Filed under: NBA All-Star Game, The Works
Today in The Works: How to fix the All-Star Game. For real.
Do Something New
Every year, the All-Star Game happens, and every year, there are angry fans galore at the players selected. Some do so out of rank homer-ism; others, a inflated sense of morals and justice. Just as bad, though, is the stale nature of the game itself. For too long, the West was the best, and the East got slaughtered every year. Now, things are leveling out, but it could still use a shake-up.
Bigs vs. Smalls: Red Auerbach's Celtics teams used to play regular big vs. small scrimmages, which the guards and wings usually won on the strength of their quickness and passing. Those contests informed Don Nelson's entire coaching philosophy, for better or worse, and the NBA certainly looks like a game of speed and skill rather than brute force these days. On the other hand, tall stars increasingly find themselves playing outside of the paint -- whether it's Kevin Durant as a wing scorer or LeBron James as a do-everything beast.
Those new realities suggest that a contemporary matchup between big and small stars wouldn't necessarily go to the guards. Divide teams by the median height -- let's assume it's 6-foot-8, give or take an inch -- and enjoy the bizarre matchups like LeBron on Chris Paul, or Kevin Garnett on Kobe Bryant, or a swarming turnover-based attack by the smalls that leads to as many fast-break points as possible. It might be hard to set up systems in time to make this game as interesting as possible, but it's experiment worth trying. It'll entertain and teach us something about where basketball stands in the modern age.
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Abbie Cornish Krista Allen Hayden Panettiere Jules Asner Whitney Able
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