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All-Star Notebook:

Peace before the party

by Chad Ford

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Editor's note: NBA Insider Chad Ford will be filing a daily notebook from the NBA All-Star Game. Check back this weekend for the latest rumblings and scuttlebutt from Atlanta.

ATLANTA -- Calm before the storm? Try peace before the party.

The day began on a historic note for the NBA, as players and owners actually talked and made concessions for the first time in years.

It ended in typical NBA fashion -- David Stern, Ludacris a gaggle of NBA stars and entertainment celebrities and one very special guest partying until the break of dawn.

The peace

“ It's important to maintain the vitality of the game, particularly in view of the ominous and distressful circumstances that are occurring throughout the world. ”

— Billy Hunter, NBPA Executive Director

The NBA's announcement on Saturday, first reported by Insider early Saturday afternoon, that the league will expand it's first round playoff format to seven games is much bigger than it appears on the surface.

For the first time in a long time, the league and the players were able to have a constructive dialogue and make some substantive progress toward reconciliation. The two extra playoff games, the shortening of training camp for veterans and the increased playoff pool for players were all token concessions.

Yes, the league was anxious to get its hands on more revenue any way it could. And yes, the extra revenue should help the owners avoid a situation where the cap and luxury tax threshold falls next year.

The league's decision to let Darko Milicic and Sofaklis Schortsianides declare for the 2003 draft was a bigger surprise. After holding firm on any rule that limits young players from having access to the league, the NBA's sudden reversal just before the press conference gave some hope to the NBPA that perhaps Stern was softening on the age limit issue.

But the biggest news out of Atlanta on Saturday was that Stern and NBPA Executive Director Billy Hunter feel it's time to kiss and make up. And while they're at it, maybe it's time to extend the collective bargaining agreement now, before a lockout or strike threatens to wipe out any gains the league has made the last five years.

"It's important to maintain the vitality of the game, particularly in view of the ominous and distressful circumstances that are occurring throughout the world," Hunter said Saturday. "So I think it is import for us to sort of be on the cutting edge, and if we can all avoid having to go to war two years from now, that's obviously our intent and purpose."

If anything, it appears Stern is in a giving mood for the first time in a while. And Hunter wants to strike while the iron is hot. While some predictably look on the this whole thing with skepticism, I think it all points in a positive direction.

When two parties are involved in intractable conflict as long as the NBA and NBPA have been, there are usually small baby steps that have to be taken before much larger issues can be discussed and resolved. Saturday's steps will create trust and open the lines of communication with two sides.

There's hope for fans who loathe the idea that another labor problem is on the way. And in this day in age, hope will have to do.

The party

By the time the news conference ended, everyone was ready to let their hair down. All-Star Saturday has taken a major turn for the worse the last few years. The 2-Ball thing was a joke. The dunk contest had become a sham. And almost everything else lacked the drama or spontaneity to make it interesting.

Things changed for the better this year. Here are some observations from a wild All-Star Saturday ...

Jason Richardson won his second straight dunk title.

Pau Gasol runs like a girl. There's no polite way to put this. Pro basketball players should never run limp-wristed with their arms swinging from side to side. Never. Even WNBA players know this.

I haven't seen Jay Williams this happy since the night he was drafted. He was playing basketball again and seemed to be loving every minute of it. I asked him after the game how it felt to be free of the triangle for one night. This was his response.

"It was good just to go. It felt like I was in the Jersey game when we really didn't run it, just a lot of motion and things like that. It made passing a lot easier, and I think I was able to find guys. It felt so good just to go out there and play like that."

Not to pick on Gasol too much, but did you see his face everytime Amare Stoudemire got the ball in the post? He had a sort of "Help me Lord Jesus" face at least a dozen times in that game.

Tyson Chandler officially made his first impact in the rookie game with 12:20 to go in the second half. He helped dislodge a ball from behind the backboard. Way to go Tyson.

Why do the Grizzlies have an Ewok for a mascot?

Gilbert Arenas also has a chip on his shoulder. "I'm probably the only kid on the team who went in the second round, and for me to win MVP shows that anybody in any draft can be the guy. You've got to watch who you are picking sometimes, because there's talent all across the board."

Saturday's 3-point contest was even more evidence that Antoine Walker should quit throwing Hail Marys from the second row and start playing down low like a real man.

Upon further review, Richardson technically won the dunk contest in the rookie game. He had at least three "50" dunks and a couple of others that were close. Stoudemire came a close second.

[censored]! Just when you thought the dunk contest was finally dead ... Desmond Mason and Richardson put on a heart-stopping Michael Jordan-Dominque Wilkins duel for the ages. Richardson's baseline, between the legs, reverse jam was honestly the most spectacular dunk I've ever seen.

I love the old Jordan dunks. Dr. J is classic. Vince Carter is a monster jammer. But Richardson's baseline move with the contest on the line goes to prove that, contrary to popular opinion, all the good dunks that exist somewhere out there in the ether have not been done.

The parties thrown at the All-Star game are legendary. But I'm convinced, after the NBPA's Saturday night All-Star bash at the Georgia World Congress Center, that no one throws a party quite like the NBPA.

The party had everything. Live music, celebrities, great food and topless waitresses with gold painted skin.

I'm not kidding.

Billy Hunter may still believe that his players aren't "perceived as being pimps" but there's certainly a lot of playas in the player's association.

After several hours of A-list arrivals, the influx of celebrities started to dwindle and the Chi McBride's of the world started showing up.

Then, America's ultimate playa made an appearance.

Around 12:30 a.m., a huge motorcade pulled up in front of the Congress Center. Guys in dark suits and sunglasses (always a dead giveaway at night) rushed around a black Suburban.

Out walked, of all people, David Stern.

Are you kidding me? I know Stern is a powerful guy, but does he need a 12-police-car motorcade?

Apparently not. It was the guy in the Suburban with Stern that was creating all of the commotion.

Momentarily, former President Bill Clinton stepped out of the car, stopped to wave at the masses, then was rushed into the affair. Now that's a party.