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Who’s This For? The NBA All-Star Game malaise
Before we start the conversation, I want to show you my two favorite moments from last night’s NBA All-Star Game, which happened to occur in the same sequence.
Yes, that’s Luka Dončić, one of the game’s most gifted offensive players … who may not have the best hops in the game. Very few people on the planet can execute the play he attempted, and yet it remains hilarious that he a.) tried this at the All-Star Game and b.) failed.
Damian Lillard picked up the “rebound,” loafed toward halfcourt and did this:
HALF COURT DAME 🤯🎯 pic.twitter.com/K8H0lZurbw
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 19, 2024
This was fun. But nothing much else about last night was particularly fun or interesting, to me at least. (The East, led by game MVP Lillard’s 39 points, scored a record 211 in victory.) Let me explain:
- I do not arrive here as some miserable curmudgeon who wishes for the old days. Hardly. While it’s cool to see the All-Star uniforms every year and take in what seems to be an important weekend for the league, the game itself has never particularly been a draw. No one plays defense. No one tries that hard. It’s just not compelling.
- There are no stakes, which is frankly understandable. Putting stakes on the game like MLB did for 15 years is silly, because asking the sport’s best players to risk injury for an exhibition game halfway through the season is silly. Thus we get a silly product. LeBron considered last night a success because nobody got hurt.
- So who is this for? Or what is this game for? I honestly could not come up with a good idea for an answer. Is this just what we do from here on out? Produce an unwatchable basketball game — this year’s contest featured the first-ever team to hit 200-plus points — every year that’s best consumed via one or two social media clips? Or via an embellished story on an athlete’s podcast 10 years from now? I guess this is fine, but I’m not sure if it’s particularly interesting.
Maybe I’m off though. You tell me, in today’s Pulse Poll: Am I miserable, or is the All-Star Game bad?
Make your voice heard here. We’ll have your answers — plus maybe some ideas on how to fix it — tomorrow.
P.S. A caveat: As Zach Harper wrote in The Bounce on Friday, the weekend can be very, very fun. My focus is more on the game. Let’s keep moving.
News to Know
The ol’ coach-firing bump
Two things seem to happen after every mid-season firing: either your team rebounds from the doldrums, finally playing to potential when it’s too late, or the group just crumbles. For Ohio State yesterday, just days after the school fired Chris Holtmann, it was the former: The 15-11 Buckeyes beat No. 2 Purdue 73-69, a statement win in an otherwise forgettable season. A NCAA Tournament bid still appears unlikely for Ohio State, but a couple more upset wins could change that.
Matsuyama’s big day
Hideki Matsuyama started Sunday six shots back at the Genesis Invitational. A final-round 62 later, he earned his ninth career PGA Tour victory, riding a six-birdie back nine to stun the field. There was worry about Sunday’s action not delivering, but Matsuyama re-establishing himself works just fine narratively. The Genesis was frankly a wild tournament: Tiger Woods leaving in an ambulance (sounds like he should be fine), Jordan Spieth getting disqualified and then Sunday’s wild final round. In there, too, was a particularly interesting conversation about Scottie Scheffler’s vexing career arc. Whew.
More news
- Rick Pitino had a rant for the ages about his players’ alleged lack of athleticism and the facilities at St. John’s. Is this motivation, or is he going to quit?
- The Daytona 500 will run today due to rain issues yesterday. More details here.
Hello, Our Name Is: Wait, really? The Royals, AL Central contenders?
The thought initially struck me as absurd. Ken Rosenthal wrote a column yesterday with a simple premise: After a nice offseason, the Kansas City Royals — winners of 56 games just a year ago — could contend for a division title.
Bollocks, I thought. Then … Ken sort of convinced me. Two sides of the argument here:
- Pro: Yes, Kansas City had a nice winter. Bobby Witt Jr., the 23-year-old superstar, is back for the foreseeable future. The front office overhauled much of its roster, spending $109 million, a nice jump for a team whose payroll has clocked in under $100 million in each of the last five seasons.
- But the focus here is the division, which is easily the worst in baseball, coming into the season. The 87-75 Twins were its only team above .500 last year, and, as Ken noted, did little this offseason due to revenue worries. Same goes for the Tigers. The lane is there.
- Con: This still projects as a below-average team at best. Fangraphs pegs the Royals with 76 wins, while PECOTA has them at 71. That wouldn’t exactly count as contending. While the offseason additions make for a nice story, no huge name chose Kansas City this winter.
This is why you play the games, though, and as Ken wrote, this team already has a great story. The new guys gelled before they even showed up to spring training. So why not the Royals?
P.S. If you haven’t already, sign up for The Windup before the season starts.
Watch This Game
NHL: Maple Leafs at Blues
1 p.m. ET on ESPN
How about some holiday hockey? If you’re off work today, you can literally watch hockey all afternoon.
NCAAM: No. 10 Iowa State at No. 3 Houston
9 p.m. ET on ESPN
The Cougars have been impressive this year, but have not beaten a top-10 team — a loss to No. 8 Kansas is their only exposure. Prepare your March takes by watching this one. And maybe bet on UConn to again win it all while you’re at it.
Pulse Picks
Do you love “Slap Shot”? If you don’t, I assume it’s because you haven’t seen it. Jayson Jenks dug into the Johnstown Jets, the team that inspired the classic film, and came out with a funny story. Read it, then go watch the movie.
Always a fun story every draft season: Dane Brugler writes about his favorite NFL Draft sleeper, this time an Ivy League guy who considers himself “the most interesting prospect” in the field.
I always find the LeBron James press conference during All-Star weekend instructive. He opened up on how much longer he’ll play and where that could happen.
Last ASG item: I thought Andrew Marchand’s column on Kenny Smith’s unfortunate commentary during the three-point contest between Steph Curry and Sabrina Ionescu — one of the better parts of the weekend — was spot-on. Worth a read this morning, if you missed it.
I loved our series on The Black Aces, the Black pitchers from either the United States or Canada who have won 20 games in a season. See all their stories here.
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(Photo: Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
