NBA All-Star 2019

Welp, the celebrated halfway point in the season is here. Some teams have floundered the first half of the season, others rising from last year's depths of the league. And from a fan's perspective it's been a crazy ride so far. And we're sure this all-star weekend will be no different. So without further ado, our predictions:

Celebrity Game

Chad: Ok. So one team has an NBA hall-of-famer/all-time great three point shooter in Ray Allen buuuut the other team has JB Smoove and Jay-Be-Smoove (Williams). Easy. The Smoove Brothers are taking this one. Have you ever seen Jay Will on air, or in interviews, or in his YouTube docuseries of his time helping coach a high school basketball team? The dude is ultra competitive. I honestly won’t be surprised if he’s a little too competitive for a celebrity all-star game to the point that it gets kinda awkward. And while it seems crazy to bet against the only squad with an NBA hall-of-famer who is probably still young and fit enough to shoot some bombs for an NBA franchise, the ex-NBA players in these games are almost always there for the show and don’t actually go hard trying to win the game. Because let’s face it, it’s entertainment and while seeing Wilt Chamberlain post up Kevin Hart once or twice would be funny as hell, a whole game of that just wouldn’t be entertaining. And yes, I do believe Wilt would give work to every single person in the game, including his teammates just so people would gawk at him. And yes, I know he’s dead but his zombie corpse would 100% put Dr. Oz through the ringer. The real question here is will we see some on-court rap beef between Quavo and Rapsody?

I just realized I have no idea how many buckets get dropped in the celebrity games. So here goes nothing…

Home Team (Jay Williams): 87

Away Team (Ray Allen): 85

MVP: Quavo because I’m pretty sure it’s a fan vote and people love them some Migos.

Jake: I've got to go with the Away team here - headlined by Ray Allen and Ronnie 2k (he's got to know something about actually playing basketball), I think they'll grind out a narrow victory over the home team. Just a couple of years ago Ray Allen was reportedly still in NBA game condition, so I've gotta believe that he's ready to hit the hardwood again and drill some legendary corner threes - sadly not from a Chris Bosh offensive rebound though (CB just confirmed his retirement from basketball on Tuesday). I think Steve Smith is bound to have a great game for the home team but it won't be enough to overcome a team also starring Quavo, who's known for dropping buckets when he's not dropping beats.

Winning Team: Away

MVP: Ray Allen

Rising Stars Game

Chad: You’ll just have to take my word for it but before even looking at the rosters and just knowing it’s gonna be Team USA vs. Team World, I’m taking Team World in a 146-134 victory.

After seeing the rosters I realize I forgot that Jayson Tatum and Donovan Mitchell were still eligible to play. So I’m not quite as confident in that point spread…or the winner for that matter. Any time I can pick Euro players over American players I like to do it but I’m not sure I can here. And obviously I use “Euro” as a term to classify all the foreign players because I am well aware that Australia is not in the European Union. With the likes of Simmons (the Aussie who feels like a twelve year veteran who’s still playing in the Rising Stars game), Doncic, my Bully Lauri Markkanen, DeAndre Ayton, and many other players who are high quality role players on their respective NBA squads, I like what this team could be capable of on the offensive end of the floor which is what these games are all about. And when I look at the other roster I see a lot of that American athletic “potential” that scouts love but isn’t as consistent or efficient as their foreign counterparts. That said, I could see Fox being like Westbrook and going hard every time he’s on the floor even in this all-star type game, Tatum getting hot, Donovan Mitchell, and even Kuzma really showing out for this special event so my new final is…

Team USA: 156

Team World: 152

MVP: De’Aaron Fox

Jake: This. Is. Fun. 

Two Rookie of the Year rivals (Ben Simmons and Donovan Mitchell) going head to head in the mother of all grudge matches? Yes please. I can't wait to see this game, who doesn't love to watch the next generation of potential superstars go head to head? You've got some intriguing match ups facing off against each other too - potential Most Improved Candidates Kyle Kuzma and De'Aaron Fox will certainly have points to prove, particularly Kuzma who was just shown how easily he could become a trade piece in the AD saga. You've got explosive athletes like Jarrett Allen, Spida Mitchell, SGA and John Collins who'll all be looking to throw down some monster jams. Finally you've got crafty scorers with unique styles of play like Luka Doncic and Jayson Tatum - basically everything you'd ever want in a basketball game can be found right here. I'm thinking that Donic's team elevating play combined with Simmon's deadly fast break play will help Team World's high IQ players beat Team USA's incredible athletes and scorers. If I sound like a 2014 Spurs enthusiastic it's because I am. I saw a smart, well lead team absolutely destroy a super talented Miami team purely by playing a beautiful pass-first game. I'm hoping the ball doesn't stick anywhere on the World team and they beat the USA team through sheer movement. Ben Simmons still has a lot to prove despite being named to his first All-Star team this year, so while I expect his minutes to be limited I think he'll surprisingly claim the MVP award by dropping a quiet triple double - something like 12/12/11 + 1 from 2 from behind the arc. You heard it here first. 

