G League call-up Mac McClung might have saved the dunk contest on Saturday night time, however now it seems the NBA All-Star Game itself is in want of saving. Team Giannis defeated Team LeBron on Sunday, 184-175, in a sport that largely extra intently resembled a layup line or capturing observe than a aggressive basketball sport between the world’s finest athletes.
The Elam Ending offered a little bit of drama within the fourth quarter as Team LeBron tried to erase a 19-point deficit, however the remainder of the sport lacked any form of competitiveness or edge on the defensive finish of the court docket. Jayson Tatum received MVP honors after setting an All-Star Game file with 55 factors, lots of which got here with little to no resistance.
Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone, who helmed the shedding Team LeBron on Sunday night time, did not mince phrases after the sport, talking out towards the shortage of effort from either side.
“It’s an honor to be right here. It’s an honor to be part of an awesome weekend, nice gamers. But that’s the worst basketball sport ever performed,” Malone mentioned after the All-Star sport. “I do not know for those who can repair it. I give Joel Embiid, Kyrie Irving — these guys had been like, competing. Joel was imploring among the guys to play more durable, to attempt to get some protection in. No one acquired harm, they placed on a present for the followers, however that could be a powerful sport to take a seat by. I’m not gonna lie.”
Malone wasn’t the one one who seen, as followers and media alike remarked all through the sport in regards to the high quality — or lack thereof — through the 2023 version.
As Malone talked about, Embiid and Irving appeared to at the very least be competing, combining for 67 factors, 20 assists, 20 rebounds and 4 steals, nevertheless it’s simply tough to get the league’s finest gamers to go onerous in an exhibition setting, notably with the playoffs lower than two months away.
Case in level, LeBron James tried to play protection within the first half, attempting to dam a layup from Pascal Siakam. In the method, he caught his hand on the rim and was dominated out for the second half because of the damage.
With the Los Angeles Lakers scratching and clawing for a playoff spot, James will rue the day he tried to play protection in an All-Star sport if it means lacking even one of many workforce’s upcoming essential video games.
So as Malone mentioned, there might not be a repair, notably in a conventional format. The league carried out the Elam Ending with the goal rating just a few years in the past, which has helped within the last quarter, however there’s actually not a lot to do in regards to the first three quarters. These are the elite of the elite, they usually’re merely not going to danger their well being for a sport that in the end has no bearing on standings.
Unless there is a vital change in mindset from the gamers, or the league by way of a revised format, do not anticipate future All-Star Games to be a lot completely different.
