Friday's Big NBA Weekend Preview

What a weekend on tap, what a smorgasbord of awesomeness for you and your buddies to hit the bar for food and beers while the flat screens crank out sports: The Daytona 500. NBA All-Star weekend. Syracuse vs. UConn hoops. NFL combine, anyone? Heck, there's even the Oscars if you need a break from the action. 

Can't argue with that. There's options galore, a menu to pick from. But like the house special, there's one thing most of us will invariably veer toward: The NBA All-Star Game. And why not? We like dunks, alley-oops and rue low-scoring. Coincidentally, those are the three main characteristics of this game. 

Even without Linsanity (he's in the rookie game), this contest is an easy, enjoyable watch where the only outcome is pure enjoyment. No lame, "this decides home field advantage" edict like in MLB, or "I don't want to be here" attitudes like in the Pro Bowl. Nope, it's essentially a pick-up basketball game—between the best players in the world. 

Sign. Us. Up. 

So, what to watch for then. First off, let's not get bogged down with terms like "zone" and "pick-and-roll" and "free-throw percentages." Boring. We're not going to watch this game at home or head out with some friends to break down how well LeBron boxes out Kobe with an eight-point lead in the second quarter. 

If you want that, go fire up some of your old high school game film. The rest of us will be grabbing a refreshment while watching Top-10 Play worthy highlight dunks. Look at the starters, imagine the possibilities: Derrick rose throwing up a lob for LeBron. Chris Paul, kicking out to Kevin Durant on the baseline. Blake Griffin being Blake Griffin. 

While some of you may be NASCAR fans—which is fine, Daytona's awesome—or even watch the Academy Awards because you just like Billy Cristal that much, you can't deny this is the can't-miss event of the weekend.