Winning Team: Team World: 134 Team USA: 127

MVP: Ben Simmons

Skill Challenge

Chad: I’m actually really excited for this and the three point contests this year. More so than this rag tag dunk contest roster the NBA put together. I always love pulling for the bigs in the skills challenge and they’ve had a lot of success in years past…but not this year. While I truly hope Jokic gets the dub, I can’t bet against De’Aaron Fox in a contest that requires effort and speed more than anything. Well and hitting that daunting jumper of course. I’ll take effort and speed over some of the better jump shooters though. Fox will (hopefully) bring max effort and make this event exciting to watch by pushing his competition to step up. My biggest beef with all-star weekend is that players don’t come to compete. And I mean how hard is it really to give 30 seconds of effort dribbling around some cones, passing into a net, and making a few shots? I’m interested to see what perspective Doncic has on this comp as I could see him either giving max effort or being too-cool-for-school.

Winner: De’Aaron Fox

Jake: Like you, I'm really excited for this one. The lineup is full of interesting young players and generally big men have had a great history of winning this one - so I'm going to swing towards the trend and pick a big man who has all the skills EXCEPT speed, that's right ladies and gentlemen, I'm going with The Joker - Nikola Jokic is averaging 7.7 assists per game this season, he's got some low key nice handles and is shooting 30% from deep - more than enough to can a fluky first time triple to finish the challenge. I'm betting on him to pull all his brilliant fundamental talents together and complete each section of the contest in his first attempt, which is going to NEED to happen in order for him to win because he's probably the slowest player in the NBA right now... I love De'Aaron Fox but I think it takes him a couple of attempts to hit his passes and shots. Luka is also an intriguing pick but I think he takes the "too cool for school" route that you mentioned and plays this down a little bit. I've got to say, I totally agree with the notion that All Star Weekend needs to be more competitive, aside from the dunk and 3 point shootout in my opinion it's almost been unwatchable for the past few years - let's hope that the players recognise this as well and finally put on a display of competitiveness and sportsmanship that the fans deserve.

Winner: Nikola Jokic

Three Point Contest

Chad: I feel like the three point contest is nearly impossible to predict. It’s such a different shot than a typical three pointer you’d shoot in a game or practice that there’s no telling who will excel here. So I’m going with clearly the best narrative we could have. A Super Curry Bros. final round where the two Charlotte natives shoot it out for family bragging rights. I think this would be so cool, especially in-front of the Charlotte crowd that I almost wish they just eliminated the rest of the field right now so we’d be guaranteed this spectacle of Dell Curry’s progeny. But in the case one of the Curry’s doesn’t make the final round I hope it’s a Curry vs. a Kemba. Charlotte native vs. Charlotte Hornet. And while we’re on the topic of narratives we’d like to see, how cool would it be if the Curry brothers face off, find a winner, and then Dell Curry comes out from the locker room in his old school Charlotte Hornets uni to face-off against one of his sons? That’s a rhetorical question… Step aside Larry Bird because this would be the greatest moment in three point contest history. Especially if Dell won. I’m making this up as I go and I just got chills. Can you even imagine the energy in Time Warner Cable Arena if Dell Curry won the contest in a surprise twist? I just got chills again.

Winner: Dell Curry. It’s gonna happen, folks.

Jake: I can't create a hypothetical situation that would even come close to rivalling Chad's - the thought of Dell Curry swaggering down from the stands in a pair of chinos and loosely tied Jordan's before unleashing a barrage of three point hell upon his sons makes my spine tingle. That would be the ultimate All Star Weekend moment in history. For my pick however I'm going to go with an equally legendary moment and pick the one and only Dirk Nowitzki. What better way to end his legendary career than to add a three point champ trophy into his case? I'm picturing a nostalgic, timeless moment where Dirk is grinning as he's sinking rainbow after rainbow and the crowd is going wild. I know he hasn't got the same spring in his legs that he used to, but I still think he can chuck them up with the best of them - particularly considering it's a standstill attempt and with his height the balls already halfway into his shooting pocket when he picks it up from the rack. Call me a dreamer but this would make my weekend.

