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NBA: Players fret as tensions loom in global NBA game

Toronto Raptors forward Jamario Moon dunks during the first half of the Rookie Challenge and Youth Jam at the New Orleans Arena in New Orleans, Louisiana, during the NBA All-Star weekend on Friday. PHOTO: EPA

When it comes to adding sparkle to the National Basketball Association All-Star Game, players worry that adopting a US-International format could cause injuries and overheated tensions.

Sunday's 57th NBA All-Star Game between Eastern Conference and Western Conference standouts figures to be a typical high-scoring contest with slam dunks and flamboyant individual heroics to delight any NBA fanatic.

NBA scoring leader LeBron James and playmakers Jason Kidd and Dwyane Wade power the East against a West team led by China's Yao Ming, forwards Carmelo Anthony, Tim Duncan and Dirk Nowitzki and guards Steve Nash and Allen Iverson.

While there has been talk about testing a US-World format to add meaning to the sizzle, concerns over injury in the mid-season showcase and a desire to keep the casual and fun atmosphere of the weekend likely preclude such a move.

"I don't think it would be good," Germany's Nowitzki said of a US-World idea.

"The games would get too competitive. That's not what the All-Star Game is all about. Guys might get hurt. It might get physical," he said.

James, a co-captain for the US Olympic team trying to reclaim its global throne in six months at the Beijing Olympics, said the Americans would play more like a world championship or Olympics rather than a mellow frolic.

"We would definitely play hard," James said. "It would be just like USA Basketball. We really compete against the world."

It would also radically change the lineups since among this year's All-Stars only Yao, Nowitzki and Canada's Nash are from outside the US borders.

The international style of play common in world and Olympic competitions also features tight defense and greater teamwork, less thrilling to NBA fans than one-on-one moves or the high-leaping heroics of superstars.

But there are other ideas.

James called the idea of playing outdoors "extremely fun" but the notion, set for a pre-season game in California next October, could happen in few NBA cities for an All-Star Game due to winter weather.

Another idea is to copy Major League Baseball and have a home-court edge in the NBA Finals go not to the conference champion with the better record but instead the one whose conference wins the All-Star Game.

"If there was some type of home-court advantage for the winner, maybe that would have guys playing harder. If you had guys going hard for four quarters, it would be fun," James said.

But would players back such a change?

"I don't think so," James said. "I don't think it would work."

Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant figures to see little or no playing time because of an injured right pinky that could require surgery, robbing the West of it's top scorer this season and last year's All-Star Most Valuable Player.

But West coach Byron Scott, who has guided the New Orleans Hornets to the top of the Western Conference so far this season, is confident anyway.

"I love our chances. We've got a bunch of great players," he said. "We would be missing a little bit if Kobe doesn't play."

Yao feels the pressure of being Asia's first NBA superstar, representing not only 200 million likely All-Star viewers in his homeland but also Asian dreams of glory in the ultimate basketball showcase.

"It's very special," Yao said. "There's a lot of pressure but it's also a big honor. You have to take both."
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