This could be fun.
The NBA All-Star Game is going through some major changes for this season, and it’s coming at the perfect time. Just as the league’s star power shifted heavily to the West, the NBA announced that it was doing away with the East vs. West All-Star format and going with captains.
This is a perfect idea. We’re coming off one of the more dramatic NBA offseasons in years, and this All-Star Game format will give players a chance to go against friends, frenemies and teammates. The potential is endless.
Sure, we have no idea what the All-Star teams will look like, but these are a few matchups we’d love to see.
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We already saw the awkwardness unfold last season as both players were on the same All-Star squad. That was fun and sort of weird. But I’m a proponent of straight-up aggressive rivalries rather than the passive-aggressive drama we saw from the All-Star teammates. Them playing against each other would be far more entertaining.
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If the All-Star format didn’t change, we’d likely have LeBron and Kyrie playing as teammates on the East roster. They can still be on the same team, which will again be awkward, but it would be entirely more fun to see LeBron going against Kyrie following the dramatic breakup.
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Yes, let’s break up the Splash Brothers and see what happens just for fun. Just this one time.
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This wasn’t a bitter breakup as much as it was the Knicks committing to Porzingis as the face of their rebuilding franchise. But you can’t honestly say you don’t want to see Carmelo (wearing the hoodie, of course) go iso on Porzingis in an All-Star setting.
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Hayward’s decision to go to Boston meant that he was giving up on the foundation he and Gobert built in Utah. But to be fair, Utah plays in the West… with the Warriors. Boston does not. While Hayward and Gobert play different positions, it would be interesting to see them on the floor at the same time. As you probably noticed, we’re looking for all the tension at this All-Star Game.
(Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)
(Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)
With the Hawks in a total rebuild, Schroder may be able to put up All-Star numbers this season. We hope he does, as do we hope he ends up playing against Thomas. The two players have a history, dating back a couple years. The 2016 playoff series between the Hawks and Celtics was littered with trash-talk (and physical clashes) between the two players. They just don’t get along.
