Opinion Corner:Make NBA All-Star game worth something

Talk about it

Maybe Timberwolves big man Kevin Love was onto something when he said he’d like to see the NBA switch up one of the most boring games of the season.

Love said he’d like to see the winner of the NBA All-Star Game take home court advantage for the finals in an effort to ratchet up intensity.

I agree with the head stomper here because the annual All-Star Game has become one of the finest mockeries in all of professional sports. High scoring and no defense may be entertaining, but to me it’s tripe.

Scores routinely top 140 points per side and some of the greatest shut-down defenders of all-time like Eric Snow and Bruce Bowen have never been invited to an All-Star Game.

Spice the game up a little bit and make it worth something. A big name, big city team will make it to the finals, so let their superstars hash it out on the hardwood with the rest of the NBA elite.

It’s no surprise that the product that is known as the NBA All-Star Game, is a shoddy one at best.

If you thought the Pro Bowlers were mailing it in while playing in Hawaii, wait till you see Marc Gasol working the post in Orlando.

By the end of the game, no one really cares who wins because everyone got to see the high-flying dunks and behind-the-back passes that fans sadly choke down as a substitute for real hoops skills.

If I ever had kids, I wouldn’t allow them to watch this game because of the utter lack of fundamentals, blind referees, and announcers going bananas over a “monster throw down!”

Children, this is not how you play basketball.

The All-Star Game needs something for players to strive for. Of course no one wants to get injured in a just-for-kicks game, but the lack of competition boggles my mind year in and year out.

This year the best players weren’t even selected for the rosters.

Paul Pierce, please? And Andrew Bynum, you can’t be serious. How about Brandon Jennings or Danny Granger? Only the names from the big cities make it to this mess.

In this age of ball players dunking over cars and point guards dropping 50 points, the game needs to revert back to fundamentals. Why not start by making the All-Star Game something worth playing in.

Rodgers is a news writer at the Jamestown Sun

Tags: sports, nba, basketball