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LeBron James came into the weekend with the hype he’s built through the monstrous 60 percent, 30-point tear that he’d been on for nearly seven straight games.
Kevin Durant dropped (another) 30-spot: It was his third straight 30-point All-Star game.
Kobe Bryant made an timely, game-sealing block with the West up 134-126 and under 2:40 seconds to play in the game.
Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade each played a well-rounded game.
What a first half of the season, huh?
As we head into the break, the Three-Man Weave covers LeBron James’ remarkable run, what to look forward to during All-Star Weekend 2013 edition, and which teams may be poised for a second-half push that sneaks them into the postseason.
Without further ado, the second edition of the Three-Man Weave:
In a major upset, global sensation Jeremy Lin was added to the player pool for the Rising Stars Challenge at All-Star Weekend.
Lin, the second-year point guard of the New York Knicks, was a late addition to the pool, as was Miami Heat rookie guard Norris Cole.
TNT analysts Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal served as GMs and chose from a pool of 10 sophomores and 10 rookies. Here are there picks (O’Neal had the first pick):
TEAM SHAQ
Blake Griffin
Greg Monroe
Markieff Morris
Ricky Rubio
Jeremy Lin
Kemba Walker
Landry Fields
Norris Cole
Brandon Knight
Tristan Thompson
TEAM CHUCK
DeMarcus Cousins
Derrick Williams
Paul George
Kyrie Irving
MarShon Brooks
John Wall
Gordon Hayward
Tiago Splitter
Evan Turner
Kawhi Leonard
The inaugural Rising Stars Challenge is Friday night, Feb. 24 at 9 p.m. ET on TNT.
Wanna see Ricky Rubio throw lobs to Blake Griffin? How about John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins teaming up again, as they did at Kentucky?As we reported Tuesday, the Rookie-Sophomore Challenge is no more. NBA assistant coaches picked the pool of nine rookies and nine sophomores listed below, but TNT analysts Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal will serve as GMs and draft teams Feb. 16 on the air that will meet each other on Feb. 24.
Ultimately, each team should have a mix of first- and second-year players – unless Barkley loses his mind and picks all rookies.
The rookies are:
MarShon Brooks, G, New Jersey
Kyrie Irving, G Cleveland
Brandon Knight, G Detroit
Kawhi Leonard, G-F, San Antonio
Markkieff Morris, F Phoenix
Ricky Rubio, G Minnesota
Tristan Thompson, F, Cleveland
Kemba Walker, G Charlotte
Derrick Williams, F Minnesota
Not making the cut were New York’s Iman Shumpert and Sacramento’s Jimmer Fredette.
The second-year players are:
DeMarcus Cousins, C, Sacramento
Landry Fields, G-F, New York
Paul George, G-F, Indiana
Blake Griffin, F, LA Clippers
Gordon Hayward, G-F, Utah
Greg Monroe, F-C, Detroit
Tiago Splitter, F-C, San Antonio
Evan Turner, G-F, Philadelphia
John Wall, G Washington
Cousins, Fields, Griffin, Monroe and Wall played for the Rookies a year ago. Not making the cut were Washington’s Jordan Crawford and Minnesota’s Nikola Pekovic, two of just six second-year-players averaging double figures.
The Rookie-Sophomore Challenge is no more.
The annual wide-open dunkfest pitting first-year players against second-year players will have a different format this year in Orlando, the NBA announced Tuesday.
And under the new format, you might see Ricky Rubio throwing lobs to Blake Griffin.
The Friday night affair will now be called the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge, and each team will have rookies and sophomores. Each team also will have GMs who will pick from a pool of players selected by NBA assistant coaches.
The GMs will be TNT studio analysts Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal. Fellow analyst Kenny Smith will serve as honorary commissioner and “Inside the NBA” host Ernie Johnson will oversee the draft, which takes place on NBA TV on Feb. 16 at 7 p.m. ET.
That should be somewhat interesting, as we will find out which rookies and sophomores Barkley and O’Neal like the most – and the least.
This year’s Rookie Class is dominated by point guards. Of the five rookies scoring in double digits, four - Kyrie Irving, Brandon Knight, Kemba Walker and Rubio – are point men.
Believe it or not, there also are only five second-year players averaging double figures – Griffin, DeMarcus Cousins, John Wall, Paul George and Jordan Crawford.
The game was introduced in 1994 and featured only rookies for the first five installments. In 2000, the format was changed to Rookies vs. Sophomores. The Sophomores won eight of those matchups, including seven in a row from 2003-09. But the Rookies have won the last two.
And while the format for selecting players and teams will change, the format for breakneck basketball will not. The game usually has less defense than a conventional All-Star Game.
The first game in 1994 saw the Phenoms defeat the Sensations, 74-68. Last year’s game doubled that total, with the Rookies defeating the Sophomores, 148-140.
Over the last nine years, the average final score for the 40-minute game has been 130.4-115.4
