GOOD: SAN FRANCISCO SHOWED OUT: The Bay area is incredible. I’ve lived all over the country covering sports, working in different markets. Salt Lake City, Portland, Dallas, Detroit. I’ve covered all the major events in college and pro sports. Super Bowls, World Series, NBA Finals, Stanley Cup Finals, Final Fours, CFB bowl games and national championships. The Bay Area shines. There’s a reason why we pay these silly prices to live here. One upside to being a sports hobo is I’ve seen it all, covered most of it. She ain’t perfect, but she’s fighting back and most people would trade where they live for right here in the Bay. We’ll show off again for Super Bowl 60 next February, well done Bay Area.
BAD: NO CURRY IN THE 3-POINT SHOOTOUT;: Steph Curry makes few if any mistakes, but not being in the 3-point shootout on Saturday Night in San Francisco? I get it, he’s the unofficial host of the festivities. He’s almost 37, he has a team to carry post all-star break. Hey NBA, to get the best players in the highest profile competitions, give them more than a couple days off. Extend the break. Curry should be shooting threes. Give him more time post all-star break. He’s the face of the shot. He has to be in it, let alone in his home town. Some on Curry, some on the NBA.
GOOD: THE NBA TRIED: Can’t say that I loved the entire weekend format, but “A “for effort and innovation. The media is too cynical and I’m sure will rip the new format, but at least the NBA tried something new. The ratings and overall interest were down and the league tried. I have thoughts, but clearly they are trying to make it less about basketball and more about culture and entertainment. Not a bad first effort, keep trying to find the right mix. An all-star game is what it is, but it can’t hurt to try to shine it up.
BAD: TOO MUCH TNT: Love Inside the NBA. I realize the network is losing the NBA, but the show is going on and Ernie, Chuck, Shaq and Kenny aren’t dying. Talent comes and goes in this business and so do networks. I realize they carried the festivities so they can celebrate or have a funeral all they want. Wayyyy too much push about TNT and the ties to the NBA. Plus any filler between games by the TNT crew was painful and awkward. Did I mention Kevin Hart didn’t help? I will.
GOOD: CHUCK WAS ON HIS BEST BEHAVIOR : I told you last week the NBA would muzzle Charles Barkley and make sure he was on his best behavior. Strange how that works, a host city doesn’t want the highest profile media member on the network broadcasting the weekend to rip the host city as he’s done for years. Barkley said nice things and even put forth a big donation. I’m sure he still doesn’t like it much here, but he played nice for the weekend.
BAD: NO LEBRON FOR ALL STAR GAME Goes back to Steph Curry not being in the 3-point shootout. Make sure the marquee players, the OGs, have enough time to recover post all-star break. LeBron is one of the best players of all-time, he needs to play in the game. At the very least, suit up for the pictures, something he couldn’t be bothered to do, bad look. He waited until the press conference just hours before the game to make his choice public. Want to fix the weekend? Stars do everything. Don’t be afraid to compete. THe NBA needs to make sure the highest profile players play. Whatever it takes to do that, you do. More time off after the game is a fair trade.
GOOD: GOING BACK TO ORACLE ARENA FOR PRACTICES: Good to see Oakland get some much deserved love and for Steph Curry and others to genuinely get emotional when returning for the all-star practices at Oracle Arena on Saturday. The first time back there since the 2019 NBA Finals. Great touch.
BAD: GOING BACK TO MAC MCCLUNG TO SAVE THE DUNK CONTEST: McClung is an amazing dunker. He’s not an NBA player and that’s a problem. TNT and the league were trying to play up the Mac “three-peat” but what it really means is the true stars are too afraid of getting beat by Woody Harrelson to compete. The stars don’t want to get dunked on by a career G-Leaguer. The NBA can simply tell players as part of their giant contracts, that All-Star weekend “asks” are not asks, they are mandatory. How many days off does the players union need for the stars to really come out? Make a trade. Dunk, 3-point, skills and whatever else. It’s the marquess event and if i”m a major advertiser of the league, I don’t care about an Indiana-Denver Thursday night game, I bought into the league for stars doing star events. Needs to be fixed ASAP, an embarrassment for the league. The dunk will never be what it was in the height of Jordan, Dominque and others who wanted to prove they were the best, but as entertaining as McClung was, he isn’t an NBA player, he isn’t a star. In a star driven league this is supposed to be the Saturday night finale, your marquee high flying event in the most athletic league on earth. It’s really as simple as the best of the best participate and embrace the event.
GOOD: CELEBRATING MUSICAL ARTISTS IN THE BAY: Very cool celebrating E-40, Too Short , En Vogue and others before the All-Star final game. Music was on point all weekend.
BAD: KEVIN HART: Not funny at all, am I the only one who thinks that? Not as overexposed as Snoop Dogg, but damn close and I can’t get to the mute button fast enough each time another joke bombs. There has to be an up and comer who is funnier, more creative and more fresh than him. Does he have a lifetime deal with the NBA? Hopefully he goes away with TNT.
GOOD: THE ASG FORMAT WASN’T BAD: I liked the teams, I would like them to have more of a theme. A good start with OGs and Young Stars, just add World and team USA. Draymond is wrong about young players not playing on Sunday, the NBA needs to market the up and coming players. Needs some work, but players showed some intensity. I still like the Harlem Globetrotters aspect of showing off athleticism and crazy skills with more fun, but I must be in the minority on that.
BAD: NOT LETTING STEPH CURRY HIT THE FINAL SHOT: Curry was set to seal the game and the weekend when Shaq’s OGs needed one more hoop to win. Curry had just hit a half court shot and was ready for more flair to end it all with a circus shot to send Chase Center into a final frenzy and an MVP trophy. But a knucklehead zebra called a back court violation. Jayson Tatum scored on a ho-hum dunk to give the OGs the win a play later. Read the room ref.
The NBA tried something different, deemphasizing the game and playing up NBA entertainment and culture. I have no issue with it, and applaud them for trying something new, but the bottom line is for the weekend to max out, the stars have to shine. No Curry in the 3-point shootout, no LeBron in the game, means the league needs to extend the break. They have to play as part of their deals unless they are really hurt. Advertisers are going to complain. The NBA diamond event and Mac McClung wins the dunk contest again. That’s a a joke. The best dunkers have to dunk, period. San Francisco showed out, music was celebrated, Oakland was involved, Chuck not only shut his mouth, as I said he would, he embraced the Bay.
Hopefully it won’t be another 25 years. Well done San Francisco, well done Bay Area, keep trying NBA. Just remember, stars always shine.