2020 NBA All Star Weekend Thread | 69th All Star Game

[510TWSS]

S/O to Lowry for putting his body on the line out there making winning plays lol

[lebron stopper]

S/O to Lowry for putting his body on the line out there making winning plays lol

It's kind of surreal to see players taking charges in an All-Star game, but tonight's game was very competitive.

[BoyzNTheHood]

People are actually arguing that Lowry wasn't valuable in the 4th? Good God it must suck to only be able to read a stat sheet.

One of the quickest ways to expose oneself as a basketball neophyte is to slag Kyle Lowry. He was making major impact plays, as per usual, yet it seems some people can only focus on the simplest of things - the ball going through the hoop.

Mate I’ve played, coached and watched basketball for over 20 years. Lowry definitely does the small things to win games and sometimes the big ones but today wasn’t one of those days.

He took one charge on Harden which was great but then couldn’t make one shot in the 4th, called for an offensive foul at the most critical game and then had the last foul to lose the game. People saying he needed to foul are crazy. If AD catches that, then at least the defensive has time to recover and impact his shot rather than 2 freebies.

He also switchEd on the inbounds when he shouldn’t have which should’ve lost them the game on a wide open layup from Harden but he passed for some reason??

Lowry was bad. Accept it.

Walker had one turnover and one really bad missed layup but Lowry forces up contested shots and gets one drawn charge and he’s the hero???

Anyone can play, coach and watch basketball; you're not special. Lowry's intangibles are what makes him great. Kemba has a lot of those same intangibles that make him great as well, and he just didn't have it down the stretch. He bricked wide open 3's when they mattered and a layup, then proceeded to dribble the ball off of his foot.

If AD catches that pass, he dunks it. The idea that you think the defense would have recovered in time is ludicrous. The best case scenario out of that play was a foul.

[Roco14]

People are actually arguing that Lowry wasn't valuable in the 4th? Good God it must suck to only be able to read a stat sheet.

One of the quickest ways to expose oneself as a basketball neophyte is to slag Kyle Lowry. He was making major impact plays, as per usual, yet it seems some people can only focus on the simplest of things - the ball going through the hoop.

Mate I’ve played, coached and watched basketball for over 20 years. Lowry definitely does the small things to win games and sometimes the big ones but today wasn’t one of those days.

He took one charge on Harden which was great but then couldn’t make one shot in the 4th, called for an offensive foul at the most critical game and then had the last foul to lose the game. People saying he needed to foul are crazy. If AD catches that, then at least the defensive has time to recover and impact his shot rather than 2 freebies.

He also switchEd on the inbounds when he shouldn’t have which should’ve lost them the game on a wide open layup from Harden but he passed for some reason??

Lowry was bad. Accept it.

Walker had one turnover and one really bad missed layup but Lowry forces up contested shots and gets one drawn charge and he’s the hero???

I sort of agree that Lowry probably would've been better off not fouling Davis.

But he actually drew 3 charges in the fourth quarter. One on Lebron, one on Kawhi, and one on Harden. The one on Lebron didn't get called but everyone agreed it was a charge.

On top of that, there's other things we can't even see like defensive communication, awareness, etc. He definitely should've been out there and if it was Trae instead, the game would have been over long before it ended. Kemba was good. The only adjustment i really would've liked to see was Jimmy in over Pascal.

[BoyzNTheHood]

One of the quickest ways to expose oneself as a basketball neophyte is to slag Kyle Lowry. He was making major impact plays, as per usual, yet it seems some people can only focus on the simplest of things - the ball going through the hoop.

Mate I’ve played, coached and watched basketball for over 20 years. Lowry definitely does the small things to win games and sometimes the big ones but today wasn’t one of those days.

He took one charge on Harden which was great but then couldn’t make one shot in the 4th, called for an offensive foul at the most critical game and then had the last foul to lose the game. People saying he needed to foul are crazy. If AD catches that, then at least the defensive has time to recover and impact his shot rather than 2 freebies.

He also switchEd on the inbounds when he shouldn’t have which should’ve lost them the game on a wide open layup from Harden but he passed for some reason??

Lowry was bad. Accept it.

Walker had one turnover and one really bad missed layup but Lowry forces up contested shots and gets one drawn charge and he’s the hero???

I sort of agree that Lowry probably would've been better off not fouling Davis.

But he actually drew 3 charges in the fourth quarter. One on Lebron, one on Kawhi, and one on Harden. The one on Lebron didn't get called but everyone agreed it was a charge.

On top of that, there's other things we can't even see like defensive communication, awareness, etc. He definitely should've been out there and if it was Trae instead, the game would have been over long before it ended. Kemba was good. The only adjustment i really would've liked to see was Jimmy in over Pascal.

If there's a Raptor to sub out it would've been Pascal. He needs to get in the weight room because he's way too weak to finish contested layups, and that free throw miss was so costly, but Embiid had a couple as well.

[VanWest82]

I mean at the end of the day if the clear hack by Davis on Embiid is not overturned or if Kemba makes a basic 4th grader layup, then team Giannis wins, I win my wager, and the whole Atlanta fanbase isn't in this thread telling us Young was the saviour that was promised, and everyone goes home happy.

