NBA: Commissioner Adam Silver Contemplating A Return To East vs West All-Star Game Format, Decision Pending – News18

The NBA All-Star Game might quickly return to an East vs. West format.

Commissioner Adam Silver mentioned Tuesday in a televised interview on ESPN that adjustments are coming to the All-Star Game — and whereas stopping in need of saying any choice has been finalized, he hinted that the present format of prime vote-getters serving as captains and drafting their very own groups could also be shelved.

“Maybe a return to something more traditional, in terms of how the teams are presented,” Silver mentioned within the interview on ESPN’s “First Take” program. “We went to sort of this captain-draft notion, but clearly, historically, it was East vs. West, so that’s something we are looking at.”

This season’s All-Star Game is at Indianapolis on Feb. 18. The league has not but introduced any format adjustments.

The first 66 All-Star Games all had the East vs. West format. The final six have seen the main vote-getters from every convention function captains who received to draft their groups; LeBron James served as one of many captains all six instances, with Giannis Antetokounmpo the opposite captain 3 times, Kevin Durant twice and Stephen Curry as soon as.

The final 4 All-Star Games have used a goal rating on the finish of video games, guaranteeing that the matchup ends on a made shot. Fourth quarters have been untimed; the winner is the primary group to achieve regardless of the main group had after three quarters, plus 24 factors — the 24 is a nod to Kobe Bryant’s final jersey quantity.

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The first yr of the goal rating format noticed a fourth quarter that was extremely dramatic. Last season’s recreation, nevertheless, was nearly utterly uncompetitive and have become a catastrophe when it comes to tv scores — partially as a result of among the largest names like James, Antetokounmpo, Durant and Curry all missed a lot or the entire All-Star Game due to damage.

“I mean, it’s fun to kind of get out there and do some dunks and stuff like that,” Utah’s Lauri Markkanen mentioned after final season’s All-Star Game. “But we’re all competitors. I think everybody would enjoy too if we just play against each other and it gets competitive.”

League officers mentioned final week that they’ve been stressing to gamers the significance of bettering the standard of the All-Star Game. It has been a speaking level for years, as has the slam dunk competitors — which received a severe shot within the arm final season when Mac McClung placed on a present for the ages.

“When you turn on an NBA All-Star Game, I think people expect to see some competition,” mentioned Joe Dumars, the league’s govt vice chairman and head of basketball operations. “There’s a happy medium somewhere between a hard-fought playoff game and what you saw last year. … When you have the reaction that fans had and people had around the game and just visually, it matters because it didn’t make the product look good.”

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It’s unclear when the league will finalize any All-Star Game adjustments.

“We’ve lost sight a bit that it’s about the game at the end of the day,” Silver mentioned.

(This story has not been edited by News18 employees and is printed from a syndicated information company feed – Associated Press)