“I hate it, I absolutely hate it, it’s terrible!” With the All-Star Game, the format keeps changing and all of them are horrible from my point of view.” This is what Kevin Durant started when he discovered the new format of the All-Star Game. On Tuesday evening, the NBA announced that the traditional Sunday game was now replaced by a four-team tournament, with semi-finals and a best-of-40-point final.
The day after the Suns winger spoke, other All-Stars followed suit. First of all, we must remember that a month ago, Damian Lillard had already taken issue with this new formula. At the time, rumors spoke of a 40-point semi-final and a 25-point final.
Why mix All-Stars and non-All-Stars?
“The NBA suffers from a (player) effort problem in All-Star Games, and what is it doing? » asked Lillard on November 21. “It creates a formula in which players who are not All-Stars will play against All-Stars, and it shortens the match in a tournament where you will only need to score 65 points to win. These players are pros, we have to stop this shit! »
Now that it’s official, what does he think? “We have to see… I am aware of what we are trying to put in place. We want to bring competition into the Sunday match. We want to try to mix things up to make things pleasant. I’m a fan of the original side of things. But playing on Sunday remains something unique. The best players have earned the right to do it. Not everyone has this experience. Part of me wonders why change? »
Jason Kidd weighs his words, even if we sense that he is not a big fan of this 4-player tournament. “They’re trying to make All-Star more fun and competitive. I hope this is the answer, but they are running out of options. We can always return to an East – West match.”
Coming back to East versus West
Anthony Davis is more “cash”. “I don’t really like it!” I think we can get back to an East versus West match. There, it’s four teams, with several matches, and personally, I don’t think the players will appreciate it. But we’ll see…”
Finally, there are some who respond even more briefly. Like Ja Morant: “Just like KD!” “. As for Devin Booker, he sums up the general opinion: “It’s a change and it’s different…I’m more into nostalgia, and I agree with Kevin. I like when it’s East against West, and we play with our own jersey. I like the old jerseys. »
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