Grading NBA All-Star Weekend
As All-Star weekend passes, and we get ready to jump right back into the regular season, Nick Billion and I would like to share our grades per event, and our overall grade of the All-Star festivities.
1. Celebrity All-Star Game
Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Nick: I'll give it a B, it looks like everyone was having a good time, and how fitting that the MVP went to the NBA impersonator (Brandon Armstrong).
Craig: The celebrity game has always been one of my favorite events. You get to your favorite celebs play along side former NBA players and it always makes for an interesting night. This year was no different; even without Kevin Hart, it was still as good as you would expect it to be, and Brandon Armstrong was excellent. I'll give it a B.
2. Rising Star Challenge
Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Nick: For the rising stars game I have to give that an A. While little defense was being played, I enjoyed watching the young stars show off.
Craig: I have to agree with Nick on this one. The Rising Stars Challenge is always a good time, and this years game was loaded with some talented players. Jamal Murray walked away with the MVP after scoring 27 of his 36 points in the second half. Murray also made 9 three pointers. His performance alone was enough for me to give the event an A.
3. Skills Challenge
Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Nick: For the skills challenge it seemed like the crowd wasn't really into it. I think I'll have to give it a D.
Craig: I'm not a huge fan of the racing style format, but I love that the bigs compete with the guards. And I love that it was a platform for us all to see the total skill set of Kristaps Porzingis, who will soon be one of the elite players in the league. The crowd may not have loved it, but I'll give it a B.
4. Three Point Contest
Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Nick: The three point contest was subpar compared to recent years. It gets a C.
Craig: I have to agree with Nick. Knowing that we have Steph Curry, the contest seems pointless. I'l give it a C.
5. Slam Dunk Contest
Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Nick: The dunk Contest was designed for Gordon to take home, but instead he didn't make it out of the first round. The only good dunk was GR3'S final dunk. It gets a D.
Craig: I hated this years dunk contest. Aaron Gordon basically had a trophy reserved for him when the contestants were announced, and he didn't bring it. Zach LaVine spoiled us during the last two years, and without him, the contest fell flat. I think the drone that Gordon used could have thrown down a better dunk than any of the contestants, and for that, it gets an F.
5. All-Star Game
Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Nick: Finally the all-star game had a really cool intro by the Roots, full of action and no defense, it was still entertaining. It gets a B.
Craig: I'm giving the game an A based on that KDxRuss lob alone. It was beautiful. Defense of course didn't come in until late, but do we watch it for the defense? I'll take the dunks and the highlight plays on this one night of the year.
6. Weekend Grade
Pool Photo-USA TODAY Sports
Nick: Overall I'd say it was an average weekend, with dry commentary and not a lot of fan support at times. As a whole, I'll give the weekend a nice and average C.
Craig: I have to agree. Unless you count the Boogie trade on Sunday night, there wasn't enough buzz around the weekend and most of the events were subpar. It gets a C.
