Daily Babble: If the All-Star Game Is For the Fans, Why Are We So Upset?
by Steve Weinman on Jan 24, 2008 11:01 PM EST
in NBA Articles
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PrintCongratulations, KG. In his first appearance as an Eastern Conference All-Star, Kevin Garnett will be a starter, as was announced last night. Well done, sir.
Now, let the complaining about the other nine starters begin.
* * * * *
Fans have it pretty tough in 21st century professional sports culture.
To say that we are second-class citizens is a vast overstatement of the quality of treatment we receive from the establishment on a regular basis. From prices for tickets, merchandise, parking and any number of other expenses to regional coverage to owners like Donald Sterling and James Dolan to feeling like certain players care less than we do to the often questionable officiating to the unnecessarily late starts for certain games to what many perceive to be the watered-down quality of play, fans have a whole lot to complain about. Justifiably so on most -- not all, perhaps, but most -- accounts.
But the more I think about it, the more confused I become about why we choose to complain about the balloting for the All-Star Game amidst all else.
All of Steve's daily posts can be found in the CelticsBlog: NBA blog. Check him out!
When Donald Sterling butchers the Clippers by refusing to sign his young talents to long-term deals, the fans don't get a say.
When Mark Blount gets his contract extension and immediately stops caring, the fans don't get a say in how to deal with him.
When every game of the NBA Finals begins at nine o'clock in the East, thus preventing many young fans from seeing the conclusion of each game, no one gives the fans a vote.
Same goes for when the last two minutes of a game take 45 minutes thanks to the elongated timeouts. Or that traveling and palming are no longer in the rulebook. The list goes on. And on.
If there is any part of NBA basketball that is at least geared in part toward the fans (there are other motives, of course), it is the All-Star Game. When announcers, players and David Stern discuss it, they almost always refer to the weekend as "for the fans." That isn't just lip service. At risk of stating the obvious, the fans do control the game's starters. The fans get to see that wide-open fast-breaking, alley-ooping style that many seem to pine for with some regularity. They get to see the players they want to see doing it.
A year ago, I never could have written this column. At the time, I believed, as many still do, that what goes on with regard to All-Star voting is a travesty. I would have believed that it is ridiculous for a banged-up Dwyane Wade to be playing in the All-Star Game while other Eastern Conference swingmen are performing at higher level. Or that it is absurd for Erick Dampier to be several slots ahead of Chris Kaman in the balloting for the Western Conference's starting center.
Those concerns are very legitimate, but only if one goes so far as to make the dangerous assumption that there is some obligation for those selected for this game to be purely the best basketball players possible.
That is the assumption under which I had always thought about the All-Star Game, and that is why these issues used to be quite an irritant. The assumption, however, is a false one. In his book Basketball On Paper, Dean Oliver perfectly encapsulates the matter with the following commentary:
"MVP and Hall of Fame votes are not nor will they ever be only about quality of play. They shouldn't be. They are votes because they are popularity contests with quality of play as a contextual constraint" (6).
Frankly, I don't agree with Oliver with regard to the two examples he cites, and the MVP in particular, which should be about declaring the most valuable player to his team across the league. By definition, that is a quality of play-based award. It is for and about the players and the teams. However, Oliver's logic applies perfectly to the issue of All-Star voting. Quality of play is one factor among many that goes into the minds of fans when they make their votes, but when all is said and done, they pick the players they want to see.
And there is no reason why they shouldn't do exactly that. Yes, pundits have turned All-Star appearances into one of the many measures used to evaluate players, but that doesn't make it right, and that doesn't change the purpose of the game. The game is a meaningless exhibition for the purpose of making some money, highlighting both some of the best and most popular players in the game and giving the fans what they want.
That last phrase isn't something that is heard a whole lot in the field of professional sports these days.
