NBA All Star Game is on!

Right now.

About Mike Baker

My commentary column appears on Tuesdays. About me: I have avoided watching the NBA for a few years, so, I am Mike Baker, "Rip Van Sonicsfan". I have advocated for and written about efforts to find an arena solution for my community for several years, and blogged many years on Sonics Central, among others. I am a native Seattleite, and lifelong Sonics fan. University of Washington grad. I majored in Communication.
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42 Responses to NBA All Star Game is on!

  1. Peter says:

    If things go good for us in April, I’ll watch next year’s ASG. I’m in the camp of nothing NBA until we know 100% this will be approved.

  2. Mike Baker says:

    You are missing Craig Sager’s jacket, shiny black/gray/silver.

  3. MarkS says:

    About as unexciting as most ASGs. If we have a team next year I’ll have more interest.

    Oh and: Kevin Calabro excited, but patient, about possible return of NBA.

    http://seattletimes.com/html/nba/2020379569_sonics18.html

  4. SonicsUberAlles says:

    “It’s the NBA All Star Game. They don’t call fouls here.” LOL!

  5. catdawg says:

    I love the ASG. I always wish I was there.

  6. catdawg says:

    Last year Wade had a flagrant on Kobe — gave him a concussion.

  7. catdawg says:

    CP3 and Blake Griffin putting on a show!

  8. catdawg says:

    KG just gave GP shout out for mentoring him.

  9. lemonverbena says:

    Sonics back in Seattle: 2013
    Sonics Arena opens: 2015/16
    All-Star Game in Seattle: 2017/18

  10. lemonverbena says:

    Michael McCann @McCannSportsLaw
    ” Kevin Johnson privately lobbying NBA owners re: SAC plan to keep Kings. If no plan details leaked to media, does that mean no details exist? ”
    7:24 PM - 17 Feb 13

  11. The Original says:

    Okay . . . so when the future Sonics are playing in their $500M arena, how do you think it will make OKC’s $200M arena look? How long before Bennett demands his own $500M arena?

  12. Omar says:

    Hard to watch ASG when they keep raving about Durant and Westbrook.

  13. catdawg says:

    Funny because when it’s the ASG I don’t associate the players with the teams, I just see them as amazing individual players. Really fun to watch.

  14. Andy says:

    Did some looking, out of morbid curiosity. Last Kings in the All-Star Game- Peja Stojakovic and Brad Miller- 2004. Oof.

  15. catdawg says:

    Chris Paul just having a great game.

  16. MarkS says:

    Flipping between the NBA All Star game and the Cal USC game. As was posted earlier- fouls don’t get called in the ASG…when they are they’re pretty tickey tack.

  17. SonicFan197879 says:

    Everyday that Kevin doesn’t mentions any of his so called “whales”, I feel more confident as we progress towards March 1st.

  18. Kevin Nesgoda says:

    Paul >>>>>>>> Westbrook

  19. jenn_gp says:

    I was so glad to see Chris Paul win MVP. Double double…shared the rock…Westbrook is still a selfish punk as far as I can see.

  20. Sober says:

    KJ is a competitor. He will stay in the game until the final seconds even if he knows he is going to lose. The last time he thought he had a deal with the Maloof’s he did not hesitate to go public with it by celebrating at center court. The only reason for him to hide the details is because he has nothing but intends to play his hand out. Apparently, even the SAC city council has not been informed of the terms of any deal.

  21. kinsesu says:

    Still don’t understand why KJ is invited to present a counter offer to convince BOG to reject Hansen POS. Deal has already been signed, $$ have exchanged hands. PR move only for the sake of KJ and NBA - - that’s the only thing that makes any logical sense. It’s already lame duck season for Kings. So sorry Sac Fans. . . .

  22. Big Chris says:

    The whole NBA All Star weekend is approaching the level of wretchedness that the NFL Pro-Bowl current has achieved. Dunk contest contestants nobody’s heard of and fewer care about. Skills comp - snore. Actual game - an affront to all basketball not played on a gaming system. Even the crowd wasn’t into it in any way. And then the half time show…yikes. I really do like Alicia Keys, but that was painful. MC Hammer shorts? Someone should be fired/shot. Looked like she had a diaper on under there. Quasi-Beyonce dance? Just not your thing honey. Kobe being a punk? Distasteful. Rising Stars game, maybe a bit of interest. 3 point shootout saved by Bonner & Irving making it interesting. All in all, craptacular.

  23. kinsesu says:

    I actually like my purple seeminly one-armed avatar. Baker’s Payton bobble-head is my fave. I’m too technically challenged for such customization.

