3 Early NBA Storylines and Trends

Three Early NBA Trends and Storylines

We are about 20 games into the 2015-16 NBA season, and despite the Golden State Warriors dominating the court and the headlines, this year's edition of the Association has many underrated plot twists and turns to keep even casual fans interested. With the usual stars out in full force (LeBron, Curry, Durant, Davis, Szczerbiak...) and some young blood added to the mix (Wiggins, Towns, Skinny Kyle Lowry) the NBA looks to be in good hands going forward. Today we'll take a look at some of the story lines dominating the league and delve deep into reasons, longevity and hype factor that drive each story. 

1) Golden State EVERYTHING

MVP already? Crown his ass.

I don't care if this is the most talked about story in the NBA and possibly sports right now. What the hell are you supposed to do when one team has effectively broken a sport?! As of right now the Warriors are 21-0 and Steph Curry is running away with the MVP vote (while also jumping about 3 spots per day in GOAT conversation).  Let's start with league MVP Curry. He is averaging 32 ppg, 6 apg and 5 rpg while shooting 53% from the field, 46% from three and 93% from FT. The only thing we DO know about stopping Steph Curry is, you can't stop Steph Curry! So how the hell does this work, and who has a shot at beating this team? Well the best thing I can tell you is, it's the regular season. The Warriors are going to have to play a good team from the Western Conference from the second round on in the playoffs. A team with depth like the Los Angeles Clippers might have the chance to hang with the Warriors for 7 games. Much like the Spurs last few years, Golden State relies on the pick and roll to create matchup problems, leading to wide open threes. The one team that caused the Spurs problems during their latest run was the OKC Thunder. The Thunder were able to matchup with their small ball lineup and with their insane athelticism (Russell at the one, Durant at the four and Ibaka at the 5) the Thunder were able to switch on every screen and slow down San Antonio. These two teams could eventually foil the GS run this season, but it's all about winning a seven game series in the playoffs. Golden State has dominated the regular season thus far, but could one of these teams catch them in the playoffs? Probably not, but let's slow this train down before we eliminate every team out West.

Can it be sustained?
Going undefeated? No! But Golden State will certainly finish with the one seed barring some massive injury or suspension.

Draymond has been causing matchup issues all year...he knows

The Big Question:
"What is the rest of the league going to do to slow this team down?"
Well a few things have been tested, and failed. The Clippers and Cavs both tried sending double teams at curry, but he's too good of a passer (as is the rest of the team) to be bothered by that. The Clippers recently tried getting physical with Curry as Chris Paul hounded him for an entire half. Turns out that didn't work! Not only is Curry stronger now, but this is not a one dimensional team! If Curry is getting "roughed up" he's going to become a creator and find other ways to dominate the game. So what's next? Foul him while he's inside the three point line? I don't think so. The only way a team will have a chance is if they go equally as small and are able to switch every screen. Let Draymond take 10 footers and drive to the hoop one on one maybe? Just don't let him get the ball off a pick and pass out a wide open corner three. Free layups, no threes? It's radical, but it might just work!

2) Paul George and the Indiana Pacers

The video of George's leg breaking should never be viewed

The fact that Paul George is playing basketball is great. He was the hot young superstar that was going to be the next guy to dethrone LeBron James. Hell, he had passed up Kevin Durant as the number two guy in the league. Well all that went out the window during a Team USA exhibition game in which PG's leg snapped in half in one of the most gruesome injuries since Shaun Livingston did the same. Well, not only is YG Trece back, he's better than ever!!! George is averaging 27 ppg, 8 rpg and 4 assists as well as playing All NBA First Team defense. Oh and he just dropped a career high 48 on the Utah Jazz. Having George back and dominant is great for the league and fans of silky smooth scorers around the world. With George's suprising play comes another suprise: The Indiana Pacers.

The Pacers have opened the season as a top four team in the East while picking up wins against the Bulls, Clippers and Heat. Head coach Frank Vogel has moved his squad from the slow, plodding defense first vanilla fest to a run and gun, three shooting, deep benched machine! With PG at the helm, a slew of scorers to help take the load off (Monta Ellis, Rodney Stuckey) a resurgent CJ Miles and a solid defensive big man rotation, the Pacers could be one move away from once again being a thorn in LeBron's side.

Can it be sustained?

Not sure. Will PG be playing at the same level at the 60 game mark? Can guys like CJ Miles and Monta Ellis be depended on for a whole season? Something tells me this team is going to hit a rough patch around the All Star break, but maybe they could pull together a trade to add another name to this squad.

