Jazz's Quin Snyder to coach Western Conference in NBA All-Star Game?

The NBA and National Basketball Players Association haven't yet confirmed that the 2021 NBA All-Star Game will take place on March 7 in Atlanta, as widely reported, but it appears the Western Conference entry already has its coach set in place. 

According to Tim Bontemps of ESPN, Utah Jazz head coach Quin Snyder has secured his spot to lead the Western Conference in the unannounced All-Star exhibition due to several factors. Utah has guaranteed that it will have a better record than the Los Angeles Clippers as of two weeks before the All-Star Game, and Frank Vogel of the Los Angeles Lakers can't coach the Western Conference next month because he coached in last year's contest. 

As of Wednesday afternoon, Doc Rivers of the Philadelphia 76ers is on pace to guide the Eastern Conference squad on All-Star Sunday. Rivers represented the Boston Celtics as the Eastern Conference coach in 2008 and 2011. 

The All-Star Game starters will be announced during Thursday's "NBA on TNT" broadcast, while the seven reserve spots will be unveiled on TNT next Tuesday. 

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has urged fans to "not travel to Atlanta to party" for any All-Star festivities and declared that Atlanta will not hold any "NBA-sanctioned events open to the public" because of COVID-19 concerns during the Association's winter break scheduled for March 5-10. 

"We are in agreement that this is a made-for-TV event only, and people should not travel to Atlanta to party," Bottoms said on Tuesday.