Great Matchups We Want to See in the NBA All-Star Rising Game

Like a lot of people out there, I tend to be a sucker for the NBA's All-Star Weekend. I like the celebrity game, the Saturday night activities are extremely entertaining and the All-Star Game itself, despite the obvious flaws, never fails to give me my jollies.

However, there is one game that I've always watched, but never really cared for (save last season's 148-140 offensive explosion), is the Rising Stars Challenge that pits a team of the best rookies up against a team of the best sophomores.

Now that the NBA is finally ripping off the NHLs format of two captains picking their teams (Shaq and Charles Barkley will be the captains this year), there's finally something noteworthy to watch.

My first thought when I heard that they would be splitting the teams up was something along the lines of, "But wait, how will we know which class of players is better?" Then, after about 12 seconds of thinking I realized my flaw in logic, thinking, "Who gives a damn, I never cared before so this could be interesting."

The fact is that there are a handful of extra story lines in play here, especially the guy who gets picked last having a huge chip on his shoulder and playing like a monster for the entire game.

Teams will be picked by Shaq and Chuck tomorrow night and the game is slated to tip off next Friday, and I'm actually anticipating it. Because of that, I've decided to take a look at some of the best matchups that could come in play in this game.

Landry Fields vs. Paul George

The stories of Landry Fields and Paul George are quite similar, yet incredibly different, which is pretty much the same as their playing style.

George was the typical full of potential player with the athleticism and a great game that could translate to the NBA level. In his second year he's looking like he could reach that unimaginable potential and is exciting fans all over Indiana.

Meanwhile, Landry Fields was a nobody when he was drafted 39th in the 2010 NBA Draft, caught on periodically throughout his rookie season and ended up playing better than anyone expected earlier than anyone expected.

Now, Fields is a smart scorer who plays good defense with fast hands while George is an athletic guy with a nice jumper who knows how to use his body to score.

One man's strength will outweigh the other's and it's only a matter of time before we find out.

Evan Turner vs. Kawhi Leonard

Two similar players with slightly different focuses in playing style, Evan Turner and Kawhi Leonard are interesting players in the NBA at this point.

Both guys were do-it-all forwards in college whose teams relied on them every night to take them to a win, but now are adjusting to a role coming off the bench for two of the better teams in the NBA.

Leonard and Turner can both pass, they can both score and they can both rebound—it's just that Turner's focus is a bit more on the offensive end, while Leonard's is on the defensive end.

Tiago Splitter vs. Markieff Morris

After a pretty good college career shooting the ball from outside the paint and beyond, Markieff Morris has become one of the most efficient young three-point shooters in the NBA today. He's able to use his big frame to frazzle the defense and get Steve Nash to get him the ball on the outside off a pick-and-pop.

Then there's Tiago Splitter. An afterthought at the end of the Spurs bench a year ago, Splitter has become a very versatile defender this season. He uses his length and his youthful speed to guard guys down low and to blow through or around screens up top.

It would be interesting to see whether or not Splitter could keep Morris from getting those open jumpers.

Derrick Williams vs. Kyrie Irving

Odds are that these two won't end up playing much against each other directly if they end up on opposite teams, but there would still be an occasion here and there where they end up switched off on each other.

The top two picks in last year's draft, Irving and Williams, were hotly debated over for months, most people split on who should be picked first. Irving had the potential while Williams had the ability to step on the floor and play immediately.

After the first (nearly) two months of the season, Irving has bloomed and Williams is still looking to bud, so it would be interesting to see the two of them go at it a bit.

Greg Monroe vs. DeMarcus Cousins

Greg Monroe's offensive prowess standing up against DeMarcus Cousins' rough, somewhat raw defensive style would be an interesting thing to watch throughout the game.

Monroe, while improving, is a bit weak on defense, but his offensive game is explosive as he can shoot, score down low and pass well out of the post.

On the other side of the court, Cousins has a decent offensive game that is growing as the season goes along with a defensive game that, while lacking in style and skill, displays oodles of power and toughness.

As the only two real centers in this game (Blake Griffin, Tiago Splitter and Markieff Morris are power forwards at best) these two would presumably end up on different teams, but who knows with Chuck and Shaq running things.

Kyrie Irving vs. Tristan Thompson

Sure, these two won't be guarding each other one-on-one next week, but the two of them could come in contact with each other more than once if they end up on different teams.

Kyrie Irving's best tool is his ability to smoothly get past his man into the lane and attack the basket to get his team two easy points or to startle the defense.

However, Tristan Thompson's most effective skill is keeping people out of the lane and sending shots back to their original location.

I'd like to see Kyrie take his best shot at Thompson at least once, just to see if the big man has figured him out in practice well enough at this point so that he can flap what has become a nearly unflappable Irving.

John Wall vs. Blake Griffin

I'll lay it out for you guys here: Blake Griffin is the reason John Wall isn't the reigning Rookie of the Year Award winner.

Had Griffin not been injured for his true rookie season he probably would have won the award then and Wall would have won it last year.

After the two teamed up to help the Rookie Team put up 148 on the Sophomore's 140 (including a record-setting 22 assists from Wall), I'd like to see them on opposite teams. I mean, with all the point guards in this game Blake is without a doubt going to end up with someone with the ability to lob the ball up to him.

Jeremy Lin vs. Anyone

While he isn't a part of the challenge as of yet, it almost seems like a lock that he'll end up being one of the replacement players for an injured guy.

Of the guys in the game, MarShon Brooks has been dealing with an injury for about three weeks, Kyrie Irving has been dealing with a concussion for a few games and Blake Griffin could end up bowing out so he doesn't have to work all weekend long.

It would only make sense that the league put Jeremy Lin in as the replacement guy, and that's something we could all get behind, even Shaq.

DeMarcus Cousins vs. Blake Griffin

This is my dream matchup for this game, although I don't think it's going to happen. In all likelihood I think Blake Griffin is going to duck out of this game, as he'll probably be a booked for the weekend.

Blake Griffin has a crazy offensive game as he's developing some low-post moves and a bit of a jumper, plus word on the street is he's a pretty decent dunker.

Meanwhile, DeMarcus Cousins has a ferocious defensive game where all he has to do is put on an angry face and play physical to keep his man from the basket. He is, after all, the guy that held Dwight Howard to five points in January, which was the first time he was held that low since 2010.

I want to see these two get angry at each other and turn this into a real game. When Griffin tries to draw a charge, I want to see Cousins bowl right through him. Then, to retaliate on the other end of the floor, I want to see Griffin throw down a nasty dunk on Cousins' head. 

That would make this game entertaining.

Kyrie Irving vs. John Wall vs. Ricky Rubio vs. Kemba Walker vs. Brandon Knight

No matter what the combination of point guards is, there's going to be a great matchup on the floor as the past two drafts have been great for the league in terms of point guards.

Kyrie Irving and John Wall are looking like future stars while Kemba Walker and Brandon Knight aren't far behind, and could be something special themselves.

What's even better, we could get to see all five of these guys on the court at the same time if Shaq and Chuck want to have a little fun and pit small lineups against each other. I certainly wouldn't be upset seeing Ricky Rubio and John Wall dropping dimes to each other.

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