NBA All-Star Game improvements

[PhilaYank36]

As I'm sitting idly at my second job, I decided to print out all 42 pages of the Simmons marathon-charity chat (shows you how bored I am). At the top of the 30th page, some reader -- Kevin from Charlotte, NC -- posed a interesting question.

Kevin (Charlotte, NC): If you were [David] Stern, wouldn't you let every All-Star select a charity, and if their team wins, their charity gets $100,000? That way, the players would play hard because they would get blasted if they didn't and it would be a great PR move for the NBA. You could even show the players giving the check to their organization and spin it into a commercial...

Personally, I think this is a very noble idea. Everyone knows that Stern is extremely image-conscious and the amount of GOOD PR this would generate would be fantastic. If this idea was brought to the right people, how likely would it be for them to not only consider it, but actually putting it into practice?

PS - Simmons actually had an interesting idea himself, too. He takes a page out of the NHL's book and suggests a US v. World-style ASG. Everyone is crowing about how Americans' fundamentals are absurdly dreadful, and even a non-basketball fan like me would want to watch that. Thoughts?

 

[Mayfly]

Thanks for checking in, Kevin.

On a serious note, the US vs World idea could work, but the World roster might not be the most athletic you've seen in an All-Star game.

 

[PhilaYank36]

Sorry folks, I'm all polled-out for '07. Check back in a month or so...

 

[ondeadline]

Here's another suggestion: How about they decide to play some defense.

 

[heyabbott]

Thanks for checking in, Kevin.

On a serious note, the US vs World idea could work, but the World roster might not be the most athletic you've seen in an All-Star game.

Interesting
Nowitski
Nash
Yao
Ginobli
Duncan

v.

Howard
LeBron
Kobe
Iverson
Garnett

 

[Gutter]

Even though Duncan is from the Virgin Islands, he has been a member of the U.S. Olympic team ... so I imagine he would be on the U.S. squad.

 

[Chi City 81]

Even though Duncan is from the Virgin Islands, he has been a member of the U.S. Olympic team ... so I imagine he would be on the U.S. squad.

Shhh ... you're ****ing up 'Yab's point.

 

[heyabbott]

Even though Duncan is from the Virgin Islands, he has been a member of the U.S. Olympic team ... so I imagine he would be on the U.S. squad.

Shhh ... you're ****ing up 'Yab's point.

My point is that it would be a decent and interesting game. Nothing more or less.
I don't who you would sub for Duncan, Darko?

 

[Mayfly]

Even though Duncan is from the Virgin Islands, he has been a member of the U.S. Olympic team ... so I imagine he would be on the U.S. squad.

Shhh ... you're ****ing up 'Yab's point.

My point is that it would be a decent and interesting game. Nothing more or less.
I don't who you would sub for Duncan, Darko?

Kirlienko if they want defense.

 

[poindexter]

My charity would be the Patrick Ewing Champagne Room Foundation

 

[heyabbott]

My charity would be the Patrick Ewing Champagne Room Foundation

There's no sex in the Champagne Room.. NONE!

 

[playthrough]

How about the winning league gets home-court advantage in the finals? Ugh.

 

[BTExpress]

That's not as crazy as it appears.

At least in an NBA All-Star Game you can pick and choose who you want to play at crunch time.

That's impossible in baseball's All-Star Game, where the starters are long gone by crunch time and you have the 24th and 25th members of each team batting and pitching in the ninth inning.

And home-court really is important in the Finals . . . so it's not hard to imagine the players really playing harder because of it.

"Effort" really isn't a problem in a baseball All-Star Game. I can pretty much assume the guy getting his only at-bat in the 9th inning is trying as hard as he can.