The NBA from Feb. 12-19 will have a "week-long All-Star break around the mid-season game" in N.Y. this season, according to Kurt Helin of NBCSPORTS.com. The longer break is "something a lot of coaches and players wanted" and NBPA President Chris Paul "specifically had talked about." The league is "considering this an experiment -- they will try it for a year and go from there" (NBCSPORTS.com, 8/13). In San Antonio, Mike Monroe notes Spurs G and player rep Danny Green "endorsed the change." Green: "We've been complaining about that for years. I'm glad they finally fixed it" (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS, 8/14). FS1's Bill Reiter noted NBA Commissioner Adam Silver "listened to LeBron James and other players who lobbied him last year." Silver "has continued to cement his reputation as the players' commissioner" ("Fox Sports Live," FS1, 8/13).
MORE WAYS TO IMPROVE THE SEASON: In DC, Michael Lee suggests several ways for the NBA to "provide intrigue and excitement throughout the course of the season." During the "three-day respite before the start of the playoffs, the league could add a mini-tournament to help reform the current lottery system to determine the No. 1 overall pick." The two teams "with the worst records in each conference would participate in a two-day tournament for the right to make the top selection in June." The league could give "lousy teams a better chance of improving the following season" by adopting an "NFL-like schedule in which successful teams have to play better teams and bad teams play worse teams more often." While the week-long All-Star break is a "great way to give players ... a chance to rest and recuperate during the season," the NBA should "take the next step by reducing the number of back-to-back games." Finally, the league could "generate a few thrills by playing an annual outdoor game." The weather "wouldn’t cooperate in a city such as Toronto, so the NBA could rotate the games and have them played in the retractable football stadiums in relatively warm weather cities like Houston, Phoenix and Dallas" (WASHINGTON POST, 8/14).
