There were many memorable moments from all-star weekend this
year, but none struck me more than watching Fall Out Boy perform. All-star weekend is all about the surprise
act and unexpected occurences. In the precursor to
the slam dunk contest, Fall Out Boy performed their new song “My songs know
what you did in the dark. Then, while I'm trying to decide whether I like the song, I hear 2 Chainz announce himself. Apparently, he’s
in the remix, so he performed his verse. He’s also the last person who I would expect to hear. It was an
interesting surprise.
All-Star Weekend, at its best, provides that sense of
surprise. Whether you like or dislike the surprise doesn’t really matter, as
long as it’s a meaningful one with some effect on how you feel about the event.
·
I have nothing to say about
Friday other than my joy that Kenneth Faried won the MVP for the Rising Stars
challenge. There has to be a better way to decide the teams, because the only
thing that this game proved is that I want neither Shaq nor Charles Barkley as
a GM.
·
The fact that Robert Horry
didn’t hit the game winning shot for Team Westbrook was a shocker in the
shooting stars challenge.
·
Kyrie Irving was magnificent
in the 3 point shootout. The fact that it wasn’t a typical 3 point shooter was
fun
·
I don’t really care about
the skills competition.
·
The dunk competition was
terrible for many reasons. First, the participants who were deemed to be the
best were all in the east. The West did nothing to change that on Saturday.
Second, the technical difficulty of Gerald Green’s attempt was worth the wait.
Even though it didn’t count, by virtue of the time running out, it was still
the hardest dunk of the group. Third, Terrance Ross won the competition, but
using the Carter jersey as a prop only reminded me of how the contest is at its
best, and how far this contest was from that magnificent contest in Oakland.
·
The All-star game MVP, was
properly decided. The All-Star game is all about exciting dunks and Chris Paul
made them happen. He also took over portions of that game in a way that no one
else did. The announcers started on a run of saying that KD should be MVP, but
then changed their minds as the 4th qtr continued.
Now for the games that will start the “second half” of the
season.
Tuesday
MEM @ DET (LP) 5:30
This is the return of Tayshaun Prince to the city he thrived
in. Prince helped the ’04 Pistons win a championship and will likely be warmly received.
This is also a homecoming for Austin Daye, but this night is all about Prince.
BOS @ DEN NBATV 7:00
Both of these teams are heavily involved in trade discussions.
Their current rosters aren’t enough to win a title, the Nuggets will likely be
inclined to try to move up to the point of being a contender, whereas the
Celtics will likely be trying to rebuild by trading one of their veterans for
younger players and/or draft picks.
GSW @ UTA LP 7:00
The Warriors have received a lot of love, but the Jazz are
tied with them in the win column, and could pass them eventually depending on
how the trade deadline works for them. They’ll probably move won of their bigs
(Centers/Power forwards) for a guard.
Wednesday
MEM @ TOR LP 5:00
Rudy Gay plays against his old team. Teardrop. And we’re
done here.
NOH @ CLE ESPN 6:00
The 2012 # 1 pick goes head to head with the 2011 #1 pick.
Both teams are far from contention for the moment, but Irving and Davis will likely
be names to know for the next 10 years. Both players have shown it.
OKC @ HOU LP 6:00
The Harden trade continues to be a story. The Thunder traded
James Harden away for what seemed like a king’s ransom. However, the centerpiece
of the deal, the Raptors 1st round pick, is steadily decreasing in
value ever since the Raptors obtained Rudy Gay, who improves the Raptors
greatly. Every win the raptors get make it increasingly less likely that the
future draft pick will be worth trading away James Harden who is a top 20
player and a borderline top 10. Also, the 2 important pieced for the Thunder,
Westbrook and Durant, played on the same team on Sunday, in the all-star game.
BOS @ LAL ESPN 8:30
Remember when a matchup between these two proud franchises
actually mattered…
**The Trade Deadline is Thursday 3PM EST. I might
decide to write a new post if anything particularly interesting happens**
Thursday
MIA @ CHI TNT 6
Sadly, Derrick Rose is out, so this isn’t the Eastern
Conference Finals preview that it should be. But if the Bulls and Heat play a
close game, or even if the Bulls win, will Derrick Rose be enticed to return
early and chase the championship that Chicago has craved since the end of the
Jordan Era? Hopefully.
SAS @ LAC TNT 8:30
Beat LA chants don’t sound the same when the LA Clippers are
involved. On the other hand, this could be a Western Conference finals preview,
and therefore, it’s a worthwhile game to watch.
Friday
DEN @ WAS LP 5:00
The Return of Javale McGee to the city that made him
infamous on the internet, for basketball IQ failures.
Saturday
ATL @ MIL NBATV 6:30 PM
Both of these teams are heavily involved in trade rumors. I’d
discuss how the teams are currently made up, but it may not be true by the time
that Saturday rolls around.
Sunday
LAL @ DAL ABC 11 AM
Do you remember when this matchup mattered? The only game on free TV this week
is the battle of 3 former MVP’s in Dirk, Nash, and Kobe.
CHI @ OKC ESPN 7:30PM
These teams play each other extremely well.
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