NBA fans are on the fence about the league's elaborate new All-Star Game format.
Among the most glaring changes, the first three quarters will serve as mini-games played for charity. The team with the most points will win $100,000 for their assigned charity and the score will reset at zero at the top of each quarter.
At the end of the first three quarters, the teams will start the fourth with all the points they've accumulated. The target score will then be set at 24 points higher than the team that lead's total. So for example: if the score is 100-80, then the target score will be 124 points. The first team to reach this target score will win the game. The 24 point marker was chosen to honor the late Kobe Bryant.
"It almost takes us back to when we would play on the playground," the NBA’s president for league operations, Byron Spruell, said in a statement "We’d go up to 15 or 21 or what have you. This time it’ll be 24 with someone hitting a game-winning shot."
If you're still confused (or just think the whole thing is unnecessary), then you might want to take it up with Chris Paul. Per the AP, the target score idea has been tossed around since last summer, when Paul was the president of the National Basketball Players Association. CP3 is reportedly "a big fan" of the $2 million winner takes all The Basketball Tournament.
The Basketball Tournament uses an "Elam Ending" which is where the game clock is turned off at the first stoppage after 4:00 in the fourth quarter. From there, the target score is eight points higher than the leading team's score. After seeing this, Paul reportedly reached out to the NBA to find out if there was a way to replicate this for the All-Star Game.
Reactions to the new format have been plenty, with some noting that the new format is confusing, while others applaud the league for shaking things up.
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