Well, that was quite the lackluster NBA All-Star break.
Sure, the players deserve a break just like anyone else.
But it should be a privilege to participate in these events.
Defense is clearly an afterthought in the Sunday night marquee event, after a whopping 397 points were scored.
The pathetic showing came after it was reported that NBA legends, including Larry Bird, pleaded to each locker room to play with some competitiveness.
Needless to say, that didn’t happen.
But it wasn’t just the All-Star Game that lacked integrity.
Anthony Edwards shot left-handed during his team’s skills challenge on Saturday. Yawn.
From top to bottom, the entire weekend has turned into a shell of what it was. I watched the Food Network’s Tournament of Champions season premiere instead.
The dunk contest was the biggest disappointment of the weekend with a lack of name-brand participants and horrible judging. No disrespect to the now two-time defending champion Mac McClung, but he doesn’t even play in the NBA; they borrowed him again from the G League.
That contest was a staple of my childhood. All of those must-see shows orchestrated by Vince Carter and the honey-dip dunk 24 years ago or Jason Richardson putting on a 2003 dunk clinic in Philadelphia (fun fact: I was in attendance).
Heck, even the 2010s decade was great with Blake Griffin jumping over a car and the epic 2016 duel between Aaron Godon and Zach LaVine. Sigh. Those days are long gone.
Anyway, thanks for letting me rant. There’s still a ton of real basketball left to play, and with playoff races heating up in the second half we should see more competitiveness.
Now’s a great time to look at the MVP race.
Nikola Jokic is the rightful favorite, but if we’re looking for some chaos down the stretch, let’s check out some other candidates to back.
NBA futures: MVP long-shot bets
Jayson Tatum (+4000, BetMGM)
It might feel like there are too many cooks in the Celtics’ kitchen for one to emerge as a league MVP. The starting lineup is stacked with Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday.
Regardless, Tatum still ranks ninth in the NBA by averaging 27.1 points per game, just 1.1 points behind Kevin Durant, who is fifth.
The Celtics have the Eastern Conference’s best record (43-12), six games ahead of the second-place Cavaliers. Milwaukee is spiraling with new coach Doc Rivers, so maybe Boston can make a statement and take serious control of the conference.
There are always injuries, suspensions and other abnormal circumstances to take into consideration. But an objective piece of information is that Boston has the third-easiest remaining strength of schedule.
There’s a shot Tatum gets hot against a string of easy opponents while Boston sleepwalks to the top seed in the East. That would surely have to put his name into serious consideration for this award.
Tatum ranks 14th in usage rate among players who have logged at least 20 games this season, and he should continue to pave the way for Boston.
Luka Doncic (+1200, FanDuel)
These odds are probably the lowest I’m willing to take on anyone considering all of the circumstances in Doncic’s favor.
The Mavericks appear poised to make a run in the second half of the season. They own the 10th-easiest remaining strength of schedule, and Doncic is lighting up the box score every night.
Among players eligible for MVP, he’s the leading scorer at 34.2 points per game, while averaging more than eight rebounds and nine assists.
Perhaps if he pulls Dallas up a few more slots in the Western Conference pecking order, voters will be convinced he deserves the trophy.
Doncic must play in 18 of the Mavs’ remaining 27 games to become eligible for the award, but barring an injury this shouldn’t be too difficult of a task to accomplish.
Anthony Edwards (+50000, BetRivers)
I’m not really sure I understand Edwards’ odds. Even if he is considered a long shot, these are still good enough for me to bet pizza money.
Edwards is the best player on a star-studded Timberwolves team that leads the Western Conference. The last time Minnesota finished the regular season with the best record in the West was 20 years ago. That has to give voters a bit of incentive to prioritize him at least a little bit.
Edwards ranks 12th in the NBA in scoring, and if a few cards fall his way he could slide well into the top 10 by the end of the regular season.
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Want to talk about valuable? Minnesota’s offensive rating drops more than 10 points without him on the court this season.
I’ll admit, we’ll probably have to get a little bit lucky on this one. Maybe the Wolves need to rip off 10 in a row at some point with several historic performances from their shooting guard mixed in down the stretch.
But if Minnesota creates some separation, one of the league’s newer superstars could catch some steam in just a few months.