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How to improve the All-Star Game
Updated: Monday February 05, 2001 6:29 PM
It has become fashionable to bash All-Star Games in every sport, and the upcoming NBA version, which will be played Feb. 11 at the MCI Center in Washington, D.C., isn't immune to the criticism. The novelty of seeing so many stars on the floor at the same time wears off pretty quickly, and by the time the second quarter starts the fans are usually so quiet you'd think they were watching Tiger Woods stand over a putt. There are at least two reasons the game isn't as entertaining as it used to be (and, by the way, it's still the best All-Star Game of any of the major sports). One is that there's no way to make an exhibition game, even a glamorous exhibition game, very important to players who are multimillionaires. Once upon a time the winners' bonus and the desire to beat rivals from the other conference added intensity to the game. Now the players are so rich that they probably use the bonus to tip the guy who washes their Porsches, and it's hard to think of a player from the other conference as a rival when he has the same agent you do and you've done three sneaker commercials with him.
Another problem is the absence of creative point guards. The best All-Star Games came when innovative passers like Magic Johnson and Isiah Thomas were running the show. They were daring distributors who seemed to create something new every time they ran the break, and even their turnovers were exciting. More important, their willingness to push the envelope was contagious. I think I even saw Dominique Wilkins pass in an All-Star Game. (Once.) But watch the contest these days and you'll actually see teams walking it down the floor and urging refs to call illegal defenses. We don't even want to see that in the regular season; why would we want to see it in the All-Star Game? Some excellent point guards will play in this year's game, but, with the possible exception of Jason Kidd, they're not the kind who make you hold your breath when the ball is in their hands. One playmaker -- the Kings' Jason Williams -- has a style made for the All-Star Game, and he could add the flair that it needs. But, unfortunately, Williams has a lot of work to do before he deserves a spot. The coaches would sooner make Isaiah Rider the team captain than vote the unpredictable, defensively challenged J-Will into the game. But there are other ways to enliven the proceedings. It might be interesting to mix up the teams a bit. For example, the teams don't have to be broken up by conference every year -- especially in a season like this one, when Western Conference big men like Shaquille O'Neal, Chris Webber and Kevin Garnett look like they'll overpower the undersized Eastern Conference team. Why not choose up new sides? Fans could still vote for the two centers, four forwards and four guards they want to start, and coaches could still pick the 14 reserves, but then those 24 players would be divided into equal teams without regard to conference affiliation. Then maybe we'd see Allen Iverson play with Kobe Bryant, for instance, or John Stockton against Karl Malone, for a change. Also, cut about 8-10 seconds off the shot clock for All-Star purposes. That will make teams push the ball up the floor. We want to see fast breaks, no-look passes and alley-oops, which are more likely to happen if players know they have to get a shot up in a hurry. We'd probably find that even big post-up players like Shaq will get into the fun if the tempo is accelerated. The NBA might put on the best All-Star show in sports, but that doesn't mean it couldn't be better. Sports Illustrated senior writer Phil Taylor covers NBA for the magazine and is a frequent contributor to CNNSI.com. Click here to send a question to his Mailbag.
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