NBA All-Star Weekend 2018: Updated TV, Live-Stream Schedule and Predictions
NBA All-Star Weekend commenced by promoting its future and letting celebrities feel important on Friday night. The warm-up acts now make room for the true headlining festivities.
The Saturday staples all return at the Staples Center. After frontcourt and backcourt players clash in the Skills Challenge, recent champions Klay Thompson and Eric Gordon will each vie for a second Three-Point Contest triumph.
While the Slam Dunk Contest has proven notoriously hit or miss over the years, Saturday night's participants are poised to produce some memorable moments.
Of course, let's not forget Sunday's All-Star Game. Instead of the East and West battling for conference supremacy, LeBron James and Stephen Curry will captain squads they selected in a clandestine draft.
Here's a rundown of all the weekend's happenings with predictions for each major event.
NBA All-Star Weekend Schedule
Saturday, February 17 (Starts at 8 p.m. ET on TNT): Skills Challenge, Three-Point Contest, Slam Dunk Contest
Sunday, February 18: NBA All-Star Game, 8 p.m. ET on TNT
Live Stream: NBA on TNT
Skills Challenge
Will the big men continue their Skills Challenge success?
In an event constructed for mobile guards, Karl-Anthony Towns and Kristaps Porzingis displayed their uncanny athleticism with 2016 and 2017 victories, respectively. Joel Embiid, Al Horford, Andre Drummond and Lauri Markkanen can continue this unexpected trend.
According to OddsShark, Lou Williams is favored to conquer his taller and younger adversaries. This contest instead presents the perfect breakout platform for Jamal Murray, a quick 20-year-old guard with a strong handle and sweet shooting touch.
Although Embiid is a particularly tempting big-man pick, Murray puts the smaller guys back on top.
Prediction: Jamal Murray
3-Point Contest
Despite registering his worst three-point percentage (33.4) since 2012-13, Gordon will defend his crown in an eight-person field featuring four All-Stars.
The smart money is on 2016 champion Thompson, whose 45.3 three-point percentage leads the Association. Last year, the Golden State Warriors star fell one point shy of advancing to the final round.
Competing in his fourth consecutive shootout—the second without Curry—Thompson holds a sizable familiarity edge over contest neophytes Wayne Ellington and Tobias Harris.
Like Devin Booker and Paul George, Bradley Beal will return for his second try. The Washington Wizards' shooting guard told Candace Buckner of the Washington Post that he's better prepared because of 2014's tiebreaking finals loss to Marco Belinelli.
"Well, I want to win," Beal said. "I think the first time around I wanted to win but it was more like getting the experience and feel for it. I feel like it’s getting more competitive and more competitive every year with some of the best shooters in the game."
While George isn't primarily celebrated for his long-range shooting, he enters Saturday with a scorching hand. Over the last 10 games, the Oklahoma City Thunder star has drained 45 of 95 attempts from behind the arc. The California native stays hot to upset Thompson in front of a receptive Los Angeles crowd hoping to not-so-subtly recruit the pending free agent.
Prediction: Paul George
Slam Dunk Contest
Every All-Star Weekend inevitably contains a short-sighted narrative about the Slam Dunk Contest's longevity. If that year's showcase stinks, the event is suffering a slow, painful death. When someone reignites the simmering spark with a show-stealing performance, the event is officially back on the map.
After watching Victor Oladipo, Dennis Smith Jr., Larry Nance Jr., and Donovan Mitchell on Saturday night, expect viewers to declare the contest's return to relevancy.
Then again, one must wonder if the NBA even takes the event seriously after it revealed a panel with celebrity judges:
Mark Wahlberg's slam credentials aside, the quartet offers an ideal mixture of youth, off-the-charts athleticism and actual NBA results. A year after inviting D-League star Derrick Jones to the grand stage, the NBA will welcome an All-Star (Oladipo), two of this season's top rookies (Mitchell, Smith) and a valuable contributor whose dad won the inaugural Slam Dunk Contest in 1984 (Nance).
The Utah Jazz neophyte used Friday's Rising Stars Challenge to practice for Saturday night:
As theorized by Sports Illustrated's Ben Golliver, Nance's size, length, family history and home-court edge all work in the former Lakers forward's favor. While taller players are often held to a higher standard, his massive hops will still mesmerize the Staples Center crowd.
When Michael Jordan said, "The ceiling is the roof" at North Carolina, he might as well have been talking about Nance's leaping abilities.
Prediction: Larry Nance Jr.
All-Star Game
Last year, the Eastern Conference scored 182 points and still lost the All-Star Game. The laissez-faire defense led to a renovated draft format and $100,000 bonus for each winning player.
That won't cause participants to play like the 2004 Detroit Pistons. With 17 of the NBA's top-21 scoring leaders gracing the court, there's too much offensive firepower to temper. Even if they try.
Unfortunately for Team LeBron, Porzingis, DeMarcus Cousins, John Wall and Kevin Love will not compete due to injuries. The health concerns don't stop there; Russell Westbrook missed two of Oklahoma City's last four games with an ankle injury.
Stephen Curry has not lost any of his draft picks, and the two-time MVP represents the team's third-highest scorer behind James Harden and Giannis Antetokounmpo. With Thompson and Damian Lillard on the bench, Team Stephen can set an All-Star Game record for three-point makes.
While they won't score 192 points in a game with occasional effort on defense, Curry's club shoots Team LeBron off the court in a fast-paced, high-scoring affair.
Prediction: Team Stephen
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