2018 NBA All-Star Weekend RapUp

This was an All-Star weekend that wasn't out of this world, but it was definitely one worth watching. It was easily better than last year in some aspects but it did lack in different departments. Here is my review of the All-Star weekend.

Rising Stars Challenge

Team World Team USA

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NBA Rising Stars MVP: Bogdan Bogdanovic

Bogdan Bogdanovic dropped 26 points with seven triples and dished out 6 assists to take home the Rising Stars MVP.

These young stars of the league came out to show off their talent and did not hold back as they faced their peers and teammates. The league is in good hands once again as the talent keeps on coming as the years go on. Only question is whether any of these young players in the league can propel themselves to the superstar status that will be expected of them in the upcoming years. Overall, a great game filled with amazing highlights as Team World won this game easily. The MVP came from the winning team and Bogdan was on fire from deep as he was hitting threes from everywhere. Congratulations to Bogdan Bogdanovic of the Sacramento Kings.

Another note worth mentioning is the lack of Toronto Raptors on these rosters. I am not saying this as a biased Toronto Raptors fan, but the Raptors do have one of the best benches in the NBA and are 1st in the Eastern Conference and have a bunch of young players who are available to play in this game. It was unfortunate that not even one Toronto Raptor was selected. But hopefully they use this as a chip on their shoulder and show out in the 2nd half of the season. #ProveEm

Taco Bell Skills Challenge

Quarter-Finals

Joel Embiid def. Al Horford

Lauri Markannen def. Andre Drummond

Spencer Dinwiddie def. Buddy Hield

Jamal Murray def. Louis Williams

Semi-Finals

Lauri Markannen def. Joel Embiid

Spencer Dinwiddie def. Jamal Murray

Finals

Spencer Dinwiddie def. Lauri Markannen

Winner: Spencer Dinwiddie

Spencer Dinwiddie has been clutch all season for the Brooklyn Nets and was clutch in this one as he takes home the Taco Bell Skills Challenge trophy.

This contest has been improved with the addition of the big guys which has provided more interesting situations. The modern day big man has developed their variety skills and have become more versatile with the addition of the 3-point shot. Since the new format, the big guys have won the last two contests. Only problem I have with contest is that I liked having both the bounce pass and chest pass tests that were in the contest before, but now only the chest pass is in the challenge which isn't enough skills in my opinion. The match-ups were quite close and anyone could have won this one, but Dinwiddie was one of the better passers in this contest. Congratulations to Spencer Dinwiddie of the Brooklyn Nets.

JBL Three Point Contest

Here are the results of the 3-point Shoot-out:

First Round

Tobias Harris - 18

Wayne Ellington - 17

Paul George - 9

Devin Booker - 19

Kyle Lowry - 11

Bradley Beal - 15

Klay Thompson - 19

Eric Gordon - 12

Final Round

Tobias Harris - 17

Devin Booker - 28

Klay Thompson - 25

Winner: Devin Booker

Devin Booker was on fire as he broke the NBA record for the highest total in the final round with 28.

This was one of the more exciting events of the All-Star weekend. A NBA-record 28 points from Devin Booker which was enough to hold off Klay Thompson to win this one. The NBA revamped the 3-point contest by adding a rack of money balls to the position of the shooter's choice which changed the maximum score you can get from 30 to 34. Devin Booker made great use of the money ball rack as he went 4/5 in the final round on his money ball rack. Overall, a great contest as the 2016 champion Klay Thompson was a couple friendly-rolls away from tying Booker. A successful and exciting event once again. Defending champion Eric Gordon was off on this night as he finished 6th in the First Round. The "We Want Paul" chants for Paul George fell quiet as he shot a contest-low 9 points in the First Round.

On a Toronto Raptors note, Kyle Lowry struggled as he knocked down only 11 points in the First Round and failed to qualify for the Final Round once again. Kyle seems more comfortable being an in-game and off the dribble shooter compared to a spot-up shooter. He has struggled in these contests before but hopefully he can win one next year as he is always in the top 10 in three-pointers made in the NBA. Congratulations to Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns.

Verizon Slam Dunk Contest

This contest is the most highly anticipated event of the All-Star weekend every year. The dunk contest was revived after an amazing dunk contest for the ages last year between Aaron Gordon (Orlando Magic) and Zach Lavine (Minnesota Timberwolves). This was when Zach Lavine was still on the Timberwolves, but he decided not to defend his dunk contest championship this year. Zach Lavine chose not to participate as he is preparing for the second-half of the NBA season to push into the Eastern Conference playoffs with the Chicago Bulls. This year Aaron Gordon was injured (hip) and was replaced by Donovan Mitchell, the sensational rookie from the Utah Jazz.

First Round

Donovan Mitchell - 48

Victor Oladipo - 31

Dennis Smith Jr. - 39

Larry Nance Jr. - 44

Second Round

Donovan Mitchell - 50

Victor Oladipo - 40

Dennis Smith Jr. - 50

Larry Nance Jr. - 49

Donovan Mitchell advances with 98 and Larry Nance Jr. advances with 93.

Third Round

Larry Nance Jr. - 46

Donovan Mitchell - 50

Fourth Round

Larry Nance Jr. - 50

Donovan Mitchell - 48

Winner: Donovan Mitchell

Donovan Mitchell sported an array of jerseys as he put on a show for the fans in Los Angeles with his amazing leaping ability.

