Ladies and gentlmen, the moment you have all been waiting for - the 2018 NBA All-Star game!
It has already been an exciting NBA All-Star weekend with plenty of young talent, memorable dunks, and dazzling skills.
Last night gave us skill competition champ Spencer Dinwiddie of the Brooklyn Nets, 3-point champ Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns, and slam dunk master Donovan Mitchell of the Utah Jazz.
Did the best shooter win? Was Donovan Mitchell the rightful winner of the dunk contest or did he just cash in on nostalgia instead of innovation? We will go more in-depth tomorrow with a recap of the full weekend.
For now though, it is time to look ahead to tonight - the main event.
Sunday night's 67th annual NBA All-Star game
At a glance, one can quickly determine that team LeBron vs. team Stephen is a different format than in previous years. We have broken down the new format for you already here at The Movement.
The general change is that the top vote-getters in each conference are team captains that select their teams using players from either conference. Fan voted starters were selected first, then coach selected reserves.
Team LeBron has suffered four injuries that required NBA-chosen fill-in players. Team Stephen remains unchanged. LeBron has stated that reserve Russell Westbrook will replace the injured DeMarcus Cousins in his starting lineup.
The starters:
Team Lebron: Kyrie Irving, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, and *DeMarcus Cousins
Team Stephen: Steph Curry, DeMarr DeRozen, Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, and Joel Embiid
The reserves:
Team LeBron: *Kristaps Porzingis, *Kevin Love, Bradley Beal, LaMarcus Aldridge, *John Wall, Victor Oladipo, Russell Westbrook, +Goran Dragic, +Andre Drummond, +Kemba Walker, and +Paul George
Team Stephen: Kyle Lowry, Karl-Anthony Towns, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, Al Horford, Damian Lillard, and Jimmy Butler
* Injured - will not play
+ Replaced injured player
Things to watch for
Team LeBron seems to have some statistical advantages over Team Stephen, with higher total points, rebounds, assists, blocks, and steals over the course of the season. Team Stephen only leads in 3-point makes (stats per NBA.com)
That is not to say Team LeBron will walk all over them. No team that includes Curry, Harden, and more can be doubted. They will also have the chemistry of three Golden State teammates on their side.
The other Warrior, Kevin Durant, will be going against them while teaming up with old ally Russell Westbrook. LeBron and Kyrie Irving are another former tandem that will be joining forces. How these allies turned foes interact will be interesting to watch.
Check back to The Basketball Movement tomorrow for a recap of this game and the All-Star weekend as a whole.