It would have been nice to see Steph Curry, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (SGA), or Giannis Antetokounmpo in the All-Star Game this past weekend, but sadly, all were out with injuries.

Team World played most of the contest without Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, and, of course, SGA and Giannis.

In other words, Team World was in a World of Hurt.

Or did you happen to catch rookie sensation Cooper Flagg in the Rising Stars? Me neither. Plenty of Team Stars and Team Stripes this weekend, but Team Flagg was out with a bad foot.

Rising Stars? Or Falling Stars?

Lebron James missed his 18th game of the season before the All-Star break, making him ineligible for any season-ending awards.

As a matter of fact, Jokic (16 missed games), Antetokounmpo (23), Joel Embiid (24), Zion Williamson (16), Ja Morant (33), Trae Young (43), Steph Curry (15), and Luka Doncic (12) are all either ineligible for season-ending awards or very close to it.

This doesn’t even factor in players like Jimmy Butler, Anthony Davis, Zach Levine, or Jaren Jackson Jr., who have been lost for the rest of the season due to injury.

Or Jason Tatum, Tyrese Haliburton, Kyrie Irving, or Damian Lillard, who were lost for the year before the season even began.

Things are so bad for the NBA at this point that Shedeur Sanders could be named Third Team All-NBA.

Even the Trade Deadline was affected, looking more like an Injured Reserve list.

The biggest trade of the Trade Deadline was the Washington Wizards acquiring injured Trae Young and more injured Anthony Davis. The Utah Jazz mortgaged their future for the injured Jaren Jackson Jr. Golden State traded the recently injured Jonathan Kuminga for the always-injured Kristaps Porzingis. And the Los Angeles Clippers traded for an injured Darius Garland, then shipped a healthy Ivica Zubac to the Indiana Pacers, who now claim he is injured.

But that’s not the only thing that’s broken.

Between the injuries, the All-Star Game, the Dunk Contest, teams trying to tank, and a potential gambling issue, Adam Silver has plenty that needs fixing (without Rozier and Chauncey’s help).

• Not being eligible for an award if you miss more than 17 games?!! It’s more like today’s NBA players should get one if they don’t.

• The NBA is so soft these days that Adam Silver is looking to make fist-bumping a Flagrant 1.

• Injury bug is an understatement. This league should be sponsored by Orkin.

• The Denver Nuggets’ projected starting lineup of Jokic, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, Christian Braun, and Cam Johnson has yet to play together due to injuries. So many painkillers in those five that it’s more like Denver’s injected starting lineup.

• Adam Silver won’t like this idea, but one thought is to make the season shorter to help limit injuries. 82 games are like watching the curling events at the Winter Olympics. They seem to go on forever.

Credit via NBA

• Good for Murray for making his first NBA All-Star appearance, though. It helps that it was a USA vs World format, that he’s Canadian, that injuries may have opened a roster spot, and that the Trump Administration got rid of anyone else eligible. But still.

• Without SGA, Giannis, or much Jokic and Doncic, Victor Wembanyama showed that he was not only the best player on the World Team. But possibly the best player on the World Stage. Period.

Credit via ESPN

• It was fun to see 7 feet 6-inch Tacko Fall standing next to the 7 feet 5-inch Wembanyama. Just think what Tacko’s career could have been if he could dribble, jump, shoot step-back threes, and speak French.

Credit via Sports Illustrated

• Wembanyama could very well be the new face of the league. Although at 7’5, he’s more like the new upper chest or maybe Adam’s Apple of the league.

• The Dunk Contest was a little sad. Like they did with Giannis and Steph, the NBA should have announced that Ja Morant, Zion Williamson, Aaron Gordon, and Zach Levine were scheduled to compete but unable to participate due to sickness/injury – then name their replacements as Jaxson Hayes, Carter Bryant, Jase Richardson, and Keshad Johnson.

• Carter Bryant. Clever entry for the Dunk Contest. Was Dominque Jordan unavailable?

• Jaxson Hayes is a bouncy 7-foot center and can obviously dunk. The bigger question for the Lakers is whether he can defend.

• Apparently, the NBA thought two-time Dunk Champion, Mac McClung, shouldn’t be in the Dunk Contest because he played only 4 games in the NBA this season and mostly played in the G-League. The eventual winner was Keshad Johnson, who averaged 3 points and 2 rebounds for the Miami Heat in 21 appearances, while splitting time in the G-League.

• 3 points and 2 rebounds? He should win the Dunk Contest with legs that fresh.

Image via YouTube

• Damian Lillard won his third Three-Point Contest despite being injured and missing the entire NBA season. Make millions, shoot threes, forget about defense, play a few games when available. Doesn’t sound that injured to me.

• I feel like “Dame Time” now refers to players who get paid but don’t play. Kind of like “Zion Time,” “Porzingis Time,” or “Anthony Davis Time.”

• Speaking of Anthony Davis. If it feels like the Dallas Mavericks ended up getting nothing but Cam Christie for Luka Doncic now that Davis is gone, you are dead wrong. They actually got Max Christie, Cam’s older brother.

Image via ESPN

• Commissioner Silver is also very concerned about teams trying to tank to secure their best shot at a lottery pick. Duke’s Cam Boozer, BYU’s AJ Dybantsa, and Jayhawk Darryn Peterson are all freshmen projected to go in the top 3. Peterson has already missed 11 of the first 25 games this season due to injury. So, apparently, he’s the most Pro-ready.

• The accusations of tanking are so serious that Silver has fined both the Utah Jazz (18-38) and Indiana Pacers (15-40) for resting healthy stars.

Healthy maybe. Stars? I don’t think so.

• Besides, it’s not easy to tank when you play in the Eastern Conference.

The Boston Celtics lost Tatum, Porzingis, and Horford. Cut payroll aggressively to avoid having to pay a luxury tax. Decided to tank to rebuild for next season. And accidentally ended up 35-19.

But you got this Adam Silver. Or as they say in the business world, break a leg.

Images via ESPN, YouTube, Pelican Debrief, NBA, Sports Illustrated

Alan Tapley Colorado Sports & Culture Writer

Alan Tapley is an educator, author, and blogger who has lived just outside of Boulder for the last twenty years. His published work includes two novels, two children’s books, a series of cartoons in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, and multiple sports related articles. His love for family and the state of Colorado is only matched by one thing, his passion for sports.  The first baseball game he ever attended was at Wrigley Field, before there were lights.  At the final Bronco game at the old Mile High, he allegedly cut out a piece of his seat in the South stands.  But regardless of being here for the Avalanche’s last Stanley Cup, the Rockies only World Series appearance, and all the Broncos’ Super Bowl Victories, his wife never fails to remind him that he wasn’t at the University of Colorado in 1990, like she was.  The year the Buffs football team won the National Championship