The NBA at the ASG Break

     Last night the NBA culminated All-Star Weekend in New Orleans with a monstrous show of offense coupled with little guarding or defense. The crowd at the Smoothie King Arena (I kid you not--that IS the commercialized name for the building which stands next to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome and is the home of the New Orleans Pelicans, who were once the Charlotte Hornets, not to be confused with the present Charlotte Hornets, but that is another whole story) was treated to its hometown player, center Anthony Davis, scoring 52 points, starting  the game with a long jump shot and dunking his way to the MVP trophy while breaking the legendary Wilt Chamberlain's scoring mark for the game.

     I am not a big fan of All-Star games other than the Major League Baseball extravaganza, simply because, as the TNT commentators reiterated last night, this was an EXHIBITION. In the MLB game, the pitchers throw hard against the best hitters in the majors. There is some legitimate tension therein.

     In this "contest," everyone watched the stars do their thing--passing and shooting open 3 pointers or making an array of slam dunks that after awhile looked boringly the same no matter how athletically they were performed. The players put on a show and their collective teams hoped no one would get hurt so that the regular season could pick up where it left off.

     Absent teams really playing for something meaningful which I cannot imagine, there isn't much else that the NBA can do to tweak the format. Same thing goes with the Rising Stars Challenge, engaging 1st and 2nd year players running up and down the court on Friday night as a precursor to the Sunday lovefest. The Slam Dunk contest can only have so many different moves and attempts--it is a far cry form Michael Jordan's gravity-defying flying leap from the foul line in 1988 at home in Chicago or little Spud Webb in 1986 coming into Reunion Arena in Dallas and mesmerizing the crowd by out dunking his much taller opponent, Dominique Wilkins. While the Skills Challenge has some interesting features, it is not redeeming enough by itself.

     The only skill set which draws my attention yearly is the 3 point shooting on Saturday nights. My attraction to this is that it takes skill and fortitude to win the trophy. Larry Bird, the Boston Celtics iconic Hall of Fame player, would participate in this event. As lore has it, Bird would go into the locker room and loudly say who is playing for second, then back up his boasts by whipping the others. Last year saw an epic duel between teammates Steph Curry, a two time league MVP, and Klay Thompson, an unreal streak shooter who holds the NBA record for points in a quarter.

     Thompson was unable to defend his crown this year, failing to make it past the first round. The winner, Eric Gordon of the Houston Rockets, had to go into an extra session to defeat  the Cleveland Cavaliers' All Star guard, Kyrie Irving (he of "the earth is flat" statement). That had some pizzazz to it. But a well-intentioned tribute to beloved TNT sideline reporter Craig Sager and the Sager Strong Foundation was a disaster with a stunt to have stars, former players and celebrities make 3 point shots at $10,000 per goal, culminating with an ill-conceived move of bringing an obviously unprepared Steph Curry, in street clothes, to try half court shots which he could not convert.

     Otherwise, the weekend was a showcase of talented musical performers and siting of the rich and famous courtside (a very pregnant Beyonce with her husband Jay Z along with the ever-present movie maker, Spike Lee). I thought that the player introductions was a hot mess which could have been simplified instead of being attenuated and silly (players rising up from beneath the stage?). I did enjoy the performance of the National Anthem by very talented singer and pianist, Jon Batiste, as well as the halftime singing of John Legend more than the game itself.

     The only justifiable theater in the game came from the ongoing feud between former Oklahoma City Thunder teammates, Kevin Durant, now with the high-flying and 3 point shooting Golden State Warriors, and the surly, athletic guard for the Thunder, Russell Westbrook. Their dislike for each other persisted during the course of being on the Thunder, then erupted when free agent Durant opted to join the already title-contending Warriors and did not say good bye to Westbrook. Words were exchanged on court during their teams' last meeting, so the media wondered if the rift would persist during the game if they were on the floor at the same time. Early on, during a fast break, Westbrook passed the ball to Durant who responded by throwing an alley oop pass for Westbrook to slam home. A time out followed and the cameras and microphones caught the West All Stars uproariously celebrating the moment with laughter, kidding and some liquid flowing.

     So now we can return our focus to the quest for the NBA title.  This season has so many subplots that it supersedes any soap opera currently airing on TV. Will the Cavaliers repeat as champs given the loss of star forward Kevin Love to knee surgery, or will all-world Lebron James play too much and be wiped out by time the playoffs reach nearer to conclusion? Are there other teams in the East who can now challenge the Cavs, like the Boston Celtics, Toronto Raptors and Washington Wizards? And in the West, will Golden State and its four All Stars be too formidable for the San Antonio Spurs or the Thunder or the Los Angeles Clippers?

     Moreover, will there be more trades now that the Sacramento Kings have decided to trade their star, DeMarcus (Boogie) Cousins to the Pelicans? Will supreme egotist and coaching icon Phil Jackson get ball hog Carmelo Anthony to agree to drop his no-trade contract clause and leave the woeful New York Knicks?

     Ah, the Knicks. Team owner James Dolan who, in a fit of pique last week, had former player Charles Oakley forcibly removed and banned from Madison Square Garden, only to have a peace brokered by Michael Jordan and Commissioner Adam Silver; this brouhaha actually outdid the 'Melo/Jackson problem in the salacious New York media. You simply can't make this stuff up.

     Say goodbye to New Orleans and, mercifully, the 2017 All Star game. Let's finish out the regular season with a flourish and watch other controversies arise--can Magic Johnson resurrect the moribund Los Angeles Lakers after the damage done by Jim Buss, the son of the great owner, Dr. Jerry Buss? Will the mercurial Westbrook take his incredible season of triple-doubles in points, assists and rebounds to record heights and outperform Durant and the Houston Rockets' bearded wonder, sharpshooter James Harden, himself a former Thunder player with Durant and Westbrook, who has elevated his game and leads the NBA in assists? Or will tiny Isaiah Thomas of the Boston Celtics take his 4th quarter heroics and garner enough votes to squeak in as the MVP if voters split between the aforementioned trio?

     Questions, questions and more questions. That is what this NBA season is about. We can take our hiatus for college basketball's March Madness, but keep an eye open for NBA news, as much more intrigue and action on and off the court is forthcoming. The wags at the NBA offices and the talking heads on NBA TV, ESPN/ABC and TNT (especially the no holds barred Hall of Famer, Charles Barkley) will have no difficulty promoting the sport right up and through The Finals.

     There surely is enough material for all to dwell upon and for the players to play the games in earnest. I, for one, am glad that we can get to the end of the season. As if there hasn't been enough drama already...