Exclusive: Michael Coleman calls out lack of defense in NBA All-Star Game causing falling ratings: "All they do is shoot!"

The supposedly much-anticipated NBA All-Star game didn’t live up to the hype and expectations. Sports Media Watch figures show it only had a combined rating of 2.2 from both TNT and TBS. 4.59 million watched the league’s showcase of its brightest and biggest stars.

Last year’s rating was 3.1 while fans across the globe who viewed it numbered 6.28 million. It’s a drastic 29% drop off in the first category and 27% worse than the second statistic. All told, it was a debacle the league didn’t see coming.

Speaking to Reggie Roberts on Sportskeeda's "BallFather" podcast, Michael Coleman said:

“The viewership was down 25% and you would have thought that would be impossible. … All they do is shoot, there was no defense in that game! … You think about all those cats back then, who brought it every night, All-Star game, regular-season game.

“They need to do it differently, they need to promote it differently. … We shouldn’t be surprised this is where the NBA All-Star game is. … You needed a guy from the G League to hype up the slam dunk contest.”

Sunday’s NBA All-Star Game was the lowest rated and least-watched edition of the game, per @paulsen_smw

• Ratings declined 29% and viewership 27% from last year’s All-Star Game

• The record-low audience places the NBA All-Star Game well behind this year’s NFL Pro Bowl

•… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… https://t.co/sZ2jJXdXur

Part of the reason why the figures significantly dropped was the absence of several key NBA All-Stars who have millions of followers. Kevin Durant, Steph Curry and Zion Williamson were all out.

Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was the chosen team captain, narrowly edged Durant in fan voting. Curry topped all Western Conference All-Star guards in the poll. Zion Williamson was a starter had he been available due to the fans’ vote of confidence.

The trio not playing took a big chunk out of the fans who wanted to see their favorite stars have fun in Salt Lake City.

And there was obviously a lack of a sense of competition in the NBA All-Star game for various reasons. The players didn’t play that hard for fear of injuring themselves. LeBron James hurt his hand while trying to block Pascal Siakam’s shot. He didn’t return in the second half as a precautionary measure.

ALL STAR UPDATE
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Here's the play where LeBron James hurt his hand as he was trying to block this Pascal Siakam shot

#NBA #NBAAllStar #NBAAllStarWeekend #LakeShow #NBAAllStarLIVE https://t.co/bEjHTNId5L

Once “King James” went out, the game turned a little sloppy.

Coach Mike Malone and a few other NBA All-Stars weren’t too happy with how the game was played

Basketball fans weren’t the only ones who thought something could have been done to make things more interesting. The NBA introduced a new drafting order to avoid hurting the feelings of the player picked last.

The new strategy added spice and excitement as the All-Stars had no idea who they would be playing with until a few minutes before tip-off. Once the euphoria of the first 12 minutes started to subside, the game suddenly didn’t hold as much appeal.

After Team Giannis beat Team LeBron, the Denver Nuggets’ Mike Malone, who coached James’ squad, had this to say:

"It's an honor to be a part of a great weekend with great players but that was the worst basketball game ever played."

Michael Malone after the 184-175 All-Star Game:

"It's an honor to be a part of a great weekend with great players but that was the worst basketball game ever played."

(Via @VicLombardi)
https://t.co/HvNauv62UE

He also added that he appreciated Kyrie Irving and Joel Embiid, who urged their teammates to show more competitiveness. “Uncle Drew” and “The Process” were unsurprisingly the top performers on Team LeBron as they tried to make the game more interesting by playing real basketball.