The Big Question:

"Can you trust Paul George after his last dance with superstardom?"

2013-14 was a rough year for George, the Pacers and everyone else involved. The collapse was spurred on by Roy Hibbert turning into the worst player in NBA history, Lance Stephenson doing all the Lance Stephenson things you don't want Lance Stephenson doing (you know what I mean) and Paul George just kind of fading into the background. After being anointed the second best player in the NBA, PG let a lot of people down with his very average play during the second half of that season. He seemed to return to form during the playoffs, but just couldn't reach that next level when his team needed it during the conference finals against LeBron and the Heat. That series culminated with PG scoring 7 points in a 23 point blowout to end the season. The basketball world might need to see George go off in the playoffs before accepting him as their basketball savior again. 

3) The Eastern Conference Sludge Pool of Mediocrity

Derek Rose is a big part of the Bulls identity crisis

Early on this season, it seems like the East has finally gained some ground on the West. Well...maybe. If anything, things have just gotten muddled and confusing. The Raptors may have taken a step back, the Wizards DEFINITELY took a step back, the Bucks haven't made a leap, the Celtics, Magic and Pistons are fun, young upstarts that pose no threat as a 7 or 8 seed and the Hornets are owned by Michael Jordan. Hell, if you look at the top of the Conference, the Cavs aren't a "sexy" team by any means (especially with the injuries). The Bulls are going through an identity crisis at the moment and the Heat have some glaring weaknesses despite a strong roster. So what the hell are supposed to make of all this?

Can it/will it be sustained?
History tells us yes. The Cavs are going to be at the top and barring some crazy meltdown/locker room cancer issue, the Bulls will be too. The Heat should be in the top 3 as well, but you can't count them in because of health issues. It looks like another top heavy year in the East.

The Big Question:
"Will the East correct itself?"
Teams like the Raptors and Wizards have too much star power to be middle of the pack in the East. Those two teams should be competing for a three seed at least, but it appears that coaching is getting in the way of that. Whether it be via trade or coaching change, one of these teams will compete for the three seed and have people talking by the All Star break.

NBA's Most Disappointing Players

The 10 Most Disappointing Players of the 2013-14 NBA Season

Now that the regular season is over, you will be inundated with all kinds of all-NBA teams and MVP recap pieces. We here at Dirty Picks decided to do things a little differently and pick ten players who had the most disappointing seasons. This was determined by a couple of different factors including; expectations, salary, overall team performance, and in the case of Larry Sanders all of the above. Once again, just to be clear this is not a list of the ten worst players in the NBA, or ten players who have had the worst season, just the ten most disappointing players based on this season alone.

10) Paul George
Right off the bat we get it started with a player that is sure to have millions of readers calling for my head at the conclusion of this sentence. However there are a combination of factors that have landed Paul George on this list. First off, coming out of the gate he was an absolute nightmare, averaging 23 ppg while shooting 47% from the field and 40% from three! At times he played like a young T-Mac hitting every shot he took and accordingly the Pacers steamrolled to a 41-11 record. Then the All-star break happened and all of sudden his numbers began to gradually decline to 20.4 ppg and his shooting percentage plummeted to 39.7% from the field and 33% from three. This culminated in PG hitting rock bottom in March, where he saw his scoring output drop again to 18.9 ppg and 37% shooting from the field! Naturally the Pacers also struggled and have had a very rough past two months that saw them relinquish their stranglehold on the number one seed in the East (they did get it back). Basically George is on this list because of the lofty expectations that people had for him before the season and after the first few months. Is it his fault that people were saying he was the third best player in the league after a Lebron and Durant? No, but it is disappointing that he didn't get there. Also there have been the embarrassing stories about him impregnating a stripper and getting catfished by a gay man (allegedly). My personal favorite explanation for why he has been struggling and the team has gone cold since the break? Allegedly him and Roy Hibbert accidentally crossed swords during a ménage a trois after a game in Utah, again not confirmed. On the other hand if they go on to win the title this year I will issue a statement apologizing for this ranking (not likely), but as of right now he has definitely had the tenth most disappointing NBA.

