Tatum and Brown had the same critique of new All-Star Game format
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown both benefited from the new NBA All-Star Game format, as the Boston Celtics teammates were on the 'Shaq's OGs' squad that won the mini-tournament.
But the victory didn't stop Tatum and Brown from sharing some feedback after Sunday night's festivities.
The Celtics All-Stars admitted they liked the actual format itself, which featured two semifinal games — Shaq's OGs vs. Candace's Rising Stars and Kenny's Young Stars vs. Chuck's Global Stars — and then a final game between Shaq's OGs and Chuck's Global Stars, with a 'target score' of 40 points for each contest.
But after just 11 points were scored in the championship game, play was halted for nearly 20 minutes due to a tribute for TNT's broadcast crew, which is covering All-Star Weekend for the final time. Tatum and Brown were among several All-Stars who weren't keen on the lengthy break.
'The format was cool,' Tatum told reporters after the game. 'I think the toughest part — they stopped the game to do the presentation while we were kind of halfway through it. We were sitting down for 20 minutes, whatever it was. It was kind of tough to get back into the game after that.'
Brown felt similarly, and TNT's cameras caught him voicing his opinion in real-time near the end of mid-game ceremony.
Jaylen Brown "Get them outta here" pic.twitter.com/NPYAbpDxPe
— CJ Fogler 🫡 (@cjzero) February 17, 2025
'I don't know if the rest of the other guys knew (about the extended break),' Brown told reporters. 'I didn't know, so that kind of took the gas out of everything for a little bit.
'But I know we're just trying to be great professionals and we're trying to do different things and explore how to keep keep generating viewership, and tonight was us trying to do something different.'
Brown also recognized the obvious concern of injury and rust when players are forced to break for nearly 20 minutes in the middle of a game, although he made sure to point out that the oldest of the four teams emerged victorious.
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'I mean, you can say that,' Brown added. 'I would say that's not ideal to stop like that if you want guys to play and be physical and play harder. But I think guys are still out there having fun.
'All the OGs, you know, old knees and old backs, we came out on top, so I don't think anybody else should have had any excuses. But it's definitely not ideal.'
The tournament format has promise, as the on-court play was more competitive than in years past. But the extended breaks in action didn't go over well with players and fans alike, so perhaps the timing and structure of the games will be revisited for future All-Star Games.
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