All-Star Game Weekend in Los Angeles

Like every year, since its first edition in 1951, the National Basketball Association (NBA) will hold the traditional All-Star Game Weekend, an event that will take place in Staples Center, Los Angeles, California in 2018.

The main attraction of this 67th presentation will have a radical change, because the classic game between the Eastern Conference and Western Conference will be replaced by a match between two teams selected by the two most media-savvy basketball players in the NBA: LeBron James and Stephen Curry.

In relation to this, commentator Álvaro Martín and analyst and former coach of the Puerto Rican basketball team, Carlos Morales, both belonging to ESPN, expressed their opinions in a press conference.

"The NBA wanted to do something to change the format, due to the criticism received about the lack of technical-tactical aspects in the All-Star Game," said coach Morales; who also said he does not believe that this decision is the remedy to change the athletes' attitude in the mentioned competition "I am not convinced at all that this is a solution; on the contrary, it is possible that there will not even be that call to play together without the motivation of defending your conference".

Álvaro, on the other hand, added that "we have to recognize the league is willing to experiment", because "it needed a format change, fresh air to try to generate interest; and I think they will achieve that."

The All-Star Game has received various disapprovals from fans, thanks to the players showing very little commitment on the court; which, Martín said, led to the new restructuring of the roster "the league has seen that there is no way for the players to take this seriously on the defensive side, partly because they are not being paid, it is outside of their contract and they do not want to get injured; it's as simple as that."

The new format implemented by the NBA "has been a 'cosmetic' change that the league has given to the All-Star Game, I don't think it will make a difference in terms of which team the players represent" added Carlos Morales. Likewise, the Puerto Rican strategist indicated: "we will see how much this can add to making the players feel more committed to being competitive".

This act carried out by the NBA could threaten the essence of the All-Star Game, however, "before putting moral labels, we have to say things as they are: it is a media event," concluded the ESPN journalist.

The All-Star Game Weekend will take place from Friday, February 16th to Sunday, February 18th. This is the sixth time that Los Angeles hosts this professional basketball celebration in the United States.