Sports
are always exciting, no matter what sport you are watching or who is playing.
This year’s 1972 NBA All Star Game is proof of this. Regardless if you enjoy
basketball or the people playing, it can’t be ignored that this was quite the
game to watch.
This year marked the 22nd annual playing of the All
Star Game that took place on January 18th. This year, it took place
at the Forum, an indoor arena in Inglewood, California. Tom Heinsohn, coach of
the Boston Celtics, coached the players from the Eastern Conference this year.
Bill Sharman, head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, coached the Western
Conference players. ABC televised the game this year, with Keith Jackson and
Bill Russell announcing. Officiating the game was Darrell Garretson and Manny
Sokol. The game had a massive attendance of over 17,200 people showing up to
the Forum to watch the game. The game was a nail biter, with both teams tied
for most of the game.
When you take a look at the box score of the final game,
it seems like the East should have easily won. Score wise, they came out on top
of the West in 3 of the 4 quarters. In the first quarter, the scored 33 while
the West only scored 27. In the second, the East again scored 31 over the
West’s 27. In the third, the West finally came out and scored 33 to the East’s
low 20. Then, the East outscored the West with 26 to 25. When you look at it,
the East should have had the game, but the West won the game with a final score
of 112-110. With all the close scoring, both teams were nearing the end of the
game tied 110-110. Jerry West was able to break the tie in the final second of
the game, solidifying the win for the West. This play was what gave Jerry West
the honor of being named the games MVP.
This game just shows how quickly one
team can gain an advantage over the other. It seemed like the East would win
early on, but then the West came back and was able to tie the game. The game
was only finished by a tie-breaking basket, something both teams could have
had. If anyone from the East had taken the ball instead of Jerry, the outcome
would have been different and the victor could have been the East. Instead,
fate gave the game to the West, the official NBA All Star Game Champions.
My favorite sport to watch is basketball. I love how this is a great example of why it is my favorite sport because you are right in pointing out that a game can change at the last quarter. The mystery of who’s going to win in a close game those last 5 seconds, or 3 seconds is truly a nail biting experience for the viewer. It is amazing to see how the Lakers and Celtics have been able to stay on top of their respective conferences as demonstrated by their coaches being the East and West coaches. History has made both the Lakers and the Celtics extremely popular teams. Moreover, it is pretty cool to see that the East/West rivalry existed back then, and that the West ended up taking the win. Finally, it's a little funny to see how the clothing has definitely changed from back then. - Adriana Garcia
ReplyDeleteI'm not a huge basketball fan, but that is one of the things I do enjoy about the sport. The fact that anything can happen and the game could change hands at the very last second. The uniforms were very interesting. It would be bland and boring if the teams kept the same styles year after year. Its nice to see them change it up once in a while.
DeleteI love basketball, and I think that games that are “nail biting” are the most entertaining. All of the running up and down the court, the steals from the other teams, as well as slam dunks, assists, and three point shots all contribute to the excitement of basketball games. It must have been an adrenaline rush for all of the players seeing a jam packed arena. Jerry West must have felt so honored to be named the MVP of that game, especially because it practically determined the victor of the NBA All Star Game Championships. The game must have been a huge event in the country because it was televised on ABC. Do you think that televising sports games was fairly new during this decade?
ReplyDeleteWow that is so cool that over 17,000 people went to the game. Back in the 70's it seems like that would be a lot. Also it is cool to see that the basketball teams were not just playing to impress and show off but they were playing for competition. Nowadays the all-star game is just for fun and usually does not have much competition or seriousness to it. I remember collecting basketball cards when I was younger and Jerry west was a great player and a wanted basketball card back then. What was something interesting that you learned about basketball during this time and was it different then todays basketball?
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