Main Takeaways From NBA All-Star Weekend In Cleveland

As I walked through downtown Cleveland on Sunday night, ice and slush scattered along every sidewalk, something just couldn’t escape my mind.

That was incredibly cool to see. Kudos to the NBA.

The individual performances and sharpshooting display in the 2022 All-Star game were obviously dominating conversations. But, just in general, the NBA bringing together a vast majority of the legends recognized in the 75th anniversary ceremony was a massive deal. You just rarely get to witness Hall-of-Famers from each NBA era on the same stage, celebrating each other.

Despite the selection process having a few drawbacks, which we won’t get into right now, the league really made the “NBA 75” as nostalgic and prestigious as you’d expect. It capped a memorable All-Star weekend in a city currently enjoying their Cavs’ resurgence.

Here’s a few things I took away from the three-day event.

No other league showcases and promotes its young talent quite like the NBA

Growing up an NBA fan during the mid-2000s, it was obvious who ruled the league. The talent pool was older, on average, and the focus of All-Star weekend was primarily the veterans of the NBA — Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, and Allen Iverson immediately come to mind. The sport was yet to enter a revolutionary period where otherworldly athleticism and supreme offensive skill-sets would alter the style of play and, ultimately, change what’s considered “cool” to the younger generation of fans.

Everything seemed to shift during 2014-15, the one year there was no prohibitive favorite in the NBA prior to the season starting. That’s when I started to notice more “player fans” around the league versus the traditional die-hards of a certain team.

That was also when the NBA began to look fresher with talent. By 2015, the one-and-done college path had already been taken by a lot of young stars. All of a sudden, the All-Star rosters included more high-flyers, more dynamic shooting big-men who wouldn’t dare attempt the same number of threes had they played 10 years ago, and flashier players who put the crowd in disbelief.

Go watch an All-Star event from 2008-2010. Compare the level of athleticism and raw offensive talent on the floor to what we see in today’s game. We’ve seen remarkable evolution in a relatively short amount of time.

Just sitting back and marveling at Ja Morant’s explosiveness, Trae Young and Luka Doncic’s combination of lethal shooting and top-flight playmaking, or the level of maturity from three-level scorers such as Devin Booker and Jayson Tatum, you wouldn’t be able to comprehend all of them being 25 or younger.

Those are just from the Sunday night All-Star game, too. Factoring in the new-look Rising Stars competition, which featured four different teams each comprised of five players (in their first or second NBA seasons), the league is successfully drawing attention to its new faces.

With the influx of young, budding stars in today’s game, these All-Star events also give the NBA an opportunity to highlight players from smaller markets that might not get a ton of recognition throughout the season. The league is diligent when it comes to including someone from all 30 teams in their weekend festivities. It’s not always possible, especially if a team is embracing a rebuild (in other words, tanking), but it’s one of their top priorities.

This gives non-playoff teams such as the Orlando Magic, Indiana Pacers, and Oklahoma City Thunder – as well as their respective fanbases – a chance to get behind their guys on the national stage.

Or, for a team like the Memphis Grizzlies, who are currently thriving in the Western Conference, the Rising Stars competition was a chance to celebrate Desmond Bane. So far this year, Bane has arguably been the Grizzlies’ second-best player but didn’t have a realistic shot at the 12-man All-Star roster. Considering Memphis wasn’t granted a ton of nationally-televised games this season, this type of exposure was great for the 23-year-old that should already be a household name.

Watching Cade Cunningham steal the show by leading his team to the Rising Stars victory was another moment for casual NBA fans to enjoy, especially since Detroit isn’t dominating the national attention. We also got an exciting look at Houston’s Jalen Green, Jae’Sean Tate, and Alperen Şengün. In the case of Şengün and Green, it’s clear the Rockets have two studs at ages 19 and 20 with plenty of time to develop into All-Star caliber talents.

When Dwyane Wade and Dirk Nowitzki retired, it was a frightening signal to viewers my age. The majority of our childhood stars had either hung up their jerseys or appeared to be on their way out.

