This weekend the NBA all-star festivities will be taking place. It will be a nice break from the regular schedule of the NBA. All-star weekend is always a well deserved break not only for the players but also the fans. This year should be an exciting weekend will all that is taking place. It all begins Friday with the celebrity game followed by the rookie-sophomores game. This game should be very exciting with the likes of Blake Griffin and John Wall leading the rookies and Brandon Jennings and Stephen Curry to name a couple of sophomore.
We can all agree that the dunk contest is not what it used to be, and that it hasn’t been that way since probably Vince Carter wowed us in 2000. This year however, everyone will watch, but they will be watching it for one player and that player being Blake Griffin. If I were to ask most people they would have no idea who the other three contestants are. The four contestants in this year’s dunk contest are Blake Griffin, DeMar DeRozan (was in it last year, but is replacing Brandon Jennings this year), Serge Ibaka and JaVale McGee. With no disrespect to any other contestants, most people believe they will be trying for second place behind Griffin who is the clear favorite. Griffin has had some unbelievable dunks during the year but that doesn’t always translate into performing well in the actual contest. I just hope that there are some good dunks and that the winner doesn’t win because his opponent couldn’t finish his dunk.
Also on Saturday, the 3-Point contest will take place. This year’s contestants are Ray Allen, Daniel Gibson, Kevin Durant, James Jones, Paul Pierce and Dorell Wright. Ray Allen did just set the NBA record for most 3-Point field goals made, but the winner of the contest is usually the person with the most strength and stamina. No offense to Ray but he is one of the smaller contestants and that could be his downfall. Paul Pierce was last year’s winner and is more than capable of repeating. Durant is a remarkable shooter for being as tall as he is and that could be to his advantage in the contest. With all these contestants being great shooters we can only hope that some scores get into the 20’s where they should be in a professional 3-Point contest.
The weekend will end with the all-star game on Sunday night. The rosters are very similar to those of years past. Last year the East pulled out a two point victory 141-139. Most all-star games don’t usually include much defense, so look for another high scoring game this year. The all-star game more often than not is just your typical game where nothing too extraordinary happens. I wish the teams had more time to practice so they could game plan some exciting plays that would lift the fans to their feet. This year the East looks to have the better starters, but the West has better reserves. With the game being in L.A. look for Kobe to take over and lead the West to victory.
This weekend should be very exciting for all sports fans with the festivities of the NBA All-Star Weekend. Good luck to all the contestants.
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