New All-Star Format Worked

So, with the national anthem mercifully in the rear-view mirror, we can get onto the game. In other words, LET’S PLAY SOME BASKETBALL! And the battle between Team Stephen and Team LeBron started out like just about any other All-Star game, which meant it was a boring game played in front of a largely corporate crowd. And no, I’m not coming in here to complain about the lack of defense in an All-Star game. That’s tired and played. I’m not tuning in to see great defensive switches, smart hedges on screens, and guys who really know how to tag the roll man. Although shout-out to Kyrie and Paul George for dropping the rare half-court trap in the first half of an All-Star game. The truth is, nobody’s there for great pack-line defense, but you do want to see a competitive basketball game. And you got one in the fourth quarter. Because whether it was about the prize money or pride, guys started going at each other. There were push-off fouls and guys were yapping at each other. It’s almost as if at a certain point in the second half, someone screamed “LET’S PLAY SOME BASKETBALL!” There were things that nobody’s ever seen in an All-Star game before, like the whole Team LeBron bench calling for a review. And then Team LeBron arguing the call after the review was complete. That wasn’t just arguing for the sake of arguing either, LeBron was bent. You had LeBron tying the game at 144 with a three with 90 seconds left. And then a final 90 seconds that was unlike anything I’ve ever seen in an NBA All-Star Game or any all-star game of any kind. Paul George going one-on-one with Joel Embiid and getting blocked. Kyrie missing the follow-up. DeMar DeRozan getting the board, going down the court, getting bodied the whole way, and then getting fouled. Then hitting one of two to take a 145-144 lead. And then, get this, Team LeBron took a timeout. A team took a timeout in the final 40 seconds of an all-star game to draw up something. And it worked because LeBron got to the bucket and took the lead back. And if you don’t think they were serious about that game or that play, listen to LeBron describe it afterwards: "We had two crossers at the top to just get the defense moving. Then we wanted to get it to Russ. Russ being so dynamic in his ability to break down defenses, we wanted to get it to him. Russ was able to make one move, they switched, and Russ kind of was left up in the air. He was able to hit Kyrie on the baseline, and playing with Kyrie for so many games, you know, if I just make myself available, he would find me. He found me and I was able to make the left-hand layup over Draymond [Green]." Holy crap. He broke that down like it was Game 1 of the Finals, not the All-Star Game. And then after a Team Stephen turnover, we had the moment no one ever thought was possible in an All-Star game, a team trying to foul in a one-possession game. And if that didn’t blow your mind, then the final seconds of the game surely did. Because Team Stephen in-bounded with 10.7 seconds left, down three, and they couldn’t even get a shot off. In an All-Star Game where guys seem to average a shot every five seconds, Curry didn’t even get a look at the rim because LeBron and Durant swarmed him on the sideline and when DeRozan finally did get free, it was too late. And when it was over, LeBron went running down the court like he’d just won a playoff game. Guys wanted that game. They didn’t just want to win, they wanted to return some pride to that game. As Kevin Durant said, "We wanted to kind of change the narrative of the All-Star Game being a joke. Today we wanted to make it a real basketball game." They did that. And while it will never be as intense as a playoff game, that fourth quarter had serious intensity. Think about that – an NBA All-Star game was won on a smart double-team and harassing defense against sideline. Incredible. I have officially seen it all. And that was officially exciting. And if you can’t admit that you weren’t hooked in the final few minutes, then you’re lying. Because it was exciting. The new format worked and the NBA All-Star Game was exciting. Yeah, I said it. Well, the last five minutes were.