NBA All-Star Weekend 2018: Last-Minute Preview, Predictions for All-Star Game
The 2018 NBA All-Star Game is unlike any other, as the traditional Eastern Conference vs. Western Conference tilt has been replaced with a new format.
This year, Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry and Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James will lead teams comprising players of their choosing from a designated All-Star pool.
Furthermore, the players on the winning team will each receive a cool $100,000, up from $50,000 the year before.
Whether the format will work is up for debate, but something needed to change after the All-Star Game turned into a glorified dunk contest with little to no defense.
Here's a look at the All-Star Game schedule in addition to the rosters, three storylines to watch and a score prediction.
TV Schedule and Live-Stream Information
The 67th NBA All-Star Game begins at 8 p.m. Sunday in Staples Center, home of the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers. TNT will televise the event, with coverage beginning at 7 p.m. ET. The game can be live-streamed on TNTdrama.com or the Watch TNT app.
Team LeBron Roster
Head Coach
Dwane Casey, Toronto Raptors
Starters
LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
Kevin Durant, Golden State Warriors
Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans
Kyrie Irving, Boston Celtics
DeMarcus Cousins, New Orleans Pelicans#
Reserves
LaMarcus Aldridge, San Antonio Spurs
Bradley Beal, Washington Wizards
Goran Dragic, Miami Heat*
Andre Drummond, Detroit Pistons*
Paul George, Oklahoma City Thunder*
Victor Oladipo, Indiana Pacers
Kemba Walker, Charlotte Hornets*
Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder
Kevin Love, Cleveland Cavaliers**
Kristaps Porzingis, New York Knicks**
John Wall, Washington Wizards**
*Injury replacement. **Injured, will not play. #Injured, replacement starter not announced.
Team Stephen Roster
Head Coach
Mike D'Antoni (Houston Rockets)
Starters
Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
James Harden, Houston Rockets
DeMar DeRozan, Toronto Raptors
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers
Reserves
Jimmy Butler, Minnesota Timberwolves
Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors
Al Horford, Boston Celtics
Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers
Kyle Lowry, Toronto Raptors
Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors
Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves
Storylines To Watch
Unique Pairings
LeBron James and Kevin Durant both represented the United States in the 2012 Summer Olympics, but fans have never gotten a chance to see them on the same team on any other occasion. Durant wasn't selected for the 2008 side, while James did not participate in the 2016 Games. As far as All-Star Games go, James has always been on the Eastern Conference team, while Durant has never left the West.
Therefore, it will be interesting to see how James and Durant fare together. Their one and only go-around was a resounding success, as the U.S. went 5-0 in the preliminary round and won each knockout-round game to earn gold in London.
Expect more of the same this year, as a starting lineup featuring James and Durant is near impossible to defend against, especially when you throw power forward Anthony Davis into the mix. That gives Team LeBron an edge heading into Sunday night.
Will We See Some Defense?
The NBA All-Star Game was always a higher-scoring affair, but it was exceedingly rare to see a score eclipse 150 points.
However, both the East and West beat 150 in each of the past four seasons, and the Western Conference was four points away from scoring a mind-boggling 200 in regulation in 2016.
After another offensive onslaught in 2017, the aforementioned changes were brought into place. In theory, the fixes (combined with the backlash following last year's game) should precipitate more effort on the defensive end.
It's highly unlikely we will see defensive intensity akin to an NBA regular-season game between two solid teams, but expect the scores to drop to their previous norms earlier this decade (closer to 150 than 200).
Russell Westbrook's All-Star Game Dominance
The All-Star Game has become the Russell Westbrook show, as he has averaged 37.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 3.0 steals per game over his past three All-Star Games, per Basketball Reference.
The Oklahoma City Thunder point guard is also undefeated in the NBA All-Star Game, having won in every game in which he's featured, dating back to 2011 (he missed the 2014 contest with a knee injury).
Westbrook has won the All-Star Game MVP award twice in the past three years and would have won a third had New Orleans Pelicans power forward Anthony Davis not scored a record 52 points on 26-of-39 shooting in 2017.
Perhaps coincidentally, Westbrook scored 41 points on 54 combined field goals in each of the All-Star Games he did not start. Maybe that's much ado about nothing, or maybe Westbrook was hellbent on proving to everyone he should have been starting.
The former UCLA star wasn't named as a starter this year, so we could see Westbrook put up another 40-point performance.
Score: Team LeBron 155, Team Stephen 150
With all due respect to Team Stephen's starting lineup, the Team LeBron starting five presents an impossible task for its defense.
How will Team Stephen be able to guard James, Durant and Davis at the same time? Team LeBron also needs a replacement for injured New Orleans Pelicans center DeMarcus Cousins, and if that replacement happens to be Westbrook, then Team LeBron could be up double digits before anyone blinks.
However, Team Stephen has a clear edge on the bench. That's in part because Team LeBron had to replace three initial reserves because of injuries, but Team Stephen had a loaded and versatile second unit led by Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard and Minnesota Timberwolves stars Jimmy Butler and Karl-Anthony Towns.
But it's hard to bet against Westbrook in an All-Star Game, and it's even harder to see a team with him, James, Davis and Durant losing, even to the Monstars from Space Jam.
Team Stephen's bench will make it a game, but Team LeBron's starters will be too much down the stretch. They will win a close contest that goes down to the wire.
