2015 NBA All Star Break

This weekend from February 13-15, the NBA has its annual All Star weekend. This should be a particularly exciting All Star weekend, with new faces in both the 3-point shooting contest and dunk contest.
Lets start off with the starting lineups for each team. On the eastern conference, we have familiar faces Carmelo Anthony and Lebron James, two fan favorites, even with Carmelo being on arguably the worst team in the NBA this year. John Wall is having a spectacular season with the Wizards and will start at guard. Pau Gasol is having a great year after a trade from the Lakers to the Bulls. Finally, new comer Kyle Lowry from the Toronto Raptors makes his first start in his first ever all star game appearance. Mike Budenholzer from the Atlanta Hawks will coach the eastern conference this year. The Hawks have had a great season so far, starting off with 41 wins and only 10 losses.
There were two injuries to two key starts on the Western Conference. Blake Griffin and Kobe Bryant, both selected for the starting lineup, will not play in this years all star game due to a staff infection for Griffin and a recent torn rotator cuff for Kobe. Damian Lilliard from the Portland Trail Blazers will take the place of Blake Griffin as starter and Demarcus Boogie Cousins will replace Kobe in his first ever All Star appearance. Marc Gasol, Anthony Davis, and Steph Curry finish off the starting 5 for the Western Conference. Steve Kerr, head coach of the Golden State Warriors, will coach the western conference. He will have two of his star players, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, on his roster.
The always entertaining celebrity all star game, featuring stars such as Kevin Hart, Snoop Dogg, and Spike Lee, takes place at 7 P.M. on Friday.
The Three Point Contest and the Sprite Slam Dunk contest take place Saturday at 8:30 P.M. after the Degree Shooting Stars and the skills challenge. I am going to focus on the three point contest and the dunk contest. The three point contest is particularly exciting this year as teammates Steph Curry and Klay Thompson go head to head in a 3-point shooting battle. Wesley Matthews, JJ Redick, James Harden, Kyrie Irving, Kyle Korver, and Marco Belinelli round out the rest of the 3-point squad. At this point, it is a toss up as to who the favorite is. In my opinion, I would love to see a Steph Curry vs. Klay Thompson shootout in the finals. James Harden and Kyle Korver are my two other favorites to make the finals.
The final event on Saturday is the Slam Dunk Contest. It has not been as exciting these past few years but seems to have a fairly stacked lineup this year. All participants are competing in their first ever dunk contest. They include Zach LaVine, Victor Oladipo, Mason Plumlee, and the Greek Freak Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is my favorite to win it this year.
Finally, the main event, the NBA All Star game starts at 8:30 PM on Sunday afternoon.