None of us are telling you Young is a savior were just telling you that based on what Lowry displayed out there in the 4th quarter we feel trae could have done better. Doesn't mean i think Young is better than Lowry right now as a overall player. It just means if Lowry was going to have such a bad 4th quarter he should have been replaced by a guy who we think would have helped the offense more when they were needing buckets. Now on the other end of the spectrum im also gonna be the 1st to say i think siakam should have gotten some more shine and thought he was looking good on offense for the little time he was given. Both Siakam and Trae should have been in the mid 20's for minutes.

Lowry was overmatched but he at least he fights and he made several winning plays down the stretch. Did you watch the intensity of the 4th? If you think Kawhi, Harden, Lebron, and AD wouldn't have singled out Trae on every single possession and humiliated him until Nurse pulled him, you're dreaming. This game turned into dog eat dog. Young had no business being out there once it became that. I can see the argument for Butler being out there to finish over Lowry or maybe Siakam.

[LoveMyRaps]

They lost; I don't think anyone on that team is feeling impressed right now.

IT'S AN ALL-STAR GAME... holy sh*t. it ain't that serious.

The 4th quarter they were pretty serious. Maybe you don't remember what serious basketball looks like since you only had Kawhi for one season.

A hawks fan... is trying to tell me what serious basketball looks like... a hawks fan. An Atlanta Hawks fan. I repeat an ATLANTA HAWKS fan.



I get it man that all-star game was probably the most competitive game you've seen all season long.

[Clyde Frazier]

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[Coach Carter]

I wonder if Nurse was trying to impress Giannis with Lowry and Siakam. Like look at what we have plus me as the coach. Come on up to Toronto!

If so he ended up doing the opposite. I'm more so talking about his coaching. Lowry has great intangibles but is a poor man's something, probably CP3. Siakam would be a bad fit next to giannis.

[Jayt99]

Did Butler really call out Nurse? I agree though Butler should've been in there over one of Kemba or Lowry. The backcourt was way too small.

[Tor_Raps]

People are actually arguing that Lowry wasn't valuable in the 4th? Good God it must suck to only be able to read a stat sheet.

In fairness, it's just a couple of Celtics fans trying to deflect from Kemba and Hawks fans who don't know how to win and think Trae Young's and-1 gimmicks (although awesome to watch) is winning basketball.

I just find it funny that because Walker had a BAD missed open layup and a one bad turnover, people blame him.

As I said before.

Lowry was 0-4 in the 4th, 2 turnovers, the game losing foul on AD, an offensive foul on a screen when it was 154-153 and they were about the take the lead (very crucial part of the game)... but because he had one charge at a critical time, people are saying he played well?

Yet you're blaming Kemba? Who had 7 points on 3-6 shooting and only 1 turnover.

I thought Lowry wasnt good either but Kemba was right there with them. That was an UGLY offensive game for almost everyone down the stretch. The players were locked in defensively.

But if you're gonna nitpick plays like this, you can also talk about Kemba gifting lebron a wide open dunk. That play put team lebron 1 point away from winning it. Also that missed wide open layup was a huge let down and sucked the air out of the team.

[Tor_Raps]

I hear you, but it's not like you can play both Gobert and Embiid at once, and both guys are elite defensively so it's really a coin toss.

Jimmy Butler could have stopped James Harden cold.

Yeah, I was hoping that Jimmy would come in in the 4th - that's his time.

I would agree too but jimmy looked so crappy throughout the game. He was probably too hungover and didnt look like himself lol.

[ken6199]

Still think if Nurse had the balls to put Butler and Middleton in over Lowry and Kemba, or at least Butler over Kemba, red team might have won with that lead they had.

Perhaps he could have? Ultimately though, LeBron's team had vastly better players (triple threats at any position + much better defense, especially against who they faced) than Giannis's team, which lacked a lot of size in the backcourt (Lowry can only try to take so many charges lol) and a lot of shooting in the frontcourt (so no real triple threat that I can see). I'm surprised the game was as close as it was, given how much Giannis's team was handicapped with that closing lineup. But LeBron's team effectively caught them red-handed with that last play for AD.

Also, can I just say that even though everyone knew Giannis drafted a pretty bad All-Star team, they still seem to be shocked his team lost?

I think being that close and had the game go down to the very last play is a testiment of how hard team Giannis have been playing. If team LeBron played hard ball in stretches, team Giannis went all the way full effort. Credit to those guys. That 2nd quarter blue team almost gave up. They are probably one AD missed FT from taking the W.

[Rendei]

That was a really fun game. I don't know if it was the format, but it got really intense towards the end.

If I blame anyone for the loss, it has to be Nick Nurse. Man, you have a full roster of all stars. Make some substitutions! I don't want to single players out, so I'll just say that even Giannis shouldn't be going for that many straight minutes. He never does on the Bucks.

[TOStateofMind]

Came down to the last possession, so some of the reaction is over the top. I do think nurse could have had a couple changes out there, but the game was such a slog at the end there anyways it wouldve been ugly whoever was in there.