Perhaps recognizing the situation for what it is and choosing to accept or reject it on those grounds would help make all of us fans more comfortable with what it is, especially those whom consider themselves diehards (self included) and often all into the trap of believing, correctly or not, that our judgment is more worthy than that of the casual fan. Because all fans -- from the uninformed to the bandwagoner to the casual to the diehard -- are paying customers and entitled to a vote.
For my part, just as I have done for the last three or four years, I probably won't watch more than a total of five minutes of the game, five minutes that will be spent hoping against hope that none of the Celtics involved get hurt. Maybe you'll watch it. Maybe you won't.
But hopefully you won't stress yourself about it. It isn't worth it, especially because, just this once each year, we've got the power!
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Yes, the All-Star games is one of the few on-demand services for the fans, at least the majority of them, I suppose. This fan in particular would rather watch a D-League game than the All-Star contest, but it has nothing to do with how the players are chosen. The wide-open, no defense style of ball has very little appeal to me, especially in a game that really counts for nothing except a few players’ bragging rights.
Listen carefully to what Tim Duncan says when he talks about the All-Star game. He is precise in trying to not offend anyone and say the right thing, but you can tell he could care less about having nine straight starts in the game. The contest is not designed for a player like him, which is exactly why it turns me off.
You can put the All-Star game in the same category with T-shirts projected into the stands, dancing bimbos aka cheerleaders, and blaring music during the games. There’s lot to like about pro basketball, but its All-Star weekend is best reserved for a good book or movie.
by lemonadesky on Jan 25, 2008 12:58 AM EST reply actions
lemonadesky,
I’m right with you all the way on everything you said. Your reasoning is exactly why, as I wrote in the column, I’ll be doing something else while the game is on.
I’m not suggesting we enjoy the ASG simply because we have the power, but that we choose to approach it on the grounds that it is a “show for the majority of voting fans” rather than some sort of convention of the best and most worthy ballers in the game. For folks like you and me — and I suspect, many on this board — that won’t make us like the game more, but I think it will make it easier for us not to waste the energy stressing about voting and who gets selected to go and whatnot.
Great last mini-paragraph on your part. Sums up the ASG quite well for me. Here’s hoping for no Celts injuries. Thanks for writing in as always.
-sw
Steve,
You actually changed my outlook on the ASG somewhat, and I agree, why not let the fans have this one? Basketball has become so much about revenue, profit margin, pushing the global platform, attracting the corporate accounts, and cheapening the experience of a game with flashy distractions, that the only thing really available for the fans anymore is a product that NBA think-tanks decide will appeal to the greatest number.
So… I’m all for giving the fans the power for this one weekend, and as bad as the All Star weekend has become, it is still the best All Star exhibition put on out of the 3 major sports.
Sure, there are always gripes about a starter or two (Kidd, Wade, possibly Iverson, Melo, Yao) but for the most part, the fans get it about 80% correct. That’s a pretty good rate. It is a shame that there are always guys that deserve to go, but get left out (especially when considering All Star honors go into things with much more meaning, like Hall of Fame induction) and that’s why I’ve argued for a year or two now that the rosters need to be expanded to either 14 or 15. (Okay, totally not the case in the East this year… they should just put the top 2 or 3 West snubs on the East team for all I care).
Anyways… keep up the good work. I made a threads for the Eastern Conference and Western Conference reserves and would love to hear your opinion on who should go if you have the time. You might be doing a whole column on the matter though…
I’d love to see the all-star voting process weighted. Fans who go to games should have a much larger say in the selection, and I’m someone who doesn’t go to many games. Fans who pay those ticket prices deserve a much larger voice. I enjoy the odd internet vote, enjoyed it more when it was new, so I do believe it should stay and that fans who don’t get to games should keep having say. It provides some enjoyment and that’s always a good thing. Just weight it.
I never have a problem with starters. They guys selected may not always deserve a start but nearly always they deserve to be at the game (or at least are a solid candidate like Allen Iverson this season) so I don’t see any problems with that.
