NBA All-Star Weekend 2015: Updated TV, Live Stream Schedule and Predictions
Is there a better way to spend Valentine’s Day weekend than settling in on the couch for two days of NBA action?
While opinions may vary on that question, the best players in the NBA will be on full display Saturday and Sunday during All-Star Weekend. With the Rising Stars Challenge and All-Star Celebrity Game in the books already, it is time for the brightest of stars to take the court during All-Star Saturday and the actual All-Star Game Sunday.
Here is a look at the schedule, broadcast information and predicted winner for each event.
| Saturday, Feb. 14 | |||
| Shooting Stars | 8:30 p.m. (1st Event) | TNT | Team Curry |
| Skills Challenge | 2nd Event | TNT | Kyle Lowry |
| Three-Point Contest | 3rd Event | TNT | Kyle Korver |
| Slam Dunk Contest | 4th Event | TNT | Giannis Antetokounmpo |
| Sunday, Feb. 15 | |||
| All-Star Game | 8:30 p.m. | TNT | Western Conference |
All TNT events can be viewed online courtesy of TNT Overtime.
Event to Watch: Three-Point Contest
With all respect to the Slam Dunk Contest that is headlining All-Star Saturday, the real event to watch during All-Star Weekend is the three-point contest.
The amount of star power in the competition is borderline ridiculous and actually rivals the game itself on Sunday. Stephen Curry, James Harden, Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, Marco Belinelli, Kyle Korver, Wesley Matthews and J.J. Redick make up the eight-man field and should light up the scoreboard in a thrilling competition.
Curry actually received the most votes for the All-Star Game and already became the fastest player to make 1,000 career three-pointers in the history of the league earlier this season. His Golden State Warriors teammate, Thompson, put on a shooting exhibition when he scored 37 points in a quarter on Jan. 23.
Harden leads the league in scoring and is a clear-cut MVP candidate, Belinelli is the defending three-point contest champion, Redick makes a living drilling threes for the up-tempo Los Angeles Clippers, Matthews is tied with Curry and Korver for the most made three-pointers in the league and Irving is thriving alongside LeBron James for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
While there are plenty of superstars on that list, it will be Korver who will turn the most heads Saturday when he wins the contest.
Korver is in the midst of a historically excellent shooting campaign and is on pace to become the first player in the history of the league to connect on at least 50 percent of his shots from the field, 50 percent of his shots from three-point range and 90 percent of his shots from the free-throw line.
He is tied for the league lead in made threes at 161 and leads the league in three-point percentage at 52.3 percent. He also made the All-Star Game even though he is only averaging 12.7 points per game, which is a testament to how important he is on the court as a floor-spacer and sharp-shooter for the dominant Atlanta Hawks that entered the All-Star break with a 6.5-game lead over the rest of the Eastern Conference.
It’s not as if this is all new for Korver either. He set an NBA record the past two seasons with at least one made three-pointer in 127 consecutive games and has made a career of drilling shots from beyond the arc. It is just that he is doing so at an astounding level this season.
Shaun Powell of NBA.com described the surreal scene in Atlanta surrounding Korver:
"Korver is shooting 3s this season better than the vast majority of players are shooting 2s. No, seriously: Korver's at 53 percent beyond the arc; only a dozen NBA players are currently hitting that or better inside the arc. When the ball finds Korver, and he's open, the anticipation inside Philips Arena rises like the voice of the choir at Ebenezer Baptist Church. Fans, the Hawks bench, they all release the same sound -- wooooo! -- because he has become near-automatic.
"
The three-point contest is strange and not exactly something these shooters are accustomed to during the long NBA season. That is why experience is so important, and Korver will be competing in his third contest.
Korver discussed the contest, via Powell: "I don't know if the best shooter in the game will emerge from this. It's just one night. But for sure, this is the best collection, the best group that's been in the 3-point contest since I've been in the NBA."
It is certainly hard to argue with Korver’s assertion that the field is loaded, but the best shooter will emerge with the victory. Korver is on an absolute shooting tear this season and has critical experience in this event.
Considering he is hitting a ridiculous 52.3 percent of his threes with defenders actively trying to stop him, shooting these wide-open jumpers during the three-point contest will simply be unfair for the rest of the competition.
Give the Atlanta Hawks yet another win.
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