AIR BALL — The Weekly Opine

What went down in Utah last Sunday should not be repeated. (Photo credit Sports Logos Net)

NBA (Not Basketball at All) All-Star Game

Like many basketball fans, I gave up watching the NBA’s all-star game several years ago. Oh, I’ll check in on the game while channel surfing. But ever since the Tinseltown entertainment factor eclipsed playing real basketball, the game is boring. In other words, the game feels like wallpaper supporting music performances, celebrities shooting hoops and camera-starved A, B and C-listers. Have you noticed the NBA’s Greatest Of All Time, Michael Jordan, does not show up to watch what the NBA All-Star Game has devolved into?

All-Star Saturday, featuring the skills competition, 3-point shooting contest and slam dunk contest, is still fun although too many of the actual all-stars are courtside fashion models, declining to participate in Saturday’s competitions.

For pundits struggling to settle the debate of basketball’s GOAT, consider this: Michael Jordan did not hide from the dunk competition. He relished going up against other greats, such as Dominque Wilkins, during Saturday’s showcase of the NBA’s most creative leapers. Vince Carter and Blake Griffin stepped forward, too. (Who can forget Griffin soaring over a Kia automobile on his way to the slam dunk title?)

LeBron? The King has never competed in the dunk contest, which, according to ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, serves to diminish the quality of dunk competition. LeBron, who acts as if he’s in a dunk competition during the pregame layup line, refuses to lace them up (chicken?) with his peers come All-Star Saturday. This reduces the perceived stature of the dunk contest. Without LeBron, other top players stay away, too. A domino effect. What you’re left with is a cast of relative unknowns.

This year’s dunk champ, Mac McClung, put on a dazzling display of acrobatic dunks. However, McClung isn’t even in the NBA. He’s on a G-League squad. And despite the usual overhype from today’s practitioners of overhyping everything, the impressive McClung did not save the dunk contest. With or without McClung, there will be a dunk competition next year.

Which brings us to last Sunday’s all-star game. It was an absolute farce. Who cares if Jason Tatum of the Boston Celtics set an all-star game record scoring 55 points? I could’ve scored 20, considering the open pathway to the rim players with the ball are granted by ‘defenders.’ To be blunt, the NBA All-Star Game is the worst basketball game you’ll ever see. Why the League would denigrate its own product with such an outlandish display of dreadful, pretend basketball is beyond me.

The late, great Don Cornelius, of Soul Train fame, would be envious of the NBA All-Star Game “line dance.” Players step aside, politely giving way so their ‘opponent’ can glide unopposed to the basket or take mostly uncontested shots from anywhere on the court. A lovefest unlike any in sports. And a huge turn-off.

High school all-stars take the game seriously. (Photo credit Brian Spurlock)

During the game, which I watched for a total of about 10 minutes, TNT showed a video clip of MJ and Kobe Bryant going at each other during an all-star game back in the day. Back then, the players used the game as a means of solidifying their position amongst the game’s alpha dogs. It was real mano-a-mano stuff. Legit ballin’.

Truthfully, the McDonald’s All American high school all-star game is infinitely better than the NBA game. In the McDonald’s game the players, many destined for just a year or two of college before heading to the NBA, are playing to prove they belong on high school’s biggest stage. The kids are hungry to improve their stature in the minds of NBA scouts. The coaches preach team ball and playing “D.” It is a real game of basketball with a nice mix of oohs- and aahs-eliciting passes and dunks.

The NBA players come off as lazy (play no defense), selfish (how does anyone score 55 of his team’s 184 points?), and clownish (laughing the night away). A camera shot of NBA Commissioner Adam Silver didn’t help. The commish, head buried in his mobile phone, was hopefully texting “fix this!” to his lieutenants.

Once an anticipated marker on the annual sports calendar, the NBA All-Star Game is an embarrassing hot mess.