  24. John_S says:

    This years ASG will be remembered as Kyrie Irving’s coming out party, Chris Paul taking over the game with go passing and late scoring and Kobe’s blocks on LeBron I’m the final mins.

    I take the weekend for what it is, an exhibition of the greatest athletes in the world.

    Aside from the players, the entertainers were awful. The two bands on sat, nick cannon, Kesha, Neyo, Rick Fox and Reggie Miller were all terrible

  25. charliesonic says:

    i’m guided here by one of my kids. being an old fogey, i’ve looked at the all-star game as having little to do with me, esp. since the supersonics moved. . . but he’s 17, and hasn’t seen the famous old dunk contests. to him, this is all new. . . so i guess i can roll with it. as long as they give me sonics2, i’ll take whatever else the league dishes up.

  26. Taylor Made says:

    This East vs West all-star saturday night is the dumbest concept. the East won 3 out of 4 events, but the West won overall… makes sense.

  27. BarelyAble says:

    yeah, I am not sure about that format where you get awarded certain points, but whatever. It isn’t as if fans of East or West teams are really getting angry over the results.

    I also think the dunk contest has probably worn its welcome at this point, but I suppose it should stay in the program to give kids something cool to see. I remember the Vince Carter dunk contest being pretty awesome as a kid. What I would like to see is a change to attempts rather than a time limit. After someone misses their dunk even one time it basically has lost its cool factor. It was painful to see some guys trying the dunk attempt a half a dozen times when you already knew what he was trying to do.

  28. Ron in Yakima says:

    In baseball their ASG now has some meaning since the winning league gets the home field advantage in the World Series. Does the NBA Championship series home court advantage go to the team with the better overall record in the regular season or do they alternate the home court advantage between East & West? If they alternate maybe they could do like MLB and put some meaning back into the game.

  29. BarelyAble says:

    I would prefer to have the MLB game go back to an exhibition, but with interleague play (and now year long interleague and all the terrible problems that it will cause) there really is no draw anymore for the fans or players. I guess the home field advantage makes sense. For the NBA All Star game, I would worry about making it competitive because the game is a lot faster moving and the chance for injury is a lot higher. I couldn’t imagine a player taking a charge and something going wrong.

  30. Ron in Yakima says:

    Yeah I guess baseball is a pretty low-contact sport. I enjoy the NBA ASG seeing the past players and all the great current players gathered in one event.

  31. brettb3 says:

    Yeah, I don’t want the all-star game to be anything more than it is. Attaching meaning to the baseball game hasn’t driven up interest for it. Plus, it’s just a terrible idea.

  32. The Original says:

    OT: Going back to the Bennett purchase debacle, do any of you guys remember people from OKC going on Sonic boards almost immediately celebrating that they were getting the Sonics . . . that Bennett and cronies bought a team for OKC? I remember it and remember how irritated I was. But then again, I did not trust Bennett from the day the sale was announced.

    I just wish Ackley would never have sold the team to Schultz.

  33. Gene Hunt says:

    @The Original - I remember that all too well, we even have some of those same people trying to troll the same Sonics boards still.

  34. Gene Hunt says:

    AP Sports ‏@AP_Sports
    Jerry Buss, the owner who steered the Los Angeles Lakers to 10 #NBA titles, has died at the age of 79: http://apne.ws/Y2Fv34 #LALakers

  35. Gene Hunt says:

    BarelyAble I was just about to post that lol

  36. The Original says:

    Oh, wow!! Wouldn’t want to pay the estate taxes on Buss’ estate.

  37. John_S says:

    A little NBA comic relief, have you guys watched JaVale McGee? Shaq has a segment on TNT called Shaqtin a fool with all the funny plays of the week and JaVale McGee is literally on it every single week. Here’s a few of them featuring JaVale…

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYVWYioqizo
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuRp4hmtSEg
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjKfaC_W2tA
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGm9_CsMtXI
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JssjaX1Sld8

  38. catdawg says:

    Dr. Buss changed the NBA. Ultimate respect for Dr. Buss and the Lakers.

  39. Menace says:

    The dunk contest is a tough thing to evolve. Between the legs and around the back dunks in a 360 form or off the catch are a lot harder than the dunks Jordan and Dominique did. They are going to miss a lot more. And its annoying to watch if you remember the old contests.

    And if you went up and did a what is now considered routine windmill like Dominique won contests with then you wouldnt have a chance in todays contest.

    There isnt going to be a great solution.

    I dont think the ASG is any different than when I was a kid………and I loved it then. The only thing different is me. Im older. Remember MLB made changes because it ended in a tie that one year. Not the same in the NBA. Its an exhibition and it always has been.

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