[AussieCeltic]

In fairness, it's just a couple of Celtics fans trying to deflect from Kemba and Hawks fans who don't know how to win and think Trae Young's and-1 gimmicks (although awesome to watch) is winning basketball.

I just find it funny that because Walker had a BAD missed open layup and a one bad turnover, people blame him.

As I said before.

Lowry was 0-4 in the 4th, 2 turnovers, the game losing foul on AD, an offensive foul on a screen when it was 154-153 and they were about the take the lead (very crucial part of the game)... but because he had one charge at a critical time, people are saying he played well?

Yet you're blaming Kemba? Who had 7 points on 3-6 shooting and only 1 turnover.

I thought Lowry wasnt good either but Kemba was right there with them. That was an UGLY offensive game for almost everyone down the stretch. The players were locked in defensively.

But if you're gonna nitpick plays like this, you can also talk about Kemba gifting lebron a wide open dunk. That play put team lebron 1 point away from winning it. Also that missed wide open layup was a huge let down and sucked the air out of the team.

I put the open layup there. It was bad for sure. No one is denying that. I just laugh that it was all the Raptors fans saying Kemba lost the game but Lowry was a beast.

They both contributed in the 4th in different ways (Lowry a few charges, Kemba 7 points on efficient shooting), but they were also bad in cases (Kemba's missed layup plus turnover, Lowry's turnovers/0-4 from the field/critical fouls both offensive and defensive)..

I thought Nurse should've gone with Butler/Middleton down the stretch and subbed at least subbed Kemba out on the last defensive play.

[KqWIN]

All this bickering about strategy and tactics in an All Star games just shows awesome it was. It was a situation you dream about. All the greatest players in one game, and they all care about winning. It was fun to see how it all panned. Some personal thoughts on Team Giannis:

- They needed a better "QB" running the offense. Kemba was giving me deja vu of team USA. Dominating the ball to less than impressive results. He made some shots earlier in the 4th, but I never felt confident with the ball in his hands. I just don't think he stacks up against the size and talent of the best players in the world.

- Lowry made some serious plays on defense, however, he looked equally and even more overwhelmed on offense. Given the options, he probably deserved a spot on the court. He belonged, but his role on the offense was too much. Unfortunately Team Giannis didn't have the firepower that allowed him to be a 5th option on offense. I'd echo many of the same thoughts about Siakam. Maybe the same could be said for Giannis. Is that a statement on Giannis, the soon to be 2-time MVP? Hmmm....

- Does this mean Trae Young should have been in? I'm unsure. He is the best QB on Team Giannis...but he also would have no place on defense. These are the dilemma's that this great situation creates. It gives different perspective on, "how good is this guy really". In Trae's case, he's good enough that a team of all stars desperately needed his offense, but at the same team his defense is at a point where he doesn't really belong on the court.

- Speaking of which, Jimmy Butler should have been on the court. As much as I try to be scientific, the fact is that I would have trusted Jimmy with the ball in his hands more than anyone besides Trae, and I also would have trusted him guarding anyone on the court. This is what makes Jimmy one of the best players in the game.

- What to with Gobert/Embiid? I thought these were the two best players for team Giannis tonight. I don't feel comfortable passing it to a big man on the block in crunch time, but Embiid was the only one who delivered late in the game. Props to him. On a team (of all stars!) that was dying for points, he was the go to. And yet, I still think there's a strong argument for Gobert to be in instead. I'm obviously biased, but Gobert was super productive the whole night. If you put Trae in, I also think Gobert should be in. Their chemistry was awesome to watch. W/o Trae, I think you have to go with Embiid.

Here's the lineup I would have gone with:

Embiid, Giannis, Siakam, Butler, Lowry

[Threezus]

IT'S AN ALL-STAR GAME... holy sh*t. it ain't that serious.

The 4th quarter they were pretty serious. Maybe you don't remember what serious basketball looks like since you only had Kawhi for one season.

A hawks fan... is trying to tell me what serious basketball looks like... a hawks fan. An Atlanta Hawks fan. I repeat an ATLANTA HAWKS fan.



I get it man that all-star game was probably the most competitive game you've seen all season long.

Well to be fair outside of this rebuild we were in more playoffs straight than any team in the league. It's not like our team has been trash or in a rebuild forever. Per season we have a better winning % per year than the raptors have in our existence lol. Just because yall lucked up with 1 year of the best player in basketball doesn't make the raptors some gods of the nba after 1 championship. Come on now kid don't forget where you came from and what the raptors have been just because of a guy thats not even there anymore.

[Sara2009]

You know who was invisible tonight? Luka. Considering he was voted a starter, I think that's pretty strange.

He didn’t take many shots, but he was 3/6 from the field.

[bellabiyel]

all you people compalining about lowry..

where was giannis when the other team start playing defense ..??he gone just lke last playoffs ..keep on stat padding on 3 quarters and no where to be found in the fourth yeah he block bron on jumpshot but that second block was an and 1 he foul him first and goaltend. but the refs wanted it to be more dramatic ending.