As for the All-Star game it’s become a walking disaster. The players have stopped playing. It was never big into defense or anything but at least the effort was there. I can’t stand misplaced 40 foot lob passes (drives me nuts! I lose half a head of hair every year watching these!) and defenders just walking out of the way so someone can do something fancy. The league officials need to tell the players their behaviour isn’t up to snuff and that they need to try harder. Nobody likes being told they’re embarrassing a great tradition. The players will respond from well placed words. League needs to act.
nazzbo said:
the all star game is like eating at a chinese food buffet. when you’re younger you really like it because of all that’s there. when you’re older you know more about what you want and don’t want and you tend to skip the buffet and go where you know what you’re getting.
I find these comments highly offensive. I do, and will, always love Chinese Buffet. Come on! Fried Rice, Chow Mein, Egg Rolls, Beef and Broccoli, Orange Chicken… how can you go wrong???
nazzbo,
Big Ticket beat me to the punch. You are talking to the guy who is less than a year removed from getting his lips covered in frostbite courtesy of a four mile-walk each way to a Chinese buffet in 10-degree Midwest weather. Ultimately, my biggest regret is that I only ate two plates that day — if you’re going to put yourself out of commission for a week and a half, you might as well completely stuff your face.
That said, I get your point and appreciate the analogy. Thanks as always for writing in.
-sw
P.S. Big Ticket — I have a response coming for you, that I’ll likely post right here in the comments rather than on the threads, if that’s cool by you. A tad lengthy and likely to be posted after lunch, which is coming up shortly for me. But it is coming.
Big Ticket,
Thanks for the response and the kind words. It sounds like this column certainly got you reevaluating the approach you to take to the All-Star Game, and it is always gratifying to know people are thinking about my words.
As you may presume from the content of this column, I certainly don’t post this response with the attitude that I’ll be crestfallen or that it will be some sort of travesty if the players I select don’t make it to the ASG. Originally, I wasn’t even going to get involved with the discussion. But I read your comment (and then your threads) first thing this morning and had a meeting at 11 a.m. I didn’t hear a word of said meeting since i wound up spending all of it doodling out different possible All-Star reserve combos just for the fun of it and in hope of providing you a semi-coherent response. By 11:30, I was already considering the possibility of scrapping the East stars and building two full teams of West players to go against each other but realized that I would be crucified in these parts for removing KG from the contest and that it likely wasn’t fair to do the same to LeBron. So that’s my personal odyssey of the day.
As you may have presumed, my frame of perspective for my selections is that I am looking for the players who have most earned recognition for their good play thus far this season, essentially turning quality of play into the focus rather than a simple “contextual constraint,” as Oliver puts it. Now, on to the selections…
East
When I was writing out the combos, I didn’t remember who you had picked for each of the squads. Oddly enough, our East reserves are virtually exactly the same, with just one exception: I’ll take Antawn Jamison rather than Z. Bosh can count as a center, and Jamison and Caron Butler have done such a phenomenal job in carrying the Wiz sans Arenas that both deserved the nod in my eyes. Z is a nice player, but I really feel the only thing that puts him in this discussion is the East’s disturbing lack of center depth.
I’m apologizing to no one in the Eastern Conference. Several scorers are putting up sizable point totals for terrible-to-mediocre teams, but none have really established themselves on another level this season (Gerald Wallace, Jason Richardson, Michael Redd, VC, Richard Jefferson and a few others come to mind). Ray Allen has been a very important part of what is going on in Boston, but the fact is that he has shot the ball rather poorly for most of the season and has not had an All-Star caliber year. That isn’t any slap in the face from this Celts fan to Ray: I recognize what he means to this team, and I think he’ll only be more important down the stretch. But thus far, he isn’t an All-Star. We’ll save our surplus of apologies for the West..
West
Once again, we’re very similar here, although not entirely
Guard: CP3; I’m a day removed from naming him my first-half MVP…
Guard: Steve Nash; you said it best: “no explanation needed”
Forward: Carlos Boozer; This guy just keeps getting more dangerous, and he is in the midst of another excellent season, at 22 points and 10.8 boards per game.