Dunk Contest

Chad: With an underwhelming cast of high-flyers entered into this year’s dunk contest there is no easy pick. I would imagine Dennis Smith Jr. is the favorite. Being smaller with insane hops him doing any dunk will look better than a taller guy doing the same dunk. But I’m taking Hamidou Diallo over DSJ for two reasons. One: Because although I know I’ve seen him play I don’t recall any of it which make him at least a mystery. And Two: Because Russell Westbrook and Paul George are his teammates and I think they’ll help the young guy figure out some quality dunks to attempt. I don’t have much more to say here so without further ado…

Winner: Miles Bridges. Yeah, I changed my mind. It’s a bad cast of characters as it is so why not have the Hornet win it for the home crowd.

Jake: I'm going to keep this short and sweet - the dunk contest line up is majorly underwhelming this year. None of those names scream entertainment, but I am ready for some revenge. You heard it.

Revenge.

In my dreams I picture Dennis Smith Jr flying through the air over cardboard cutouts of Mark Cuban and Rick Carlisle to the theme tune of Dre's "Next Episode" before hammering home a rim rattling tomahawk. 

But for real though, DSJ probably has a lot of pent up frustration with how it ended in Dallas - I remember reading an article last season where he was saying how good it was to find a home, I feel bad for the guy because I thought he had some potential to at least become a poor man's John Wall (shout out Chad). He clashed with Cuban and Carlisle in Dallas so I hope he shows out in the dunk contest when he knows they'll be watching. I really hope he finds a place in New York with Fizdale (underrated coach) and he's my pick for dunk champ.

Winner: Dennis Smith Jr.

All Star Game

Chad: Should be a fun main event this year with the draft being televised and (fingers crossed) players holding a grudge for not being picked as high as they wanted or by the captain they thought would pick them. That may be asking too much though for a game that’s usually very underwhelming. I will say though, the past few all-star games have been more fun and competitive than they normally are so again, this should be a fun one. I think LeBron, Westbrook, and others will continue to push that competitiveness forward. But of course there will be the ole defense, the jogging back in transition to allow for alley-oop after alley-oop, and one-on-one mini competitions where everyone else stays out of the way. Of all these things the one thing I want to see is an exact replica of that infamous Dwyane Wade to LeBron alley-oop from their time together in Miami. And I mean exact. The NBA should position a photographer right in that spot with camera focused and ready so we can all marvel in the side-by-side comparisons of Dwyane Wade’s outstretched arms the following morning. I’m also excited to see LeBron’s “death lineup” when it’s The King, Durant, Kawhi, Anthony Davis, and Ben Simmons at the point. That may be the tallest, longest lineup in NBA history. Can I get a fact checker? Ultimately, I think LeBron had a slightly better draft in that his team seems to make more sense from a winning-a-basketball-game perspective. Which is why I think they’ll win the basketball game.

Team LeBron: 189

Team Giannis: 175

MVP: Kevin Durant

Jake: My hopes are up for this to finally be the game we all wish it could be - a chance for players to actually try and beat each other or at least prove something. Hopefully the schoolyard style draft will inspire some revenge from players like Bradley Beal who were left on the board much longer than they should have been. I'm on board with you for having only one real desire for this game - that D Wade to LeBron oop. If they pull that off I'll add a theatrical representation of that very moment to the end of our next post in their honour. Other than that there are still some really intriguing match-ups and team-ups in this game... Team Giannis' European favouritism vs Team LeRecruit's 2019 Free Agents, Russ and Embiid having to be teammates despite their beef, Kemba and Steph wanting to show out for the home crowd, AD proving he's not a lil bitch and playing more than 10 minutes... There's going to be plenty of game highlights and potential LeBron recruitment highlights - I'm here for it all.

As for the actual game itself though, I'm going to take the uncommon road here and say that Giannis' team's ridiculous height and length is going to trump LeBron's star talent - in a game that generally lacks defense until the last quarter I'm going to predict that Team Giannis keep it close behind a Kemba Walker/Steph Curry sharpshooting extravaganza and then take advantage of having Embiid in the paint to stop those usually easy layups/dunks in the final 5 minutes. I also want to see Russ throw Embiid an alley oop so that we can have a Russ-KD esque moment where we think they're friends again. Or, the total opposite where Russ (known for his pettyness) pulls out of throwing the oop when he realises it's Embiid - who's face contorts into a thousand yard stare mid-jump.

Final Score: Team World: 144 Team USA: 137

MVP: Steph Curry and Kemba Walker 

Got your own take? Start up a debate in the comments.