Like other such games offered by professional sports, the NBA All-Star Classic contained little intensity and effort, much to the chagrin of Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone.
The latter led the team of LeBron James and did not evaluate the game. His criticism was not so much for the result, a 184-175 loss to Giannis Antetokounmpo’s team, as for the lack of competitive and fighting spirit. As it happens in this meeting, the defensive game took the path of oblivion and the stars of the Silver circuit chained the baskets without any limitation.
“It was an honor to be here and participate in the weekend with the presence of great players, but this is the worst game ever played,” said Malone, according to the newspaper “USA Today”.
“They put on a show for the fans. However, I won’t lie when I say it’s still a difficult game to live through,” he added.
Other scathing observations
For his part, ESPN network commentator Stephen A. Smith certainly hopes it will be better in 2024, when the annual game is held in Indianapolis.
“I commend coach Malone for pointing out the lack of effort. We don’t work harder in summer league games during the offseason than we did in yesterday’s game [dimanche]”, he told the American channel.
“We should not watch a match believing that everyone can have a place on the playing surface for the effort made. It’s just a bad smell of arrogance, they take the fans for granted.