The NBA All-Star Game looked a lot different this year. Up until now, the event has been highlighted by a single game between the Eastern and Western Conference (outside of when the teams were drafted for a few years). But this season, they turned Sunday night into a four-game tournament, with three teams being made up of All-Stars and one Rising Stars squad. But there were flaws, and Jayson Tatum pointed one out.
Each game that was played was a race to 40 points, which made for some entertaining contests. Having a target score allowed the games to build anticipation, but the NBA missed the mark in one key area in the final game of the evening.
And Tatum spoke about it after the game.
Jayson Tatum didn't like timing of Inside the NBA tribute
The final game of the event saw the OGs take on the international squad, but it was a lopsided affair. By the time the game took its first break, the OGs were up 11-1. And that’s where the NBA made a mistake.
Instead of getting right back into the action after the commercial timeout, the league held a tribute for the cast of Inside the NBA, who was broadcasting their last All-Star Game. Kevin Hart handed out presents to Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, and Ernie Johnson.
Giving those guys their flowers was deserved, but the problem was the timing—they paused the game for 20 minutes just to hold the event. After the game, Tatum talked about how awkward it was.
“The toughest part was they stopped the game to do the presentation... We sit down for 20 minutes, whatever it was, it's kind of tough to get back into the game after that,” Tatum said. (H/t Noa Dalzell of SB Nation)
Obviously, games pause at half-time every night, but stopping a game randomly in the middle of the action for a 20-minute break after one team does up 11-1 is ridiculous.
The NBA could have given the Inside the NBA crew a tribute in between any of the games that they held that night. Instead, they waited until the middle of the game to do it, which completely broke the flow of the contest.
Tatum highlighted the issue, and it’s certainly something that the NBA should take a look at moving forward, though this year might be a one-off in terms of the type of situation, but nobody was happy with how much stoppage time there was on Sunday.
Jayson Tatum didn't like Rising Stars playing on All-Star Sunday
In addition, Tatum also questioned whether or not the Rising Stars should be playing on Sunday night, noting that it has always been a special moment for those who were truly named "All-Stars."
“I don’t know,” Tatum said. (H/t Khari Thompson of Boston.com) “I’ve got mixed emotions or feelings, I guess, about the Rising Stars part. Obviously happy for those guys, but it is something to be said and it is kind of a big deal to be in All-Star and play Sunday night.”
“Some guys get snubbed, other guys have to work really, really hard to make the All-Star game,” he added. “Playing on Sunday night is special and it always has been. I’m not saying that was the right or wrong decision. I think whoever we played in that first game, in the new format would have been competitive. So, trial run, I guess. But, they’ll continue to make tweaks or whatever.”
All in all, Tatum pointed out some of the issues that a lot of people had with All-Star weekend this year. It was kind of odd to see the Rising Stars play on such a big stage, and the pauses in the action definitely took away from the actual basketball being played.
The NBA has some relfection to do moving forward.