Doc Rivers: “We’re not losing in my effing building” – Michael Jordan allegedly “went off on teammates” for their poor defense in…
The All-Star Game’s recent evolution has been a contentious source of discussion. There was a moment, though, when the players would hoop for pride and take the midseason showcase seriously.
Coach Doc Rivers of the Philadelphia 76ers, for example, recounted how Michael Jordan, with the East leading by six, reprimanded his All-Star colleagues at halftime.
During his playing career, Rivers was only selected as an All-Star once, in 1988. The exhibition that year took place at Chicago Stadium, which was Michael Jordan’s regular haunt back then. It follows that the legend’s desire to perform for the home crowd makes sense.
As halftime approached, the East led 60–54. Those scores are easily reachable in a single period by today’s standards. But the Chicago Bulls icon seemed infuriated by the West’s 54 points after two quarters of play.
Oddly enough, the West scored 79 after the half without even “His Airness” giving his team a pep talk to bolster their defense. Luckily for Jordan, the East scored 78 points in the second half and won 138-133.
In the midst of the rather weak defense, MJ seized command, winning the MVP award and fulfilling his dream of winning at home.
For many viewers, the players’ superior defense was what made the earlier ASG editions more entertaining to watch. These days, it’s not unusual to see total scores of 300 points or higher, and many coaches and players are criticizing the 2023 competition harshly.
Since keeping players safe during the All-Star game is still the league’s top priority, they might not be very concerned about it. But this year’s viewership and ratings were much lower than usual, which may indicate that the league has to devise strategies to spice up the competition.
Maybe if the players were more committed to defense, more people might watch. However, it might be difficult to inspire them to do so given that in 1988, not even Jordan was able to get his team to play better defense.
