Your Full 2015 NBA All Star Weekend
Come Valentine’s Day weekend, the New York City streets will be flooded with (media) and the best talent the NBA (and the world for that matter) has to offer in the sport of Baloncesto. It will be the first time New York will be hosting this thrilling event since 1998, and with the new addition of the Barclays Center, the league is shaking things up a bit. The association has decided on a unique approach—the all-star game itself takes place Sunday, February 15th at Madison Square Garden (not to be confused with Adrian Square Garden) in Manhattan, leaving the festivities such as the celebrated dunk contest and 3-point contest to be held in Brooklyn at the Barclays Center the 2 nights prior. With all the talent the NBA has now accumulated, and with this momentous event taking place at the mecca of basketball, it’s no wonder the lowest ticket prices on Stubhub for Saturday’s events are going for $410 bucks.
With Sunday’s game presumed to be the main event, everybody and their momma (at least my momma) recognizes the first half of the game to be nothing more than a quick pick-up game consisting of the world’s greatest talent. Granted, that still doesn’t sound all too shabby, but with some of the competition that the other festivities have to offer—I think for the first time since VC in the 2000 dunk competition, I’m more excited for Saturday night than I am for Sunday.
NBA All Star Festivities
I’d be remiss not to mention the frivolous competitions such as the celebrity game, shooting stars, and skills challenge but #LetsBeReal, a year from now…scratch that, a month from now chances are you won’t remember who the winners of these competitions were. So for that reason, I delve into the juicy stuff. The NBA has just announced who will be participating the Dunk, 3-point, and rising stars contests. While the Dunk Show is usually the overall fan favorite, when you take a look at who’s competing in the 3-point challenge and the twist they added to the rising stars, you might want to think again.
While the Dunk contest shouldn’t disappoint with exciting young talent like Victor Oladipo, Mason Plumlee, Zach Lavine, and The Greek Freak wait ‘til you hear what the 3-point contest has to offer. To start off, we have the almighty splash bro’s in Steph Curry and Klay Thompson going at it. Then we have the fine-wine shooter that is Kyle Korver who is currently shooting a mind blowing 53.1% from deep! We also have Wesley Matthews who surprisingly has hit more threes than anyone this season! And to round things off, we have sharp shooter from Duke J.J. Redick. My prediction? Kyle Korver takes it. Strictly because I believe he’s the best spot up shooter in the league as opposed to Steph who abnormally is better off the dribble. Of course Klay is the one with the current hot-hand coming off a 37 point performance in one quarter in which he hit 9-9 threes, but for crying out loud Korver’s shooting 53.1%!!!
In an attempt to broaden the NBA’s global recognition, the association has implemented a new approach regarding the Rising Stars challenge. Starting this year, the annual Rising Stars challenge that usually consists of the rookies squaring up against the sophomores, will now be presented as a ‘Team USA vs. The World’ exhibition. Still maintaining the rookie and sophomore class, this game will bunch up a slew of international players such as Andrew Wiggins (Canada) and Dante Exum (Australia) to go up against American born 1st and 2nd year guys like Michael Carter-Williams and Mason Plumlee. Seems interesting, and with all the international talent coming in every year it’s well worth a try.
Predictions
I’ll leave you with my predictions for whom I think will come out of all star weekend with a trophy. Enjoy All-Star 2015 ya’ll.
All Star Game MVP- Carmelo Anthony (essentially the host of all star weekend, and having never won this award, one of the most prolific scorers the game has ever seen is due for one of these.)
3 Point Contest- Kyle Korver (53.1% enough said)
Dunk Contest- Zach Lavine (see below video and tell me I’m wrong)
East vs. West All Star Game (WHO CARES?)
Eastern Conference Reserves
– Jeff Teague
– Paul Millsap
– Al Horford
– Kyle Korver (Hawks are doing unthinkable things…and because 53.1%)
– Jimmy Butler
– Kyrie Irving
– Brandon Knight (Has put his team on his back averaging 18 and 5 ast. Milwaukee has a better record than Miami so no reason to put Wade or Bosh over Knight.)
Western Conference Reserves
– Klay Thompson
– James Harden
– Damian Lillard
– LaMarcus Aldridge
-DeMarcus Cousins ( 24.2 ppg, 12.6 rpg, 3.2 apg, 1.6 bpg, 1.4 spg GET THIS MAN TO NYC)
– Kevin Durant (Because he’s top 5)
– Russell Westbrook (Because he’s top 5)
– DeAndre Jordan (This man leads the league in boards with 13.4 a night, he also leads the league in fg% with 73.1%, and 2nd in the league with 2.4 blocks a night behind the brow…need i say more?) *
*Kobe’s injury replacement