9. Kyrie IrvingI know that picking two of the five starters in an NBA ASG doesn't win me very many supporters for this list, and it doesn't help that he won the ASG MVP. However, take that game out and you will notice that his season on the whole has been very disappointing. Is it all his fault? Absolutely not, but as a number one pick and alleged superstar he deserves to shoulder some blame. His ppg decreased this season from 22.5 last year to 20.5 this year, and he saw a drop in his shooting percentage going from 45% to 42% from the field and 39% to 36% from three. Couple that with the recent reports that he is just counting the days until he can pull a Lebron and get of Cleveland when his contract expires, and you have a very disappointing season. The biggest knock on Irving is that plays almost zero defense, and opposing point guards routinely torch him for career highs. Would the Cavs have been better off taking Oladipo this past draft instead of Bennett since neither of their guards play anything close to NBA defense? 100%, but that would require Dan Gilbert to look like a competent owner and not someone that the Washington Generals would probably pass on. Recently one scout came out and said that Kryie is more likely the next Stephon Marbury rather than a player who can take your franchise to the next level, and the Cavs record this year reflects that. Hopefully the scouts are wrong and the Cavs do something this offseason to shake up this roster, but as it stands right now he's had the ninth most disappointing NBA season.

8. Ricky Rubio
This guy was supposed to come in and dominate the NBA with his ball handling skills and elite level passing abilities, and he has! The problem with Rubio, and it is quite a big problem, is that his scoring and shooting are awful. This year his scoring went from 10.7 ppg to 9.5 ppg which isn't a huge drop, but when you actually look at the percentages it gets particularly nasty. He shots 48% from 0-3 ft! Lay-ups! This should be the bread and butter for a guard, not less than a coin flip chance of going in! 3-10 ft is 34%, better but not great. The real shocking one 10-16 ft is 18%!! That means he has zero midrange game. Which for someone who runs the pick and roll is an absolute nightmare. Any team with a half decent defensive coach (not you Mike Brown) figures out about three minutes into the game that not only will Rubio not take the shot if you sag off him, but he won't make it either. This leads teams to being able to double or triple Kevin Love and force someone else on the Wolves to beat them (spoiler alert, it won't happen). Seriously watch the Spurs or a team like that next time they play Minnesota. They don't even attempt to guard Ricky and even an average offensive player should be able to make teams pay with this sort of strategy. He's on pace to have one of the worst shooting percentages of all time for someone that has logged as many minutes as he has. Rubio was expected to take a huge leap forward this season because it was his first real offseason this summer and he was 100% healthy. Now Kevin Love is thinking about what all Kevin's do to Minnesota and get out when his contract expires next year. You think if Ricky was playing like a top 5 point guard for the Wolves, this would even be a topic of conversation? No way, Jose. Rubio has easily had the eighth most disappointing NBA season and so far a very disappointing career.

7. Anthony Bennett
This one could be argued against very easily; first off he wasn't supposed to go number one so the expectations are unfair, number two he is a rookie so he needs some time to adjust. Well the fact of the matter is he did go number one and fair or unfair that comes with a certain amount of expectations. Secondly he's having an atrocious season even by rookie standards. It started in summer league when he looked fat, could barely stay on the court for 15 minutes a game, and didn't do anything besides get diagnosed with sleep apnea (I guess that's an achievement?). Then the season started and he looked worse somehow. He started off missing some crazy number of shots in a row as he looked sluggish, was forcing shots, and overthinking every aspect of the NBA game. Then the injuries started happening, he would miss a few games here, miss a couple more weeks here and currently hasn't played in weeks. Now he has had a few flashes although his durability has kept him from building on these signs of promise. Couple that in with the fact that Mike Brown was barely giving any minutes to a prospect that needed every minute he could get in order to develop. Seriously how the hell is Mike Brown a coach? It's not like the Cavs were competing for anything, why wouldn't he play him 25 minutes a game at least after the first month when it seemed pretty obvious that Dan Gilbert wouldn't be cutting down the nets this year? Remember when he said at last years lottery that they are making the playoffs this year? That was a good laugh, I wonder how many members of the Cleveland entourage  will show up to this lottery? All in all this season by Anthony Bennett was incredibly disappointing and while it is too early to call him an all-time bust, he is certainly on track. Look at the comparison between him and all-time bust Kwame Brown. Bennett averaged 12mpg, scoring 4.1ppg, 3.0 reb, and shooting 35% from the field and 24% from three! The most egregious stat though, a PER of only 6.7! The league average is 15!! Average!! Kwame managed to play 14mpg, scoring 4.5ppg, grabbing 3.5 rebs and shooting 38%. The real kicker, his PER was 11.2! That's not even average but almost double what Bennett managed to put up and Kwame is considered the biggest bust in the last ten years.

