Mission to Cleveland – We lived in awe of the night of the gods that only the NBA could provide

It is a fact and widely accepted by the basketball community that the institution of the All-Star Weekend is in decline, lacking the luster of decades past and leaving us to live in a new golden age in the NBA. However, it is, or at least should be, widely accepted that the league does everything, takes risks, tests, changes, improves their product in order to “extend” its potential and make it as attractive as possible. What we experienced on Sunday evening (2/20) at the Rocket Mortgage Center in Cleveland is beyond imagination. What happened in the finale of the three-day event in Cleveland made history.

Mission to Cleveland: Harris Stavrou

The Friday program has been updated. The Rising Stars Challenge morphed from a 48-minute match into a four-team Mini-Final Four, with interest from start to finish and players who competed with drive, ambition and determination. The results of the games and the fact that everything counted in the final testify to this.

The program on Saturday was not exciting, especially the dunk contest was admittedly disappointing. And that will remain so until the NBA convinces a big name to step in and attract even more talent. However, this is not easy. Players like Giannis, Ja Morand, the most explosive players in the league, don’t want to take any risks, they don’t want to be pressured, they know that a clumsy landing, an overexertion can hit them and once they’ve set off the Mastery, it is impossible to participate in such a project.

You will make it in the Skills Challenge, Antetokunbo made it and it didn’t go bad. He won the second part, the one with the passes, lived the experience with his brothers and told Sportish’s camera that he will return to Salt Lake City next season to claim what he didn’t win in Cleveland. We saw a very renewed Skills Challenge, many people didn’t understand its structure, but observing it from the field, seeing people’s reactions, the players’ speed and the exchange of emotions, we can say that the refreshment is considered successful.

The night of the gods

What we eagerly awaited was halftime of the All-Star Game. We’ve been waiting for the awards ceremony for the top 76 in league history, and we’ve been waiting for it like little kids at an amusement park.

A few hours earlier, we had “crashed” with Shaquille O’Neal, Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin McHale, and Magic Johnson in one of the elevators at the stadium we were accidentally in (and immediately afterwards we heard about it over the intercom, like the security reporters talked three we had seen more like oscar robertson, hakim olazwon, dikebe mutobo in the lobby of the media hotel where we stayed four nights and wondered how many would make the trip, how many would be on stage, who would meet after years who will hug who we wanted to see the moments and keep them in our minds forever.

Most of the survivors were here. Some, like Bill Russell, lacked protection from the pandemic that continues to plague us, even though the US is free of restrictions and people are living as if there were no Covid-19. Others, such as Steve Nass and Russell Westbrook, were absent for reasons unknown. Everyone believed that even the most important thing would stay away from everyone. The rumor that Michael Jordan won’t be in Cleveland has been circulating since Sunday morning, but the same thing happened in Charlotte in 2019. It was rumored at the time that MJ had stayed away from the All-Star weekend in his hometown, but he showed up at the last minute and passed the baton to Chicago.

The same happened last night. Jordan’s name was the last to be heard and his stature shocked everyone. He was here because he just couldn’t miss it. Why he should be here, why he remains the greatest of all time, and why he had no reason to snub this historic night, which happened — not coincidentally — 25 years after Cleveland was named the Top 50 in NBA history. The AIR again saw Dennis Rodman, gave LeBron a big hug, saw John shake his hand, chased Jordan Brand athlete Luka Doncic, confronted Magic Johnson and generally lived it wholeheartedly.

MJ is an outrageously big figure in world sport. Even the other legends around him looked at him with awe and respect. Jordan remains something of a god for the NBA, for the sport in general, no matter how much the comparisons leave room for discussion, constructive or not, no matter how much we insist on questioning whether he’s the GOAT, the more he becomes with the Fingers wave and he’ll tell us with a smile”I am the first and you will only find the secondA few minutes of his appearance, the aura that accompanies him, the heavy voice, the big backs, the baggy jackets, the shaved head, all this will be here forever to dispel our doubts as they resolved them in Cleveland .

The truth of Steph, John and LeBron

And the game wasn’t bad though. It was competitive and it was competitive for many reasons. One of those reasons is the size of three specific players: Steve Carey, LeBron James and John Antitokoumbo. They will never “steal”, they will never “loiter”, they will respect the people who paid for a ticket to see them, they will participate to even win an All-Star game.

Curry’s appearance was… alien. He scored 16 threes, at one point he had 15/21 from every possible and unlikely point and when he got tired Giannis acted. With defenses, with blocks, with rebounds, with baskets, with assists from the whole field, to the surprise of three players, he stopped until his Bucks teammate, Chris Middleton, was cut off. What was impressive was that he didn’t blackmail situations, he looked for Carrie when he was not only hot, but … he snored and in the end, like everyone else, he made way for LeBron James.

The king returned to Cleveland and left many “gifts.” He said the city has three All-Stars, Garland, Allen and him, he said he wants to play with his son in the final year of his career, he said the Cavaliers’ door stays open for him, and like us last night, On wrote Saturday, his return home will be a fact sooner or later. Here in Ohio he needs and wants to end his career in sports, here in Ohio is his home and here in Ohio he will return in either the summer of 2023 or the summer of 2024.

When is the NBA coming to Greece?

Instead of an epilogue, watch the VIDEO that was uploaded live on the Sportish Facebook page just before the start of the All-Star Game. We will say more on this subject when we return to Greece.

Sportish in Cleveland

Accredited journalist Haris Stavrou is in Cleveland starting Thursday (February 17) to broadcast the pulse of the 71st NBA All-Star Weekend, the gathering of the best basketball players in the world. Sportish is once again at the side of Giannis Antetokounbo, who is entering the eighth festive three days of his career, but in the sixth All-Star Game as a champion. Thanasis and Alexandros Antetokounbo are in Ohio for the Antetokounmpo team to compete in the Skills Challenge.

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