The NBA All-Star game is expected to happen this season on the weekend of March 7th. There has been pushback from players around the league after the NBA had originally postponed the ASG to allow teams to make up postponed games due to COVID-19.
Here’s the rundown of the situation.
Original Plans
The NBA has 24 NBA games that need to be made up before the start of the playoffs. Teams like the Wizards and the Grizzlies lead the charge with the necessity to make up games, with seven and six games postponed for each of them, respectively. The NBA had the idea of making “All-Star Weekend” a week/weekend to make up games that had been postponed.
The second half of the NBA season will run from Mar 11 – May 16 and the play-in tournament going between May 18 – May 21. The NBA playoffs would then go for a month between May 22 – and June 22.
New Plans
The NBA has changed their minds about the situation. The plan is to have a new All-Star weekend in Atlanta with the entire weekend ahead. The All-Star Game is going to take place on March 7th in State Farm Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.
“The NBA is moving forward with plans to hold its annual Slam Dunk Contest during halftime of this year’s All-Star Game, which is scheduled to take place on Sunday, March 7 in Atlanta,” via Adrian Wojranowkski and quote via Bleacher Report.
The skill contest and three-point contest will happen on the same night too.
Strict quarantine protocols will go into place soon for the players during the weekend. According to Woj, “Safety protocols — expected to include players arriving on Saturday and leaving on Sunday night under tight quarantines — are among the details still being ironed out, sources said. The memo included details about All-Star break rules that will include no international travel, daily testing for players, and a requirement to return to home markets no later than the second day before the team’s first game after the break, the memo said,” said Adrian Wojnarowski.
The Controversy
Players are not in agreeance with this idea. Players like De’Aaron Fox and LeBron James are against this game, due to the pandemic and the game’s necessity for the NBA.
“I have zero energy and zero excitement about an All-Star Game this year,” James told reporters. “I don’t even understand why we’re having an All-Star Game,” via Bleacher Report.
The notion of having an All-Star game might be bringing back memories from the playoff bubble. The NBA is using its players, with zero regards to their health and well-being as humans.
Fox had similar issues as James with the ASG. “If I’m going to be brutally honest, I think it’s stupid. If we have to wear a mask and do all of this for a regular game, then what’s the point of bringing the All-Star Game back? Obviously, money makes the world go round, so it is what it is. I mean, I’m not really worried about it. If I’m voted, so be it,” via Yahoo.com.
While a lot of players seem to be against the idea of the NBA having an All-Star game this season, they have no choice but to play. Players who do not participate in the NBA All-Star Game will be fined by the league, so most players will be there if not all when March 7th rolls around.
