After over three months of NBA battles night-in and night-out, it’s time for those who make the headlines to make some more as the best of the best get together in Dallas for All-Star Weekend. Jerry Jones has given the keys to Cowboys Stadium to David Stern for the weekend to host the biggest event in NBA history. Everything’s bigger in Texas, right? So I think the expectations are pretty high – and we can’t wait!

Friday Night

Rookie Challenge (9pm TNT)

The Rookie-Sophomore game is normally a one-sided affair owned by the big(ger) boys. This year’s game is a battle of the rookie guards (Brandon Jennings, Tyreke Evans, Stephen Curry, Jonny Flynn) against the sophomore big men (Marc Gasol, Michael Beasley, Kevin Love, Brook Lopez). The question is: who will dominate this year?

Predictions:

The Basher	Duts	G	JB	The Ref	Shooter
Sophomores	Sophomores	Sophomores	Rookies	Sophomores	Sophomores

  

Also, during halftime of the rookie challenge is a dunk-off between Eric Gordon and DeMar DeRozan in order to partake in the real deal on Saturday night. Since this is the first time this will ever happen, you can bet this will be truly historic.

Saturday Night

All-Star Saturday Night starts at 7pm on TNT and covers a whole bunch of events. Not only are the events exciting, but you have to love the other players watching like a bunch of 15 year-old fans. Let’s hope someone bought Shaq a ticket!

H.O.R.S.E.

If you’ve ever held a basketball, then you have undoubtedly played a game of H.O.R.S.E. in your lifetime. Last year was the first time this event was held, and despite bad reviews, I still liked it. One problem for the rest of the field, Kevin Durant is back to defend his title.

Participants:

Player	Team	Height	Weight
Omri Casspi	Kings	6’9”	225
Kevin Durant	Thunder	6’9”	230
Rajon Rondo	Celtics	6’1”	171

 

Predictions:

The Basher	Duts	G	JB	The Ref	Shooter
Kevin Durant	Kevin Durant	Omri Casspi	Kevin Durant	Rajon Rondo	Kevin Durant

 

Shooting Stars

What do you get when you put an NBA superstar with a WNBA great and an ex-NBA TNT analyst? I’ll tell you what  you get – one heck of a shooting competition. But where’s Team Phoenix? Can you answer that Sir Charles?

Participants:

	Texas	Atlanta	Los Angeles	Sacramento
NBA	Dirk Nowitzki	Joe Johnson	Pau Gasol	Tyreke Evans
WNBA	Becky Hammon	Angel McCoughtry	Marie Ferdinand-Harris	Nicole Powell
TNT	Kenny Smith	Steve Smith	Brent Barry	Chris Webber

 

Predictions:

The Basher	Duts	G	JB	The Ref	Shooter
Dallas	Sacramento	Atlanta	Los Angeles	Atlanta	Atlanta

 

Skills Challenge

The NBA is full of amazing guards, and this is the contest made for them. When I think of these speedy guys dribbling their way through the obstacle-course, I wonder this: what if they threw in some of the ‘wider’ players in the league (I’m looking at you Shaq).

Participants:

Player	Team	Height	Weight
Brandon Jennings	Bucks	6’1”	169
Steve Nash	Suns	6’3”	195
Derrick Rose	Bulls	6’3”	190
Deron Williams	Jazz	6’3”	207

 

Predictions:

The Basher	Duts	G	JB	The Ref	Shooter
Steve Nash	Deron Williams	Brandon Jennings	Brandon Jennings	Derrick Rose	Brandon Jennings

 

3-Point Shootout

This contest has been a staple for All-Star Weekend and it’s a game that the rules will never change. But why should they? A handful of some of the best shooters in the league get together to create a field that has some primetime players in it.

Participants:

Player	Team	Season 3-pt %
Chauncey Billups	Nuggets	41%
Daequan Cook	Heat	30%
Stephen Curry	Warriors	43%
Channing Frye	Suns	44%
Danilo Gallinari	Knicks	40%
Paul Pierce	Celtics	47%

 

Predictions:

The Basher	Duts	G	JB	The Ref	Shooter
Stephen Curry	Chauncey Billups	Stephen Curry	Channing Frye	Stephen Curry	Daequan Cook

 

Slam-Dunk Contest

THROW IT DOWWWNNN! (Yes, Bill Walton should be announcing this event) No, LeBron isn’t participating (as he said he would a year ago), but the NBA isn’t depending on him for this event. Can Nate make it three wins in three tries? Or will one of the younger dunkers create their own history?

Participants:

Player	Team	Height	Weight
Shannon Brown	Lakers	6’4”	205
DeMar DeRozan*	Raptors	6’7”	220
Eric Gordon*	Clippers	6’3”	222
Nate Robinson	Knicks	5’9”	180
Gerald Wallace	Bobcats	6’7”	220

*Dunk-off participant on Friday night

Predictions:

The Basher	Duts	G	JB	The Ref	Shooter
Nate Robinson	Shannon Brown	Shannon Brown	DeMar DeRozan	DeMar DeRozan	Shannon Brown

   

Sunday

2010 NBA All-Star Game (8pm TNT)

The Main Event. The best of the best in each conference squaring off. Hopefully the game will hold up to the hype and competition takes over. Otherwise, there is guaranteed nasty plays on both ends of the court that will keep everyone thoroughly entertained!

Predictions:

The Basher	Duts	G	JB	The Ref	Shooter
West                MVP: LeBron James	East                MVP: LeBron James	East               MVP: LeBron James	West               MVP: Kevin Durant	West                 MVP: Carmelo Anthony	West                MVP: Dirk Nowitzki

Check back after each event to see NBAtoday.net’s reaction to this weekend’s events!