NBA All-Star game draws deluge of criticism for tournament format, broadcast and so much Kevin Hart

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From the format to the broadcast to way too much Kevin Hart, Sunday’s NBA All-Star tournament was a resounding dud.

By the time it was over, it was hard to keep up with what critics disliked most. There was a lot to digest.

First and foremost was the new format. In the NBA’s ongoing quest to stage an All-Star contest that’s actually compelling and competitive, it hosted a three-game mini-tournament for the first and hopefully the last time.

One of the three teams didn’t even consist of All-Stars, a fact that drew the wrath of Draymond Green, who blasted the format repeatedly during TNT’s broadcast. The opening game between Team Chuck and Team Kenny provided a glimmer of hope with some competitive fire displayed by Victor Wembanyama and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in victory.

But by the end of the night, the basketball was an afterthought, with an uncompetitive championship final secondary in the minds of viewers to everything that was going wrong on their TVs.

Before the final bucket was scored, TNT’s Kenny Smith spoke for most of us and all but called the tournament format a failure.

“I think they’re gonna change the format back,” Smith said on the broadcast, just before Jayson Tatum scored the game-securing dunk.

Kevin Hart was front and center at Sunday’s NBA All-Star tournament. (AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)

Why so much Kevin Hart?

Making matters worse was the show around the game. While the basketball ultimately failed to prove compelling, TNT and the NBA surrounded and even interrupted game action with distracting segments and unwelcome banter from Hart.

Hart’s forced performance that featured an unfunny suggestion that Shaquille O’Neal was “dressed like a porn director” drew a deluge of slings and arrows on social media. It also prompted a thought that was previously unthinkable to devoted NBA fans. Maybe it’s a good thing that the NBA’s leaving TNT?

Oh God. Now it’s the comedy sketch again.

F me, man. This used to be one of the best weekends of the sporting calendar. I used to LOVE it. Invite my friends over. Watch the game again.

Blow this up. It’s over. Praying NBC fixes this next year.

— Ariel Helwani…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nba-all-star-game-draws-deluge-of-criticism-for-tournament-format-broadcast-and-so-much-kevin-hart-053826958.html

Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2025-02-17 05:38:00

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