Chris Paul is just as unhappy about the lack of competitiveness as the fans.
Chris Paul is one of the most notoriously competitive NBA players out there. Everybody in the NBA hates losing, but few reach the psychotic levels Paul reaches during an NBA season. He wants to win in absolutely everything he does from basketball to a game of checkers. So it makes sense that Paul, a multiple time All-Star, watched this year’s All-Star game and got disgusted at the sight of it.
Nobody tries in the All-Star game, but this year that lack of effort reached new heights. It used to be that the the first three quarters were filled with highlights and showtime, but when the fourth rolled around pride usually kicked in and players would give at least some effort.That didn’t happen in this year’s game and the lack of competitiveness has been a hot topic of conversation in many NBA circles. Paul himself felt so strongly about
That didn’t happen in this year’s game and the lack of competitiveness has been a hot topic of conversation in many NBA circles. Paul himself felt so strongly about it that he called NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.
Adam Silver said union president Chris Paul reached out to him day after ASG said something has to be done to make gm more competitive
— Chris Herring (@Herring_NBA) March 3, 2017
Paul is meant to represent the players so it’s interesting to hear that he came out in opposition of a game so many of them don’t take seriously. Silver, however, seemed in favor of the idea and threw out a couple ways to make the game a little more exciting.
Silver just floated the idea of adding a 4-point shot in the ASG, or even a 10-point shot from halfcourt in the final minute of the game
— Chris Herring (@Herring_NBA) March 3, 2017
(Get impression he was kidding about the latter, but whatever)
— Chris Herring (@Herring_NBA) March 3, 2017
The halfcourt shot was probably just a joke, but adding some gimmicks to the game might help the players have a vested interest in keeping the game at least close enough to try in. However, adding gimmicks doesn’t really fix the issue of effort. Silver doesn’t have a solution to that yet, but he does say he’d like to see a change of some kind in how the game is approached.
Adam S on ASG: "It shouldn't be playoff intensity, but guys should be (competing)." #ssac
— Howard Beck (@HowardBeck) March 3, 2017
It’s nice to see that Paul and Silver care about the product that’s being put on national TV, but there isn’t an easy solution. The game means nothing and no player is going to risk even the smallest chance of injury over something so meaningless.
Next: 5 questions with Neil Paine at the 2017 Sloan Sports Conference
Silver and Paul can try to come up with ways to make the game mean something, but when baseball tried that everybody hated it. At the end of the game, the All-Star game is an All-Star game and it’s never going to matter enough to create real competition.
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