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.
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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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