Chronicle
Everything went too fast. Contests and matches were seen, almost overlapping, one after another with no time to chew on individual victories.
First was the smile of Domantas Sabonis, who adorned the skills contest by beating a clueless Doncic and the excessive seriousness of Vucevic.
Then came the triples, and what triples, with an inspired Mike Conley leading the way as he got rid of Tatum, Mitchell and LaVine. But of course, for a moment, he had forgotten that Stephen Curry wanted the trophy that Klay Thompson had taken from him years ago.
Finally, with the gaze of Dominique Wilkins set as a member of the jury, it gave way to the imagination of the players to try to create the best mate ever seen (which did not happen this time). After the limited contest, a humble Anfernee Simons paid tribute to the huge Tracy McGrady to take the trophy home,
With Lebron as captain of one of the best quintets in history, and being a participant for the seventeenth consecutive time (one of Kobe and two of Kareem), the all-star game began.
From the bench James Harden watched the initial jump between Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kawhi Leonard. The Nets' penultimate star signing was not part of the starting quintet chosen by teammate Kevin Durant.
The "capi" from the east could not attend the big event due to an ankle injury, as well as Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons due to covid protocol. Perhaps it would have been something else for the Blues with the Brooklyn player and the Sixers 21 who saw Team Lebron deploy a much more serious and forceful game despite having the media pressure to unite Curry - Antetokounmpo - James - Jokic - Doncic.
Chris Paul, also in the dream team, scored a luxurious mate (remember that the point guard measures 1.83 and that is not his specialty at all) through Don Stephen, to celebrate that, along with Malone and O'neal, he participated for the eleventh time in an All Star Game match divided into four different teams.
"Greek Pride"
While Giannis made his own, touring the court in two strides, crushing the hoop without effort, and accumulating full in triple percentage, and ending up being voted MVP of the game, Curry and Lillard challenged each other with their eyes to see who put more shots of three, even measuring the longest distance.
The expectation between the two bases was such that a basket by Stephen lifted Lebron off the bench who raised his arms celebrating the madness that was taking place in the Western team, and fanning the flame of rumors that place La Bahia in the Lakers for season 22.
Mandatory will be to see next year a contest of triples commanded by the Curry-Lillard duel, with extra scores from the middle of the court. And it is that the NBA has evolved so much, that the game was won by the Trail Blazers player with a basket from the center of the field.
AZP