CHANGE: There is a small change to the NBA All-Star weekend… actually, a quite large change.
By Jack Weggeland, Editor
There have been several blockbuster changes in the 2017-2018 NBA season: Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics, Chris Paul to the Houston Rockets, Jimmy Butler to the Minnesota Timberwolves, Paul George and Carmelo Anthony to the Oklahoma City Thunder, and now Blake Griffin to the Detroit Pistons. To add to the mayhem, the NBA has decided to scrap the East vs. West All-Star game in favor of a new format. “I’m thrilled with what the players and the league have done to improve the All-Star Game, which has been a priority for all of us,” Chris Paul, the president of National Basketball Player Association said.
While players from each conference will continue to participate based on the voting of fans, players, and media, team captains are determined by the highest fan vote in each conference. As a result, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James and the Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry picked their teams the good old fashion way, like elementary school dodgeball. Since James received more fan votes (2,638, 294 ) than Curry (2,379,494), he was elected as first captain. Here are the starters for each team:
TEAM LEBRON: DeMarcus Cousins, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, LeBron James.
TEAM STEPHEN: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Stephen Curry, DeMar DeRozan, Joel Embiid, James Harden.
This new format was constructed to increase the competitiveness and the entertainment value of the All-Star game. The most recent “competitions” have not been the least bit competitive, featuring too many dunks and not enough defense—last year’s game had the most points ever scored: 374. While redesigning the All-Star game may help the problem, a real competition will arise when the players begin to compete at a higher level. Nonetheless, hopefully this year’s go-around will prove to be more entertaining for the players and the fans.