This was a good contest, but it felt too short for me. There were dunks that were never seen before especially the double-tap off the glass by Larry Nance Jr. and the Reverse 360 between the legs while switching hands by Dennis Smith Jr. Both dunks were given 50s which was well deserved. But two dunks for each competitor in the first round is not enough. My opinion is that the dunk contest should be extended to 3 dunks in the qualifying round and 3 dunks in the final round because once you miss your first dunk which may be of high difficulty, you pretty much lose the contest. The goal of the dunk contest should be to allow the dunkers to try their high-risk and high-difficulty dunks and not to do safe dunks to make it to the final round. They should be allowed to try their risky dunks because the goal is to impress the fans, judges and peers. Hopefully, the NBA takes a look into this.

This doesn't mean it took anything away from the exciting 2018 Dunk Contest that was put on by the competitors. Donovan Mitchell who was the replacement for Aaron Gordon made sure people noticed that he wasnt some late addition to fill up the missing spot, but he was a contender for the title. He sported multiple jerseys such as the jersey of Utah dunking star, Darrell Griffith, and the jersey of arguably the best dunker of all time, Toronto Raptor's Vince Carter as well. He not only wore their jerseys but also coupled it with magnificent dunks as Donovan Mitchell of the Utah Jazz bested the Cleveland Cavalier's Larry Nance Jr. in the final round. Congratulations to Donovan Mitchell of the Utah Jazz who could also be the Rookie of the Year at the end of the year.

NBA All-Star Game - Team LeBron vs Team Stephen

Team LeBron Team Stephen

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NBA All-Star Game MVP: LeBron James

Both captains shake hands before the tip-off for the new All-Star Game format that was about to unfold.

This was the first time of using the new format where the two top fan-voted players from each conference gets to choose their own squads from the rest of the All-Stars. LeBron James was given the first pick of the draft and chose Kevin Durant of the Golden State Warriors and so forth. Stephen Curry chose his team as well and chose Giannis Antetokounmpo as his first pick for his squad. After all was said and done, the picks were chosen with both teams looking quite formidable. The order of when each player was selected was not revealed, but it was discussed and Adam Silver, the NBA commissioner, has decided to air the draft starting next year. Al Horford and LaMarcus Aldridge were revealed to be the last picks for both squads but they were not disappointed as they were still selected in the top 24 players in the NBA.

The game started off with both teams playing defense which was hard to imagine after last year's high scoring affair where both teams scored over 190 points each. Both teams prevented any easy dunks and contested jump shots. The game was tight through the first half and the second half it was played even harder. Teams were fighting for the extra $50,000 that will be given to each player for winning and the charity that each of their captains selected. The game came down to the final possession where Team Stephen was down 3 but, Stephen Curry was guarded by both LeBron and Durant who prevented him from even getting a shot off. DeMar DeRozan was given the ball with barely any room in the corner and could not get off a shot in time. Team LeBron James took home the victory, extra money, pride, and earned an amazing donation to their charity. LeBron James was also awarded the All-Star Game MVP for the third time in his career as the last time he won it was back in 2008. He finished with 29 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists in 31 minutes.

Tons of story lines were going into this game as both Kyrie and LeBron reunited on the same team and Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook also shared the floor together. Both duos played together most of the game and found each other on key baskets to put this game away. A lineup of Kyrie, Westbrook, George, Durant, and LeBron is probably one of the best lineups to see the floor as they were able to switch on any defender and were flying around on defense causing havoc on Team Stephen. Team Stephen were tied up by Team LeBron in the second half but played them competitively throughout the game.

LeBron James wins his third All-Star Game MVP as he was all smiles as his team wins this one.

In conclusion, I believe this format is great for the game as players were playing with effort, energy and were trying to win the game. No one was out there trying to be embarrassed by their opposing peer so everyone took it to heart if someone scored on them. You won't ever see an Anthony Davis 52 point performance anytime soon if teams played this hard and ran back on defense. I like the new format and I would love to see next year's draft live. Congratulations to LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

On a Toronto Raptors note, Dwane Casey and staff have bragging rights as they beat their stars, Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan tonight. Lowry struggled from the field but did chip in 11 assists and 7 rebounds. DeMar shined as he dropped in a team-high 21 points and added 6 rebounds and 2 assists. DeMar could have been up for the All-Star Game MVP if Team Stephen did manage to win this game. The LA native played well and hit a three in this game showing off that new arsenal of tricks that he has up his sleeve this year. Overall, a great night for the Toronto Raptors organization. Now back to the NBA season where things are about to get serious again.

Pictures courtesy of:

https://www.dailysabah.com/basketball/2018/02/19/team-lebron-rallies-from-behind-to-beat-team-stephen-in-nba-all-star-game

https://www.ctvnews.ca/sports/team-lebron-edges-team-stephen-148-145-in-nba-all-star-game-1.3809098

https://www.newsday.com/sports/basketball/nets/spence-dinwiddie-nba-all-star-skills-challenge-1.16836242

http://www.latimes.com/sports/nba/la-sp-three-point-contest-20180217-story.html

https://sports.mb.com.ph/2018/02/18/nba-jazz-rookie-donovan-mitchell-wins-2018-slam-dunk-contest/

https://www.sbnation.com/2018/2/17/17022536/2018-nba-all-star-kings-bogdan-bogdanovic-mvp-rising-stars-celebrity-game-results