The NBA stars return to the court tonight to show off their different skill sets in "All-Star Saturday" from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Players from not just the All-Star rosters, but the entire league, will compete in the Shooting Stars Challenge, the Skills Challenge, Three Point Shootout and the Dunk Contest.
Tonight's action starts at 8 p.m. on TNT. Check out each event below for a preview and Sixerdelphia predictions.
Shooting Stars:
Objective
—make four shots, one each from the following locations:
10’ shot on strong side
19’9" shot from the top of the key
NBA three from left wing
Half-court shot
Teams: (comprised of one NBA player, one "legend", or former NBA star, and one WNBA player.
Team Bosh: Chris Bosh, Dominique Wilkins, Swin Cash**
Team Curry: Stephen Curry, Dell Curry, Sue Bird
Team Millsap: Scottie Pippen, Elena Delle Donne
Team Westbrook: Russell Westbrook, Penny Hardaway, Tamika Catchings
***= Two-time champions
Process:
Teams get 90 seconds to complete challenge
Time in which they finish will be their "score"
The two fastest teams will advance to the next round, with the fastest team being declared the chamopions.
Predictions:
Will Rockenbach: Team Westbrook
Rob Bauer: Team Bosh
Mike Angelina: Team Westbrook
Skills Competition
Objective
—be the quickest to complete a series of events in an obstacle course, in a head-to-head format.
Participants and first round matchups:
Isiah Thomas vs. Patrick Beverley
Elfrid Payton vs. Jeff Teague
Trey Burke*** vs. Brandon Knight
Dennis Schroder vs. Kyle Lowry
The Sixers' Michael Carter-Williams, as well as John Wall of the Wizards and Chicago's Jimmy Butler all were selected, but withdrew due to injury.
***= defending champion with Damian Lillard)
Process:
Each player goes through the course against an opponent
The quickest to complete each phase of the course move onto the next round, until a champion is decided.
Predictions:
Will Rockenbach: Elfrid Payton
Rob Bauer: Jeff Teague
Mike Angelina: Brandon Knight
Three Point Shootout:
Objective: Make as many three-point baskets in 60 seconds. Scoring/Set-up:
Five racks of five balls scattered around the arc
First four balls are worth one point and fifth ball, or "Money Ball" is worth two points.
Players can designate an entire rack as "Money Balls", with each of the five balls counting for two points if made.
Participants:
Steph Curry
Klay Thompson
James Harden
Kyrie Irving
Kyle Korver
Marco Belinelli***
Wesley Matthews
J.J. Redick
****= Defending Champion
Process:
Each player shoots for 60 seconds, one-by-one
The top three shooters advance to the championship round, with the top shooter in the championship round being declared the winner.
Predictions:
Will Rockenbach: Kyle Korver
Rob Bauer: Kyle Korver
Mike Angelina: Kyle Korver
Dunk Contest
:
Objective: Showcase athletic dunking ability as well as creativity through dunks, seeking to get the highest rating total from the judges.
Participants:
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Mason Plumlee
Victor Oladipo
Zach LaVine
Process: The dunkers will get three chances to complete a dunk for two rounds, getting rated by five judges on a scale of 6-10. The top two dunkers will move on to the championship round, in which they will dunk two more times, and the highest rated dunker will be declared champion.
Predictions:
Will Rockenbach: Giannis Antetokounmpo
Rob Bauer: Zach LaVine
Mike Angelina: Giannis Antetokounmpo
