CLEVELAND — Well, the NBA All-Star Game has come and thankfully it is gone for this year. The East wins over the West 211-186. 211-186! This Sunday evening each February has become a total waste of three hours on my sports calendar. The numbers are laughable.
Here we go:
- 397 total points scored
- The East hit 42 three-pointers
- Karl-Anthony West scored 31 points in the 4th quarter alone.
The cry of "De-fense....De-fense" is not heard, nor obviously accepted at this "annual classic."
All of this numerology peeves NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to no end. Each All-Star Weekend he promises a better, more competitive game. And by competitive, I believe he's hoping someone might guard somebody. That's not happening. The players talk about the game being a celebration of their skills and their concern for their physical health.
On the point about their skills, I get it, but even I grow weary of watching slam dunk after slam dunk. I mean I love Goldfish crackers, but if I just kept popping them into my mouth non stop - well, I wouldn't like Goldfish crackers anymore. Ridiculous example you say? Well, this NBA All-Star Game is pretty ridiculous, too. The NBA and Silver, in particular, keep trying everything they can think of to make the NBA game interesting from October until April. The regular season is treated as an 82-game warmup for the stars of the game to get tuned and ready for the three-month grind that is the NBA playoffs. And the NBA playoffs are a grind and wonderful once we get there. It's the "getting there" that has become the problem.
This year we had the "In-Season Tournament." The very title of it speaks to the weirdness of it. It's an attempt to copy the trophy competitions from the world of soccer. The power clubs of the soccer world play in a season-long tournament for the UEFA Championship or the Europa Championship. They play in these tournaments while they are still competing in their own leagues. "Competing" is the key word here. League play and winning trophies means everything to these players and managers. Let's face it, most NBA players didn't even realize they were playing in the "In-Season Tournament." Again, they have to do something about the name of the damn thing to give it an ounce of credibility.
Now I love the Saturday night part of NBA All-Star Weekend. I love the skills challenges of the slam dunk contest and 3-point shooting. That's because the great players are actually trying. Effort keeps me from changing the channel. What I watched last night had me changing the channel and doing it very quickly. Have you watched "All Creatures Great and Small" on PBS? It's a great family show about a family of veterinarians in the Scottish Dales at the outbreak of World War II.
Now that's good TV. What happened last night in Indianapolis was not.
The Cavs are back in action Thursday night when they play Orlando. I would assume some "De-fense, De-fense" will be played.
I'll see you tonight on 3News!
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