Given how wildly popular the NBA has become for the younger audience, shifting a lot of the attention to up-and-coming superstars and elevating their platform during All-Star weekend has been a great marketing approach.

Okay, a new Saturday night format is desperately needed

Look, I am not here to scream or complain about the lack of enjoyment the Slam Dunk Contest provided.

Hold on. Maybe that’s exactly how this will sound.

I’m certainly not trying to say it should be exiled entirely from All-Star weekend, to be sure. The dunk contest is an NBA tradition. It has been for 38 years, dating back to the inaugural 1984 competition won by Larry Nance Sr.

However, it’s perfectly okay (and fair) to admit it has fallen flat way too many times over the last decade. There have been major exceptions, notably when Zach LaVine and Aaron Gordon decided to shake the Earth every time they took off and glided in the air.

For the most part, though, the dunk contest has proven to be stale. This past Saturday was probably the lowest of the lows. With every “attempt” by Jalen Green and Cole Anthony that ended in a botched catch, poorly-timed takeoff, or simply a missed dunk, the boos inside Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse grew louder and more intense.

The disgust from the crowd that accompanied each cringe-worthy attempt eventually became uncomfortable. It reached the point where fans were no longer voicing their displeasure. Instead, it became quiet. You could almost hear side conversations from a full section over when the arena host wasn’t trying to motivate the dunkers. Instead of hearing the collective booing from the crowd, it turned into a stand-up comedian’s worst nightmare filled with awkward “Okay … what now?” faces. The silence was deafening.

After nearly four decades, it’s reasonable to suggest the creativity factor within the dunk contest is gone. That’s just what happens after you see the same type of dunks over and over. It’s not like today’s younger players, although more athletic than ever before, will be able to develop superpowers and leap eight feet in the air. There is a limit on what a human being can do.

So, that’s why a change to the Saturday night schedule, or format, is needed.

The NBA should look into taking a break from the dunk contest. Not a permanent removal. Just a new schedule that gives us a different event each year.

They could treat it like the Olympics, where the dunk contest would only appear at every third or fourth All-Star weekend. Put it in a rotation with other events — one being a “King of the Court” tournament, where we can see 2-on-2 or 3-on-3 battles.

Anything to spice it up, at this point. Perhaps a way to rejuvenate the dunk contest is to give players and fans a chance to miss it first.

Or, if there’s no intention of going away from it, then it might not be a bad idea to start implementing rim-protectors into the dunk contest. In the words of Gregg Popovich, it’s time to see some nasty. Let’s shake things up a bit and provide some drama.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are on their way to being a special unit

It’s legitimately astounding the Cavaliers have fast-tracked their rebuilding process in this manner. They just weren’t supposed to be this good this soon. Even if you were looking through the most optimistic lens, a team currently led in minutes by rookie Evan Mobley has no business being in a homecourt seed.

Yet, at the All-Star break, Cleveland is fourth in the East and currently on pace for 49 wins. Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff not only deserves strong consideration for Coach of the Year — it will be tough ranking him, Monty Williams, and Taylor Jenkins — but he’s also proving to be the perfect voice and leader for this young Cavaliers group.

Bickerstaff’s gargantuan lineups featuring Mobley and Jarrett Allen are holding teams to 104.6 points per 100 possessions, per Cleaning The Glass, which ranks in the 92nd percentile among the stingiest lineups this season.

Not enough has been made of Mobley coming into the league and wasting no time elevating himself to a positive-impact player, particularly on defense. Twenty-year-old centers often go through a pivotal learning curve when they start facing veteran guards that have no fear of attacking them at the basket, or savvy bigs who know exactly how to draw fouls on rookies and get them parked on the bench.

