Milwaukee Bucks: Takeaways from 2020 NBA All-Star Game

That fire, that intensity

Any talk about both Antetokounmpo and Middleton’s performances will rightly be overshadowed by the buzz and excitement that was generated after watching that fourth quarter from last night’s All-Star Game.

After years and years of criticism of trying to make the All-Star Game something worth watching, we’ve seen recent initiatives and changes from players such as Chris Paul and James to inject some much-needed life in the NBA’s midseason classic.

Needless to say, all of the changes that were present in this year’s edition, whether it was the Elam ending or trying to win the first, second and third quarters, unleashed a level of intensity and competition that has been sorely missing in the All-Star Game for quite some time. I mean, Kyle Lowry spent the entire fourth quarter trying to draw charges, and lobbying referees following calls was a regular sight as both teams marched their way toward the target score.

Of course, that didn’t make up for the Debbie Downer ending of Davis nailing a free throw to clinch the victory for Team LeBron, but the wholesale changes that were hyped going into the night paid off to an incredibly degree.

Venerable Bucks announcer Jim Paschke put it better than anybody on the prospect of making a change like we saw for last night’s game and what it could mean for the NBA as a whole.

And we can only hope that this new All-Star format will stay put in the years to come.

The Bucks will pick up the second half of their season when they resume play against the Detroit Pistons Thursday night for a 6 pm central time tilt.