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A Lakers Blog. Thoughts, reflections, and the odd rant on the Los Angeles Lakers and the NBA (even the Clippers).

Preview and Chat: All-Star Saturday Night

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All-Star Saturday is one of my favorite nights the league we love has to offer. No, it’s not a playoff game or a league championship deciding contest, but it’s a night where the NBA gets to put on a show for its fans, offering some of the most skilled, athletic, and creative thinkers a chance to display their talents to the world.

There are few things more captivating, to me at least, than a great dunker playing to the crowd or one of the world’s best shooters getting hot and inviting you into his realm where that orange rim seemingly transforms into a hula-hoop sized cylinder. Tonight, then, I am hoping for a show and even if some parts will surely let us down, I expect we will get it one way or another.

Of course, nights like this are more fun when you have a rooting interest and if you’re a Lakers’ fan you have one tonight. For only the 3rd time in the history of the event, a Laker will compete in the 3-point contest, with Nick Young getting his proverbial shot to show he belongs in the conversation as one of the world’s best shooters.

Young is 14th in both 3-point field goals attempted and percentage, but is 10th in total makes. He’s one of only four players (joining Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Kyle Lowry) to have over 350 attempted 3’s while making at least 41% of his attempts. In other words, Young belongs in this contest as both a high volume and accurate sniper. Of course, even if Young belongs, it’s hard to actually pick him to win.

The aforementioned Thompson and Lowry are also competing, with Klay being the defending champ. Add to them former champ Kyrie Irving, and other sharp shooters like Eric Gordon, Kemba Walker, Wes Matthews, and CJ McCollum and this a deep field where, and I mean this with no offense, Young is just another guy. That said, I hope Young does well and think he has a real chance, though his inexperience competing in this event does concern. I’ll be rooting for him.

As for the dunk contest, it’s not as star studded a field, not with two-time defending champ Zach LaVine out of the contest due to a torn ACL. LaVine had decided to sit this one out before his knee injury, but it’s said he’s now injured too. In any event, last year’s runner up (who easily could have won) Aaron Gordon is in the contest and is the clear favorite. We’ll see if he can recapture some of last year’s magic, but that may be hard without the competition with LaVine to bring the best out of him.

In terms of the rest of the field, the other player you “know” is DeAndre Jordan. The Clippers’ big man can certainly throw down and is a freakish athlete for any size, but especially for a 7-footer. The two other competitors — Glenn Robinson III and Derrick Jones, Jr. — are both relative unknowns. Jones, Jr. can sky, though and is the dark horse of the competition. I mean, look at this highlight reel from last year when he was at UNLV:

If he brings some of those dunks out, Gordon will have his hands full.

Anyways, I look forward to tonight’s events. Seeing some of the best dunkers and shooters do their thing is always fun. And, with the tweaks to the Skills Challenge pitting smalls vs. bigs, that event should also offer some really fun moments. Enjoy the festivities, folks.


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  2. Busboys4me says

    I know I’m not supposed to cut and paste but I saw this and it rings so true to me.
    Move on from the Past
    Andrew D. Bernstein/Getty Images
    Zach Harper of FanRag explained the following to me about what draws free agents:
    “I’ve always believed that quality of owner matters far more than market size of the city. Over the years, look at the Clippers vs. the Lakers. Look at the Knicks not being able to get LeBron James in 2010. Look at the Bulls in a post-Michael Jordan world. They weren’t just picking the best players to sign with them because the ownership is/was a mess.
    “Now that Dr. Jerry Buss is gone, the Lakers and Buss family are finding that out in an embarrassing fashion.”
    It’s not about how big the name on the door is. It’s not about how many banners are on the ceiling or how big the metro area is. NBA stars play for two things: money and rings.
    And the elite players are getting paid wherever they go, so it’s just about the rings.
    Players aren’t coming to the Purple and Gold if they don’t feel they have a chance to win, no matter what their legacy is. Who is directing things now is what matters.
    The Lakers’ biggest struggle has been recognizing that fact, and that their future matters more than their past. That makes signing Magic Johnson inexplicable. A Lakers press release explained Johnson’s new responsibilities:
    Johnson’s duties will include, but not be limited to, advising ownership on all business and basketball matters, collaborating with coaches, evaluating and mentoring players, assessing future franchise needs, and helping ownership to determine the best path for growth and success. Johnson will spend time at Lakers offices in El Segundo and will report directly to Jeanie Buss.
    Johnson subsequently said on ESPN’s First Take what his priority would be:
    “First call I make if I’m in charge? Kobe Bryant. Because Kobe understands winning. He understands, also, these players. I would call: ‘What role you want? … If you’ve got a day, just give me that day.’
    “I’ll take that. Whatever time he has, I want him to come and be a part of it.”
    Kobe Bryant understood winning in the 2000s. I’m not sure he knows winning in 2017. Magic Johnson knew winning in the 1980s. That doesn’t mean he understands it now. The game has evolved, and the Lakers need to evolve too, not cling to bygone heroes with antiquated notions.
    Nothing else matters without that, because they won’t be a free-agent destination.
    The Lakers have already done the damage, but that doesn’t mean they can’t undo it by downplaying Johnson’s role going forward instead of selling him as the savior of the franchise.