Day 10: Championship Game - Location D
Maybe 4 "Travel" days is a little too much, and they can maybe get away with only having 3 (or even 2).
So, essentially, have 4 "host cities"...Say, for example...New York/Boston, Houston/Dallas/San Antonio, Denver/Utah/Phoenix, and Portland/Seattle/Los Angeles/San Francisco (in order to spread the games across the map, geographically speaking).
OR, they just stick with 3 host cities, and have one of the cities host the championship game.
Day 1: Games 1 and 2 - Location A
Day 2: Travel
Day 3: Games 3 and 4 - Location B
Day 4: Travel
Day 5: Games 5 and 6 - Location C
Day 6: Travel
Day 7: Travel
Day 8: Championship Game - Location A, B, or C
With all of the above being said, I also wouldn't mind them implementing a round robin-style tournament, and eliminating all of the skill-related competitions. The NHL has done that this season and, quite frankly, I don't really miss any of the skill competitions, or even the all-star game itself.
Taking, for example, a 4 nation tournament format (like the NHL is doing this year).
Group Play/Round Robin
Game 1: A v B - Skills Competition Round 1 held during halftime
Game 2: C v D - Skills Competition Finals held during halftime
Game 3: A v C - 3 point contest Round 1 held during halftime
Game 4: B v D - 3 point contest Finals held during halftime
Game 5: A v D - Slam Dunk Contest Round 1 held during halftime
Game 6: B v D - Slam Dunk Contest Finals held during halftime
Game 7: Championship Game
And they can even schedule the first 6 games over a 5-day period, across 3 cities:
Day 1: Games 1 and 2 - Location A
Day 2: Travel
Day 3: Games 3 and 4 - Location B
Day 4: Travel
Day 5: Games 5 and 6 - Location C
And then have a few days in between before holding the finals of the tournament (which they can do in a different location).
Day 1: Games 1 and 2 - Location A
Day 2: Travel
Day 3: Games 3 and 4 - Location B
Day 4: Travel
Day 5: Games 5 and 6 - Location C
Day 6: Travel
Day 7: Travel
Day 8: Travel
Day 9: Travel
Day 10: Championship Game - Location D
Maybe 4 "Travel" days is a little too much, and they can maybe get away with only having 3 (or even 2).
So, essentially, have 4 "host cities"...Say, for example...New York/Boston, Houston/Dallas/San Antonio, Denver/Utah/Phoenix, and Portland/Seattle/Los Angeles/San Francisco (in order to spread the games across the map, geographically speaking).
OR, they just stick with 3 host cities, and have one of the cities host the championship game.
Day 1: Games 1 and 2 - Location A
Day 2: Travel
Day 3: Games 3 and 4 - Location B
Day 4: Travel
Day 5: Games 5 and 6 - Location C
Day 6: Travel
Day 7: Travel
Day 8: Championship Game - Location A, B, or C
With all of the above being said, I also wouldn't mind them implementing a round robin-style tournament, and eliminating all of the skill-related competitions. The NHL has done that this season and, quite frankly, I don't really miss any of the skill competitions, or even the all-star game itself.
Well, the NHL tournament (4 Nations Face-Off) is between the following nations:
1. USA
2. Canada
3. Finland
4. Sweden
To understand how they (the NHL) decided upon these 4 nations, here's a snippet taking from ESPN.com:
So it would be something similar for the NBA (USA, Spain, Argentina, France, Slovenia, etc.) based on FIBA rankings (I would assume), if the NBA is able to come to an agreement to be able to hold such a tournament/event. If they can't come to an agreement, then they would have to do what the NHL did, and put it on their own, and invite nations to participate.
1. USA
2. Canada
3. Finland
4. Sweden
To understand how they (the NHL) decided upon these 4 nations, here's a snippet taking from ESPN.com:
So it would be something similar for the NBA (USA, Spain, Argentina, France, Slovenia, etc.) based on FIBA rankings (I would assume), if the NBA is able to come to an agreement to be able to hold such a tournament/event. If they can't come to an agreement, then they would have to do what the NHL did, and put it on their own, and invite nations to participate.
4 Nations makes way more sense in hockey than basketball. For one USA always enters the contest an underdog and Canada always enters competition with US or Russia with something to prove. Finland/Sweden is just as intense. I don't think you can reproduce that in the NBA. Even operating under the assumption that the Tkachuk brothers pre-arranged their dance partners and it was part of the show.
Also just as someone who has watched NHL for almost 40 years the All Star Weekend in hockey the skills never meant much like the NBA did at its peak. You had fastest slapshot contest (slappers are a bit of a dying thing), accuracy, and speed/puck handling contests. Slapshot was the "exciting" part of this I guess but a 105mph slapshot is not as satisfying as a 50 point dunk. A big part of the "ruined All Star Weekend" narrative is because it was this mythical part of 50 year old people's childhoods. But the Jordan/Nique type dunk contests were not the norm - there were maybe a half dozen that were truly legendary.
