Kevin Durant Blames Curry and Lillard in All Star Game

Kevin Durant told Fred VanVleet’s Unguarded podcast that he partly blames Stephen Curry and Damian Lillard for the All Star Game’s slide, saying "I'm blaming Steph, I'm blaming Steph. It's Steph's fault. Because he come out there and shoot from half court...I'm blaming Dame too." Durant framed it lightly while pointing to a larger issue of low effort, loose defense and spectacle shots that have turned the event into pure entertainment. The league is trying a three team USA versus World round robin at the Intuit Dome on Feb 15 to freshen the product. Merlin sees the All Star Game as a glittering curtain show. Format tweaks may add intrigue for a night, but players must care for the spell to break. Expect flashes of brilliance, not a defensive revolution.