Forward: Amare Stoudemire — I’m sure he is listed as a center on a voting ballot, and perhaps some will say I’m cheating here, but the man was listed for a longtime as an F/C and often played the four to Kurt Thomas at the five when Thomas was in town. I still feel like he has some cred here, and certainly he deserves to be on this team, but using him at this spot allows for both…
Center: Marcus Camby
AND
Center: Chris Kaman
Because my selection methods presumes a game focused on quality play, I can’t omit the reigning DPoY while he is playing at an even higher level than he was last year. Meanwhile, though Kaman was bound to get more touches in Elton Brand’s absence this season, the improvement of virtually every aspect of his all-around game is truly a marvel. To go from 10.1 points, 7.8 boards and 1.5 blocks per game and 45.1 percent shooting to 17.4-13.9-3.1-48.2 in a single season simply can’t be ignored. It has been an excellent year for big men in the West, and Kaman’s improvement is of great enough magnitude that it outweighs the fact that he is playing on a putrid team.
Finally, my last reserve, Guard: Brandon Roy. As you alluded to in the thread, this numbers aren’t even relevant with this guy. He is the driving on-court force behind this ongoing Portland resurgence. He is a leader who does a little bit of everything and does everything well. He has earned the spot.
Big-time apologies: Baron Davis, Deron Williams, Manu Ginobili, Stephen Jackson, Dirk Nowitzki, Tony Parker, Tyson Chandler (Camby should be his target…), Andrew Bynum (if not for the facts that he didn’t begin the season as a starter and that he got injured a week and a half ago, picking between him, Camby and Kaman could have been impossible)
Are we sure that we can’t just throw Jason Kidd, KG and LBJ out on this “Second Team All-West” and let them duke it out with the actual Western Conference team?
Much thanks for writing in Big Ticket, and thanks for provoking further thought on my end. Particularly enjoyed putting together my team from the West.
-sw
Thanks for taking the time to share these thoughts Steve… can’t say I really disagree with any one thing you said, we just have slight differences when it comes to the final 2 or 3 spots in each conference (mainly West), and when there is that much depth (again…mainly West), slight discrepancies in opinion are perfectly normal.
Maybe there needs to be some sort of designation added, where if a player receives a certain amount of votes/points (not sure how the coaching vote is formated), but not enough to make the top 7 reserves, then he gets a “Non-participating All Star” note for the season.
I say this because All Star honors really to come into play on some more important thinks (salary and incentive bonuses, future contracts, Hall of Fame induction) and players that are obviously deserving shouldn’t be completely void of this type of honor. Like most things in the world of sport, it’s not a huge deal, but it’d be a nice gesture to these players I think.
(The downside… some players would unfortunately be insulted by such a designation, saying something to the extent of “If you don’t vote me in, don’t insult me by saying ‘nice try’”. I say this based on Carmelo and LeBron both stating they were not interesting in being injury replacements in past years, because they thought they should’ve been chosen in the first place. Humility is yet another trait of Kevin Garnett that I respect to no end…)
Big Ticket,
No worries about the editing issues (your points are excellent as always, worry not about sweating the small stuff). Much thanks for getting back to me so quickly.
Your points are very valid regarding the issues of how ASG honors come into play with regards to issues of greater consequence. Frankly, I’m not really sure what the best way to go about crafting a solution there is. The fact is that if the game remains in its current form, it would be best for All-Star appearances simply not to be considered in discussions regarding Hall of Fame, contracts, etc. Sadly, it’s hard to see that happening. If the game could become a “invitation by quality of play only” event, I would be happy to see the players vote in the starters and the coaches pick the reserves. I think that ‘game recognizes game’ factor plus the coaches’ selections would really bringing meaning back to the nominations. But that won’t be happening anytime soon either.
Your suggestion is an interesting one. As you said, there are certainly some pitfalls to it, but it would definitely be nice to provide that recognition for those who don’t make the game. It’s an interesting discussion; thanks for your continued contributions.
-sw
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