Also just as someone who has watched NHL for almost 40 years the All Star Weekend in hockey the skills never meant much like the NBA did at its peak. You had fastest slapshot contest (slappers are a bit of a dying thing), accuracy, and speed/puck handling contests. Slapshot was the "exciting" part of this I guess but a 105mph slapshot is not as satisfying as a 50 point dunk. A big part of the "ruined All Star Weekend" narrative is because it was this mythical part of 50 year old people's childhoods. But the Jordan/Nique type dunk contests were not the norm - there were maybe a half dozen that were truly legendary.
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Don't get me wrong...I totally get your argument, and it is very valid. It would be very difficult to produce, and I am also not quite certain that basketball would be able to generate enough chatter and overall interest to create their own version of the "USA v Canada" hockey rivalry. And, just that fact alone, might result in this not ever working, even if the NBA tried to implement something similar. I just think that it would be cool, and different, if something like it could become reality at some point. Also, I now understand how and why this might have been a bit confusing in my original post. My choice of words wasn't the greatest. I shouldn't have said that I hope they implement something like this in the future. I would like to see them implement something like this in the future, or at least consider implementing something like this in the future, if they can come to an agreement on a suitable format is more along the lines of my original, and current, thought process.
Which is why I kind of proposed holding the skills events during the tournament (i.e. halftime entertainment), instead of getting rid of that stuff entirely. My second proposal was thrown in there as a "what if" scenario in case an agreement couldn't be reached to also include the skills events. But, yes, my preference would be to still hold those events.
Which is why I kind of proposed holding the skills events during the tournament (i.e. halftime entertainment), instead of getting rid of that stuff entirely. My second proposal was thrown in there as a "what if" scenario in case an agreement couldn't be reached to also include the skills events. But, yes, my preference would be to still hold those events.
This might be a wild idea and I'm sure the people that pout about player empowerment won't like it but why not just ask the players what might make them give a damn about the game. Home court in the finals? Money? Tie it in with draft kings and make it a wagering competition (I loathe this but so be it, we're a dirtbag culture now).
Or see what the fans want.
The reason 4 nations works so well is because it tickles the players and fans in a way I am not sure an NBA international tournament might. You have to figure it out or you get the NFL doing a flag football game in Hawaii nobody will watch.
Or see what the fans want.
The reason 4 nations works so well is because it tickles the players and fans in a way I am not sure an NBA international tournament might. You have to figure it out or you get the NFL doing a flag football game in Hawaii nobody will watch.
I could've sworn that they actually did do an America vs World format for the NBA All-Star game at some point, but a quick Google search, and a look at the Wikipedia page for the NBA All Star game, revealed that it has never been done for the actual All-Star game itself, but rather for the Rising Stars game a couple of years ago.
I wouldn't necessarily be against this idea for the actual All Star game.
I wouldn't necessarily be against this idea for the actual All Star game.
Could be but the majority don’t think the current format is working and hasn’t for a decade. We don’t have the attention span for a 3 day carnival anymore. IMO, take the best parts and compress it down. Two days might be ok. I would also be in favor of eliminating the dunk contest and making it more of a show using professional dunkers. Get ahead of the fact that there is a limit to what the human body can do.
there you go, the fans don’t want it and neither do the players. Players want the accolade and the time off.
Or how about move the in season tournament to the lead up to all star weekend. Knock out rounds Thursday Friday and then the championship on Sunday with a ceremony for the all stars before the game (expanded rosters no injury replacements)
Or how about move the in season tournament to the lead up to all star weekend. Knock out rounds Thursday Friday and then the championship on Sunday with a ceremony for the all stars before the game (expanded rosters no injury replacements)
You said stop with the gimmicks and find out what the players want. What they want is to take a vacation or spend time with their family.
My preference is to replace not re-invent. The All Star weekend is a corporate money grab that is enjoyed by 7 percent of the NBA community.
If the NBA insists on keeping it then trying to improve it makes more sense than saying the flat tire is fine or plugging it with duct tape.
My preference is to replace not re-invent. The All Star weekend is a corporate money grab that is enjoyed by 7 percent of the NBA community.
If the NBA insists on keeping it then trying to improve it makes more sense than saying the flat tire is fine or plugging it with duct tape.
keep the East vs West format. Set a point limit to 100 points to determine winner. If a player chooses not to participate, let that player choose his replacement from the snub list. otherwise, just keep the same format. no money will incentivize a player when he makes 100 million plus already. we need to accept that newer generations of players aren't made from the same cloth as prior players who chose to compete in the game.
