NBA All-Star Weekend 3-on-3 Tourney: Who You Got?
Okay, Commissioner Stern and league executives, it's time to spice up the NBA All-Star Weekend. We all know the dunk competition no longer carries much excitement as big-name players avoid it like the plague.
Sure, the three-point competition is cool, and the skills competition is not bad, but the sophomore/rookie game is kind of a space-filler with players most people haven't really heard of, or care of, to be more exact.
If David Stern and the league implemented a three-on-three tournament at All-Star Weekend, the buzz in the air would be awesome as fans would be glued to their seats and televisions watching with great anticipation.
The game would be played half-court only with the team that scores taking the ball out after each made basket, in essence playing "winner" rules. Also, there would be a "clear line," which would be the three-point line; meaning the defensive team rebounding the ball has to clear each new possession.
How would the teams be chosen?
By fan balloting of course. If Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James were the top team chosen by fan balloting, then that would be one team. Or maybe it could be Dwight Howard, Deron Williams, and LeBron? How about Kobe, Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire?
The possibilities are endless, and so too would the excitement be. You could have the top four teams comprised of 12 players total chosen to play based on popularity, and then have a two-game set to decide the winner.
Sponsorship and advertising dollars could be donated to charity such as building playgrounds for the children in inner cities or donating resources such as school supplies, clothing and scholarships to selected grammar, middle and high schools.
Just imagine how fun that would be. I do not usually vote for All-Stars in the fan balloting, but I definitely would cast a few votes for my favorite threesome. It would encourage more fan interaction with voting, and also create higher network ratings and positive public relations for the league in general.
Think about the possibilities of four elite teams—names such as Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, Dwight Howard, Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Blake Griffin and Amare Stoudemire; that's 12 players just listed that you could mix and match!
The games would be two 15-minute halves, with two timeouts each half for each team; fouls would be called, but no one would foul out. The two winning teams of the four play each other for first and second place, and the losing teams would play each other for third and fourth respectively.
The teams would be ranked by popularity via the fan balloting. So the most popular threesome would be the first seed, the second most popular three players would be the second seed, and so on.
I can't stop thinking about which three players I would like to see team up—I think I am leaning toward LeBron, Kobe and Dwight Howard this year. That would give me good size, shot blocking, defense, shooting and athleticism. I don't need a true point guard, or do I?
It's fun to think about, and would be even more fun to really have this be a part of the NBA's showcase weekend. Could it happen? Will it happen? Can we try and find out?
Yo, Commish, you listening....?
