Five Rookie Related Predictions for All-Star Weekend

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A lot has been written about this year's All-Star game already.

Whether it was Kevin Love’s snub by the coaches and fans or Blake Griffin making the team as a rookie—a feat that not even LeBron James accomplished.

With the All-Star game in Los Angeles, the level of hype surrounding the game is higher than any game we can remember. So, with an eye towards this weekend’s festivities, here are five predictions sure to happen.

1. Blake Griffin Will Win the Dunk Contest

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Blake might be the most exciting player in the league from a highlight standpoint.

Turn on SportsCenter and he’s nearly a lock to be in the top 10 and absolutely certain to appear in the Clipper highlights. He has more than 120 dunks this season, and I think SportsCenter has run no less than 100 of them. Like Goose said in Top Gun, “The list is long, but distinguished.”

This video provides a pretty good summary of why we’re picking Blake as the favorite.

*Check out this Blake Griffin Dunk-A-Thon.

2. Evan Turner Will Watch the Game from Home

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We don’t really have a way to confirm this, but we’re betting ET turns it on for at least a few minutes.

While we’re on the Evan Turner subject, can anyone explain why Gary Neal is a better fit for this game than Turner? Turner would have provided another ball handler and probably would have looked incredible given the reigns for a few stretches. Oh well, I’m sure Gary Neal will knock down a few wide open threes, which will excite no one.

3. Blake Griffin Will Have More Than 80 Percent of His Points on Dunks

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It’s an All-Star game; I don’t see Blake facing up and taking too many 18-footers. Should be exciting to see Blake try and dunk everything in sight though.

Prediction: 22 points and nine dunks.

*Check out this Blake Griffin video of him dunking with a head cam on.

4. Stephen Curry Will Be Your MVP

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Something tells us that Steph is going to go off. Lots of open looks, used to the pace and probably get a ton of assists finding Harden, Jennings and the others in transition.

Prediction: 30 points, 11 assists, 6-of-10 from three-point range.

5. The Sophomore’s Will Win the Rookie vs. Sophomore Game

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Yes, Blake is awesome. Yes, John Wall is going to run and throw more alley-oops than we can count. However, give us the Sophomore team to beat the Rookies. The main reason we’re taking Curry and company to beat Blake and his boys, is the lack of guard play the Rookies bring to the table. Just for fun here is our player-by-player breakdown.

The guards for the Sophomores are basically a murder’s row for an All-Star game. Stephen Curry can fill it up from anywhere and the fact he can’t spell defense won’t matter. Jrue Holiday is coming into his own at exactly the right time. Wes Matthews is proving to be one of the best players in his class. Oh, and then there’s Los Angeles native Brandon Jennings, who dropped 55 in his rookie season and led the Rookies to a win last year.

By contrast, your guards for the Rookies: John Wall, Eric Bledsoe and Gary Neal. Um…we like Wall as much as anyone, but he can’t match up with all the horses for the Sophomores.

Prediction: Sophomores (148) defeat Rookies (120)

*Check out the shoe John Wall will be wearing in the game.