End the NBA All-Star game

The 2024 NBA All-Star game ended with a bloated score of 211-186 with the East defeating the West, and many have said that the NBA needs to either make major changes or eliminate the game in general.

The term ‘load management’ has been used especially amongst the game stars to rest when necessary even if it means some fans don’t get to see a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see LeBron James.

The All-Star game has changed so much in the last 30 years. In comparison, the 1994 NBA All-Star game ended with the East beating the West 127-118.

The game has changed dramatically in the last quarter century but the players are just playing basketball like they would as a kid on their driveway at home as many NBA players can still recall those moments to this day.

The NBA is still sticking to this antiquated model under the belief that fans will watch and get extremely involved while watching the game from home. Many NBA fans prefer games where it is almost guaranteed that both teams will score 100 plus but to see any game where one team scores 200 looks really bad for the NBA.

It makes sense that stars in this game play with a different mindset vs. a regular season game. In general, All-Star games have become a liability for professional sports, everyone knows what to expect when watching these games and for the sake of the players, they have bigger plans than just a ceremonial game that means nothing and has turned off fans for years.

For the benefit of the players, making Steph Curry and Jayson Tatum play an extra game with no meaning could be better served by giving them rest and helping them perform better as the playoff push intensifies.

Instead, the NBA should continue doing what it did this year by embracing the WNBA-NBA crossover. Curry, the NBA all-time leader in three-pointers and Sabrina Ionescu, the single-season 3-point record holder, competed against each other in a 3-point shooting contest.

“This was so authentic for the both of us to be here,” Ionescu said, via ESPN. “Obviously very thankful to kind of make this dream that we both had a possibility, and knowing that it’s changed the landscape of how people are going to view what we’re doing, and we’re very excited to see what the future has to hold with more people having the opportunity to do stuff like this.”

Curry edged Ionescu 29-26 where Ionescu took her shots from the NBA 3-point line, which is different than the WNBA line. This competition was separate from the traditional 3-point shooting contest.

Most NBA fans would prefer watching the game’s best stars play in a game that matters such as for playoff positioning. The intensity of a game with every player being an all-star isn’t quite what a March regular season game resembles.

The NFL eliminated the Pro Bowl recently and replaced that weekend with skills competitions and the NBA would be wise to follow in their footsteps. The best way to recruit young people to pursue dreams of playing in the NBA is to have skills competitions such as dribbling contests. Most fans don’t see what NBA players do to make it to the association and more people would be impressed by players dribbling the ball behind their back or between their legs rather than play an extra game just for being a superstar and being voted in.

Mark the day

The 2021-22 NBA schedule was released this week and there are some very interesting matchups right from the start and the headlines from these matchups will be as impactful as the games itself.

Opening night: October 19, the world champion Milwaukee Bucks host the Brooklyn Nets in an east finals rematch. There will be plenty of topics surrounding these teams, the Bucks will receive their championship ring against a team they beat en route to their first championship in 50 years. The Nets were without Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant was in and out of the lineup, but Brooklyn should be healthy and the first game of the 2021-22 season will set the tone of what fans should expect.

Many expected the Nets to cruise to the finals but key injuries prevented that from happening. On paper, the Nets have one of the best rosters of any team. Brooklyn added Patty Mills to their roster in early August on a two-year $12 million contract.

“It’s one of those things that’s an exciting opportunity for me to even know that there’s a different opportunity to be able to see how I can fit,” Mills said Thursday. “And the conversation that I’ve had already and the conversation that I had with Kevin was so pure and so genuine, you know? Being able to understand a pure hooper and to go back and forth about basketball specifics, I think … it was exciting for me to know that there’s an opportunity there for me to try to be who I am — like I am with the (Australian) national team,” Mills said in part this week.

Where will Mills fit with the Nets? Potentially as a 6th man or occasional starter. Mills has been in the NBA for 10 years and his experience can help the big three in their quest to win a championship.

Another potential under the radar factor is Blake Griffin. Yes his best days are behind him but he can still be an intimidating force inside as a power forward. Expect him to improve on his 10 points a game and more importantly, getting defensive rebounds in the paint against physical forwards and power forwards.

The second game of opening night will feature Steph Curry against LeBron James at Staples Center. It won’t just be the players that dress for success for opening night, given that the weather in southern California is warm all year long, expect to see the cameras pointing at fans dressed in basketball sneakers in Curry and James jerseys. Klay Thompson is not expected to return until around Christmas per a report from ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne.

“He could come back a little bit before that, but in terms of getting his conditioning right, they’re targeting that Christmas Day game against the Suns. I know that sounds a little late to people, but he was injured on Nov. 18, so this is 13 months from an Achilles injury,” Shelburne said in part on ESPN’s The Jump.

The Lakers will have two new veterans, Carmelo Anthony and Russell Westbrook. Will Westbook be able to take pressure off James given #23 will be 37 at the end of the year? What are the downsides of having a Westbrook on the Lakers? He is a ball dominant player and does not shoot well from downtown. Those two concerns could loom big given that the western conference is expected to live up to it’s hype where many of the NBA’s top elite scorers play.

Klay looks good hitting that corner 3-pointer. 💦

[Via @KlayThompson / IG] pic.twitter.com/LRNVheBeXS

— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) August 20, 2021

When #11 returns, if he can come back from two straight years of injury and score from downtown like he is capable of, expect the Warriors to be in the playoff discussion. His enthusiasm he exerts after making buckets not only motivates and makes his teammates better but the fans feel the enthusiasm and it reverberates.

They aren’t the team from a couple years ago when Kevin Durant but they have some real solid talent that isn’t as well known as Curry, Thompson and Draymond Green. Keep an eye out for Jordan Poole. Last season, Poole averaged 12 points a game and shot 35% from downtown. This is just the beginning of exciting matchups that NBA diehards are waiting to tune in to or see in person.