the score read 152-149, to the West, and like all good All-Star games there was a heart-stopping finale, but the script of the game was much more than that.
my take before the game was this year's Eastern starting five would be too strong for their counterparts. yes no one takes the All-Star game seriously, but it's not always you get such a disparity in resources.
granted, the West had Kobe, Durant and CP3, but the lineup was completed by Griffin and Bynum. one's a sophomore who's a starter by way of his incredible dunking abilities, but far from the finished product. the other might be probably the league's second-best centre now, but it's no longer a centre game.
the East however owned a list that read LeBron, Wade, Carmelo, 'Superman' and the superlative MVP Rose.
as it turned out, there were a whole bunch of dynamics to take into consideration. the West All-Stars turned the East turtles on their backs from the word 'go'. LeBron and Wade were obviously here to have fun; this occasion is for the spectacular, rendering Superman a fish out of water; Carmelo and Rose visibly lacked game fitness.
and, the key difference was the opposing team possessed Kobe and Durant, probably the two most effective and efficient scorers in NBA now. in between having fun and the mandatory alley-oops, they didnt forget to rack up their baskets.
and like i noted, starters. when it comes to the bench though, the West's more than matched their rivals. Bynum didnt last long and there were Dirk and Love, of starter quality, to deputise. the three guards warming the bench were none other than Westbrook, Parker and the still-effective Nash.
i'll skip the jokers, but the best the East's could offer were Deron, Bosh, Rondo and 'The Truth'. okay Bosh is a joker too, in my opinion. Pierce in all honesty barely made the cut for this year's All-Star, while Rondo is off form. and these two point guards got a lot of minutes in Rose's place.
by halftime, it was 88-69. the West's counter is a record for one half in an All-Star game.
luckily, the good ol' fellas ensured it wasnt a washout. LeBron and Wade took over in Q3, leaving everyone for dead (except Durant). suddenly, we're all reminded once again Miami should be winning titles, not playing second fiddle.
near the end of the game the East All-Stars had incredibly cut the 20+point deficit to a single, soaring on the back of LeBron's 36 points and Wade's triple-double (only the third in history).
even if you're a critic of the fancy that's the All-Star game, you gotta admit the closing seven minutes were the sport at its finest, convincing enough as a playoff game. Wade had broken Kobe's nose, while the players were actually playing defence, can you believe it.
and as expected, the major subplot of recent All-Star games surfaced again - Kobe vs LeBron. the veteran, in the spirit of fun, demanded to mark his rival, and began trash talking heavily, centring of course on the latter's apparent mental weakness.
16 seconds left, two points less, ball in East's hands. what should the play be?
instead, Deron took the last shot. not too surprising considering the New Jersey guard's three-point talents, but one cant help wonder what LeBron said to the coach and his teammates at the preceding timeout.
Deron scuffed the shot unbelievably, the next hundredths of seconds saw incredible hustling by the East players, and the ball was back in LeBron's hands, almost like an act of God.
what did King James do, with Kobe still in his face? a crazy crosscourt pass that was duly intercepted.
then the chance came knocking again. one second and one play left, three points the difference. and guess what, LeBron is out of bounds readying to throw it in.
Kobe was disgusted. so were the millions watching the game. LeBron had chosen to retreat into his tiny hole again, refusing a coronation.
just like last year. just like at Cleveland. just like at the Beijing Olympics.
he throws it to teammate Wade - even more laughable, like an admission: "you're the more important Miami player."
it was a tough shot. baseline, three-point, turnaround, fadeaway, buzzer. but at least Wade tried, to win the game, to shut Kobe up.
MVP expectedly went to Durant, who also notched up 36 points.
other than the US national team, the All-Star game has to boast the most quality on one court. i hope such basketball continues.
also, a shoutout to Kobe, whose third-quarter breakaway dunk put him number one on All-Star points, overtaking MJ.
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