The western all-stars beat the eastern all-stars last night, but the overwhelming sentiment seems to be that it was really a battle between LeBron and Kevin Durant. As nice as that sounds, it’s slightly flawed on a couple levels. First, we cannot guarantee that the Thunder and Heat will ever play in the finals. Obviously, that’s what people are going after. I can see why you would make that point, but that’s just one angle to an all-star game.
Second, talking about LeBron and Durant is a little unwise. If anything, at the end of the day, it would be Wade and Durant. I know they don’t play the same position, but those are the closers on their respective teams. Given that, I would say that it’s kind of shortsighted to say that LeBron and Durant would duel when you are really looking at Wade and Durant having the final shot most of the time.
Then, there’s the angle of Kobe breaking MJ’s scoring record in the All-Star Game. Granted, all that really means is he’s good, he had the ball in his hands a lot, and he can score, but still, that’s a little bit more impressive than trying to pick out a Durant and LeBron duel.
Finally, it’s much easier to watch the All-Star Game than it is a regular game because the All-Star Game has no defense. There’s none. So, you can just watch offense and have a good time. That means, any “duels” that you find in the game are not really duels at all. It’s two guys not playing defense and trying to make the most acrobatic shot possible. I’m fine with that, but let’s not get carried away and say that we can judge how a playoff series would go based on what happens in this game.
Let’s just enjoy.
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