Barkley had one more reason to be more active tonight—he had a chance to be selected as an All-Star starter!
Well, since joining the Lakers, after the Lakers signed O'Neal directly and acquired Kenny Anderson, Barkley placed himself as the fifth most important position on the team, expecting the rest of the team to perform better than him during the regular season. Even with an average playing time of around 20 minutes, it hadn't increased after O'Neal's injury; he originally had no thought of being an All-Star starter.
However, in the first round of voting, he was the second among forwards, and in the second round, his lead over Shawn Kemp increased! So, of course, he had to give it some effort; there are only six games this month, a bit more push, and he might make it to the All-Star starting lineup!
Right from the first attack, Barkley played very hard.
