So Many Memories So Little Time

(FortCollins-CO) This year’s All-Star weekend is branded with so many memories that the Nugg Doctor has decided to recap the weekend with some of his favorite stories, MVP analysis, and most shrouded mysteries of one of the best weekends in sports. The dunk contest was great. Yao Ming doing the wave was hilarious. Lebron winning MVP was special. Tracy McGrady’s personal issues are intriguing. What else do you want from the NBA’s mid season circus?

Lets start with a couple of stories surrounding the All-Star game that you may have missed. With the East squad down by seventeen at half, Flip Saunders reverted back to what has been proven to work. By putting in all four Piston players in at once, the East rallied back. At one point in the third quarter the Pistons had scored 11 straight points. So much for raw unbridled talent. Welcome back chemistry, you’re a beautiful thing. So is watching Ben Wallace run the point and dishing the ball to his teammate Richard Hamilton.

I loved the fact that the league’s best players embrace Yao Ming. Especially when they have enough faith in him to anchor the wave while dancing in pre-game introductions. I only wish that they had shared the ball with the big man. He was merely a spectator in the game. Just once I want to see Shaq and Yao in a one on one, facing the basket, trying to cross each other over. That would be sweet.

Lebron James ended up winning the MVP and became the youngest player ever to do so. He was the scoring anchor to the Piston’s defensive team concept. Scoring 29 points on 21 shots, LBJ stole the show from McGrady down the stretch. He even got away with slapping the hometown favorite on the arm on the last second shot. I guess when you’re the king you deserve special treatment. The Doctor just has one question for his majesty. When are you going to be in the Dunk Contest? We all want to see it, please!! Oh, and one last thing… Bring your friends McGrady, Bryant, and Carter with you too. We need to settle this issue once and for all.

What is going on behind those sleepy eyes of Tracy McGrady? Everyone is speculating as to what the off court problems that have been plaguing him entail. One of the NBA’s brightest stars is being extremely tight lipped about what is bothering him. It has affected his play in the regular season and it was nice to see him a little bit looser for Sunday’s game. The mystery is still out there, but I kind of like the fact that he is keeping his personal life out of the public eye. At the same time, it’s eating me up.

There was one extremely scary moment in the game, which put a lot of high paid men at risk of catastrophic injury. What are you talking about you might ask me? I’m talking about Shaq hanging on the rim after a dunk. I was afraid that the Big Aristotle might have pulled the whole unit off the floor and on to the court. Luckily it didn’t happen, but it made me hold my breath. I love Shaq when he is playing on the crowd. He is such a child trapped in a seven-foot, 350-pound body and always an All-Star game favorite.

The NBA All-Star weekend is a way to connect with the fans worldwide that adore this game. The players, stories, history, and game itself all provide us a chance to watch the world’s greatest athletes relax and have a good time doing what they love. The atmosphere that these charismatic men create when they are all on one floor is simply electrifying. It doesn’t matter who wins the game, or even who wins the MVP, because it’s all about the fans. For one weekend, its not about wins and losses, big money contracts, or trade deadlines. The game is pure, with the purest ingredients making it that much more worthwhile.