LeBron-Durant battle steals spotlight

As fun as their matchup was, it’s difficult to assess either player’s ability when neither team showed much interest in defending.

LeBron and Durant have both worked hard to improve their defense, and that deserves celebration. It’s a huge reason their teams reached the NBA Finals and conference finals, respectively. And fans want those higher stakes.

Tuesday, none of that mattered. Mostly, the game was about what NBA players could do against less-than-NBA defenses.

But it was also about what NBA players can do in general — dazzle and delight. They did both on this night.

Dunks and crossovers were cheered. Misses and turnovers were forgiven.

Fans forgave the slow entrance to the arena, too. The show was worth it.

While stuck in line, one man joked (I think) that he had delayed his mortgage payment to buy a ticket for the game.

Without question, the NBA still has a product fans want to pay for.

Dan Feldman writes and edits the TrueHoop Network blog PistonPowered.