Winners and losers from NBA All-Star Weekend
LOS ANGELES — The 67th NBA All-Star Game was one with a different look and feel of previous seasons.
Fans were at media day. Captains picked teams. Players tried.
The final verdict after a weekend in L.A. was mostly success, but a few fumbles along the way.
The Oklahoman takes a look at the winners and losers of All-Star weekend from a mostly-Thunder
perspective, with a little leaguewide sprinkled in.
Winners
(Ex) Thunder Buddies. Barring another social media snafu from Kevin Durant, a slip from his entourage or Russell Westbrook getting a wild hair via his wardrobe choices to poke at his former teammate, the Durant/Westbrook feud appears to now be safely confined to between the court lines.
The former Thunder teammates were cordial this weekend, helping Team LeBron to a 148-145 win over Team Stephen.
Westbrook didn’t deflect questions about Durant. Westbrook and Durant assisted each other on a combined three baskets. The duo chummed it up in pregame.
“Just from the stuff KD said and what not, I think friendships and all that stuff is bigger than basketball,” Warriors guard Stephen Curry said Sunday night. “I think everybody understands that across the board.”
“It’s not like it’s two strangers in the locker room,” said Paul George, who played with Westbrook and Durant on Team LeBron. “I think more than anything they understand the journey they’ve had together, and there’s a great line of respect between both of them. Whatever stories that come out or whatever between the two, those two know what their respect level is. Really that’s all that matters to both of them.”
Saturday evening in Oakland will be the next litmus test of the Durant/Westbrook dynamic — Thunder-Warriors Round 3 (ABC, 7:30 p.m.). The Thunder has beaten the Warriors by an average of 18.5 points per game in two meetings this season.
Westbrook.
Walking downtown in Los Angeles was like having a front-row seat to Westbrookmania.
It started a week before the All-Star Game, as Westbrook’s likeness was on at least four separate buildings in L.A. Live — the conglomerate of hotels, eateries and entertainment venues across from Staples Center — when the Thunder played the Lakers. Jordan Brand’s push to expand Westbrook’s global reach was obvious.
Even outside of the surrounding Staples Center area, Westbrook was featured on 50-foot murals from Figueroa St. to right off the 405 freeway.
“I’ve heard it everywhere. Everybody’s telling me ‘you’re on every building,’” Westbrook said. “I just laugh and say it’s a blessing. It’s something that you can never imagine.”
It also never hurts to get an endorsement from LeBron James. The All-Star Game MVP told media that on his game-winning basket the objective was to get the ball in Westbrook’s hands. In a competitive game relative to past years, the vote of confidence in a close game further cemented Westbrook’s status among the NBA’s elite.
In the same lineup as George, James, Durant and Kyrie Irving, Westbrook scored six of Team LeBron’s last 11 points.
“Being so dynamic in his ability to break down defenses, we wanted to get it to him,” James said.
The NBA schedule.
A competitive, down-to-thewire game capped an entertaining weekend, but the planning beforehand made it even better.
The trade deadline traditionally fell on the Thursday after the All-Star Game, but the NBA moved it up nearly two weeks this season to Feb. 8.
It allows more practice time for new arrivals and alleviates the stresses on players who could have been trade casualties during vacation time.
(Full disclosure: It also gives the media a muchneeded break from following transactions).
Losers
George. We’re not calling George a loser personally, but his weekend wasn’t a home run.
He finished dead last in the Three-Point Contest on Saturday with just nine total points. There was redemption in Sunday’s game with 16 points, tying for the team lead with four 3-pointers and closing the game among Westbrook, Durant, Irving and James. But George left his native state without the expected impact.
Fans who want more Philly vs. OKC.
News flash: Westbrook and Joel Embiid don’t like each other.
Embiid splashed a 3-pointer in front of Westbrook then postured. Westbrook drove right at him and had his shot swatted. Embiid — a blossoming, brash 7-foot-2 star — was the best big man on Team Stephen Sunday night with 19 points and eight rebounds.
Of all Embiid’s shining moments in his first AllStar Game, however, he told at least one media member his favorite moment was the combo 3-pointer/block sequence. At Saturday’s media session, Westbrook was about as engaging and open as he’s ever been, even heaping compliments on fellow Jordan Brand guy Kemba Walker.
But when asked what was Embiid’s best skill?
“I don’t know. I don’t know,” Westbrook said quickly.
It’s a shame the Thunder and 76ers aren’t in the same conference.