In last week’s column, I argued that there should be no All-Star game because there is a risk of injury and there is not a good competitive flow to the game. Some readers pointed out to me that the NBA All-Star game actually put on quite a show, thus disproving my argument in some sense.

That said, the NBA all-stars did put on quite a show in the last stretch, making it an extremely close and competitive game. Some incredible highlights of the nights were OKC Thunder’s star Russell Westbrook throwing down a monster dunk which got the Orlando crowd on its feet, along with a couple of other great plays. But beside that, there was just a lot of scoring and no defensive execution.

The issue with this is that while it is fun to see an all offensive basketball game, seeing easy baskets being scored is not really that fun to watch. At the end of the half, the East allowed 80 points. Some NBA teams do not even allow 80 point for the whole game. Not playing defense is understandable because playing hard defense can be risky; just like when Dwayne Wade decided to play hard defense and give Kobe Bryant a hard foul.

Bryant took a hand to his face by Wade which caused him to break his nose and suffer a possible concussion. Bryant acknowledged that it was accidental, but Lakers fans were not happy that their superstar got hurt since there is still half of a season to play, especially with Bryant being the only reason the Lakers are in playoff contention. Yes, it was great seeing Bryant passing the all-time great Michael Jordan in All-Star scoring, but at the risk of a concussion, fans aren’t so sure about the effectiveness of an All-Star game anymore.