NBA All-Star Game 2012: 5 Things to Watch

The time of the year where we are entertained by the world's best basketball players is here.

The 2012 NBA All-Star Game is highly anticipated and just days away.

What are you looking forward to?

Dwight Howard??? Dunks by Blake Griffin??? Your favorite stars???

Here are five things to watch in Sunday"s NBA All-Star Game.

Alley Oops...and More Alley Oops

The All-Star game has always been about alley-oops.

This year expect a higher dosage than usual.

With Chris Paul and Blake Griffin running the court against LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, dunks are happening often.

This has to be one of the most anticipated All-Star games for this fact alone.

James and Griffin already have the top two dunks of the regular season, so their highlights in this game should be remarkable.

"Competitve Down the Stretch"

The NBA All-Star game is often viewed as a simple exhibition of the league's top players.

Players tend to be loose and want to give the fans a show.

If the game turns into a blowout expect the aforementioned statements to hold true. However, if the game hangs in the balance in the final minutes, expect both teams to fight for the win.

Who can forget last year's showdown, with Kobe Bryant hitting huge shots to give his team the victory?

Hopefully, the game remains tight and we get another great finish in the end.

Dwight Howard

All eyes are still on Dwight Howard heading into the All-Star game.

The frenzy will be taken to new heights as the All-Star festivities visit his current team, the Orlando Magic.

Dwight will have to field questions all weekend long about his desire to play elsewhere.

Knowing Dwight, he will have quite the distraction planned. The guy is simply hilarious at the All-Star weekends—this one will be even better.

Howard and sponsor Adidas are said to have great events planned for this weekend.

Dwight will use criticism to have a big game in his home city.

Game MVP

All NBA players want to be All-Star game MVP.

The thing is getting it done. No one wants to be known as the guy who took all the shots to try to intentionally win the award (except Kobe last year).

Watch out for Kevin Durant. All signs say he should get his first All-Star MVP award.

If the East wins, Derrick Rose would be the likely candidate, but with his back trouble, Rose likely won't play very long. This opens the door for LeBron James to snatch another MVP.

LeBron vs. Kobe

I personally think anytime Kobe Bryant and LeBron James are on the court together, it's a must-see.

The two will likely be the only players who take the game very seriously and want their team to win. The minutes don't matter. They want bragging rights!

Last year, as the West pulled away late from the East, James scolded his team for playing too slow.

He almost single-handedly brought them back, but Kobe had the last laugh as the West pulled out the victory.

Sunday's game should be no different as James and Bryant square off again.

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