NBA All-Star Saturday has “outlived its usefulness and overstayed its welcome, and it's time for it to go,” according to Sam Gardner of FOXSPORTSFLORIDA.com. After Saturday's “shameful production” at the Amway Center, the decision “must be made that the event can no longer exist [in] its current form, and until the league addresses the glaring problems and gives fans and players a reason to care, the downward spiral will only continue.” This year's production had “a staggeringly unimpressive collection of no-name players,” and an “apathetic, half-full crowd.” In addition, it also had “sky-high ticket prices and a litany of cringe-worthy gimmicks.” It was the “perfect storm of awful circumstances, and the end result was disappointingly predictable.” All-Star Saturday Night was “an epic failure -- as bad as it's ever been,” but that “doesn't mean it can't be fixed.” Right now the event is “quickly becoming No-Star Saturday Night.” If the NBA “really wants to rejuvenate these events, they should take a peek at the NHL.” The NBA is “backtracking, and before long All-Star Weekend as a whole will be lumped in a group with the NFL's Pro Bowl -- the most embarrassing ‘All-Star’ event in sports” (FOXSPORTSFLORIDA.com, 2/26).
DUMP THE DUNK? In Houston, Jerome Solomon wrote with the NBA All-Star Game coming to Houston next year, “let’s hope it leaves the lame slam dunk contest here in Orlando.” This year’s contest was “one of the worst in league history.” But the “bigger problem is the lack of buzz for the contest overall” (CHRON.com, 2/25). CBSSPORTS.com’s Ben Golliver wrote Saturday night's Sprite Slam Dunk Contest was “marred by zero All-Star participants, terrible dunks, too many scripted stories, an absence of judges and a sketchy fan voting process” (CBSSPORTS.com, 2/26). ESPN's Mike Greenberg said the dunk contest was the "least watchable thing I have ever seen in my life” (“Mike & Mike in the Morning,” ESPN Radio, 2/27). ESPN's Stephen A. Smith said, "It was atrocious and it was a complete waste of time. If they don’t get people involved that we really, really want to see, they need to do away with it altogether. ... The most entertaining aspect of the entire Saturday night festivities was Charles Barkley, who was giving the color commentary” ("First Take," ESPN2, 2/27). In Jacksonville, Don Coble wrote there is “no good time for basketball’s all-star game.” The three-point shootout and dunk contest “haven’t been compelling for years,” and players now “need props (Dee Brown’s pump-up shoes, Dwight Howard’s Superman cape, Blake Griffin’s car) to make things interesting” (JACKSONVILLE.com, 2/24). In Tampa, Tom Jones asks, “Can we officially declare the NBA dunk competition the most boring and overrated thing in sports?” (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 2/27). TNT's Reggie Miller during the dunk contest said, “You better introduce these guys, I’m telling you. People really don’t know who they are” (TNT, 2/25). Miller during last night's All-Star Game said following a dunk by Heat F LeBron James, “They’ve got to do something. They’ve got to get LeBron James in the dunk contest. I’m tired of saying that every time we come here, why isn’t he in the dunk contest? The league has to do something” ("NBA All-Star Game," TNT, 2/26).
HOW IT WENT DOWN: In Salt Lake City, Brian Smith noted Jazz F Jeremy Evans “beat out prop-heavy dunks” by Pacers G Paul George, who “turned out Amway’s lights to glow in the dark.” He also beat T’Wolves F Derrick Williams, who “rode onto the court riding a motorcycle with the Timberwolves’ mascot, then leapt over the bike.” Evans’ first slam was “too prop-reliant, featuring a simple dunk captured by an iCam.” He remained “prop-heavy for his final dunk, having entered the contest knowing creativity was key to capturing public attention.” Evans’ initial idea for his finale “was to leap over a United States postal worker, tear a package off the backboard that contained a [Karl] Malone No. 32 jersey, then complete an ensuing slam honoring the Mailman.” Comedian Kevin Hart walked onto the court “dressed as a postman, proclaiming he had a special delivery.” Inside his package was Malone’s No. 32 jersey and Evans “draped the huge throwback over his light frame, ran along the hardwood, then leapt over Hart for a strong slam” (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 2/26).
GARDEN OF DELIGHTS: In N.Y., Marc Berman cites sources as saying that fans can “bet big on 2015” for Madison Square Garden hosting the NBA All-Star Weekend. NBA Commissioner David Stern has insisted that the $800M renovation “be completed before bringing the event to the Big Apple.” Sources believe the ‘15 game at MSG “is a virtual lock” (N.Y. POST, 2/27). SPORTING NEWS’ David Whitley wrote fans have to admit the NBA’s All-Star Game "is far better than any other sport.” The NBA realizes an All-Star Game “is largely mindless entertainment,” and it “doesn’t try to concoct meaning out of the meaningless, like baseball giving the winning league home-field advantage in the World Series.” Basketball, more than any other sport, “lends itself to putting on a show.” Still, Whitley wrote, “Do you want to see defense in an All-Star Game? It’s not supposed to be Princeton-Lehigh. It’s supposed to be Chris Paul throwing a pass off the backboard to Kevin Durant” (SPORTINGNEWS.com, 2/26).
