In the languor of another NBA all-star weekend, what I look to most has always been All-Star Saturday night. It was entertaining and unpredictable, some of which was tarnished last year, but it has always stood out for me as the real important and memorable even of All-Star weekend. This year, much care has been taken to re-instill hype into All-Star Saturday night's festivities with a competitive field for the 3-point shootout, Chris Paul's challenge for the skills competition, and NBA golden child Blake Griffin bringing the boom back to the dunk contest. Saturday night seems set, but the All-Star game Sunday threatens to be ho-hum. Last year's event was on a grand stage in front of 107,000 and this year the game is in LA, why not do a Hollywood swap and shake up the teams. The NHL All-Star game shook things up this year with a "team captains" system where teams were chosen by the players. Fans loved it, the entertainment value of the selection process was TV gold, and the game was a huge success. If this scenario were to be employed imagine a Kobe vs LeBron team-picking scenario? Imagine Kobe had first pick and took Wade? Imagine the possibilities... with that being said, here are three other All-Star scenarios that I feel could spice up the game and breathe some life into the Sunday night festivities as well,
Nike vs Adidas
PG: Chris Paul vs Derek Rose (Adidas)
SG: Kobe Bryant vs Chauncey Billups (Adidas)
SF: LeBron James vs Josh Smith (Adidas)
PF: Dirk Nowitzki vs Kevin Garnett (Adidas)
C: Amare Stoudemire vs Dwight Howard (Adidas)
6: Carmelo Anthony vs Tim Duncan (Adidas)
7: Kevin Durant vs Eric Gordon (Adidas)
8: Pau Gasol vs Raymond Felton (Adidas)
- this one maybe a little unbalanced, it was a little harder to find appropriate All-Star substitutes for the Adidas side. The Nike side on the other hand could have at least three teams full of players who are arguably NBA all-star talent. Nike definately has the monopoly and that's why it would be so fun to see an ADIDAS upset led by Dwight and D-Rose. It would be huge for sponsorship money too for the NBA and for the players, but would it be overly commercializing?
No Tattoos vs Tatted Up
PG: Chris Paul vs Deron Williams
SG: Dwyane Wade vs Kobe Bryant
SF: Kevin Durant vs LeBron James
PF: Dirk Nowitzki vs Kevin Garnett
C: Dwight Howard vs Amare Stoudemire
6: Steve Nash vs Derek Rose
7: Manu Ginobili vs Carmelo Anthony
8: Ray Allen vs Chris Bosh
- this matchup actually provides some interesting possibilities but provokes a subculture bias and argument. I don't want either of these teams to win. David Stern would never approve for fear that a tattoo-led team would trounce the good old boys, and the NBA would again decline into that horrible, early 00's gangsta culture all over again. I would have fun though, and the NBA needs to get some anti-culture flare back, it's getting too mainstream anyways...
High School vs One and Done vs Sophomore+
PG: Monta Ellis vs Derek Rose vs Chris Paul (2yrs)
SG: Kobe Bryant vs Kevin Durant vs Dwyane Wade (2 yrs)
SF: LeBron James vs Carmelo Anthony vs Blake Griffin (2 yrs)
PF: Amare Stoudemire vs Chris Bosh vs Al Horford (3 yrs)
C: Dwight Howard vs Kevin Love vs Tim Duncan (4 yrs)
6: Kevin Garnett vs Brandon Jennings vs Paul Pierce (3 yrs)
7: Josh Smith vs John Wall vs Ray Allen (3 yrs)
8: Tyson Chandler vs Tyreke Evans vs Deron Williams (3 yrs)
- these lineups speak for themselves, I tried to include some guys that wouldn't normally be here too. What method best prepares players for the NBA we'll find out if Stern was right and if the NCAA is really necessary...
No comments:
Post a Comment