6. The Kanter- Derrick Favors combo

Remember a few years back when the Jazz were a fringe playoff team thanks to Paul Milsap and Al Jefferson, but the word on the street was just wait until the two young guys behind them get the minutes? Watch out, these two were supposed to dominate NBA defenses in a reincarnation of the Twin Towers the Spurs trotted out in the early 2000's (slight exaggeration). Well it hasn't happened this season, if anything they are the main reason the Jazz have gone from fringe playoff contender (43-39 2012-13) to possible number one pick candidates (24-57, this year). Put it this way, if you are a Jazz fan who would you rather have going forward? The combo of Al Jefferson (22.0 ppg, 10.8 rpg, 22.8 PER) and Paul Milsap (17.9 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 19.8 PER), or the great unknowns that are Kanter (12.3 ppg, 7.5 rpg, and 15.7 PER) and Favors (13.2 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 18.8 PER)? At least they were relevant with the previous duo. Both of these guys are still young players and it would be unfair to write them off at this point (especially Favors), but it looks more like they are gonna be role players at best rather than legit NBA all-stars.

5. Andrea Bargnani
The Knicks traded a first round pick for this guy!!  Although that fact is more indicative of the Knicks front office (good luck Phil!) than the value of Bargs. The fact of the matter is they gave up a first round pick for this guy that is probably going to be 12-15 lottery pick in a deep draft. Great move Knicks, now would I put Bargs on this list with all that said if he had a good season? Yeah probably, but he's been terrible too. He only managed to put up 13.3 ppg and 5.3 rpg with a PER of 14.5! The real trouble here was he shot 27% from 3, for a stretch four who's go to is shooting from deep that is ridiculous. The knock on him has always been his defense, and for some reason the Knicks thought bringing in someone to pair with their already atrocious defensive lineup was a solid idea. Combine that with the fact that they already had a power forward that makes a ton of money and doesn't play any defense and this trade makes no sense. If you were smart when you saw this trade before the season you probably said "well that won't work" but unfortunately for you, you don't run the Knicks. Bargnani makes this list for two reasons; the Knicks traded a first round pick for him (!!!!!!!!!!!) and his play doesn't not reflect the amount of money he gets paid (11 mil this year, 12 next year). Terrible team, terrible front office, terrible player/salary and a terrible trade all add up to equal the fifth most disappointing NBA season.

4. OJ Mayo

Remember when Mayo was a high school legend that was even drawing comparisons to Lebron James because apparently he had a pro game at the age of 16? Sure he's never lived up to that potential, but he was a first round pick and showed that he could contribute for an NBA team in a starting roll (15.3 ppg, 4.4 apg, 3.5 rpg with a 13.9 PER for the Mavs). Then the Bucks gave  him some money in the offseason (3 year deal for 24 million!) and it went downhill fast. First he showed up to camp out of shape which was partially blamed on the delicious fried food in Milwaukee (hilarious!) then he realized that this team was going to be terrible so he started jackin up triples and going at about 20% of full speed. His numbers went down across the board as he finished with a scoring average of 11.7 ppg, 2.4 apg, and 2.2 rpg with an 11.2 PER! At times he has even been a healthy scratch for games, which is absolutely ludicrous because of the money the Bucks are paying him. Is it all his fault that the Bucks are the second worst team in the NBA? No, more on who's fault it is later, but he's definitely a contributor. Hopefully he works himself back into shape this offseason and actually gets back to contributing at an NBA level next year before he decides to spend an entire offseason eating fried cheese curds and mozzarella sticks from Chilis.

3. Josh Smith aka J Smoove
I remember looking at the free agents this past summer and thinking you know who could really be good on the right team? Josh Smith, well unfortunately he did not end up going to the right team. He went to the Pistons (for 14 million a year!!), a team with some talented pieces, but zero coaching and front office stability. What did this lead to? It led to no one being able to tell Smoove not to jack up 3.5 triples a game even though he was making only less than 1 of them! Smith is on track right now to have one of the worst shooting seasons of all time from 3! Read that sentence again! Josh Smith, of all time!! You would think that if a player wasn't a great three point shooter he might not take very many threes in the hopes of fluffing his percentage at least a little bit. Not Smoove though, not only is he shooting 26% from three, but he's also shot over 200 threes! A ridiculous combination that not only leads to a terrible PER (14.0 down from 17.7 a year ago) but also leads to a million (numbers not exact) points for the other team on fast breaks because he's not crashing the glass or attacking the paint like he should be. His numbers from his last year with the Hawks went down across the board, scoring from 17.5 ppg to 16.4, rebounds from 8.4 rpg to 6.8 rpg, and his shooting percentage from 46% to 41%! Josh is a terrible shooter, shouldn't be shooting as many shots as he is and the Pistons gave him a ton of money. For those reasons alone, Smoove has had the third most disappointing NBA season.

