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2001 NBA All-Star Game


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Monday, February 19, 2001
All-Star Weekend: Call it an exhibition, not a game



Each week in Dr. Jack's Prescription, ESPN analyst Dr. Jack Ramsay analyzes a team in distress. This week, however, the Hall of Fame coach was asked to break down All-Star Weekend and offer a cure for whatever ails the league's annual gala.

The Symptoms
If you are into basketball glitter and glitz, like to rub shoulders (make that your shoulders, their hips) with the NBA's rich and famous, can't wait to see the game's greatest stars display their consummate on-court skills, and are curious to witness other imaginative hoop activities, then get to our nation's capitol this weekend. It's the NBA All-Star extravaganza!

There's something at the weekend event for everyone. The Jam Session goes on every day, beginning Thursday at the Washington Convention Center. Playing courts are set up for all kinds of hoop contests and are open to all comers. On Friday night, receptions are held for All-Star participants, league officials and staff, and personnel from all 29 NBA franchises, their guests, and fans at the National Air and Space Museum, a fitting place for the high-flying superstars of the basketball court.

Game action begins Saturday afternoon at the MCI Center with the Rookie Challenge, which matches the best of this year's rookie crop against the leading second-year players not playing in the All-Star Game. At night, shooting contests take place. First comes 2ball, a game in which an NBA player joins a WNBA teammate from the same franchise location to take alternate shots from specified locations on the court in a one-minute span. The contest involves eight two-person teams.

The next action is the Shootout from 3-point distance. Eight of the NBA's most accurate long-range bombers compete to determine who's the best from 22 feet. The evening concludes with the Slam Dunk contest, which this year features the NBA's young aerial specialists, who will match creative methods of throwing a basketball through the hoop from far above the rim. There's $25,000 waiting for the winners of each of these games, plus runner-up money too.

The NBA's 50th All-Star Game takes place at the MCI Center on Sunday at 6 p.m. ET. The East holds a commanding 33-16 All-Star lead, but the West has basically the same dominant talent as last year, when it won without much opposition.

The Diagnosis
There's much to like about All-Star Weekend. When I first entered the NBA, I was general manager at Philadelphia and had the responsibility of organizing the All-Star activities in 1970. The focus then was more on the game itself. Today, the game and its associated activities are a huge undertaking.

Later, as a coach, I enjoyed the "reunion" of old friends from around the league that came together at that three-day break in the hectic schedule.

Now, as a media representative, I'm well aware of the expanded schedule of activities and the enormous interest that surrounds them. I have not heard an official count of the number of participants in the annual Jam Sessions, but as I walked through the facilities in recent years, I was surprised by their numbers and the level of their enthusiasm.

I'm not a big fan of the All-Star Game itself, but I may be too much of a basketball purist to appreciate how much fun it is for the players. John Stockton said recently he always considered it a great honor to be chosen and a fun game to play. "It takes no preparation. You don't have to think about it. You just go out and play," was how the wondrous playmaker described it.

It's more of an exhibition than a game. While winning is OK, it's not the players' main focus. They are at the game to enjoy themselves. It's different for the coach. I coached one All-Star team (1978). My West team held a comfortable lead after each of the first three periods. Then I sensed a few of my players, feeling the game was won, started playing for the MVP award instead of the victory. As it turned out, we lost the game, and the MVP was Randy Smith of the East squad.

Those things probably won't ever change, and that's all right. The game is mostly for the fans, who seem to enjoy watching what are mostly one-on-one challenges offered and accepted. If I were to coach the game again, I'd sit back and enjoy it, too.

I like the Rookie Challenge because the players on both teams go at it hard. The rookies want to show they can play in the NBA; the sophisticated sophs like to demonstrate their newly-acquired "veteran" status.

The Shootout is exciting to watch. It takes a combination of a deft shooting touch, physical stamina and extreme focus to fire home enough shots from 3-point distance to win in the one-minute time segments allotted. There are some great shooters in this year's contest.

However, 2ball is pretty dull, although I'm impressed with the ladies' ability to knock down perimeter shots.

My pet peeve is the Slam Dunk contest, which is more of a gymnastics display than a test of basketball skills. Players are permitted to run with the ball from half-court, grab the rim or backboard, then dunk the ball in a variety of spectacular ways. Why not allow a trampoline used by the guys who put on dunking shows at halftime? There's also too much time devoted to each attempt. I get bored watching it. I sense the fans do too.

The Cure
Jam Sessions are great. Change them only to allow for greater participation and to make them more accessible to a larger number of fans.

Make 2ball a real two-on-two game, yet using the NBA-WNBA teams. Let them play an all-out, two-on-two half-court game with a time or point limit to determine the winner. I think fans would find it exciting, the players would enjoy it, and everyone would come away with a greater appreciation for how far the women's game has advanced.

Keep the Shootout as is. The format is good, and the prize money and prestige are enough to guarantee the participation of the game's best long-range shooters.

Stay with the Rookie Challenge. It's a huge improvement over the traditional old-timers games, which were often poor, sometimes embarrassing, displays of basketball.

Require Slam Dunk entries to follow the rules of basketball. They must dribble the ball to advance it, may not walk with the ball, nor use the backboard or rim to help them improve their shooting position. Contestants need to be rotated, so there is a limited time gap between dunk attempts.

Keep the All-Star Game as it is, but let's call it an exhibition rather than a game.

Keep all the social activities, but make it mandatory for each NBA alum to make contact with a minimum of 100 former associates -- and no one goes home until he or she does that.

ALSO SEE
Dr. Jack's Prescription: Pistons

Dr. Jack's Prescription: Hornets

Dr. Jack's Prescription: Jazz

Dr. Jack's Prescription: Grizzlies

Dr. Jack's Prescription: Nuggets

Dr. Jack's Prescription: Nets

Dr. Jack's Prescription: Heat

Dr. Jack's Prescription: Sonics

Dr. Jack's Prescription: Bucks

Dr. Jack's Prescription: Raptors




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