All-Star Whaaaattttt???

[NC_Uconn_Fan]

Baseball's AS game is still baseball how it is meant to play. Pitchers still throw hard and throw all pitches. Hitter have professional at bats and fielders make plays.

NFL has gotten better in recent years, but it is understandable for players to not go 100% in a scrimmage football game. No guaranteed contracts and shorter careers. Too easy to get hurt.

The NBA AS game is a joke right now. That game was an embarrassment, that is not basketball. Wide open lanes, no defense, players hanging back to get quick dunks. I'm not saying they have to play lock down D, but have to play some D.

 

[Mr. French]

The NBA all-star game just became THIS level of a joke in the last 10 years or so, maybe even 5 ...

I remember watching 90s - 00s all star games that were fun,they allowed different stuff i.e. Shaq running the break, T Mac off glass, Magic/Michael in their final games banging 3s ...

The last couple times I watched any of it, it's like each possession is "here, do something cool and us 9 guys will literally get outta the way and watch" which is not a game.

I've played in all star games or alumni games or whatever, and you can play for fun and entertainment while still actually playing a game.

And I've always been that way, even when playing pickup. There is no fun to a pickup game that's as I described. it can be fun, light, entertaining and not going balls to the wall while still being somewhat of a "game."

 

[champs99and04]

People will try to make this a generational thing, but as recently as five years ago, LeBron was playing the fourth quarter of the all-star game like it was game 7 of the finals. He actually got mocked for how hard he was trying, and the other guys - Kobe, Durant, Westbrook, Wade, Paul, etc. - seemed to follow suit. Until the last couple years, this was actually close to a must watch event for me.

The baseball comparisons are a no go for obvious reasons. Pitchers are throwing one, two innings at most, and baseball is a difficult sport to half-ass your way through as there isn't a lot of cardio to begin with. If you want a fairer comparison, watch the hockey ASG - it's even worse.