2. JR Smith
JR had a great season last year. He was rightfully crowned as the NBA's sixth man of the year and deserved every vote that he received. The Knicks used him perfectly, he was knocking down shots consistently (18.1 ppg, 42% shooting, PER of 17.6) and everything just seemed to work. In the offseason he was rewarded with a nice little contract that was probably right around fair market value (3 years, 16 million). Then this season started and the old JR Smith started to rear his ugly head again. The jacked off balance triples that went in last season? Well they weren't falling this year, and when they don't fall the poor shot selection becomes way more noticeable (14.3 ppg, 40% shooting, and a PER of 13.6!). Recently the Knicks looked like they had one last battle in them as they fought for that remaining playoff spot! Then Smith decided to jack 22 triples in a Sunday game against the Heat which absolutely killed the Knicks playoff hopes. Not only has he not looked like a sixth man of the year, but at times he looks more like a D league player than a quality bench player. If his shot starts falling again next year he could definitely return to his sixth man ways, but he's always gonna be bad when it comes to shot selection and defense and those things aren't changing. From reigning sixth man, to someone that Tim Hardaway Jr has threatened the job security of, JR Smith turns in the second most disappointing NBA season.

1.  Larry Sanders!!! 

Larry became a fan favorite last year after his stellar defensive play (2.8 blocks per game, 9.5 rpg, PER of 18.7!) helped the Bucks snag the eighth seed and got him a nice little contract worth some serious money (4 year extension, 11 million a year). Then this season started and he broke his hand in a bar fight before Thanksgiving! When a team wants to make you the face of the franchise which is what the Bucks did by giving him that kind of contract, one of the things you don't want to do is immediately go out and get into a fight and injure yourself. When Larry did get back on the court he didn't play nearly as well as what was expected from him after last season (1.7 bpg, 7.2 rpg, PER of 14) and looked like a backup post player at best. Then BAM he gets hurt again in an on court (thank god) accident and is out for the rest of the season. If you think that's where the story ends, then you don't know Larry. About a week ago he decided to come out publicly after failing the NBA's drug policy for marijuana and rail against the policy for it's old and outdated methods. Needless to say the NBA could care less about his opinion and he was hit with a five game suspension. So once again to summarize if you are the Bucks are looking to make someone the face of your franchise and in the first six months of that new contract the player goes out and breaks his hand in a bar fight and then gets suspended by the NBA for smoking weed during the season, you are in trouble. Also throw in an embarrassing scandal involving PETA and the mistreatment of his pit bulls for good measure! Good luck with what looks like the second worst contract in the NBA (sorry Amare) going forward and the number one disappointing season by an NBA player. Notice how the Bucks, and Knicks have multiple players on this list? No coincidence as to why they are terrible.

All-Star Weekend 2014

All Star Weekend Pickz to Blow Your Load....of cash

    

  You know you have a problem when you start gambling on events that God did not intend us to gamble on. The silver lining though, is to think about all of the beneficial things you can do with your winningz. You could invest in a mutual fund, save for retirement, or stash it in your child's college fund. Or you could just do what I would do with it, go to Vegas and see how fast you can blow it on blackjack and hooker spit (that's right just the spit).

Friday Night Celebrity Game

We start with the celebrity game, an event that I have never watched more than thirty seconds of and will continue the trend this year. With that said if you still want to bet on it go with Team Simmons (1.5, yeah there's a line). Bill's team is stacked with talent including 2 time MVP Kevin Hart and WNBA up and comer Elena Delle Donne. Jalen Rose has already said that he wants his team to be more involved in the New Orleans Nightlife than the game and I think this will play out on the court. Bill will also take this game way too seriously either because he's aware that people might actually gamble on it or he himself puts money on his team (Pete Rose alert!!). Look for Simmons to employ either the Hack-A-Shaq tactic or a full court press if this game gets close late. Once again stick with team Simmons and start your weekend off right.

Rising Stars Challenge

The closest thing we have in the NBA to an old episode of And-1 Streetball, the Rising Stars Challenge! However, instead of legends like Escalade, Hot Sauce, and the Professor; we get treated to Harrison Barnes and the Plumlee brothers! So if you like watching games that don't have anything close to resembling defense, then definitely tune in Friday night. Expect a ton of threes and wide open dunk lanes that will make this game look closer to the NFL pro bowl than an NBA game. If I still haven't deterred you from placing a bet (first, you have a serious problem) then go with the team that features the combo of Harrison Barnes and Anthony Davis easily the two best players on the floor. As a side note, both coaches Chris Webber and Grant Hill had their careers derailed by micro fracture surgery! Conspiracy alert!! Just kidding it's not relevant I just wanted to point that out.

