By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone is not a fan of the offensive-minded NBA All-Star Game.
“It’s an honor to be here, it’s an honor to be a part of a great weekend, great players, but that is the worst basketball game ever played,” he said after coaching Team LeBron in the loss, 184-175, to Team Giannis in the 2023 NBA All-Star Game Sunday, “I don’t know if you can fix it.”
“They put on a show for the fans, but that is a tough game to sit through, I’m not going to lie,” he added commenting on the approach from most players after noting a few players trying to overcome usual expectations and unreserved tactics.
“It’s fun to kind of get out there and do some dunks and stuff like that. But we’re all competitors. I think everybody would enjoy it too if we just play against each other and it gets competitive,” Finnish Lauri Markkanen shared his own view, “Obviously, the game wasn’t close at the end really, so it didn’t get to that point.”
The Utah Jazz forward enjoying home-court advantage and the win as the last pick for Team Giannis tallied 13 points and seven rebounds.
LeBron James injured
Giannis Antetokounmpo and LeBron James selected respected sides just before tipoff but themselves were limited in Salt Lake City’s Vivint Arena. The Freak was restricted to a 20-second showing due to a recent injury, while James was hurt after logging 13 points and four assists over 14 minutes.
“I tried to get one little chase-down block and got my finger caught in the rim. But I’ll be fine. I don’t think it’s too much to worry about,” he said after the All-Star Game, “For precautionary reasons, I just had to take the rest of the night off.”
James, 38, in his 19th appearance tied Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the list of players with the most All-Star Game selections but similar to recently climbing to the top of the all-time scoring list surpassed Abdul-Jabbar for the most games played as the latter actually missed the 1973 game.
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