Only 50 games into his career, Mobley is contesting everything at the rim. He’s currently fifth in the league in total rim attempts contested. When he’s not saving the back line from a layup or dunk, he’s switching onto the perimeter and illustrating his mobility that makes him such a tantalizing prospect. When the Cavs’ defense gets put in heavy rotation, he’s not shying away from making strong, controlled closeouts in the corner to prevent an open three.

Allen, who has five years of experience between his tenure in Brooklyn and now the highest-paid Cavalier, just made the All-Star team by holding ground as one of the best paint protectors in basketball. Among all 44 players this season to defend 200-plus attempts within five feet, Allen has the sixth-lowest percentage allowed (51.3%). Out of all starters, the only players with a better contest rate are Rudy Gobert, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Jaren Jackson Jr. That’s quite an accomplishment for someone about to turn 24 in April, and a center the Cavs have under contract for four more seasons.

Darius Garland, the head of the snake for Cleveland, also made his All-Star debut on Sunday. Averaging 21.9 points and 8.6 assists per 75 possessions in his third years, Garland made the 12-man roster despite the East having a loaded backcourt.

Because of Garland’s playmaking out of the pick-and-roll and quickness to get into the paint to break down the defense, he’s been the most important player for this surprise team. Although his efficiency at the rim hasn’t improved from last year, it’s Garland’s sizable leap as a three-level scorer that has made him a more difficult cover. He’s up nearly 13 percentage points from last season in floater range efficiency (40.8% to 53.7%), along with an important jump in mid-range jumper accuracy (42.6% to 51.7%).

The Cavs were represented by all four of Mobley, Allen, Garland, and Isaac Okoro in some capacity during All-Star weekend.

And, predictably, the fans loved every bit of it.

No, they actually lost their minds any time the young Cavs were introduced or made a play. Not just ‘we’re proud that our guys are up on the stage with the big dogs’ type of appreciation. From every roar in the crowd and jersey spotted in the concourse, it resembled the same kind of love the fanbase had for the Kyrie Irving, LeBron James, and Kevin Love squad.

The city of Cleveland actually believes it has a shot in this wide open Eastern Conference. It didn’t take long for a positive outlook and genuine feel-good story to take place in The Land after losing their greatest player in franchise history less than four years ago, and making two coaching changes since October 2018.

Stephen Curry is still the best show in all of sports

One moment, he was standing on the stage listening to thousands of fans voice their displeasure with his three championship rings. About two hours later, he had everyone in the arena pulling out their cell phones, laughing in sheer disbelief, and most importantly, feeling very fortunate they paid the price of admission.

Steph Curry isn’t just under contract to play basketball. His job for the past decade-plus has included giving fans a show nobody else can replicate. He is Michael Jackson in the 1980s, the king of his craft. He is Mike Tyson in the eyes of his opponents, the baddest man on the planet.

For as much skill and effective scoring he brings to his team, Curry’s number one trait is the entertainment he provides viewers. And there are zero duplicates. Zero rivals. Only knockoff versions.

Every professional athlete, whether they like to admit it or not, has a level of showmanship while they’re working. If players let it go too far, however, they run the risk of seeming arrogant when the audience would prefer some humility in their attitude.

Curry simultaneously exudes both, which is nearly impossible when you’re literally the greatest at what you do. His uncanny skill-set and split personality, at least on the court, allow him to toggle between unselfish teammate and world destroyer.

On Sunday, he walked away with the Kobe Bryant All-Star Game MVP trophy after scoring 50 points on 16-of-27 shooting from beyond the arc. Drilling 16 triples in 36 minutes seems unfair to the rest of the league and human population, but there really isn’t anything Curry could do anymore to surprise us.

Among those 16, two were launched from 36 feet. Five came from between 30-33 feet.

Launching pull-up threes from a step inside the halfcourt logo is one thing. It’s another thing to turn around as the shot reaches its apex, and feel the confidence flow down your spine to the point where you don’t need validation of looking at the target.

All he has to do is watch the crowd’s reaction, hold up three fingers, and wait for the sound of a ball snapping through the nylon – something he will never get tired of hearing.

None of us will, either.