Saturday Night

3pt, skills challenge, and the team shooting competition

These events, or as I call them "everything before the slam dunk contest," are basically a toss up as to which great shooter gets hot, and however the fuck they determine odds for the skills challenge. In the 3pt contest, the new format has conferences competing against each other. The favorite has to be the West, loaded with arguably the three best shooters in the league in Curry, K-Love, and Damian Lillard. Look for the west to win and Curry or Love to take home the individual crown.

Skills Challenge
The new format for the skills challenge has teams of two competing head to head to determine a winner. In order to choose who you should put your money on; pick the team with a shifty, nimble guard who has good ball handling skills (yeah, exactly). In all honesty pick whatever team Damian Lillard is on because he's in five events and he has to win one of them right? Whatever you do, do not pick Giannis A, the Greek Freak. He's huge, raw and will easily finish a full ten seconds behind the next closest competitor.

Team Shooting Challenge
Finally probably the most exciting event of these "not-the-dunk-contest-contests," the Team Shooting Challenge. Not only do you get to watch the exciting Father /Son combos (Curry's- Steph and Dell, Hardaway's- Tim and Tim Jr) compete against Kevin Durant and the Mailman?? You also get to watch great basketball players heave half court shots like they did back in middle school. Which by the way should absolutely be it's own event, I mean seriously do we need a skills challenge? You don't see the NFL have a forty yard dash-off during the Pro Bowl (wait a second...). The favorite here has to be the Curry combo of Seth (just kidding) and Dell; but it's kind of hard to go against the future HOF Durant and Karl Malone who at age (55??) still looks like he could average 20-10 in the NBA. I guess they have Skylar Diggins on their team also, but do we really think she's gonna decide this contest? The dark horses are the Hardaway's though this looks like a two horse race, and no the combo of Chris Bosh, Dominique Wilkins and Swin Cash does not stand a chance.

Slam Dunk Contest
The piéce de résistance (yeah that's right, French) of All-Star Weekend. Because of the recent staleness over the last few years; mostly due to watching one player miss the same dunk 25 times in a row (I'm looking at you Birdman) or just not even trying (see: Wallace, Gerald 2010), the NBA divided this years events into conferences. In the first round of our conference battle we have a "Freestyle" theme where each conference has 90 seconds to pull off as many dunks as you can and a winning conference being named at the end. In the second part we have an actual head to head competition with one member from each conference battling it out for supremacy. The first conference to get three points in the battle round wins the title and then the fans vote on which dunker should be considered the best of the night. The conference with the best shot of winning has to be the East comprised of powerhouse dunkers Paul "hopefully he leaves the lights on this time" George, defending champ Terrence Ross, and ultra athlete John Wall. This team would be a devastating 3 on 3 team let alone the prohibitive favorites to win this contest. For the dunker of the night go with someone from that loaded east squad preferably Paul George or Terrence Ross. The dark horse in this race is Ben Mclemore, who is rumored to be attempting the infamous 720. If he successfully throws down a 720, look for the Kings rookie to shock the world and steal the top dunker of the night.

Sunday Night- All Star Game
Finally we reach the conclusion of All-Star weekend, at this point you should be filthy rich if you have followed all of my picks, but if you want to get to Donald Trump levels of wealth then read on. This game reminds me of a joke by a famous comedian about pancakes. They sound delicious before you have them and then about halfway through the first one you are fuckin sick of them. Put your money on the loaded west squad and do something else until the last two minutes of the fourth quarter. The MVP comes down to either Lebron James or Kevin Durant, no one else is gonna win it so don't come at me with your Anthony Davis or Steph Curry bullshit. The Lebron, KD battle is gonna be reminiscent of 80's Japanese movie battles between Godzilla and Mothra (KD is definitely Mothra). This time however, look for Mothra to win as Kevin Durant establishes his MVP season as those before him do with an all-star game MVP for the trophy case. Lebron will let him have this one as he has his sights set on something a little more important come June.

And there you have it, one mans in-depth look at the weekends All-Star bonanza that will probably take you longer to read this than actually watch the events. If all goes well you will have some gambling money to throw around for the rest of our NBA picks this season.