NBA All Star Game Thoughts

The 2006 NBA All Star Game is in the books, and it was an enjoyable watch for a change. That is my opinion, but typically, the All Star game is pretty stupid and is only good for 1 or 2 big dunks or Harlem Globetrotter-style plays. Not this time. There was the traditional sloppy play and careless show-off mistakes that frequent every All Star Game, but there were of a couple of events in this game that personally had me very entertained this time around.

The first one was watching the Detroit Pistons’ starters come in and practically go head to head with the West All Stars. My first impression when the Detroit guys entered the game was: “wake me up when they sit back down”. Unfortunately I forgot about the team style of play that they brought to the court and displayed while most of the other players in the game were show boating. It was almost like a clash of styles, and it was interesting to watch. This would prove the most relevant later in the game when they actually played some defense in a usually defense-less game. It helped get the East back into a game that looked like it was over.

The other story of the night was the MVP chase. Tracy McGrady looked like he had this thing wrapped up for his home team mid-way through the 3rd quarter. He finished with 36 points and his teammates were going out of their way to get him the ball so the Houston fans would be proud with a home team MVP. Unfortunately for him, Cleveland’s LeBron James was bringing rain from downtown and helped dig the east out of a 21 point hole to steal away a victory for the East and gain MVP honors. With 29 points and tough play all around, LeBron (along with the Pistons) helped deliver a victory that was otherwise thought to be lost.

As a Cavs’ fan, this made me pretty happy. For now, it is a dream to have this guy on my team and I hope he stays here for the duration of his career until he retires and comes back old and irrelevant with another team, like MJ did with the Wiz. This game made me proud as a Cavs’ fan. It is typically a pointless game, but LeBron’s MVP in the All Star Game just continues to prove that he is light years beyond most other players at his age (21) and is on a path to be one of the best of all time. Now let’s get a championship in Cleveland already!