In my humble opinion, I believe that the NBA hosts the best
all-star game of all professional sports. You don’t hear anyone talk about
all-star contests from different eras like you do the Slam Dunk contest or the
Three-Point shooting contest. Famous dunks like Dominique Wilkins’ tomahawk,
Michael Jordan dunking from the free throw line or Vince Carter sticking his
arm in the rim are classic highlights on sports shows.
The actual game itself is about as memorable as any other All-Star
game but they are still exciting to watch. This year’s game will feature
starters LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Derrick Rose and the home
town favorite Dwight Howard playing for the East team. The West team will
consist of Kobe Bryant, Blake Griffin, Chris Paul, Andrew Bynum and Kevin
Durant.
Although the West usually boast a pretty good size advantage
every year, the East rarely lose when the game is held in an Eastern Conference
team’s arena. With the game being held in the Orlando Magic’s arena, don’t look
for that trend to change this year. Especially with Dwight Howard looking to
put on a good show for the home crowd before he skips town for greener
pastures.
The Rising Stars challenge is just another attempt to showcase
the league’s rookie and second-year talent. It was the Rookies versus the Sophomores
in the past which were actually some pretty good games. You would think that
the Sophomores would have a clear advantage each year but they didn’t. The
Rookies won the last two contests.
This year both teams were drafted by “general managers”
Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley. Shaq seems to have gotten the better
draft landing Ricky Rubio, Jeremy Lin, Blake Griffin and Greg Monroe so I would
lean towards that team winning the contest.
This looks to be a down year for the Slam Dunk
contest since Blake Griffin won't be defending his crown. There are no exciting names or clear favorite to win among the group
of Chase Budinger, Jeremy Evans, Paul George and Derrick Williams. The only guy
I’ve seen make a highlight dunk all year is Williams so if I had to make a
pick, he is who I would lean towards.
James Jones is back to defend his crown in the Three-Point
Shooting Contest. There are a couple of notable entries with Kevin Love and Joe
Johnson participating in the contest. The other three contestants consist of
Anthony Morrow, Ryan Anderson and Jones’ teammate in Miami, Mario Chalmers.
Anderson has been on fire this year and will have the crowd
behind him since he plays for the Magic but it’s a lot easier to hit threes
when no one has a hand in your face. It’s hard to win this contest in back to
back years so I would lean towards either Love or Anderson winning this one.
The best thing about the NBA’s All-Star weekend is that it
is truly an experience. There will be musical performances and lots of stars on
hand who will be participating in the festivities. Justin Bieber and Lil’ Wayne
have played in the celebrity game in the past and there will most definitely be
high profile stars on hand this year.
So regardless of how good or bad the games are the NBA
All-Star experience is still by far the best in sports. If you get a chance
this weekend, flip the tube to the All-Star celebration and enjoy the
festivities. I sure will.
Roosevelt Hall is an NBA Blogger for The Sport Mentalist 2 and also writes for Shatter The Backboard. He can be contacted at RHall@shatterthebackboard.com. Follow him on Twitter @sportmentalist and add him on Facebook Roosevelt Hall Thesportmentalist.
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