“I’m going to go high. Maybe I’ll do that one and nothing more”said Pau Gasol after leading his team to victory on Friday night of the NBA All-Star 2023. Acting as your coach Team Pau He signs up for the party on the benches touched by the same wand as when he was one of the protagonists on the parquet. The Rising Stars Challenge was marked with its name in this new format change in which four legends named four groups of players selected from among the rookies (first year), sophomores (second year), which were 21, and 7 members of Ignite (experimental youth team in the G-League).
The show with which the All-Star begins had a redesign, again, by the League to create more expectation: a couple of semifinals and a final between four teams in which a former member of the competition would appear as leader, being Deron Williams, Joakim Noah and Jason Terry this year in addition to Gasol.
Jose Alvarado was the highlight of the night. Because this game is only structured as a Rookie Challenge, but experience is always a grade and the player of Puerto Rican origin likes to show it whenever he can. The 24-year-old Pelicans point guard won the MVP trophy at the event. He wanted to go with everything and saw his effort rewarded in an evening that is usually characterized by relaxation, lack of competitiveness and excessive laxity of its members. The NBA has sought to reformulate this Rising Stars again, because it has not yet found the key that sounds best, and this may be the good one. Judging by what we have seen, they take it seriously here. What you had to do to win was to be the first to 40 points in the semifinal and to 25 in the final, those were the pre-established victory scales. Putting a score to reach, that being the purpose, seems the path to take. Alvarado chipped in 13 as he and his teammates (Paolo Banchero, Magic; Scottie Barnes, Raptors; Keegan Murray, Kings; Jaden Ivey, Pistons; Bennedict Mathurin, Pacers; Andrew Nembhard, Pacers) beat Team Deron in the first test by 40 -27 and finished the party scoring the triple -three of his five points- that was worth the collective and individual happiness. The final was 25-20. Quentin Grimes, of the Knicks, overshadowed him with Team Joakim, scoring 13 and 14 points respectively.
A good change for this first leg of the All-Star that is in line, although with obvious differences, from what is also being done with the All-Star Game on Sunday. The attendees at the Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City were pleasantly impressed and delighted by protagonists such as Hispanics like Pau and Jose.