by Julian Spivey and Preston Tolliver First Quarter: Was the new NBA All Star Game format a success? What changes would you make? Surprisingly! The All-Star game had some wrinkles in it that will need to be ironed out by this time next season, but overall, it was just what the NBA and its fans needed to process the grief that’s lingered since the Jan. 26 helicopter that killed Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna. It was also the shot in the arm that All-Star Weekend needed following a disappointing dunk contest the night before (at least when it came to the judging). The final 15 minutes of Sunday’s game made for the best and most entertaining half hour of All-Star programming in years, brought down only by the final basket, knocked in from the free throw line by Anthony Davis. When Davis sunk that free throw, the NBA fandom let out a collective groan - how a game so exciting and revitalizing and goddamn fun could end from a free throw was almost as disappointing as Dwyane Wade’s screwjob of Aaron Gordon the night before. Obviously the NBA can’t allow players to take the gloves off and start throwing haymakers for a dedicated foul-free game, but some solution is needed, even if it’s going as far as to say that free throws in the final quarter reduce the score of the other team, rather than increase the total for the team at the line. Further, while it was a great tribute to format the rules of the game nearly entirely on the legacy of Bryant, a part of grief is moving on. Naming the All Star MVP trophy after Bryant is a fitting testament to what he meant to the game, and it will be on the NBA to find a respectful way to leave it at that. PT I’ve never enjoyed a NBA All Star game as much as a I enjoyed the final untimed quarter of this year’s All Star game, which saw the leading team after three quarters needing to score 24 points (in tribute to Kobe Bryant) and the first team to hit that target score would win the game. Giannis Antetokounmpo’s team had a nine-point lead going into the fourth quarter, so I didn’t expect it to be as fun as it turned out to be, but Team LeBron James put up a big fight and eventually won the game. This was a last minute deviation from the normal NBA All Star game format, which is that of any other NBA game, but I don’t think the NBA should ever return to a normal game format for this exhibition. It was supposedly Chris Paul’s idea to have the NBA All Star game played with an Elam Ending, created by Nick Elam for a summer event called The Basketball Tournament. In that format the leading team only needs to hit a target score of seven points over whatever they had after three quarters. I don’t believe the NBA needs to keep 24 as the target score after this one-off tribute to Bryant, but I think seven points is a bit too easy for the best ballers in the world. Find something in between to shoot for and keep this format for the game. JS Second Quarter: Should the NBA Do Away with Timed Quarters and Play to a Set Score? The final quarter of this year’s NBA All Star game was exhilarating and had me thinking … is this the way basketball should be played? Think about it … when you pick up a ball and hoop with friends are y’all keeping time? No, you’re playing to a set score – first to 11 and must when by two or something like that. That’s how basketball is pretty much played worldwide when not a part of an organization like the NBA, NCAA, etc. I must admit, it would be pretty fun to watch two NBA teams go at it with the first to score 100 point win. It would also be a nice way to end blowouts early. But timed quarters are how basketball has always been played by leagues and I’ve never been a fan of completely changing how a sport is played. So, ultimately, I’m in favor of the NBA continuing to do things the way it always has – four timed quarters. I’ll just have to cherish the new All Star format, which I doubt is going anywhere, once a year and leave the games to a set score to the playgrounds of America. JS Nope, never, not a chance. The only time it works is as a gimmick. A novelty. An event to look forward to, like in the All Star game. Removing the time clock would change the dynamic of the game entirely, and not for the better. It would reduce competitiveness in games where the score isn’t as close and could hurt the amount of time players get to see on the court. It would also eliminate the best thing in basketball: overtimes. PT Third Quarter: Should the NBA Playoffs be 16 Best Teams Regardless of Conference? It seems more apparent each and every season that the NBA is getting close to changing up its playoff format. There are a couple of ways they might do it … they might have a play-in tournament for the final seeds or they might effectively do away with conferences and had the 16 best teams in the league make it. I don’t really want to see a play-in tournament for teams to have the right to be swept by the best team in the NBA, that just seems too gimmicky for me. I wouldn’t hate the idea of the 16 best teams in the NBA reaching the playoffs. The Orlando Magic are seven games under .500 and almost a lock to make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference. There have been years in the Western Conference where winning teams have missed the playoffs. This is a scenario where I wouldn’t mind the Magic missing out and a winning team replacing them in the playoffs … it only seems fair. However, the 2019-20 season isn’t one of those seasons to truly worry about. The Magic are currently 25-32 and likely to make the playoffs. The first team out currently in the West is the Portland Trail Blazers at 26-32. So, it’s not a huge crime this year for one of those teams to make it and another to miss out. I’m pretty torn on this. As I said, I don’t hate the idea of getting the best 16 teams into the postseason. But I also don’t like the idea of completely dismantling the conference system of the NBA. When it comes down to the end of the season, I want to see the best team from the West and the best from the East going at it for the championship. I think I’d just stick to the way it’s always been done. JS No, but I would be in favor of a tournament to fill the 7 and 8-seeds of each conference. Not only could it bring some needed excitement to the end of the regular season, but it could effectively fix the NBA’s problem with tanking teams, as even the worst team still has a chance in April. Besides, who doesn’t love a good Cinderella story? PT Fourth Quarter: Who’s the NBA’s MVP with a quarter of the season left to play? I’ve long felt that the MVP award shouldn’t necessarily go to the all-around best player on the best team, but rather the player who carries their team to unprecedented success despite the odds stacked against them. It’s one thing to be a successful player when you have help all around you. It’s another to be a successful player when you’re on a team full of ____. Giannis and Harden have dominated the MVP conversation for two years, and there’s certainly still a case to be made for the Milwaukee Bucks’ Greek demigod, but my vote this year (okay, my pretend vote that the NBA probably won’t consider) goes to the player who has little more to play with than Steph Curry’s less talented little brother and the ghost of Kristaps Porzingis. Luka Doncic has been the NBA’s best surprise over the last two years and has carried the Mavericks - who by all rights should be in lottery contention - to the 6-seed in the West (tied with the Oklahoma City Thunder, as of Friday). According to basketball-reference.com, Doncic is averaging 29 points, 8.6 assists, and 9.6 rebounds (that’s dang near a triple double, folks). Compared to the star power of Giannis and Harden and LeBron, Luka might be a dark horse MVP candidate, but he’s still a deserving one. PT
Preston had brought up something that’s frequently a debate, maybe so in another sport like baseball, but occasionally in the NBA too … what is the MVP? It stands for Most Valuable Player, which is why is choice of Luka Doncic makes perfect sense. But it’s often given as Most Outstanding Player, which I really don’t have an issue with. I think Giannis Antetokounmpo is both of those things in today’s NBA. He’s arguable the league’s best player, but I also consider him to be the most valuable to his team. Without Antetokounmpo I don’t think the Milwaukee Bucks are a playoff team. With him they currently have the best record in the NBA by a handful of games and have clinched the earliest playoff spot of any team in at least the last 15 years. Sure, the Mavericks aren’t a playoff team without Doncic either, but with him they’re only the seventh best team in their conference. Antetokounmpo is deserving of being the back-to-back MVP of the NBA, which would make him the 12th to ever do so in league history. JS
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