NBA All-Star Weekend Preview

Greetings everyone! All-Star weekend in the NBA is an interesting event, and while the game "centers" around the game itself, the outcome of said game is pretty relevant. At any rate, let's take a look at what's going on.

FRIDAY

• Celebrity Game - 7:00 ESPN - I hate this event with a passion. If you want to watch Ne-Yo shoot 27-footers, this is for you.
• Rookie/Soph Game - 9:00 TNT - This is apparently called the "rising stars challenge" now that Shaq and Charles Barkley have picked teams pick-up style rather than the traditional rookie vs. sophomore format. This is usually a pretty entertaining watch as there is no defense played, and always a threat to break whatever scoring record previously exists. This year the controversy is about Jeremy Lin somehow being snuck into this game by David Stern, but I'd rather just watch Ricky Rubio throw alley-oops.

SATURDAY

• D-League All-Star Game - 2:00 NBA-TV - This should be interesting for real hoop heads, as these guys will undoubtedly be playing hard in this type of showcase. I'm in.
• Skills Challenge - 8:30 TNT (2nd event after Shooting Stars) - Might as well call this the point guard challenge. Stephen Curry is the defending champ, and I like him to repeat. If not, I'd pick Tony Parker over Wall/Westbrook/Williams/Irving.
• 3-Point Shootout - 8:30 TNT (3rd event) - Only God knows why Joe Johnson was selected, but now that he's been ousted, there's no story here going in. I like either James Jones (defending champ) or the recently added Anthony Morrow to win this thing, but my biggest hope is that Kevin Love doesn't flop.
• Dunk Contest - 8:30 TNT (4th event) - The highlight of the weekend for most people. Jeremy Evans has been added late to replace Iman Shumpert, and I'm picking him outright. Evans is a bit player, but is one of the more ferocious dunkers you'll ever see, and that's my pick. Second place? Give me Paul George.

SUNDAY

• All-Star Game - 7:30 TNT - I'm consistently underwhelmed by this game. At any rate, it's a collection of 24 of the best 35 players in the world and that counts for something. I'm picking the West because they have Chris Paul and Steve Nash, but don't put it past Kobe to take 25 shots, or Lebron to decide he's going to do whatever he wants. I just hope it's close so the last 5 minutes is competitive, and we see some defense.

Enjoy the festivities!