Just fuggedaboutit! I think one of the things the NBL has done well in the past year is under-promise (ie, they have promised nothing) and over-delivered (easy to do when you promise so little!).
I think for years we have been let down by teams/people trying to 'hype' the games and then having the experience fail to live up to the reality.
The All-Star game fits into this category - even the NBA version is boring - who wants to see West beat East 140-138 with only the last two minutes played hard. All the alley-oops in the world mean little when the D just watches the ball (and their player) sail over their head.
Keep working on the product - sustainable teams playing hard every night will produce plenty of great basketball. Hodge/Homicide might get you clips on Sports Tonight but are unlikely to deliver 'rusted-on' fans to the sport. They will come from great games BACKED UP (not substituted for) terrific game night experiences.
Game night presentation in Newcastle in the 80's was non-existent but the vibe of 1500 people leaving after being packed in to watch a last-second Michael Johnson jumper nail Perth delivered fans for life - it happened all over, they're still out there, but they're not getting what attracted them to the game in the first place - athleticism they can see close-up, physicality they can see close up, and intensity that (in the good old days) came from weekend warriors (for the most part) giving it their all.
If we could translate the 'old school' passion onto the 'new school' athleticism and skill then we are onto a winner!
I've said it before and I'll say it again - if the worst we could do is replicate the 2009 U20 Men's Final (Qld - Page, Salecich, Motum, Young, et al vs NSW - Cadee, Mullan and supporting cast) then we'd have a winner. Passion, intensity, incredible athleticism (the opening play from Qld was a botched alley-oop which was finished by a two-handed put-back flush by Motum, tremendous skill (the semi-final saw Dellavadova outpointed by a masterful shooting performance from Cadee), match-ups (Cadee (superstar/good guy/white knight) v Salecich (stopper/Dick Dastardly/forces of evil).
The product is great, give them a reason and a chance to play hard and we'll get there.